There are two indisputable facts about high-intensity interval training: First, it's incredibly good for you, offering more health benefits in a shorter time frame than any other exercise. Second, it sucks. To see those big gains you have to really push yourself, which is kind of the point, sure. But it can be painfula reality that puts a lot of people off these kinds of hard-core workouts. According to a new study published in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, there's a mental trick that can help your HIIT workouts feel better in the moment and help you stay inspired to keep coming to class and commit to this style of exercise.

Researchers took 100 college football players for a month during their peak pre-season trainingthe period when they were doing the most and toughest high-intensity workoutsand offered half of them mindfulness and meditation training while the other half got relaxation training. They then measured the players' cognitive functions and emotional well-being before and after workouts. Both groups showed improvements over players who didn't do any type of active mental rest, but the mindfulness group showed the greatest benefits, increasing their ability to stay focused during the high-demand intervals. In addition, both groups reported less anxiety and more positive emotions about their workoutsan impressive takeaway considering athletes at this level can certainly experience burnout from all the training.

There is one important trick to note, however: The players had to consistently practice the mental exercises to see the benefits in their physical exercises. So basically, one session of mediation isn't going to cut it. The players who saw the most improvement practiced meditation nearly every day over the four-week study period. And the most powerful effect was seen in players who practiced both meditation and relaxation exercises. The more they did them, the less stressful their workouts felt and the happier they felt afterward. Not only that, but they felt happier about their lives overall, showing the importance of mental rest and control for not just HIIT workouts, but for general and overall well-being.

"Just as physical exercise must be performed with regularity to train the body for performance success, mental exercises must be practiced with regularity to benefit the athlete's attention and well-being," the researchers concluded in their paper.

The best part? This is one of those tricks that can work just as well for regular athletes (yes, YOU are an athlete) as it does for collegiate sports starsand you don't have to figure it out on your own. For a complete course, try out one of the new classes popping up around the country that incorporate both HIIT workouts and meditation. Or for a simpler method, try using music to focus your mind away from the pain during a HIIT workout. Never meditated before? Try this 20-minute guided meditation for beginners. Whether on your own, in a class, or with an audio guide, just make sure you do it regularly. You'll be surprised just how much you can actually enjoy burpees.

The rest is here:

The Secret to Crushing a HIIT Workout Is Meditation - Shape Magazine

Its become a common conception that during meditation practice you are somehow supposed to stop thinking.

False.

The mind is a thinking machine, a problem solver, and its a tool just doing what it was brilliantly designed to do. The minds only doing its thing so good luck with ever trying to shut it off completely as this may require getting a full lobotomy.

If during meditation your primary focus becomes controlling the mind and preventing its attempts to think, ironically youve actually only caused the mind to think even more because now youve just given the mind a problem it believes it needs to solve. So if what Ive described is acommon, reoccurring dilemma for you, I highly suggest instead of the whole non-thinking approach you try something different and that beingallowing the mind to be and just do what it was designed to do.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking and the thoughts you have are not the problem either.

The real issue lies in your inability to choose and believe one thought you have over another. For its the thoughts you choose to attach to that become the prominent stories you tell yourself and formulate the belief structures that construct who you think you are, why you feel the way you do, and your general overview on life and how you perceive everything and everyone else in it. And be honest, some of these stories youve attached to and sold yourself as true, hands-over-fist, are downright destructive to your well-being more than others.

Meditations primary purpose is simply practicing to detach from your thoughts and learning to play the role of the observer.

Through observing the mind we are able to see firsthand the stories, methods, and patterns the mind uses to manipulate the perceptions we hold about ourselves, other people, situations, and events. By learning the minds tactics, we can then apply this knowledge outside of meditation and into our daily lives after now clearly being able to differentiate and separate ourselves from the false notion that somehow we are slaves to its neurotic antics.

In other words, meditation is a practice allowing you to become quite skilled in deciphering when its just your mind doing its thing, and possibly more importantly, meditation gives you the priceless insight that whatever the mind is doing is outside of what you are, and with this knowledge you can quickly detach and release from any story that may cause you pain.

The result is that life gradually becomes far less stressful once youve acquired an inept ability to decipher between what was just another story of the mind and what is actual, true reality.

Meditation is the practice of observing your thoughts for the insane comedy show that they can be, then learning not to become emotionally involved and take them so seriously.

There is no wrong way to meditate.

Meditation can become a far more relaxing ordeal for you by simply choosing to release control and allowing whatever thoughts, feelings and emotions wanting to bubble to the surface come up without attaching any judgment. Then just as easily as you allowed everything to come up, now allow it to release without feeling the need to apply a meaning or story to any of it.

You just need to chill homie and just learn to let go of whatever came to visit you without a single hitch involved. Because trying to stop thinking during meditation will drive you crazy.

