Not every woman is a Mother. But this Happy Mother’s Day wish goes out to all women. Whether you have children or not, within you are the qualities that make a Mother. The first quality is Unconditional Love.

Unconditional Love is the natural state of a baby. Mothers with their child are the best example of Unconditional Love being demonstrated by an adult.

Imagine how different the world will be when we all learn to see through the eyes of a Mother looking at her child!

It is with very fond memories that I send a Happy Mother’s Day wish to you, because in doing so, I am sending it to my mom who passed many years ago.

It has taken me years to learn to practice what my mom and yours practiced so beautifully, Unconditional Love. So, let us thank them for it and for the reminder to us to open our hearts to others as they did to us.

And so in wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day, I am sending my wish to her, too. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! Thank you for who you are for me. I love you.

First the update…

2012 was a challenging year for me and for Kathryn, too. My health was an issue right from the beginning of 2012. In February and March when we were in Hawaii instead of just enjoying being in the Sun, Sea and walking on the Sand, I was getting medical care and being tested to find out why I was having inflammation, fevers weakness, pain, imbalance and a rapid 12 pound weight loss. And for Kathryn, it was a frightening experience seeing me in such a sad state. Yes, that’s me, lying on the couch, sick as a dog with a 102 fever, with cold towels on my head and stomach, to bring the fever down and… I’m on the phone about business!

Harry, sick as a dog in February in Hawaii.

By May I was somewhat stable, however, by July, I wasn’t sure if I would be well enough to exhibit at the Harvest Festivals in the Fall. In fact, we cancelled two shows, Las Vegas and Ventura. And I announced that 2012 may be our last year at the Harvest Festivals.  Thankfully, my health improved and we were able to show at the rest of the Harvest Festivals and, except for being somewhat more tired by the end of the day, I felt pretty good, most of the time. And… it’s likely we will exhibit at many of the Harvest Festivals in 2013!

Thank you for all your well wishes, prayers and suggestions for improving my health. They worked!

In 2012 I saw more than 10 different traditional medicine doctors and about the same number of alternative treatment doctors. I have been pricked with numerous needles for lab tests, x-rayed, mri’d, had ultrasound and other tests; taken several medications and multiple supplements, and I still don’t know the cause.

What I learned was to keep asking and to not give up. Although the cause is still unknown and I still have symptoms, the symptoms are managed and I believe I am on the path to restoring my health. And along the way, I have learned a lot about health and listening to my body. I have also learned to slow down a little and not push myself so hard.

Harry swinging around the Street Sign pole a few days after his 67th Birthday

And to see the improvement, here’s a photo of me a few days after my 67th Birthday, swinging around one of the street sign poles on my daily walk. “We Shall Never Give Up” was Winston’s Churchill’s vision that inspired the British people in the darkest hours of World War II.

And I have adapted it, “I will never give up… I will always keep going… every day in every way I’m getting better and better!”

About New Years Resolutions…

When I started to write the 2013 New Year’s Blog, I decided to re-post my 2012 Blog with a few minor changes. What I wrote then, is still relevant, so, here it is, below…

I remember a very successful business person, when asked his philosophy of life, answered, “work hard, play harder!”

And that’s what we do… We work hard throughout the year. And play harder after the end of the year.

If you are a small business owner, you know that you have the toughest boss in the whole world… yourself. My dad owned a hardware store when we were kids and the two strongest memories are #1 All of us waiting outside the store on Sunday for him to run into the store so a regular customer could get a bag of nails or a pipe to fix a leak, before we could go out to Sunday dinner.

The #2 strongest memory was that we went out to Sunday dinner a lot, so it must have paid off for my dad to help out a customer on Sunday before going to dinner! I guess my dad subscribed to the “work hard, play harder!” ethic, too.

So… when February comes around and it’s rainy and gloomy and cold in San Francisco, our bags are already packed for Hawaii! We have been just about everywhere in the islands. Oahu, Kauai, The Big Island, Lanai… We love all the islands and our current favorite, Maui. After all, Kathryn and I were Mauied… married on Maui.

And in 2011, we found our “home away from home” Konea Oe, our fabulous 2 bedroom 8th floor condo, right on the ocean! And… it was ON SALE! So… we bought it! Couldn’t pass up a great Sale!

And what do we do when we get there? (You know that it was different in 2012 having read of my health challenges) Well… the first few days after stocking up the refrigerator, we SLEEP a lot! Sometimes 10 or 12 hours at a stretch… get up, have a snack, maybe a walk on the beach at sunset and then it’s back to SLEEP, making up for all the sleep we missed while working so hard during the year passed.

Then the “Play Harder” part starts. This year, we are REALLY going to learn how to navigate on the Stand Up Paddle Boards.  We said we were last year, but it was only a New Years Resolution… we didn’t commit to it. I have found that unless I commit to something… it often doesn’t happen. Commitment gets the Providence on your side working with you. This year I am committed to do stand up paddle boarding. ( I finally did commit to that in 2012, in spite of my health challenges, and I was able to go on the Stand Up Paddle Board several times, without even falling off!  Wahoo!)

