Nociception

Nociception

Any idea what that word means? I didn’t either when I first saw it in my morning reading. The Intellectual Devotional by David S. Kidder and Noah D Oppenheim.

Nociception is the perception of pain. Simple huh? It’s essential to human’s survival.
Children are born every so often that have, what is called, a congenital insensitivity to pain and anhydrosis (CIPA). These children seldom live past the age of twenty-five simply because they don’t feel pain. If they survive the stage of teething without biting off their own fingers or something worse, they still are not out of the woods. They don’t know when they’ve injured themselves or have an infection that is eating them up.

We should be thankful for the sensation of pain. Seems like an odd thing, but it is essential as you can see from this one example.

The brain has a pain matrix that sorts out the intensity, location, duration and type of pain. This matrix is called anterior cingulated cortex. The funny thing about this brain center is it doesn’t distinguish between physical pain and emotional pain. This matrix responds equally to a broken leg or a broken heart.

So then, if I follow this logic (there’s that word again) a person could die from a broken heart. I used this emotional context in my mystery suspense novel The Pink Lady Slipper. The mother of the protagonist died from extreme fear. Emotional reaction can be as deadly as actual physical harm. I researched if it was possible to die from extreme fear at this time. I found it was. Amazing!

If all that follows as true, then there is truth to the clichés “Act as if,” “Fake it until you make it,” See it, believe it, achieve it,” wouldn’t you say?

BUY NOW! The Pink Lady Slipper
Billie A Williams
www.billiewilliams.com
http://printedwords.blogspot.com
http://cricketshearth.blogspot.com

What do you think of when you hear Gothic?

What do you see? I think of pictures of KISS or The Bat Man's Cave or some other dark and scary thing -- Yet in the late 1100's and early 1200's it meant enlightenment. It meant the opening up to the sunlight and color,of churches and those structures meant to honor the rulers it meant letting in the light. They would build outer walls on huge pillars and enclose them but the windows were huge stain glass features to let in color and light.

It wasn't until the 18th century when in fiction Gothic became associated with grotesque and mysterious in literature.

It wasn't until the 1980's when music and dress were the dark Gothic - music such as Siouxie and the Banshees created an almost evil darkness that became associated with looking Goth in vogue with some.

What do you think when you think Gothic?

The book I'm reading The Intellectual Devotional by David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim and it certainly does spark your imagination, your curiosity and your wonder about what you believe and what is truth.

How One Author is Handling Fame, Fortune and … Cancer

How One Author is Handling Fame, Fortune and … Cancer

Posted using ShareThis

"All men by nature desire to know" Aristotle

Aristotle knows - curiosity is a natural thing. We want to know everything about everything. Aristotle believed philosophy should be studied in a precise order. Learning logic allows us to explain how facts about the world relate to each other. He actually developed the theory of syllogisms - you probably remember :
All men are mortal
Socrates is a man
Therefore, Socrates is mortal
That represents the sequence of logical thought.
After logic Aristotle says Science - or natural phenomena should be next and the final study should be practical philosophy which includes ethics and politics. Putting those two words, ethics and politics, in the same sentence seems a bit - well, like an oxymoron. Ethics - combined as it should be with politics, is it ever? We can always hope.
Mean time Arie would make a good hero in my next novel perhaps - he was a very clear thinker - do his thoughts go with love? lust? or sex? Perhaps not. Does logic come into play in these circumstances? Perhaps not. Ethics? Politics? well maybe politics...
Some food for thought none-the-less.
www.billiewilliams.com

Words to the Wise

BODY BUILDING and VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS

You need to keep your mind alert to write. But you also need to keep your body in shape even while you are leading this more sedentary life. For body builders, you are to be congratulated for taking care of your body. This work is making you stronger. It is important to remember however, that as you increase your ability to lift things, and you increase the strength of your muscles, you need more vitamins and minerals as well as more energy in order to use these enhanced muscles.

First of all, you should not start bodybuilding before you have talked to a doctor or a nutritionist about what you should do to make sure that your body can maintain the muscles that it has. If you are not able to consume enough of the foods that have the right vitamins, you are going to need to take supplements. This is because it is extremely important that you have enough of the right things if you are going to be bodybuilding. If you are building your muscles and not feeding your body properly, there is not going to be anything left over to keep you healthy. Vitamins help to build your immune system, make hormones and much more.