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Jared Ciofalo aka "The SoulTrekker, is the Founder/CEO of "SoulTrekker: Intuitive Guidance Channeling the Heart's Truth," Spiritual Counselor, Session Facilitator, Channel of Truth, Featured Writer for The Good Men Project and The Holistic Journal, Raw, Uncut Video Blogger and YouTube Channel Extraordinaire. Leaders create more leaders, and true leaders have heart. Jared's heart is blown open and he is unafraid of sharing his miraculous gifts with all of you.

Connect with him on the following social media: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+

Excerpt from:

The Greatest Myth About Meditation that will Drive You Crazy - The Good Men Project (blog)

millennial Americans By Kelsey Dallas | July 10, 2017

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY Thomas McConkie sits in a tall, straight-backed chair, the sleeves of his crisp, button-down shirt rolled up to his elbows. He smiles at men and women in sandals, T-shirts and summer dresses, who watch him from two sections of chairs in the center of the room.

Were just a bunch of adults out on the town doing a little mindfulness, McConkie jokes, referring to the activities hell soon lead. Nothing unusual about it.

Meditation groups may not be unique, but this gathering is. McConkie, an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is also trained in Buddhist mindfulness, is pushing the boundaries of traditional religious practice, helping people of varied faith backgrounds use meditation to deepen their spiritual lives.

We are not here to tell people whether they should continue in their religious tradition or not. We want to provide space and practice where they can come to a new level of honesty and truthfulness within themselves, McConkie said in an interview, referring to his meditation community, Lower Lights Sangha.

McConkies group meditation work recently caught the attention of a couple of Harvard Divinity School scholars who invited him to apply to a conference they hosted in December. He was one of 80 leaders gathered there to discuss the future of faith and community building at a time when organized religion ison the decline.

People meditate as they listen to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

The conference was part of a broader effort, to understand where millennial Americans go to find community and how leaders like McConkie can expand the spiritual offerings of traditional churches.

Were really thinking about how to help build bridges between what has been and what is coming into being, said Angie Thurston a ministry innovation fellow at Harvard.

McConkie, 37, didnt set out to create a spiritual haven for millennials in Salt Lake City. He arrived a year too early for that generation, but grew up with the same sort of discomfort with organized religion thats linked to Americans born between 1980 and 1996.

Born into a blue-blooded LDS family with relatives that included high-level church leaders, McConkie left the faith as a teenager, spending his 20s traveling and working in Europe and Asia while studying Buddhism and developing a meditation practice. It took more than 15 years for him to make peace with his Mormon upbringing and to realize he wasnt done with the faith.

Olivia Knudsen listens to Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights as he leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

It was my Buddhist meditation practice that helped deepen my understanding of Christianity and deepen my Christian faith, he said.

McConkie moved back to Salt Lake City almost five years ago, ready to reconnect with family members and old friends. Some expressed interest in learning more about meditation, and Lower Lights Sangha, which launched formally in September 2016, grew out of years of smaller gatherings in McConkies home.

The meditation community is open to anyone, but around two-thirds of the 80 attendees at a recent meeting in June appeared younger than 40.

McConkie said his efforts to deepen faith by drawing on diverse religious practices likely resonates best with millennials.

Theres a huge need, especially in the millennial generation, to start to explore whats beyond partisan and religious divides, he said.

Around 1 in 3 millennials are religiously unaffiliated. Graphic courtesy of Deseret News

Around 1 in 3 millennials are religious nones, meaning they dont affiliate with a particular faith group, according to thePew Research Center. Many of these religiously unaffiliated Americans believe in God and pray regularly but dont want to stick within the limits of a single faith.

Various practices are being unbundled and remixed in peoples individual, spiritual lives, Thurston said.

McConkie begins Lower Lights Sanghas monthly gatherings with a brief breathing exercise. Chairs squeak and groan as people adjust their posture and clear their minds.

I want to invite you for a moment to do absolutely nothing, McConkie says, the words delivered slowly and deliberately in a deep, soothing voice.

Next, McConkie offers a brief description of his meditative philosophy, which blends Buddhist practice with developmental psychology. He asks people to introduce themselves to their neighbor, encouraging them to share what made them want to meditate.

The main event during the two-hour meeting is a group meditation. McConkie asks people to move their chairs into circles of four or five, then provides speaking prompts.

Participants complete sentences like Something you dont know about me is with stories from their own lives, describing their siblings, favorite vacation spots or how lost theyve felt for the last 12 months.

As people sit in their circles, sharing and listening, McConkie strolls around the room, a smile playing on his lips.

A calm has settled over the room since he cracked his mindfulness joke. Hes successfully ushered another group into deeper awareness of themselves and others.

Group members break off into smaller groups and greet each other as Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

McConkie said nurturing new connections and growth is one of his strengths. The spiritual side of Lower Lights Sanghas work comes naturally to him; the business aspects of community building are a little trickier.

