The most recent multi-win champion on Jeopardy! is Katie Sekelsky, a graphic designer from Kent, Ohio. And, when she secured her third victory in a row this week with a winning total of $19,201, maybe you wondered to yourself: who saw that coming?
Well as it turns out, she did.
After the episode aired Sekelsky tweeted out, “The night before my first Jeopardy taping, I was alone in the hotel, trying to calm down and "visualizing" a win. I sketched myself at a podium, with a winning-type dollar amount. And that winning-type dollar amount was $19,201. This is real.”
And just in case there are any skeptics out there, Sekelsky has insisted that the drawing did not influence her wagering in that moment, and that she did indeed send the drawing to multiple people before the taping, saying, “THERE ARE RECEIPTS.”
Of course this premonition had fans on Twitter freaking out with comments like, “Well Katie that’s amazing! You are a visionary!.”
Sadly, her potentially psychic powers apparently don’t apply to Pixar films. Because when the answer to the Final Jeopardy! clue on Wednesday was "Buzz Lightyear" and she wrote "Osmosis Jones" instead, the premonitions — and her winning streak — ended there.
Oct. 13, 2021 "What Is the Law of Attraction?":
What Is the Law of Attraction?
The law of attraction is a philosophy suggesting that positive thoughts bring positive results into a person's life, while negative thoughts bring negative outcomes. It is based on the belief that thoughts are a form of energy and that positive energy attracts success in all areas of life, including health, finances, and relationships.
While the Law of Attraction has generated attention in recent years due to books like "The Secret," it lacks scientific evidence for its claims and is generally viewed as a pseudoscience.
The Laws of Attraction
Advocates suggest there are central universal principles that make up the law of attraction:
- Like attracts like: This law suggests that similar things are attracted to one another. It means that people tend to attract people who are similar to them—but it also suggests that people's thoughts tend to attract similar results. Negative thinking is believed to attract negative experiences, while positive thinking is believed to produce desirable experiences.
- Nature abhors a vacuum: This law of attraction suggests that removing negative things from your life can make space for more positive things to take their place. It is based on the notion that it is impossible to have a completely empty space in your mind and in your life. Since something will always fill this space, it is important to fill that space with positivity, proponents of this philosophy say.
- The present is always perfect: This law focuses on the idea that there are always things you can do to improve the present moment. While it might always seem like the present is somehow flawed, this law proposes that, rather than feeling dread or unhappiness, you should focus your energy on finding ways to make the present moment the best that it can be.
How to Practice
According to the law of attraction, you create your own reality. What you focus on is what you draw into your life. It suggests that what you believe will happen in your life is what does happen.
Some things that you can do to incorporate the law of attraction into your own life include:
- Be grateful
- Visualize your goals
- Look for the positives in a situation
- Learn how to identify negative thinking
- Use positive affirmations
- Reframe negative events in a more positive way
While the law of attraction may not be an immediate solution for all of life's challenges, it can help you learn to cultivate a more optimistic outlook on life. It may also help you stay motivated to continue working toward your goals.
Impact
While the law of attraction lacks scientific support, proponents suggest that it can produce positive changes in a person's life. Some reasons why people may experience benefits from this philosophy include:
Spiritual Effects
The law of attraction may produce results because it taps into people's spirituality. Spirituality itself is connected to a variety of health benefits including reduced stress, better health, lower depression, and better overall well-being.1
Many people believe that this philosophy works by aligning God or the universe with our wishes. This notion suggests that people are all made of energy, and this energy operates at different frequencies. Because of this, it is important to change the frequency of energy with positive thoughts, especially gratitude for what we already have.
By using grateful, positive thoughts and feelings and by focusing on our dreams rather than our frustrations, we can change the frequency of our energy, and the law of attraction brings positive things into our lives. What we attract depends on where and how we focus our attention, but we must believe that it’s already ours or soon will be.