The best way to get your nutrition is through eating the right diet. There are certain aspects of the vitamins and minerals that go along with food that just can’t be found in the supplements. It is always best to eat as well as you can. However, if for some reason you aren’t able to get all of the needed vitamins and minerals, it is better to have them via vitamin supplements that not to suffer a shortage of what your body needs to maintain optimum health and virility.

Many times it is a good idea to go on a general multivitamin if you are going to be working out and working hard on your body. This is a good idea because as you work out you are burning energy that your body would otherwise use to protect itself. Therefore, your immune system might be compromised as you work out. You should try to do whatever you can to make sure that your are getting the correct vitamins and minerals that your immune system needs to function properly.

There are so many benefits to getting a proper amount of nutrition that there is now ay to list them all. For people who are working on building their muscles, there are certain things about vitamins and supplements that you should be aware of. There are many books to consult as well as your physician. Don’t leave your good health and well-being to chance.
==============================
Feel free to share this article in its entirety as long as you leave this resource box with it. Thank You!
Billie A Williams, Author
www.billiewilliams.com
billie@billiewilliams.com

If Rejections ever get you down...

CELEBRATION OF REJECTION
From the pages of, How to Get a Literary Agent by Michael Larsen

1. 112 Books Louis L’Amour though he received rejections. He received 200 rejections before he sold his first novel. During the last forty years Bantam has shipped nearly three hundred million of his one hundred twelve books, making him their biggest-selling author.
2. 600+ rejection slips wall paper Jack London’s home.
3. 774 rejection slips for John Creasy who went on to publish under 13 pseudonyms 564 books
4. 14 rejected Pearl S Buck finally published The Good Earth
5. 20 rejections didn’t stop Jonathan Livingston Seagull’s publication and you know how famous it became, written by Richard Bach
6. 40 rejections before she sold her first book didn’t stop Mary Higgins Clark
7. 200 rejections Roots by Alex Haley was published.
8. 15 publishers and 30 agents rejected John Grisham’s A Time to Kill before it was finally published.
9. 375 publishers rejected naked in Deccan over seven years before the Baltimore Sun deemed it a classic.
10. Dr Seuss – 24 in his file of rejections before his first books was published
11. 8 years after the novel Steps won the National Book Award, Jerzy Kosinski allowed it to be send out again with a name change to 13 agents and 14 publishers – all of them rejected it, including Random House, which originally published it. Proves the plight of new writers trying to get recognition or a publishing contract.
12. The New Yorker rejected a short story by Saul Bellow after he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

So there you have it. Don’t let a little pile of rejections stop you from persevering in your desire to be a published author. The three P’s of getting published Polish, Persist, persevere.

An Early Valentine's Day Sale -- are you ready?

Extra, Extra – Special Valentine Bundle Sale
VALENTINE BUNDLE
In celebration of Valentine’s Day
From now until February 14, 2009

Buy either
Angeni from Red Rose Publishing OR Dark Thunder from Erotique Press

(Angeni The e-book edition available now.
Dark Thunder is available in Print or e-book now.)

And as a Bonus from the author, Cricket Sawyer, receive:
1. Valentine Express (Erotique Download)

2. Hunks and Heros from the Valentine Express Booklet (PDF file)

3. Spaghetti Variations Cook Book (PDF file)

4. Angeni Book Marks (PDF printable file)

Send your proof of purchase to Cricket at cricket@cricket-sawyer.com and she will send you your bonus items. Hurry while all the items are still available. Do it Now while you are thinking of it before the offer disappears.

ANGENI Buy Link
http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=357

Angeni weaves her web to entangle evil in its own cocoon of destruction. Shape-shifter, singer, protector her life is in turmoil, is Kaus Borealis soul mate or an evil that won’t be trapped?


DARK THUNDER Buy link
http://www.erotiquepress.com/direct/buy-erp-cs-dt.htm


Dark edgy romance, a vulnerable woman plucked from a loveless marriage. Saved, she thinks, by her dark knight. The dark knight becomes a dark warrior with problems of his own. Sucked into a spiral of bizarre behavior and terrifying consequences, she soon realizes what her vulnerability has cost her. Is there a way out?