What I noticed at the December gathering (at Harvard) is that some people are brilliant social entrepreneurs (and) killer marketers. At Lower Lights, I would not say our strength is our business model or marketing plan, he said.

All 80 leaders invited to the Harvard conference lead some kind of community, which organizers defined as a group of people who know each other, care for each other and work together to weather lifes storms. These leaders came from sacred and secular contexts, including art cooperatives, fitness studios and faith groups that meet at bars.

The focus in putting that gathering together was trying to understand what these leaders need, Thurston said.

Conversations centered on issues like funding, overcoming conflict and maintaining relationships even as a community grows. People leading secular groups were encouraged to think about how they could support members spiritually, while leaders from religious contexts like McConkie brainstormed ways to track membership and increase their impact.

I came back from Harvard in December and said we have got to tighten up the organizational side of what were doing, McConkie said.

Over the past six months, he and his team have designed a website and debated the type of nonprofit corporation they should form.

McConkie also had the chance to pick the brains of other leaders, who continue to support him from across the country. Although they were only together for a few days, the 80 leaders and others brought in to advise the conference quickly became their own community, listening and responding to one anothers needs.

These relationships provide for them what theyre providing for others, said the Rev. Sue Phillips, a Unitarian Universalist clergy member who helped organize the conference.

Thurston, working alongside Harvard ministry innovation fellow Casper ter Kuile, said their work grew out of a shared sense that reports on the decline of organized religion were missing the real story: the rise of new types of communities.

Theres such a sense of doom and gloom within religious institutions. But we see an inspiring story of how people are coming together. We want to tell that story, ter Kuile said.

Thomas McConkie of Lower Lights leads a group in mediation and discussion in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 14, 2017. Photo by Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News

The pair have published aseries of reportsoutlining how millennials build community at gyms and dinner party forums, and offer tips for how established faiths can evolve to attract younger members.

Were trying to navigate between institutions and the growing number of young people who are finding different ways in which to bring belonging and meaning to their lives, ter Kuile said.

New developments at the fringes of a faith group can sometimes create a crisis of authority, as more established religious leaders worry about shifts in practice.

Denominational leaders must search for a way to welcome new initiatives like a social justice group or service-oriented gathering without compromising leadership training or core teachings.

Whats emerging asks us to be different, a new us,' Phillips said. The truth is that a lot of denominations focus on propagating the us that they currently are.

Phillips urges clergy members to embrace novel ideas and be patient when there are bumps in the road.

The most powerful things traditional leaders can do is come alongside these innovators and say yes at every junction, she said.

Lower Lights Sangha is not linked with the LDS Church, beyond McConkies and some participants involvement in the religion.

McConkie said Mormon doctrine and practices inspire his meditation and vice versa, and he believes his meditation community calls to younger Mormons looking for new ways to express their faith.

Were discovering new truths together in community. I hope how we evolve is in service of what the church is trying to do and how its trying to grow, McConkie said.

At the end of Junes Lower Lights gathering, McConkie invited people to shout out what they were feeling. Some said they were grateful, happy and feeling connected to everyone around them.

One woman shouted: Im feeling like I should have come months ago.

(Kelsey Dallas writes for The Deseret News)

Read more:

What a Mormon doing Buddhist meditation has to do with the future of faith - Religion News Service

This column discusses the plot, and ethical dilemmas, of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Spider-Man: Homecoming, which zipped into theaters last weekend, is almost everything a summer blockbuster should be: Its very funny without using humor as an excuse to be less than emotionally accessible; its super-sized throw-downs are anchored in real, human-scale conflicts; its world is richly populated with characters who arent solely defined by their powers or lack thereof; and it resists the urge to revisit the most famous story beats associated with its title characters origin story. All of these elements made Spider-Man only the second blockbuster this year Im eager to rewatch as soon as possible. And another element has left me thinking of it with more than mere amusement: Spider-Man: Homecoming is at its most poignant when its concerned with how to be a good person often, specifically, a good man.

Superhero movies by their nature tend to be at least lightly ethically engaged: If nothing else, when you figure out you have powers or the means to build them, you have to choose whether youre going to be a hero or a villain. Both the DC and Marvel universes have tended to situate the moral development of their characters in the context of larger conflicts.

The DC universe is concerned with what happens when humans receive definitive proof that God, or at least godlike figures, are real. For Superman (Henry Cavill), emerging as a demigod requires him to discern the right path: Can he kill? Is it more appropriate to sacrifice? Batman (Ben Affleck) attempts to reassert human influence and the primacy of human morality in the universe by ensuring that supremely powerful beings cant run roughshod over ordinary people without consequences. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is driven mad by his sense of what is coming.

Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe also includes actual gods from Norse mythology, most prominently Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), its ethical conflicts have tended to play out on the more quotidian level of regulation. For Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), the question has often been to what extent he can regulate himself, his companies and the world at large, and at what point government regulation becomes necessary. (Spider-Man: Homecoming sharpens, but does not resolve, the long-lingering question of how much Tonys efforts are driven by genuine decency versus the profits he gains from new lines of technology and disaster clean-up.) Captain America (Chris Evans), by contrast, is driven by a strong internal moral compass from an earlier age and a suspicion that government can regulate morality with nuance and discernment.

WhatDCs excellent Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming have in common is that they zoom in more closelyon the moral development of individuals during important inflection points in their lives. Outside forces matter, of course, though the scenarios are a little different: Wonder Woman is set during Dianas (Gal Gadot) first foray into the outside world, decades before the events that will introduce her to Bruce Wayne. And Spider-Man: Homecoming focuses on a teenage hero (Tom Holland) who is auditioning to become an Avenger, and sees new super-suits and brawls at the Berlin airport as opportunities for unboxing videos and life-casting.

Neither movieadvocates a withdrawal from worldly concerns in pursuit of private moral purity; in fact, Wonder Woman suggests that Wonder Womans seclusion is a heartbroken response to horror that is itself a kind of tragedy. But both suggest that its worth taking a pause to examine what great events do to our small, solitary selves. World-scale problems deserve considered responses. We shouldnt lose track ofour own quests for goodness in the process.

What makes Adrian Toomes, who becomes Spider-Mansmost significant antagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the Vulture, such a compelling villain isnt simply a crackling performance by Michael Keaton. Rather, its that the Vultures clear-sighted analysis of the world Tony Stark and the other Avengers have created leads him to a morally destructive conclusion with devastating consequences for the people he wants to protect and for the world at large.

The Vultures anxieties, to use the parlance of contemporary politics, are both cultural and economic.

Things are never going to be the same now, he muses after the events of The Avengers, which end with Lokis rampage through New York. When I was a kid, I used to draw cowboys and Indians.Though a member of his demolition crew points out that the preferred term is Native Americans, the Vulture-to-be is referring more to the scale of the conflict than to its racial dynamics, and in that, he is entirely correct. His resentment sharpens when he learns that the disaster cleanup has been federalized, and that Tony, the man who helped make this mess possible, is going to get the contracts to do the work that others were counting on for their livelihoods. For all the parallels Marvel movies have drawn to other conflicts, the Vultures acid breakdown of the situation is one of the sharper critiques the franchise has ever offered of Tonys brand of newly benevolent capitalism.

If the Vulture is the character in Spider-Man who sees the larger picture most clearly, his response to it is the petty and sad self-justification of any mobster who has vowed that he is simply buying his family a better life. He stays in the salvage business, turning alien technology into weaponry for sale to criminals who want to pull off increasingly daring heists. Its a business that makes him wealthy: The Vulture and his family retreat to quasi-suburban splendor, even as the weapons the Vulture puts on the streets tend to escalate crime dramatically. Suddenly, an ATM robbery can blow up an entire bodega.I just need something to stick up somebody, not send them back in time, small-time crook Aaron Davis (Donald Glover) observes, unnerved. The Vulture diagnosed Tony and then became him on a smaller scale. He holds off his familys financial ruin but ends up exposing them to greater ruination and shame when his criminal enterprises are exposed and he is apprehended.

The Vultures ultimate demise doesnt necessarily prove his analysis wrong: Tonys vastly greater wealth and the way he has made himself integral to global security infrastructure protect him from being held personally accountable for the far larger damage he has been a part of. But the Vultures morally degraded response to an ethically complex situation does prevent him from securing long-term happiness for his family or a fairer system for him and for everyone else.

If the Vulture rages against the corruption of big men, Peter Parker spends much of Spider-Man: Homecoming longing to become one. His response is a natural one: After being called up to the big leagues for the airport throw-down in Captain America: Civil War,taken on his first private jet ride and treated like a probationary adult, hes sent back to Queens*to await further instructions. If Peter isnt contentto be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, giving directions and foiling petty crimes, its because his supposed mentors dont exactly teach him to value being a hometown superhero. These lesser gigs are what keep Peter busy and out of their hair, rather than being part of a larger idea about the protection that civilians deserve all the time.

The older men in Peters life, who ought to recognize what theyve gotten themselves into, blow off Peters calls and then get angry when he winds up in over his head. When Peter explains, I just wanted to be like you! and Tonysnaps back at him, And I wanted you to be better, its doubly unfair. Not only is Tonyolder, richer and more experienced, he also has placed the freight of those expectations on Peter without taking the time or initiative to lay out a different vision of superheroics or to talk to Peter about the lessons the younger man might learn from Tonysmyriad mistakes. In a world where Captain America stars in educational videos and teenage girls debate which superhero theyd rather marry, there arent exactly other role models for the kind of superheroism Tony would like Peter to occupy.