Harry, Stand Up Paddle Boarding at Honua Kai, Lahaina, Maui

Do you have a list of “100 Heart’s Desires you want to do before you die”? That’s a great place to start for your list of “Play Harder” activities. If you don’t have a list of 100, start with a list of 10. Oh… and here is the game… every time you achieve one of the 100 Heart’s Desires on your list, you add another.

That way, you’ll always have 100 Heart’s Desires to do before you die. What a great incentive to live a long healthy life!

And, by having them on a written list, there is really no need to make New Years Resolutions. All you have to do is choose the 3 or 4 that you will focus on in the coming year and Commit to them!

So, what do we do when we’re in Hawaii, besides relax and have FUN? Well.. our time in Hawaii is recreation, we like to think of it as re-creation. We re-create ourselves for the New Year. After a hard day of “Playing Harder” we reflect on what we accomplished in the past year that was meaningful to us. And we start to create and plan the New Year.

We don’t bother with New Years Resolutions. Those are usually things you (or someone else) thinks you SHOULD be doing, like “I should lose weight” or I shouldn’t have a 4th glass of wine.” Wayne Dyer and Tony Robbins both say, “Stop Shoulding on yourself ;>)”

If you have a list of 100 Heart’s Desires you want to do before you die, that EXCITE you, REALLY EXCITE you, that you have powerful reasons for WHY you want to do them, you won’t need those UnFUN New Years Resolutions. Everything you do to accomplish the things on your list are easier to do since they are bringing you closer to your “Heart’s Desires”

The feeling of Success comes from the moment by moment noticing of your ability to produce results. Another way of saying that is that the feeling of Success comes from the moment by moment noticing of your ability to give and keep your word, to yourself and others, because the ability to produce results is directly proportional to your ability to give and keep your word and manage that others do the same with you.

So… whatever you do, don’t make New Years Resolutions that you likely won’t keep. You won’t feel successful. Instead, say what you absolutely WILL do. Give your word and keep it and you will feel amazingly successful.

Make 2012 your most amazing, most awesome, most inspiring, most FUN, most exciting year ever! Happy New Year!

(Ours was! In spite of the health challenges, Kathryn and I got inspired by a U.K. Swing band, “The Jive Aces” and their music videos, “Bring Me Sunshine” and “Nothings Too Good for my Baby” to learn Lindy Hop dancing. We have always danced, that’s how we met, partner Disco dancing. Now we go out every week to a Swing Dance club in San Francisco, “Cat’s Corner” in the Mission District. What FUN! Dance lessons and then dancing to a live Swing Band!

Harry and Kathryn Swing Dancing at Cat’s Corner Christmas Party

And, there is a Swing dance club on Maui, so, we can continue while there!)

Love, Harry & Kathryn

PS Do me a favor and make “Owning 200 pair of Harry Mason Designer Jewelry earrings” one of your 100 Heart’s Desires on YOUR list! ;>)

PPS Remember as you are putting your list of 100 Heart’s Desires together, be sure to write BIG at the top of the page, “What would you do in life if you knew you could not fail?”

Every Moment, You have a Choice. Choose to be Happy. Do not let your circumstances dictate your feelings. BE HAPPY!

Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers! “Every Day in Every Way, I’m getting Better and Better!” I learned that phrase from Tony Robbins. He calls it an incantation, to me it’s like how Mother Theresa prays. She says, “I pray to God and then I roll up my sleeves and do God’s work.”

Earlier this year, I wasn’t sure if I would be well enough to be at the Harvest Festivals. Well… here it is with just one more, the Pomona Harvest Festival and I’m feeling okay! I’m not 100% but, I am way better than earlier this year. I still feel off balance and still have inflammation, but based on the research I have done all year online, I think they may be due to adrenal insufficiency. So, after the show this weekend, I’ll get working on resolving that.

Along the way, I have learned a lot.

1. When doctor’s give you a diagnosis, ask lot’s of questions and then go online to see if there may be another cause. (I was mis-diagnosed at least 4 times!)

2. Get a second and third opinion.

3. Go online and search for side effects of any prescribed drugs. The side effects are often worse than the condition!

4. Go online and search for “Natural Treatments” or “Alternative Treatments” for your symptoms.

5. And, MOST IMPORTANT! Do things that make you feel Happy and Energetic. Kathryn and I have always loved dancing, that’s how we met.

Her sister, Cheryl sent us a video of “The Jive Aces” a swing band from the U.K. Click HERE to see it. It starts a little slow, but then it really is FUN! Watching it got us started swing and Lindy Hop dancing again. And.. because of it, I bought a ukelele while in Hawaii and am learning to play it. We now listen to sing to and watch swing, jitterbug and lindy hop videos and dance every day.

Tony Robbins teaches that if you want to feel better, “change your state” Change your physiology (how you hold and move your body), change your Focus (what you think about) and change your Language (what you say to yourself and to others). Well… swing music and dancing helps me do all three! When I sing and dance, I feel GREAT! Tony also teaches that “The remedy for tiredness isn’t rest, it is whole hearted-ness.” It’s nearly impossible to sit still with swing music playing. And so, we dance and sing and feel better! Click HERE to see us dancing!

6. Be grateful for the blessings in your life, especially those you LOVE. And treat them SPECIAL! And here’s The Jive Aces singing “Nothing’s too good for my Baby” to remind you.