Better Well-Being
Utilizing the law of attraction may also bring about positive impacts on mental well-being. By focusing on attaining a new reality, and by believing it is possible, we tend to take more risks, notice more opportunities, and open ourselves up to new possibilities.
Conversely, when we don’t believe that something is in the realm of possibilities for us, we tend to let opportunities pass by unnoticed.
When we believe we don’t deserve good things, we behave in ways that sabotage our chances of happiness. By changing our self-talk and feelings about life, we reverse the negative patterns in our lives and create more positive, productive, and healthy ones. One good thing leads to another, and the direction of a life can shift from a downward spiral to an upward ascent.
Research on optimism shows that optimists enjoy better health, greater happiness, and more success in life. They possess traits that allow them to focus their thoughts on their successes and mentally minimize their failures.2
One of the foundations of many types of therapy is that changing your self-talk can change your life in a positive direction. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, a widely used and effective treatment for many conditions, is based on the idea that identifying and changing automatic negative thoughts can produce positive effects and help people achieve better mental well-being.
Tips / Tricks
There are some exercises that can help you learn to put the law of attraction into practice in your own life. Some ideas include:
- Journaling: Writing down your thoughts can help you better learn to recognize your habitual thought patterns to see whether you tend toward optimism or pessimism and learn more about changing negative patterns of thought.
- Make a mood board: Create a visual reminder that helps you maintain a positive mindset, stay motivated, and focus on your goals.
- Practice acceptance: Instead of focusing on what is wrong about the present or what needs to be changed, work on accepting things as they are. This doesn't mean that you won't continue to work toward a better future, it just means that you won't get bogged down by wishing for things to be different right now.
- Practice positive self-talk: If you struggle with being overly self-critical, set a goal to engage in positive self-talk each day. Over time, this may come much more easily and you may find that it is harder to maintain a negative mindset.
Potential Pitfalls
One problem with books such as "The Secret" as well as with some people's interpretation of the law of attraction is that it suggests it's the belief that good things will come to us that will bring us all that we desire, without any sort of action behind that belief.
It is the optimistic viewpoint that drives proactive behaviors that, in turn, bring optimists such great results in their lives. Optimists don't receive their benefits from their attitudes alone—it's the behavior the attitudes inspire that creates real change.
In order for beliefs to affect behavior, it is important to also have things such as:
- Goals
- Mindfulness
- Commitment
- Motivation
- Timelines
- Challenges
- Support
Critics of "The Secret" and other books about the law of attraction also point out the very real concern that people may start to blame themselves for negative events that are outside their control, such as accidents and injuries, layoffs due to a financial downturn, or major illnesses.
We can't always control our circumstances, but we can control our responses to them. In this vein, the law of attraction can provide the optimism and proactive attitude that's associated with resilience in difficult situations, but it must not be used as a tool of self-blame.
Your responses to the challenges you face can make you stronger. In that way, the law of attraction can be useful when it encourages such strength. However, it should not be applied negatively or it can be more destructive than helpful.
The History of the Law of Attraction
While the law of attraction has received quite a bit of attention in recent years, the concept is not exactly new. These ideas have philosophical roots that date back to the early 19th-century approach known as "New Thought." There was a resurgence of interest in the idea during the 20th century, particularly with the 2006 release of the film "The Secret," which was then later developed into the best-selling book of the same title and its 2010 sequel "The Power."
What Is the Law of Attraction? (verywellmind.com)
Tamara's manifestation: I was writing for another blog post and is a continuation for "Tracy giving away her magazine clippings."
Jun. 10, 2021: I will go into more detail:
I gave Tamara these Buffy clippings in 2002:
Alyson Hannigan/ Willow: There were quite a lot of these. I gave her this picture where Hannigan is making 4 funny faces from the Cosmogirl Dec. 1999 issue.
Tamara: Oh my God. Do you know how many times I have seen this picture on the internet and now I actually have this?
I seriously thought she was going to cry happy tears. Now as an adult and I have been listening and watching these self- development videos, I would say that Tamara "manifested" this.