The most striking thing about the end of Spider-Man: Homecoming is the way it shows that Peter has discovered a better way all on his own. When Tony offers Peter a spot on the Avengers, hes giving Peter what Peter wanted, rather than what was good for him. Peters decision to opt out, stay in high school and make his own way is the realization that Tony wanted him to have all along, reached with little help or guidance from the adults in his life. Better, it turns out, doesnt always mean bigger or flashier or more violent. Sometimes it means recognizing that whats right for you what matches your physical capacity and ethical ideals might also be best for your family, your neighborhood and your city.

*I always mix up Spider-Mans boroughs. Apologies to Queens.

Go here to read the rest:

'Spider-Man: Homecoming' is a superheroic meditation on how to be a good person - Washington Post

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN

Last updated05:00, July 12 2017

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN/STUFF

Power Living Wellington has seen an increase in 'corporate yoga and meditation'. From left: dedicated meditator Neil Meekin with Power Living's Justine Hamill and Jase Te Patu.

Business meetings are taking on a whole new meaning in Wellington, with a rise in 'corporate' meditation packing out classes in the CBD.

Neil Meekin, a long-time meditator,says taking the time to "quieten the mind" is beneficial to his workas an innovation manager.

"If you can imagine your day, there's so much stimulation. I know for me there's just so much going on," he says.

CHELSEA MCLAUGHLIN/STUFF

Meekin, left, says meditation helps him with relaxation and brain clarity and increases his work productivity.

"There's a metaphor: It's like getting a big bowl of water and putting loads of dirt into it, so it's all really cloudy and you can't see through. But when you come into meditation for half an hour in the day time, it allows the dirt to settle so you're getting real clarity."

READ MORE: *'Mindfulness' takes over the corporate world *How good is your yoga teacher, really? *Converting blokes to yoga

The clarity helps him be more creative and switched on in the office.

"Even though you're becoming really relaxed, it doesn't sacrifice productivity ... it's actually the opposite: you're relaxed, but you're actually so much more productive."

Yoga studio Power Living Wellington began half-hour lunchtime meditation classes three months ago.

Co-owner Justine Hamill says class numbers have doubled in the last couple of weeks.

"The beauty about it is you can come in andjustsit in your work clothes and have that half an hour to just tune in, without all the social media, without all the demands, without all the 'blah blah blah'."

Co-owner JaseTe Patu says meditation is something simple that people can do for themselves.

"We're just finding that just that idea of stopping in the middle of your day, especially if both ends of your day are hectic it's like hitting a reset button ...

"It's something for you. You're the thing that's in common with all the things you have to do, so if you're not taking care of yourself then all the things you've got to do are not going to be done with efficiency."

Te Patu says people generally take shallow breathsusing their chest, instead of deep breaths with their diaphragm.

Slow, deep breaths slow down a person's autonomic nervous system which leaves them feeling more relaxed.

He says during meditationthe studio is made up almost entirely of CBD workers many coming in groups with colleagues.

"They all come together, it's like theirlittle midday meeting together."

-Stuff

More:

Take your next business meeting to a meditation studio - Stuff.co.nz

They had to get DEA permission to even plant the seeds. Photo: underworld111/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Theres a farm in upstate New York that grows cannabis with Governor Cuomos blessing, but plot twist: The leaves wont get you high. Thats because theyre hemp, which is like diet Cannabis sativa, and the 100 acres worth that JD Farms grows is used specifically for organic food products a suddenly trendy industry that Cuomo himself predicts could bring billions to the state. JD Farms already sells its salad mixes, hemp pastas, and cold-pressed hempseed oil to an impressive clientele that includes Estela chef Ignacio Mattos, Whole Foods, and small-batch Brooklyn pasta-maker Sfoglini.

Many people treat hemp as quasi-legal, but its a darling of the nutrition industry, which views it as a superfood equal to flax and chia seeds. Only soybeans have more protein, and hemp can supposedly boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, and suppress appetite. It also contains 20 amino acids, and a lot of omega-3s and -6s. Unlike marijuana, it has only trace amounts of THC by law, less than 0.3 percent and is better known for the incredibly strong fibers used in ropes, 90s jewelry, and Rainbow-brand sandals. But hemp-food companies are mostly after the seeds, which can be pressed into oil, processed into flour, or even shelled and sprinkled raw over yogurt. JD Farms got its break because one of its co-founders, DanDolgin, is a pro at lobbying lawmakers, after years navigating D.C.s federal bureaucracy (he worked in counterterrorism, of all things). Cuomo signed a bill saying its cool to grow hemp, and last March, JD Farms became New Yorks first farm to grow it in over 80 years. (It had to install an armed guard to plant the seeds.)

Hemps fans arent struggling to find culinary uses. Mattos says JD Farms leaves are grassy and sweet, and hes using them to garnish dishes like the Ibrico pork above. He also adds the oil to tomatoes and mozzarella, and is putting the seeds in desserts.At Sunday in Brooklyn, theyre in the spiceblend for chef Jaime Youngs fried chicken. Finally, a baby-greens salad mix is debuting at Whole Foods stores in the Northeast at the end of this month. Its a combo of JD Farms hemp leaves and kale from Long Island producer Satur Farms. Bloomberg reports its vaguely reminiscent of pot and has a lemony, almost minty flavor.