Enjoy! Blessing for the Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah. And… thank you once again for your prayers and suggestions and well wishes for my getting better.   —Love, Harry

Update… 10/2/12

I am feeling much better! Thank you to all who wished me well, prayed for me and sent me suggestions for resolving what has been ailing me. I added in some of them to my already long list of alternative treatments.

Kathryn and I spent some time in Hawaii at our “home away from home” Konea Oe at Honua Kai. We both ate healthy foods and exercised a lot. That helped me rebuild my stamina, so I will be ready for the Harvest Festivals. We also had body work done at an Active Release Technique Chiropractic office right across the street from our Maui home. WOW! that really helped with several issues I was having with tingling and numbness in my legs and feet. Thank you Dr. Heather Galen!

Unfortunately, we won’t be at the Ventura Harvest Festival. We had cancelled earlier in the year when I was still very ill. But, now I am feeling better, we plan to be at all the rest.

As I mentioned at the end of my previous post, it’s my intention to get better and… I am feeling much better! I am not “completely back to normal” at all, but, compared to how I have been, it is a huge improvement.

I am going to share a lot of details of what alternative treatments I have been using to help resolve the imbalance and inflammation I am experiencing. I am doing this since I am sure there are some other people with one or the other that may benefit from what I have learned.

I’ll start with the Inflammation… For the inflammation, traditional doctors could only offer a high dose of Prednisone, Hydrocortisone or Plaquinol to suppress the inflammation. Don’t get me me wrong, I appreciate that they were able to give me a temporary fix, but the side effects are horrendous, so it was my intention to first reduce it and then get off it completely by finding foods, supplements and herbs that treat the cause of the inflammation.

I am happy to say, the Inflammation issues are improving. Several people suggested getting on an eating plan that has more greens. I have actually been doing that since last May, raw greens and juices.

When we got back from Hawaii in April, after seeing multiple traditional doctors, I went to see a woman who does a Live Blood Cell Analysis. This is where they take a drop of your blood and show it to you enlarged 10,000 times on a computer screen. Each red blood cell looks about the size of a nickel on the screen. Wow! What an eye opener.

I had this done in 2006 at Tony Robbins Life Mastery course and my blood looked very good then. Well, this time, the plasma had lots of yeast cells (Candida), live and dead bacteria, acid waste and fibrinogen. All through 2011, I was having problems with my back. Late in 2011, I re-read “The pH Miracle” and several other books on the importance of eating foods that maintain a good acid/alkaline balance in your body. I tested myself and found I was extremely acidic, so much so that it could explain some of the symptoms I was having. As I switched to more alkalyzing foods, my back problems went away. So, when I was told that the inflammation was likely the result of having been over acidic for a prolonged period of time and that it would take 6 to 8 weeks to correct, it made a lot of sense to me. And that’s what I have been doing, eating foods and taking supplements, mostly raw greens plus MSM and Curcumin (the active ingredient in Turmeric) and micro-nutrients that alkalize my body.

By doing this, I have been able to reduce the medication hydrocortisone by 75%! I still have a way to go, but this is great progress.

Imbalance… this is still here. It’s a funny thing, I notice it more sometimes and less others. It’s mostly when I tip my head to one side or the other or when I am walking in a tight space like a narrow hallway. Or when I climb up on a ladder. I used to be able to stand on the top of a ladder and reach up on tip toe to change a light bulb. That’s how good my balance was. Not now. I have to hold on to keep from falling off.

But here’s the strange part. I am able to get on a Stand Up Paddle board, while in Hawaii and stay up without falling. It takes extreme focus, but I can do it.

Besides the long list of doctors, over the past 8 months, I’ve been to several physical therapists who have given me exercises to improve my balance.  I’ve been doing them and improving. The Physical Therapists have explained there are three systems in our body for balancing, Vestibular (inner ear), Visual (eyes) and Proprioceptive (muscles). When one is off, you can retrain your brain to take less notice of the signals from that system and use the other two more. And, that’s what I have been doing.

But, I’m not a good one for doing repetitive exercises, so, I have to find a way to make these exercises FUN! Well… while in Hawaii, I have an ideal combination. Stand Up Paddle Boarding takes lots of balancing, and it has always looked like FUN to me. I have wanted to do this for several years, but it always seemed something got in the way of me trying it. I was going to try this in February 2012, but was too ill to do it, so I was very excited that I am feeling well enough now to do it. It is FUN, but it is also a great workout and a great balancing exercise. And I still need lots of balance exercises!

Harry, Stand Up Paddle Boarding at Honua Kai, Lahaina, Maui

Given the imbalance issues I have had this past year, I was amazed that I was able to do this without falling. The power of will and intention, plus I had a great lesson from a friendly Hawaiian, Inaika.

Also, I had canoed before in a Hawaiian Outrigger canoe and had learned how to use a paddle properly. The idea is to use your body, not your arms. There is much more power in your core and back muscles. You can see a video of me in action at http://smu.gs/PijhWe

It’s strange, but I feel more balanced on the paddle board on the water than somtimes when I am walking on land. Perhaps it is because I do this early in the morning. Later in the day, when I am tired, the imbalance increases. And perhaps it is because I am so focused on balancing when I am on the paddle board. As all the masters say, “You get what you focus on.”