There were a lot of variables:
1. She is friends with Tracy
2. Tracy has that magazine
3. Tracy is willing to give this magazine clipping to her
LEO opinion poll:
Shelley Bellemore from Windsor , ON, would like to know:
Do you believe in the law of attraction?
Yes: 52.68% (2908)
I don't know/ Prefer not to answer: 27.41% (1513)
No: 19.91% (1099)
Oct. 26, 2021 "Drake gifted Rolls-Royce he used to rent before he made it big": Today I found this article:
Drake rented a Rolls-Royce in 2007 to convince people he was “destined to make it”.
The rap star celebrated his 35th birthday on Sunday and marked the occasion by revealing how far he’s come in his career.
Alongside a 14-year-old video of himself in a Rolls-Royce, Drake wrote on Instagram: “Back in 2007 we used to finesse this Rolls Royce Phantom rental to convince people in the city we were destined to make it. I used to scrape together 5k a month somehow to keep up appearances. (sic)”
Drake used renting the vehicle as a means of motivating himself to reach the top of the music industry.
The Hotline Bling hitmaker – who is now one of the world’s best-selling artists – continued: “Even though I don’t recommend putting yourself in financial trouble for material things I realize now that this was just my way of extreme manifesting. I needed to see it and feel it and have it to believe that I could see and feel and have anything I wanted. Today in 2021 my brother @futuretheprince tracked down the exact car I use to stress over and gifted it to me … it’s mine now. Manifestation complete (sic).”
Drake gifted Rolls-Royce he used to rent before he made it big | Driving
Dec. 11, 2021 "Her truck was stolen 2 years ago. She found it thanks to pure chance — and a patch of nail polish": Today I found this article by Winston Szeto on CBC news:
Would you recognize your lost vehicle two years after it was stolen?
For Laura Zimmerman, it was easy — all she needed was to look for a spot of green nail polish she had painted on the fuel cap of her Ford F-150.
Zimmerman, from Williams Lake, B.C., said she never fully gave up hope of finding her stolen dark green truck, but she was shocked to see a vehicle that looked a lot like it driving down Highway 97 a couple of weeks ago.
She followed the truck to 100 Mile House, where it stopped and she had the opportunity to verify the mark she left behind many years ago.
"It's just so surreal to me," Zimmerman said, describing the moment she realized it was her truck from the small patch of nail polish.
"It's very, very festive — you could even use it for a holiday manicure," she told host Sarah Penton on CBC's Radio West about the paint, describing the colour.
On Nov. 24, her hopes finally came true by pure coincidence. She was on her way home from a medical appointment in Kamloops, and if she hadn't pulled out from Highway 97 near 70 Mile House in order to answer her daughter's phone call, she wouldn't have spotted the Ford when she returned to the road.
Zimmerman says besides the green nail polish painted on the gas cap, another identifying feature was a decal for Cam-Don Motors, a dealership in Perdue, Sask.
She says she called the police after parking just across from the truck in 100 Mile House.
"I walked over and I took pictures of the plate, and I took pictures of the gas cap, and I took pictures of the damage in the back," she said. "I'm standing behind this truck because I know in my heart, if this truck leaves, I'll never see it again."
Zimmerman says her body shook with joy when an RCMP officer arrived.
She says the officer said to her, "You know, lady, this is one in a million. You need to go buy some lottery tickets."
Amazingly, she did buy a lottery ticket soon after — and won $112.
This week doesn't have a theme. Here are the other 2 blog posts:
Post Secret- holidays (Part 3)/ Post Secret (Part 12)
Tracy's blog: Post Secret- holidays (Part 3)/ Post Secret (Part 12) (badcb.blogspot.com)
"Amid the job implosion, some companies are rapidly hiring"/ "Looking to temporarily lay off staff during the coronavirus crisis? Wait, that's illegal"
My week:
Dec. 24, 2021 "Arnold Schwarzenegger Donates 25 Tiny Homes to Homeless Veterans: 'Greatest Christmas Gift'": Today I found this article by Greta Bjornson on Yahoo news:
Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a difference in the lives of veterans this holiday season.