This guy packs only the necessary stuff when flying.

JD Farms has gotten cannabis into Whole Foods and restaurants like Estela.

The cookbook business has a reputation for being strong and lucrative a smart career move for any chef. The reality burns.

An online petition has already been signed by 5,400 people, including prominent Palm Beach residents.

With top chefs opening casual, all-day canteens, the morning meal is getting more creative and better all the time.

Discounts on food processors, pot-and-pan sets, decanters, and more.

The differences are minor andtheyll both make your food taste great.

Fairfax, opening in its place, is an all-day caf.

The company has run entire ads against the cheese dip, which is often full of preservatives.

Eli Miller did door-to-door deliveries for almost 60 years.

Theyll dine out at Alain Ducasses Eiffel Tower restaurant this week.

A new study found it can convince the body to store fat instead of burn it.

Stay for the boozy slushies and chicken-parm sandwiches.

The Underground Gourmets favorite places to have opened in the past year, serving everything from Texas breakfast tacos to new-wave Filipino takeout.

The United States had a good run, folks.

Its our weekly ranking of the citys most important restaurants.

Maybe its time to stop trashing Merlot.

Organizations are using the technology to depict conditions livestock endure.

He was reminded emphatically that Miller Lite is a bad beer.

See more here:

This Small New York Farm Is Dominating the Hemp-Food Trend - Grub Street

The makers of the viral 2015 Organic Effect video, which claimed that switching to an all organic diet can eliminate pesticidesfrom the body, are no longer allowed to promote the video or its claims, ruled the SwedishPatent and Market Court on July 3rdfollowing three days of hearings in mid-May. The Coop chain of Swedish grocery stores must not use the video or makeunsubstantiated claims about organic and conventional food or pay a fine of one million Swedish Krona (about $120,000 USD). The Swedish Crop Protection Association (Svenskt Vxtskydd), a trade association of nine Swedish crop protection companies, filed the lawsuit [in 2016], citing misleading and inaccurate advertisement.

The Organic Effect video totally [omits] the crucial fact that organic farming does use pesticides, albeit different than the ones used in conventional agriculture. Even though the pesticides used in organic farming tend to be naturally derived, whether a substance is synthetic or natural in origin, in and of itself, has no bearing on its toxicity or environmental impact.

Further,as Switzerland-based biologistIida Ruishalme pointed outat herThoughtscapismblog, the video left out information that conflicted with the videos shaky pro-organic assertions.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Organic Marketers Take Note: Makers Of Misleading Viral Organic Effect Video Lose Lawsuit

Original post:

Swedish court: Coop grocery chain 'misled' consumers by claiming organic food safer, healthier - Genetic Literacy Project

Much like asparagus water and water sommeliers, organic water is giving us pause. Though the concept isnt new, its surprising to see it making waves again.

Mintel, a global market research firm, claims that nearly 25 percent of Americansare thirstyfor organic water, which proves America doesnt understand the concept of organic.

As NPR first pointed out when organic water hit the scene a few years ago, something can only be considered an organic compound if it contains a significant amount of carbon. But a water molecule contains two atoms of hydrogen (H) and one atom of oxygen (O) and no carbon so its actually inorganic. And according to the USDAs labeling process for organic products, water and salt arenot includedas an ingredient that must be labeled organic.

But a trendy new company called Asarasiis taking advantage of a loophole. The brand is selling the first USDA organic-certified water, according to a report from Food Navigator.

Because Asarasis water is filtered through a living thing a maple tree it appears to pass the USDAs certification test.

Asarasis tagline encourages customers torethink your drink, in the hopes that youll try this tree-filtered water. The water, which comes from sugar maple trees, is leftover from the maple syrup making process, though it doesnt contain any sugar.

We have a beautiful base water that can be utilized in a lot of food and beverages, Asarasi CEO Adam North Lazar recently said in an interview with Food Navigator. Our goal is to replace what is used as water in the organic food industry.

Marketing water this way doesnt make it look special, Charles Fishman, author ofThe Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water, told NPR when organic water started to make its mark around 2011.Lets go with cosmic water it all came from space in the first place how about selling it that way?

If youre still interesting in purchasing Asarasis organic water, check for locations selling the product.

TheHuffPostLifestylenewsletterwill make you happier and healthier, one email at a time. Sign uphere.

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Organic Water Is A Sign That Americans Have No Idea What 'Organic' Is - HuffPost

The Whole Foods Market (WFM) and Amazon (AMZN) deal has the potential to fulfill the aspirations and promises of both John Mackey and Jeff Bezos. For John, its about making healthy, natural and organic foods accessible to more people around the world. For Jeff, its about a relentless determination to create the ultimate shopping experience for everything, and for everyone and, in the nearer term, to beat Wal-Mart (WMT).