Right now, what I am focused on is improving my health, both the Imbalance issues and the Inflammation issues. And it is working!

Next weekend is the Pleasanton Harvest Festival.  http://www.harrymason.com/information/harvestfestivals/ Kathryn and I will be there. If you’re in the San Francisco Bay area, come on by to see what’s new. Doing the show… 4 days, will be a test to see how much I have improved… I’ll keep you posted.

Thank you again for your concern, well wishes, prayers and suggestions. Love, Harry

It wasn’t an easy decision to cancel two 2012 Harvest Festivals, Las Vegas and Ventura due to my less than perfect health. Kathryn and I have exhibited at almost every Harvest Festival for over 28 years! When I had cancer surgery in 2001, I missed the Harvest Festival that weekend, but was back at the show, stitches and all the next weekend.

We will miss our customers and friends in Las Vegas and Ventura, but hope you come to those shows to see all the other wonderful exhibitors. And, perhaps you can come to one of the other Harvest Festivals.

Exhibiting in those two environments would aggravate my conditions, putting other shows at risk.

And, it wasn’t an easy decision to announce that this year will likely be our last year at the Harvest Festivals. But, I have to put more of my focus on healing myself in 2013. Uncovering the source of my ill health and resolving it, plus preparing for and exhibiting at the 2013 Harvest Festivals is more than I can realistically do. For the past 10 months, I have spent almost half my time searching for the cause and the solution to regain my normal health.

You all, customers and friends are like family. We have seen some of you when you were little girls and your mothers bought you your first earring, one of our earwraps. And now, you are mothers yourselves, bringing your daughters for theirs. Thank you! We will truly miss you.

When we are young, we think we will live in good health, forever. Age creeps up on us and one day, we realize we are not immortal and those temporary aches and pains have now found a permanent lodging in our body.

I have always considered myself to be extremely fit and healthy, especially for my age. So, when I am less than that, I am not happy about it. I have always had great balance. I skate boarded and roller skated up and down the amazingly steep San Francisco hills with no problem at all. In fact, Kathryn’s and my first date involved me chasing her all over San Francisco on roller skates and her teaching me how to skate down those hills BACKWARDS!!! Yes, backwards… she learned how to do that from a master skater and she showed me… WOW did heads turn when we whizzed by!

So, it was a huge surprise and disappointment for me when, my sense of balance failed me in the first third of the 2011 Harvest Festival season with shows 9 to 10 hours per day, four days a week almost every week. I dealt with it, very few people noticed, since I was adept at recovering from starting to fall, having done that for so many years as a skate boarder and roller skater. After all, skate boarding and roller skating are really just a controlled form of falling. You go off balance and you recover, over and over.

What happened? On October 8, 2011, I awoke with a start, sat up in bed and the entire room appeared to be spinning. I felt as if I had a gyroscope in my head, so when I attempted to stand up, my head went one way and my body another. I felt weak. Was it a stroke? a heart attack? Kathryn called the Fire Department and an ambulance took me to the Emergency Room, where I was told it was Vertigo. I spent the night being observed and by next morning, the Vertigo was gone. I was released without the Vertigo, but with an off balance gait, an imbalance, somewhat like a mildly drunken sailor. Disconcerting to say the least, but not insurmountable.

It was the Harvest Festival season and I am a trooper, the show must go on and so, I put on a smile… “It’s show time!” I felt the imbalance the most when setting up and breaking down our display for each show. I had always jumped around like a monkey on our displays to set up the lighting and the photos. Now, I was slowly kneeling and climbing, holding tight to a support pole, so I wouldn’t tumble four feet to the concrete floor.

I also felt the imbalance when trying to walk through the crowded aisles at the Harvest Festivals. It took a huge effort on my part to not bump into people, like an out of control bumper car.

I have always been up for a challenge and at T. Harv Eker’s “Enlightened Warrior Training Camp”, I learned the warrior’s credo, “Bring it on!” to any challenge, so, after the shows ended in early December, I dove into the process of seeing one doctor after another after another trying to determine the cause of the imbalance and how to alleviate it.

None could determine the cause, in spite of poking prodding, blood and urine tests, MRI’s CT scans, X-Rays, etc. I was on a mission to find out the cause and eliminate it. I had to, not just for my sense of who I am as fit and healthy, but also because in February of 2012, I was planning on Stand Up Paddle Boarding while at our home away from home on Maui. I would need my balance back to do that!

In early 2011, I was running and jumping in a Parkour class and keeping up with 20 to 30 year olds. I was darn proud of myself, especially since I was 65 at the time. And now in early 2012 it is very different. I am just now beginning to come to terms with becoming eligible for and receiving Social Security and Medicare. OMG… I never considered that!

At my age, in tribal societies, I would have the title of Elder, which sounds so much more dignified and respectful than Senior Citizen.

In trying to tease out what was causing this imbalance, before I left for Maui, in February, I ordered a panel of blood tests from the Life Extension Institute. It was a wider range of tests than my insurance cost conscious doctor would order. When the test results came in, something else was amiss…

I had “way off the charts” inflammatory markers. My immune system was acting as if I had some really bad infection. Further testing determined that wasn’t the case. My immune system was attacking me. What was it like? My joints ached so bad, I could barely get out of bed to have Kathryn take me to the doctor. Every night, I was having fevers… 102 to 103, then chills. I would lay on the couch with wet face cloths and towels that we put in the freezer to bring down the fever so I could sleep. I couldn’t eat much, just drank a lot of iced fluids.

