Power Words: A Book Review

Sharon Anne Klingler is the author of this book and it is my first exposure to her writing. Sharon is also the author of Intuition & Beyond, and, co-author of Secrets of Success with Sandra Anne Taylor.

Sharon introduces us to the power and force within our words and language. In  her own words: “this book is about using the energy of precise words to lift your own energy and to stimulate immediate mental, emotional, and physical responses.”

I enjoyed reading this book and found that the premise of power and energy behind the words of our language tracks right along with the principles Dr. Wayne Dyer set forth in his book, The Power of Intention, by Hay House Publishing, 2004. As a blogger/writer I also found an attraction to Sharon’s book for how I might improve my word craft in what I present and write about.

Words carry the power to positively elevate, expand, empower and energize either individuals or  an audience. On the dark side, they also have the power to disenfranchise, spread fear and hate or marginalize individuals or groups of people.

Happily, Sharon's book is about finding the appropriate positive words and phrases that we can use on a daily basis to improve our behaviors, divest ourselves of limiting beliefs and habits and inspire us to take action towards goals and achievements that will bring out the best in us.

Sharon writes, “for those who seek change, their everyday language must resonate with a new purpose --not just at special times of affirmations, but all the time.” I interpreted this to mean that our everyday language must come into alignment and mirror what we wish to evolve into for the better.

I loved her statement, “Your language is the electrical current that moves through your life.” Thus it would follow, in my opinion, that one should endeavor to choose positive,high voltage words to identify ourselves and our everyday actions with. Words that reinforce “walking our talk.”

The author writes about two kinds of words, They are Trigger Words and Lifting Words.

Trigger Words are those that compel or ignite and action. Lifting Words are those that elevate one’s energy and creativity.

There are six elements of word energy. They are meaning, imaging, emotion, vibration, color and shape.

Sharon also writes about Power Words, Prayers and Invocations.

Invocations are words or phrases that mean to call or call upon. Prayers are meant to capture the attention of our God, a saint or spiritual force, often in time of great need or urgency. Turning words into a power tool involve six components. They are belief, emotional engagement, novelty and interest, focus and meaning, frequency and repetition, and, a call to action -- possessing the will and the intention.

In the process of changing your circumstance by improving your vocabulary with empowering, meaningful language, phrases and new words, Sharon offers these tips:

Make your first word your best word. The first word in a sentence can act like the locomotive at the front of a train. The right word offers pulling power.

Write a new language with words of power. Stop employing the dull edged knife of  everyday meaningless, overused words. Such words weaken you and lessen the energy around them.

Become a word warrior. Look for the deeper meaning of each word along with a positive emotional punch behind each.

Test your words and their energy. Which ones have the best effect on you emotionally and motivationally?

Take action with the words that you have chosen that lift.

A quote from Sharon Klingler at the end of chapter eighteen distills down what her Power Words book is about: “Live your life like you mean it. Your destiny is in your hands --- and in your words.”

I loved reading this book because I possess a fascination for language and how I might  use it  to  elevate my own word usage and to better communicate and inspire my own readers.

If you are the person who is looking for that transformational edge in how you negotiate your personal life safari, grab a copy of Power Words and get busy.

A web site link to this author is www.SharonKlingler.com

Jeff Dodson
January 14th 2014

FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and reflect my honest judgment of the product.

Dementia Care Far From Home

In our local Sunday January 5th 2014 issue of the Sacramento Bee newspaper, an article by Denis D. Gray of The Associated Press was published under the headline caption, Some find Alzheimer’s care in far-off nations.

Denis’ article described a growing trend of Swiss citizens who are looking to place their elderly loved ones, suffering from Alzheimer’s, in nursing facilities overseas rather than within their own country, citing formidably expensive monthly rates in their own nation. Switzerland, by the way, was ranked No. 1 in health care for the elderly in 2013 in an index compiled by the elderly advocacy group HelpAge International and the United Nations Population Fund.

Swiss citizen Ulrich Kuratli placed his elderly wife, Susanna Kuratli, in Baan Kamlangchay, a residential treatment facility for dementia 5,600 miles away in Chiang Mai,Thailand. Dementia care in Switzerland at high end clinics costs $15,000.00 or more per month. Although the Swiss government would cover two-thirds of the bill for Susanna’s care were she to remain in Switzerland, that still leaves $5,000 a month or more that Ulrich would have to shoulder. By contrast, the Thai facility located in Chiang Mai, cost only $3,800 per month.

According to this article reporter, it comes down to basically this:

“Relatives in western nations are increasingly confronting Kuratli’s dilemma as the number of Alzheimer’s patients and costs rise, and the supply of qualified nurses and facilities struggles to keep up. 

Faraway countries are offering cheaper, and to some minds better, care for those suffering from the irreversible loss of memory. The nascent trend is unnerving to some experts who say uprooting people with Alzheimer’s will add to their sense of displacement and anxiety, though other say quality of care is more important than location.”

In my own opinion, though there are always exceptions, quality of care trumps location. 

Besides Thailand, the Philippines is offering Americans care for their dementia loved ones for rates between $1,500 to $3,500 a month. According to this article, approximately 100 Americans are currently seeking dementia care placement in  the Philippines.

I can personally vouch for the fact that this rate range is at roughly half of the rate we were paying for each of my now deceased parents in a local Sacramento, California skilled nursing home. The monthly amount we were being charged was at the daily rate of $245.00. Thus, a thirty-one day month would run $7595.00. Mind you, this rate that we were being charged was about average for what dementia care nursing homes are charging in California. There are higher end specialized facilities elsewhere in our state that can range anywhere from $9,000 to $10,000 per month.

Facilities along with active hotel and resort builders in Thailand see this trend continuing and are lining up building projects for dementia and Alzheimer’s care residents throughout their nation to handle the influx of Europeans and those Americans that they feel will also follow.

Citizens of Germany are already seeking dementia care outside the borders of Germany in eastern Europe, Spain, Greece and the Ukraine.

What does all this have to say about dementia care as we know it in the industrialized nations?

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, there are more than 44 million Alzheimer’s patients globally and that figure is projected to triple to 135 million by 2050.

Dementia / Alzheimer’s care, whether provided to patients who remain within their own homes or for those whose continued care compels a skilled nursing facility, must become affordable for family members that are so often called upon to bear the burden of both the caregiving portion and the financial expense as well.

Our US  health care system has  grown up out of a landscape of separate grain-siloed cottage industry specialized professions that are paid and rewarded based upon offering activity rather than delivering corrective results. 

We are overdue for a topdown integrated healthcare system, affordable to all, that includes provisions for senior dementia / Alzheimer’s care. 

We needed it yesterday.

Jeff Dodson

January 8th 2014