Accomplishing those two goals is also essential to their success as a combined entity. Jeff Bezos must preserve the culture, which creates the Whole Foods shopping experience. He must figure out a way (assuming he hasnt already) to effectively streamline the two businesses, thereby leveraging his core business, and dominating the grocery market.

In the early 1980s, few people, John Mackey among them, would have anticipated the impact Whole Foods Market (formerly SaferWay) would have on the grocery industry, as well as on public health. They have been the driving force, bar none, of a subsector of the grocery industry, consisting of natural and organic foods. Natural and organic foods have significantly outpaced the growth of the overall grocery industry, according to the Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.

And the Organic Trade Association claims organic food sales grew by over 8% last year, compared to less than 1% for the overall industry. There are few signs this trend wont continue, as our society becomes more health conscious, and rising healthcare costs remain a pressing concern for businesses and individuals alike. As the sector becomes more competitive, supply costs will naturally come down for natural and organic foods as well.

Whole Foods began simply because Mackey, as an employee at a small Austin natural foods store, believed he could run his own store and wanted to give it a try. Later, with a couple of stores that began to achieve profitability, his ambitions grew, and he aimed to continue expanding. In 2011, Whole Foods announced they would aim to hit 1,000 locations in the United States alone.

In 2013, the two Co-CEOs, John Mackey and Walter Robb, told Jim Cramer of CNBC their goal was to actually hit 1,200 U.S. stores. Not long after that interview, they sailed into an unrelenting hurricane a storm, which included numerous earnings and comparable same-store sales disappointments, as well as a food-weighing scandal. Earlier this year, in February, they announced they would be closing certain stores, and scaling back their goals for square footage.

Suddenly, with Amazon behind it, the concept of 1,200 Whole Foods stores seems more plausible than ever before, and Mackey is surely pleased, however careful to express it. With Amazon as its wealthy parent, it can reach a far wider audience, and make healthy, natural and organic products more accessible for everyone John Mackeys legacy. In his book, Conscious Capitalism, Mackey mentions that it wasnt until they went public that they, as a company, really felt they had any money.

Following their IPO in 1992, they expanded rapidly, largely through acquisitions of other natural food stores, and initiated a variety of other strategies that brought them to where they are today. Now, 25 years later, theyre at another crossroads, where greater capitalization can really set them up for their next stage of growth. Success has brought new entrants galore into natural and organic foods - mainly traditional grocery chains.

Whole Foods is faced with ever-steeper price competition. They have a cannibalization problem, in which new stores eat into the sales of existing stores, resulting in disappointing performance releases to the investment community. Whole Foods highly-paid team has been the root of the culture, which draws in its loyal shoppers, but their employment costs have been too high, leading them to reluctantly engage in cuts to their workforce, which have significantly damaged morale within the company. Theyve tried several solutions to their growth problems with less than favorable results. Merging online with brick and mortar is considered the next big wave for grocery. Where were they to turn next? Whole Foods needed this deal, and its a big opportunity.

Source: Whole Foods Investor Relations

Amazon, on the other hand, has been experimenting with grocery since 2008 or earlier. According to a Bloomberg report earlier this year, Amazons goal is to become a Top 5 grocery retailer by 2025, which would require about $30 billion in sales for the category. Currently, it sells close to $9 billion in online food and beverage products, and Whole Foods sales for 2016 were $15.7 billion. Although Amazon has not been a master of this category, it is becoming the unrivaled master of retail.

Quarterly sales growth at Amazon for the last five quarters has averaged 26.6%, and operating cash flow grew by an average of 45.2% each quarter for the same period. The slow takeoff of online grocery and grocery delivery has a lot to do with trust. People like picking out their grocery items, particularly fresh produce items. Such is the reason why grocers and Amazon alike have come to understand they need to have some combination of online and brick and mortar.

Whole Foods is a master of grocery, particularly in natural and organic foods, the fastest growing category in the industry. They handle fresh food better than any other company alive today. Although, in 2016, its food and beverage market-share was still only 1.7% compared to Wal-Marts 17.3%, Krogers (NYSE:KR) 8.9%, and Costcos (NASDAQ:COST) 5.1%, its one of the fastest growing major players in the grocery industry, and it has significant experience in food delivery as well.

With Instacart, its delivery partner, they collectively deliver more groceries to U.S. households than any other company, according to their 2016 annual report (albeit, this still makes up a small share of their total business). With its purchase of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, Amazon instantly gains over 450 totally outfitted grocery stores as an alternative to spending billions developing pick-up locations on their own. Jeff Bezos and his team also gain invaluable information for moving into this space effectively this is one of the most critical factors. Lastly, they get a team of experienced grocers, a culture arguably the best in the industry.