The doctor prescribed a Cortico-steroid to suppress the inflammatory immune response. It worked, but by the time it did, I had lost 18 pounds. Since I am usually around 125 lbs, an 18 pound loss was severe. And since I had almost no fat on my body, the loss was muscle, mostly in my legs. I became even weaker, in addition to my imbalance.

In prior visits to our home away from home, we usually walked our beach, (it’s not really ours, it’s a public beach, but we walk it as if it were ours) twice a day. Once just after Sunrise and once just before Sunset. It’s an over two mile walk, so we would walk four miles a day at the most beautiful and colorful times of the day.

This year, however, I could barely walk a mile a day and that only with a lot of pain.

As I mentioned, I am not one to walk away from a challenge and even if I wanted to, this was one I couldn’t walk away from, literally!

Since the doctors couldn’t tell me what was causing the imbalance and the inflammation, I searched online for possible answers. What was supposed to be a fun and adventurous vacation punctuated with some design and other work time had turned in to puzzle to solve. In spite of the beautiful location right on the beach, at times I felt like a convalescent in a nursing home.

Looking in the mirror was a shock. Over a few weeks, it looked like I had aged 10 years!

Insurance covered most of the costs, but I personally have spent over $15,000 on traditional and alternative diagnostics and treatments. And, now, 10 months later, the imbalance and the inflammatory response persists and in spite of seeing more than eleven medical doctors, both specialists and general practitioners, several chiropractors, and seven alternative health practitioners, I am only slightly closer to understanding the cause or the remedy. In spite of CT’s MRI’s, blood tests, etc., I and the doctors only have an idea of what it wasn’t. It wasn’t a stroke, it likely wasn’t due to a bacterial infection.

I know many people have far worse ailments than I have. I have developed a deeper understanding and compassion for them through my facing my challenges.

I am in what is called “The Third Age”. “The First Age” is about acquiring knowledge. “The Second Age” is about acquiring wealth and material goods with the knowledge learned in The First Age. The Third Age is about acquiring wisdom and knowledge of the self. When one is no longer occupied with acquiring material goods, one can pause and ask oneself, WHY?

I am better than I was earlier this year. A combination of non-traditional treatments have led to the improvements, but I still have a long way to go. A good part of the treatment involves multiple natural supplements and a very specific mostly raw green diet, three times a day. Very challenging when on the road at the Harvest Festival. But as I said, before, I am up to challenges, so… “bring it on!”

I look forward to seeing you this year at the Harvest Festivals! Click here for the Harvest Festival Schedule and Discount Coupons. Don’t worry, I won’t look sickly. I actually feel pretty good. It’s just that I don’t think I have the endurance or the stamina I had in the past for the four long days and nights.

In 2013, I hope you will visit us online and in San Francisco at our PIER 39 store.

It is my intention to get fit and healthy again!  —Harry

to be continued…

Have you ever wondered why people don’t lose weight even though they drink so called “Diet Drinks”? Sylvia Booth Hubbard explains in the article below, and when you read how damaging “Diet Drinks” are, I think you’ll stop drinking them. Your body is the Temple of Your Soul. Treat it with respect.

Ditch Colas and Other Soft Drinks Now!  By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

Monday, February 6, 2012 4:42 PM  © 2012 Newsmax. All rights reserved. http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/headline_health/colas_soft_drinks/2012/02/06/432182.html

If you love soft drinks but have switched to diet versions because of health fears, well, put down that diet drink — now! A new study found that a single can of diet soda a day increases the risk of heart disease by 43 percent and can cause liver damage similar to that seen in alcoholics.

It’s obvious that as a nation, we are addicted to soft drinks. Consumption is approaching a quart each day for every man, woman, and child, according to the National Soft Drink Association. And it’s taking a tremendous toll on our health. The most obvious effect, in the opinion of many experts, is the soaring rate of obesity.

The latest research, conducted the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Columbia University Medical Center, is only the latest in a long string of studies showing that carbonated soft drinks — both sugar-sweetened and sugar-free — are ruining our health.

Health problems linked to soft drinks include:

• Obesity. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that every can or bottle of soft drink a person drinks each day increases their risk of being overweight by 41 percent. Children are at special risk: A British study found that if fructose is present in a child’s body, it will cause more cells to mature into belly fat cells when the child’s fat cells mature.

High-fructose corn syrup seems to be more at fault for weight gain than regular sugar: Researchers at Princeton University found that rats who were fed high-fructose corn syrup gained 47 percent more weight than rats who were fed an equal number of calories, but without corn syrup. And switching from sugar-sweetened to diet soft drinks doesn’t provide protection from weight gain, either. The researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center found that people who drink diet soft drinks don’t lose weight; they gain. Their risk of obesity was even higher than those who drank sugary sodas.

• Diabetes. Women who drink one sugary soda a day double their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes when compare with women who drank less than one a month, suggests a study from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. And research from the Framingham Heart Study found that drinking one or more sodas a day, whether regular or diet, increases the risk of metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors which increases the odds of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Rutgers researchers point the finger at high-fructose corn syrup, an ingredient in most sugar-sweetened sodas, believing it may initiate a series of events in the body that leads to diabetes.