Schwarzenegger, 74, personally donated 25 homes to veterans in the Los Angeles area who had been previously living on the street, he shared on Twitter Thursday. The former California governor unveiled the homes this week as an early Christmas gift.
"Today, I celebrated Christmas early. The 25 homes I donated for homeless veterans were installed here in LA," he tweeted Thursday. "It was fantastic to spend some time with our heroes and welcome them into their new homes."
Schwarzenegger also gave shoutouts to the nonprofit Village for Vets, as well as the Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and American Veterans (AMVets) for their help. "
Village for Vets provided the homes, which Schwarzenegger made possible with a $250,000 donation, according to FOX 11 Los Angeles.
The Village for Vets website explains that tiny shelters, like the 25 donated by Schwarzenegger, "provide an elevated standard of living from tent encampments while veterans are on their journey to find permanent housing and stability."
Each home has heat, electricity and air conditioning, AMVets employee Rob Reynolds told FOX 11.
Schwarzenegger said in a follow-up Tweet that acts of kindness are "what Christmas is all about."
"All of you have the power to do something for someone else this holiday season. It doesn't have to be big. Just give a few minutes of your time to help someone else," he continued.
This is what Christmas is all about. All of you have the power to do something for someone else this holiday season. It doesn’t have to be big. Just give a few minutes of your time to help someone else. https://t.co/xHiKKRPOh7
The Terminator star told FOX 11 he was "ecstatic" about the tiny homes, which he described as "the greatest Christmas gift."
Veteran Bruce Henry Cooper agreed, telling FOX 11 the homes are "a life-saver."
He also expressed his gratitude towards Schwarzenegger, saying, "He has not forgotten us. Not forgotten anybody."
Arnold Schwarzenegger Donates 25 Tiny Homes to Homeless Veterans (yahoo.com)
"TSA Agent Leaps Over Conveyor Belt to Save 2-Month-Old Baby Who Was Choking: 'Literally a Miracle'": Today I found this article by Jason Duaine Hahn on Yahoo news:
Transportation Security Administration officer Cecilia Morales has only been on the job for a few weeks, but her skills as a first responder are already making an impact.
While working at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, Morales jumped into action when a young mother realized her 2-month-old son had stopped breathing while they waited to cross the security checkpoint," the TSA said in a press release on Thursday.
Once alerted to the situation, Morales shouted instructions at the mother who tried to resuscitate her baby, but Morales quickly realized she would need to get involved.
"She was so nervous and I knew if I didn't get over there, it wasn't going to be a good outcome," Morales, a former EMT, said in a statement. "I jumped over the checkpoint conveyor belt rollers and she gave me the baby. I performed the infant Heimlich maneuver on him."
It wasn't until the second time that Morales placed him face down on her arm and patted him on the back that he began to breathe.
According to the British Red Cross, if a baby is not breathing and you have already called for help, you can give rescue breaths by tilting their head back and blowing five times into their mouth and nose. This can be followed by 30 chest compressions in the middle of their chest with two fingers.
Morales, who joined the TSA in October, said watching the video of her heroics was "mind-blowing."
"I saw the video afterward," she said in the statement. "It was the first time I've ever seen myself in action, saving a life. It was mind-blowing to watch. I felt that my training and experience just took over."
Dec. 24, 2021 Christmas Eve: My family had a roast beef dinner.
Superstore: On Thanksgiving, we bought the roast beef from here, and it didn't taste good.
Costco: On Christmas Eve, we bought the roast beef from here, and it tastes good.
Dec. 25, 2021 Christmas: We ate the leftovers.
Dec. 26, 2021 Boxing Day: I met up with my friend Cham and went to City Centre mall. I went to Shoppers Drug Mart. They sold all their holiday food and snacks for 60% off. I bought the President's Choice Luxury Biscuit assortment. It went from $18.99 to $7.59.