Wal-Mart has 4692 U.S. stores in total, and 600 offer online grocery according to their latest annual report. They begin their report with, Innovating to serve customers better is how Wal-Mart became the company it is today. No, Low Prices, as a brand, is how Wal-Mart became the company it is today. A company, which indeed has very competitively priced items, but often resorts to lesser quality items to preserve its price identity.

With that also comes an outrageously poor shopping experience. As our economy grows, people demand better quality products and services. With this, Whole Foods and Amazon are the future, and Wal-Mart and other low-quality grocers and retailers are the past. Sure, Marc Lore, founder of Jet.com and new head of Wal-Mart ecommerce, has done okay at improving the Wal-Mart online experience. But thats the equivalent of developing a higher quality burger at McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) anything is better than rock bottom.

Would anyone in their right mind claim the Jet and Wal-Mart experience exceeds that of Amazon.com or Whole Foods? As Greg Penner, Chairman of Wal-Mart, and a Walton family member told us at the Wal-Mart Shareholders' meeting this year, even his own mother was using the other site up until recently.

The new Walmart.com, according to the Chairmans mother, has really improved so much! Its no secret, with online, Wal-Mart is chasing Amazons coattail. And overnight, it just got a whole lot more competitive. Not because of the size of Whole Foods, but rather, because of the number of stores/pickup locations and shopping data Amazon will now have to work with.

Im not predicting the end of Wal-Mart at all. Wal-Marts financial stats look much less pie in the sky than Amazons

WMT

AMZN

Market Cap

229.75B

461.55B

Sales

485.87B

135.99B

P/E

16.47

84.63

P/EBITDA

6.97

37.77

PEG Ratio (5yr expected)

2.94

5.22

P/sales

0.47

3.24

P/book

3.11

21.3

ROA

7.13%

3.62%

ROE

18.49%

14.18%

Source: Yahoo Finance

However, if Amazon maintains, or possibly increases its growth rate, those numbers could change quickly. With this deal, its very likely Amazon will steal some of Wal-Marts market share, across a variety of categories. People have been known to doubt Amazon in the past and been left in the dust. Many times its growth was believed to have reached its peak, and many wondered if it would ever turn a profit on its snowballing sales. We have been taught up to this point to be careful when underestimating Jeff Bezos.

Online grocery is expected to make up 20% of U.S. food and beverage sales by 2025. If merging online with brick and mortar is its next big opportunity, they may have found their solution. With Whole Foods, they have the leader in natural and organic foods, the fastest growing area of the broader grocery sector. With Amazons core business, they are the fastest growing big player in retail. They began as an online retailer, and Wal-Marts trying to become one. While Amazons sales have been growing like the universe, Wal-Marts are basically flat. Zero.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Amazon expects to close the deal with Whole Foods in the coming months, after which they will begin their integration. The big challenge will be in maintaining the culture that makes Whole Foods what it is, while simultaneously trying to inject big ideas and big changes into the grocers business model. Whole Foods is known for being compassionate and having low employee turnover, whereas Amazon has a cutthroat reputation and has one of the worst turnover rates of all Fortune 500 companies.

Amazon will find opportunity in taking many of Whole Foods grocery items, which include most packaged goods, as well as their whole body items like soaps and supplements online. Theyll also likely bring down prices to make natural and organic foods more popular among a larger audience. Jeff Bezos has a history of undercutting competitors, often running losses on certain items to win the market share. If he plays this game with Whole Foods, hes betting the natural and organic foods industry continues to scale, driving supply costs down accordingly.

With a larger Whole Foods footprint, Bezos will have more opportunities to gain Prime users his ultimate goal, creating a slew of other opportunities. According to Wal-Marts annual report, they plan to have online grocery available in an additional 500 stores by 2018. The question is, who will do a better job of merging online shopping with brick and mortar? Clearly, Amazon. Amazon has a long way to catch up with Wal-Marts total sales, but Walmart.com and Jet.com have a long way to catch up with Amazons online business.

If Jeff Bezos can continue to hover on Day 1, as he likes to call it, and maintain these spectacular growth rates by effectively integrating his business with Whole Foods, its believable the market will take Amazon stock to $1 trillion. Whether or not it ever justifies that figure with profitability is another story.

Disclosure: I am/we are long WFM.

Business relationship disclosure: I am part of a company that does business with WFM.

Additional disclosure: I/we might initiate a Long position in AMZN over the next 72 hours.

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Make No Mistake: Wal-Mart Executives Are Losing Sleep - Seeking Alpha

San Francisco Examiner

Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba can't relax San Francisco Examiner In Jamaica I was also reading this book on music theory, he says. But after realizing that it wasn't the right thing to do because it didn't count as vacation, he switched to the vampire novel The Passage, which was much more fun. The Connecticut ...

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Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba can't relax - San Francisco Examiner