• Pancreatic cancer: Drinking two or more soft drinks a week almost doubles the risk of developing pancreatic cancer compared to people who do not drink them. Senior author Mark Pereira and colleagues followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years. They found that those who consumed two or more soft drinks per week (averaging five per week) had an 87 percent increased risk compared with individuals who did not drink sodas. The researchers found no link between fruit juice consumption and pancreatic cancer. “The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth,” said Pereira.

• Premature aging. The phosphates in colas and other soft drinks that give them their tangy bite can cause premature aging, according to researchers at Harvard University who found that sodas upset the balance of phosphate in the body and accelerate aging by causing skin and muscles to shrivel. They also damage the heart and kidneys. “Soda is the caffeine delivery vehicle of choice for millions of people worldwide, but comes with phosphorous as a passenger,” said Dr. Gerald Weissmann, editor in chief of the FASEB Journal. “This research suggests that our phosphorous balance influences the aging process, so don’t tip it.”

• Osteoporosis. Phosphoric acid, which give drinks their “bite,” leaches calcium from bones, and diet sodas are just as much at fault as those sweetened with sugar. Researchers at Walter Reed Medical Center found that diet sodas drain both calcium and phosphorous from the bones of healthy women, putting them at risk for osteoporosis. And several studies have found a strong association between bone fractures and the amount of colas consumed by teen girls.

• Dental problems. In addition to the increased risk of cavities by the sugar in soft drinks, phosphoric acid — present in all “fizzy” drinks — causes tooth enamel to erode by changing the pH of saliva, leaving yellow teeth that are more prone to decay. Dr. Judith Valentine told the Weston A. Price Foundation that dentists from all over the country were reporting teen patients whose front teeth had been completely eroded by the acids in sodas.

• Fertility. Danish researchers found that men who were heavy cola drinkers — a quart or more a day — lowered their sperm counts by 30 percent when compared to those men who didn’t drink cola. And a study funded by the European Union found that just one diet cola a day increased the risk of miscarriage by 38 percent. Moms who drank four or more colas a day raised their risk by up to 78 percent.

• Esophageal cancer. When sodium benzoate, used for mold prevention in many soft drinks, is mixed with vitamin C, it creates a carcinogenic substance called benzene. Researchers at India’s Tata Memorial Hospital found a “very significant correlation” between soft drinks and an increased risk of esophageal cancer.

• Kidney stones. The same phosphate that rots teeth and leaches calcium from the body has been proposed as a contributing factor in the formation of kidney stones. And a study published in the journal Epidemiology found that drinking two or more colas daily — regular or artificially sweetened — doubled the risk of chronic kidney disease.

• GI problems. Studies have shown that people who drink sodas suffer more from gastroesophageal reflux disease than those people who didn’t drink sodas. Sodas boost acid levels and often require medication. Sodas also cause other gastrointestinal problems. “Sodas contain an array of chemical acids as additives, such as acetic, fumaric, gluconic, and phosphoric acids, all of them synthetically produced,” Dr. Judith Valentine told the Global Healing Center. “Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of the stomach and other gastric linings, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid environment can lead to inflammation of the stomach and duodenal lining which becomes quite painful. Over the long term, it can lead to gastric lining erosion.”

• Cholesterol. A study published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, found that people who drank one or more soft drinks each day were 25 percent more likely to develop high blood triglycerides (a type of fat linked to cardiovascular disease), and 32 percent more likely to have low levels of “good” cholesterol.

• Gout. Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and Harvard Medical School in Boston found that men who consumed the highest levels of fructose, which is found in large amounts in sugar-sweetened cola, more than doubled their chances of getting gout.

• High blood pressure. Researchers from the University of Colorado in Denver found that drinking the equivalent of 2.5 soft drinks a day increased the risk of having a systolic blood pressure reading of 160 or higher by 77 percent. Another study of volunteers who consumed 74 grams of fructose daily, the equivalent amount found in four soft drinks, showed that a third of them had borderline high blood pressure, and 8 percent had hypertension, even though none had experienced blood pressure problems.

• Brain disorders. More than 92 side effects are associated with aspartame, a sugar substitute used in diet sodas. They include brain tumors, emotional disorders, and epileptic seizures. In addition, sodium benzoate has the ability to switch off vital parts of a person’s DNA, according to research from a British university. The result could eventually cause cirrhosis of the liver and other degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s. A study at Georgia State University found that a diet high in fructose impaired the memory of rats.

• Liver damage. An Israeli study found that people who drink more than four cups of sweetened beverages a day increase their odds of developing fatty liver disease by 500 percent. According to researchers, fructose is the culprit. Fatty liver disease can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. © 2012 Newsmax. All rights reserved. From: http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/headline_health/colas_soft_drinks/2012/02/06/432182.html

I remember a very successful business person, when asked his philosophy of life, answered, “work hard, play harder!”

And that’s what we do… We work hard throughout the year. And play harder after the end of the year.