Tim Horton's gift card: I got this from my job. It was $10. I ate a roast beef and cheddar sandwich.
Dec. 28, 2021 Winter: I was feeling kind of low because it's like the artic out there from -25 to 30 degrees. I only went out in that weather on Boxing Day because I really want to go to Shoppers Drug Mart.
Dec. 26, 2021 "A Janitor's Colleagues Put Him on the Fast Track to Retirement": This is a really heartwarming news story:
At 64, Alfredo Lupi, a janitor at a factory in Graffignana, an industrial town southeast of Milan, was less than three years away from his retirement, a threshold that was at once incredibly close but impossibly far.
A cognitive impairment that he had almost since birth was making his job more difficult by the day. The condition was too debilitating for him to work without discomfort, but quitting would have been hard to afford without a pension.
That’s where his co-workers came in.
One evening earlier this month, after his shift ended, the employees of the Senna Inox factory gathered to unveil a surprise for Lupi. He could retire early. In fact, he could retire now.
Bewildered at first, Lupi slowly understood. “You gave me my pension,” he said, visibly moved. “Thank you.”
Technically, his colleagues gave him something else: vacation days. They had transferred some of their own allotment — some gave more days, some gave less, but all gave something. That allowed him to stop working but meant he could remain on the books at the Senna Inox factory and collect a salary until he reached the retirement age of 67.
“In the last few months, he was visibly tired and had a hard time working,” said Piera, one of Lupi’s colleagues, who declined to give her last name because she did not want publicity for herself. “This was a collective effort. We all felt it was not fair that if he quit, he would have to stay home with no paycheck for two years.”
The practice of donating personal vacation days to colleagues in need is increasingly popular in Italy. In recent years, the story of a mother who was given the equivalent of three years to take care of her disabled son, as well as tales of time off donated to hospital workers who have young children and no time to spend with them, have made headlines in Italy.
But Lupi’s case was unusual because all 50 of his colleagues pitched in, collecting 20 months’ worth of working days. “We gave up a little of our free time, yes,” Piera said. “But this was more important.”
A Janitor's Colleagues Put Him on the Fast Track to Retirement (yahoo.com)
Dec. 22, 2021 "Ashley Tisdale on sharing her 'struggle' with anxiety and depression and practicing self-care as a new mom": Today I found this article by Cindy Augustine on Yahoo news. I'm not really a fan of Tisdale, but this article is about mental health and donating to charity. I'm like her with listening to 5-10 minute guided meditations. I find them on Youtube.
"I believe wellness starts with self-love; you have to love yourself to take the steps to feel better," actress, singer and mental health advocate Ashley Tisdale tells Yahoo Life. "Everyone struggles with something and to me, I’m always trying to tell people it’s good to be interested in yourself. You may find out things you may not like — but you’ll find out a lot of things you’ll love. And you’ll learn how to manage the things you don't like!"
Working with a therapist is also important, but remains inaccessible to many. This winter, Tisdale is doing her part to remedy that problem by partnering with Amwell to launch "Mind Your Mind," a new mental health initiative designed to raise awareness and help people schedule their first virtual therapy session for only $10. (Use coupon code ASHLEY10 from December 2021 to February 2022 to get the discount).
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
It’s not advice but I’ve always loved it: "You should talk to yourself like you would your best friend." It’s hard to learn; people who have mental health issues often have negative thoughts. Any time we feel we have failed, we tend to beat ourselves up, but if your best friend came to you, you wouldn't say negative things to them. You’d want to cheer them on and be positive. We should cheer ourselves on, too!
Dec. 30, 2021 Emotions Anonymous: Last night I went to this Meetup group. I felt good that I actually attended a social event and virtually met like 10 people.
Emotions Anonymous - Edmonton (Edmonton, AB) | Meetup
Dec. 31, 2021: I also went to another virtual Meetup last night.