If you are a small business owner, you know that you have the toughest boss in the whole world… yourself. My dad owned a hardware store when we were kids and the two strongest memories are #1 All of us waiting outside the store on Sunday for him to run into the store so a regular customer could get a bag of nails or a pipe to fix a leak, before we could go out to Sunday dinner.

The #2 strongest memory was that we went out to Sunday dinner a lot, so it must have paid off for my dad to help out a customer on Sunday before going to dinner! I guess my dad subscribed to the “work hard, play harder!” ethic, too.

So… when February comes around and it’s rainy and gloomy and cold in San Francisco, our bags are already packed for Hawaii! We have been just about everywhere in the islands. Oahu, Kauai, The Big Island, Lanai… We love all the islands and our current favorite, Maui. After all, Kathryn and I were Mauied… married on Maui.

And in 2011, we found our “home away from home” Konea Oe, our fabulous 2 bedroom 8th floor condo, right on the ocean! And… it was ON SALE! So… we bought it! Couldn’t pass up a great Sale!

And what do we do when we get there? Well… the first few days after stocking up the refrigerator, we SLEEP a lot! Sometimes 10 or 12 hours at a stretch… get up, have a snack, maybe a walk on the beach at sunset and then it’s back to SLEEP, making up for all the sleep we missed while working so hard during the year passed.

Then the “Play Harder” part starts. This year, we are REALLY going to learn how to navigate on the stand up paddle boards. We said we were last year, but it was only a New Years Resolution… we didn’t commit to it. I have found that unless I commit to something… it often doesn’t happen. Commitment gets the Providence on your side working with you. This year I am committed to do stand up paddle boarding.

Do you have a list of “100 Heart’s Desires you want to do before you die”? That’s a great place to start for your list of “Play Harder” activities. If you don’t have a list of 100, start with a list of 10. Oh… and here is the game… every time you achieve one of the 100 Heart’s Desires on your list, you add another.

That way, you’ll always have 100 Heart’s Desires to do before you die. What a great incentive to live a long healthy life!

And, by having them on a written list, there is really no need to make New Years Resolutions. All you have to do is choose the 3 or 4 that you will focus on in the coming year and Commit to them!

So, what do we do when we’re in Hawaii, besides relax and have FUN? Well.. our time in Hawaii is recreation, we like to think of it as re-creation. We re-create ourselves for the New Year. After a hard day of “Playing Harder” we reflect on what we accomplished in the past year that was meaningful to us. And we start to create and plan the New Year.

We don’t bother with New Years Resolutions. Those are usually things you (or someone else) thinks you SHOULD be doing, like “I should lose weight” or I shouldn’t have a 4th glass of wine.” Wayne Dyer and Tony Robbins both say, “Stop Shoulding on yourself ;>)”

If you have a list of 100 Heart’s Desires you want to do before you die, that EXCITE you, REALLY EXCITE you, that you have powerful reasons for WHY you want to do them, you won’t need those UnFUN New Years Resolutions. Everything you do to accomplish the things on your list are easier to do since they are bringing you closer to your “Heart’s Desires”

The feeling of Success comes from the moment by moment noticing of your ability to produce results. Another way of saying that is that the feeling of Success comes from the moment by moment noticing of your ability to give and keep your word, to yourself and others, because the ability to produce results is directly proportional to your ability to give and keep your word and manage that others do the same with you.

So… whatever you do, don’t make New Years Resolutions that you likely won’t keep. You won’t feel successful. Instead, say what you absolutely WILL do. Give your word and keep it and you will feel amazingly successful.

Make 2012 your most amazing, most awesome, most inspiring, most FUN, most exciting year ever!

PS Do me a favor and make “Owning 200 pair of Harry Mason Designer Jewelry earrings” one of your 100 Heart’s Desires on YOUR list! ;>)

PPS Remember as you are putting your list of 100 Heart’s Desires together, be sure to write BIG at the top of the page, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

Samuel Beckett wrote a play, “Waiting for Godot” In it they are waiting for Godot. But… Godot never comes.

Waiting for Happiness?

When I am fed, then I will be Happy

When I get a new toy, then I will be Happy

When I get out of school and go play, then I will be Happy

When they notice me, then I will be Happy

When I get a girl/boyfriend, then I will be Happy

When I go away to college, then I will be Happy

When I am 21, then I will be Happy

When I get a job, then I will be Happy

When I get a cool car, then I will be Happy

When I discover my right livelihood, then I will be Happy

When I find my soul mate, then I will be Happy

When I have children, then I will be Happy

When I have a beautiful home, then I will be Happy

When I have a home in the country, then I will be Happy

When my kids are old enough to move out, then I will be Happy

When I have grandchildren, then I will be Happy

When I take a round the world trip, then I will be Happy

When I am financially independent, then I will be Happy

When I beat this illness, then I will be Happy

When I retire, then I will be Happy

When I leave this old and worn out body, then I will be Happy

The lesson… What are YOU waiting for to be Happy?

Be Happy Now, don’t wait for it. Happiness is a Journey, not a Destination.

Here’s a process to uncover all the reasons why you aren’t Happy all the time. Remember… You can be Happy or you can have the reasons why you’re not Happy!

Write this, filling in all the people, places, experiences and things in your life that you have been waiting for to make you Happy.

When I  (fill in the blank), then I will be Happy.

After you have written them all out, draw a line through each and say, I am Happy, NOW!

Ask yourself, How does “Happy” feel? Remember a time when you were extremely Happy. How did it FEEL? How did you hold your body? What were you thinking about? What were you saying to yourself and others?

Then, hold your body that way. Think those thoughts and Speak those words. You’ll start feeling Happy!

Before I remembered this, for a while I panicked. I couldn’t see a future for myself. It was only when I remembered that I am authoring my life that I could own that I had authored it to be the way it is. And most importantly, that I can author it to be the way I want it to be.

I did a “rewrite” from, “I had it all and by not paying attention to it and honoring it, I lost it all.” to, “I am learning how to create a future that calls me forth.”

Never Give Up… Always Keep Going! Happiness is a journey, not a destination. Sometimes it’s a rollercoaster ride… when it is, hold on tight, smile and yell “Wahoo” at the top of your lungs… and remember a time you felt extremely Happy and… Rewrite Your Future and… BE Happy ;>)

What would you do in Life if you knew you could not fail?

What a great question to ask yourself as you prepare for the New Year. 2012 has been played up in the media as the Mayan “end time” a period of cataclysmic, catastrophic change.

I prefer to think of it as a period of the birth of a new conscious. We have been going through the birthing pangs. We have experienced many Breakdowns over the past 5 years. We have all experienced, too, that we are all more connected than ever. What happens half way around the globe is communicated almost instantly via social media, twitter, facebook and others. We have truly become a global community.

2012 has the potential to be a year of Breakthroughs.

However… I believe it will take a conscious effort to realistically look at what got us into the mess we are in and what is keeping us in it and move in a new direction.

And when we look, ask let’s ask ourselves… “Did the person I voted for keep their word?” “Did they take responsibility for the course of events or did they blame others?

Then, vote for people who have a record of keeping their word.

When enough of us do that, we will have a Breakthrough.

June 21st is the 41st Anniversary of Harry Mason Designer Jewelry.  If you read this post last year, bear with me, I thought I would add a little more this year, (red color text) because in looking back, we have all “come a long way Baby!”

It didn’t start as Harry Mason Designer Jewelry, it started with me living in the back of my store, HM Sunrise down the street from the “No Exit Coffee House” in Rogers Park, Chicago, IL and I was a HIPPIE! The store hours were 3PM to 3AM same as the Coffee House, since most of my customers were late night frequenters of that establishment.

When Kathryn looked at this photo from my Hippie days, she said, “SCARY!” I wasn’t scary. I wasn’t even Harry then. Everyone knew me as ACE. I won my first speed ice skating race and my friends gave me that nickname and it stuck for years, until I moved to California in the 80′s to begin a new life.

Whew! I do look kind of scary! But back in 1970, a lot of people looked SCARY! Peace Love, Man, Far Out!

I actually started doing tie dye. You name it, I tie dyed it. T-Shirts, Bed Sheets, Pants, I even made a tie dyed flag. It was pretty cool.

But along the way I got attracted to metal work, first mobiles, then jewelry.

When I moved to California, I packed up my samples of the tie dye and the mobiles and the jewelry from those days and embarked on a new career. There are probably only a few of you who know that when I arrived in San Francisco, I decided to become a dance instructor! Disco was hot, hot, hot… Saturday Night fever caused that and within a short time, I was teaching Disco, Ballroom and New Wave dance. (Remember New Wave music?)

While doing that, I got connected up with some other dance instructors who were also Performance Artists (remember Performance Artists?) They were putting on shows in clubs doing a dance/theatre/comedy review of the 50′s, 60′s, 70′s and 80′s. They invited me and “The Rhythm Methods” (remember the rhythm method?) put on shows all over San Francisco.

That’s me and Suzy Miller, one of the founders of the group dancing our 50′s style jitterbug.

And that’s me on stage as a Hippie in the 60′s along with my “bombed” friends, David, Gus, Jose and Diane.

And me as “Secret Agent Man” (remember that song”) with Christie, Suzy and Shanda, the other founder of “The Rhythm Methods”.

Of course Kathryn and I were going out dancing then… after all, that’s how we met… at “The Rhythm Methods” photographer’s party for his clients. Kathryn was a client, too, she had a modeling school then.

It was a wild and crazy time. One of our shows was called “It’s My Party” (remember that song?)

And… it was a party! Here was the whole group, Shanda, Diane, Peter, Jose, Christie, David, Gus, Suzy and me… and what a party it was!

 

Here are some more photos from that era: “The Rhythm Method” Photos.

 

 

 

 

So… how did I get from dance instructor and performance artist to Harry Mason Designer Jewelry? Well… (remember designer jeans?) To be continued…

What else do you remember from the 80′s? Tell me what you were doing? New Wave dancer? Urban Cowboy or Cowgirl? Were you a punk rocker? Or did you look at them and shake your head in wonder?

Be sure to add a comment here and I’ll send you a surprise gift! Won’t that be FUN! What were you doing in the early 1980′s?

That was over 30 years ago, so we may as well celebrate! We have some very Special Offers on our Web site www.harrymason.com to put you in high spirits. We have come a long way… Baby!

Harry (aka Hippie Harry, Secret Agent Man, The Robot (remember “We are the Robots”?)

Harry Mason Designer Jewelry