Stop The War On Hugs

I have just read yet another article about students getting in trouble for hugging. Personally, I find these "Hug Bans" at school absolutely ridiculous, unnecessary, and potentially harmful to America's youth. Please Click Here to read the article and get a better idea what these rules are about.

Every time I hear about a student being punished for giving their friend a hug, my chest constricts, my face turns red, my hands clench, and let's just say that no one should be asking me any favors. Hugging is such an important part of our lives, and it is especially important to children and teenagers.

These are the years when emotions are already in such turmoil; how can we deny these children the simple and wonderful comfort of a hug? And if our youth grow up not experiencing the incredible power of hugs, how can we expect them to understand how important they are? How much will this effect these children? How will it effect how they treat they kids and grandkids? This is our future we're talking about. Are we headed down a very slippery slope toward an world where freely-given affection will be socially unacceptable?

These bans may seem insignificant to some, but if they are allowed to continue, I believe that they will spread and evolve into stricter and stricter rules banning many expressions of affection. Just how many acts of warmth and friendliness are we willing to allow our children to miss out on?

How can we expect our children to become kind people in adulthood if we punish them for acts of kindness in adolescence?

The Best Things About Hugs

My favorite thing about hugs: You can have too much of practically anything in this world, but you can never have too many hugs!


I challenge everyone who reads this to post your favorite thing about hugs. =)

1,000 Friend Goal Reached 4 Days Early!

Hey everybody! I have surpassed my goal of 1,000 Myspace friends by Dec. 1 and it's only Nov. 27! Yay!

Now, I still need 8 more subscribers to this blog by Dec. 8, so you guys have to help me out by subcribing and telling your friends to visit, ok?

A Sleepy Twin Hug!

Here is a photo submitted by Maritha from Stockholm, another friend of Hugs Heal, of her twin grandsons sleeping and hugging. Adorable!

Photo Submitted by a Friend of Hugs Heal 2

This photo of her daughters was submitted by Heather, a myspace friend of Hugs Heal. So cute!

Thanksgiving Hugs!

Happy Thanksgiving and many hugs to you and your family!

I'm thankful for the fact that my family members love to hug each other!

What are you thankful for?

A Quote from a Friend of Hugs Heal

"I think everybody needs a hug in life. I know the feeling that I feel when I hug my grand-kids is so great that I dont ever want to let them go."

-Pat from Florida

Friends and Subscription Goal

Okay you guys, my goals for Hugs Heal at the moment is to have 1, 000 Myspace friends and at least 10 subscribers to this blog by Dec. 1, 2007.

Help please!

To become a friend of Hugs Heal, please click here and add me!

To subscribe to this blog by looking to the right and clicking "Subscribe to Hugs Heal"

Or better yet, do both!

Bear Hugs being sent to victims of the California Fires

Build-A-Bear Workshop is running a fundraiser throughout U.S. stores to help victims of those who were affected by the California Fires through the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. They are sending teddy bears to victims across Southern California.

Stuffed with Hugs is a charitable Build-A-Bear Workshop program that provides teddy bears to children who are in need of hugs. It also children a great opportunity to help other children.

Please donate to this incredible cause. http://www.buildabear.com/

Please read the full article that provided this information. Bear Hugs

A Hugs Heal Online Community

I am very seriously considering turning Hugs Heal into an interactive online community, like myspace or facebook. I can set it up so it will bring people together through hugs! Friends can send each other vitural hugs, photos, stories, and anything else having to do with hugs!

Does any one have any ideas about what I might want to include in an online community?

I'd also like to design some clothes with the Hugs Heal logo to sell in order to help spread the message.
Any advice?

Hugging You!

I just want to say, to anyone in the world who needs a hug right this second for any reason, I'm hugging you right now! I hope my hugs help.

Photo Submitted by a Friend of Hugs Heal 1

Mary Moon, author of "The Last Miracle Mile" and advocate for the prevention of child abuse, sent in this photo of her grandson Cameron hugging his brand-new puppy.

Aren't they adorable?!

Quote of the Day

“I will not play tug o' war. I'd rather play hug o' war. Where everyone hugs instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins.” - Shel Silverstein

"The Rescuing Hug"

To read the full article please press the following link.

http://www.52best.com/hug.asp

Cyndy and Mitzi

Here is a letter and some photos I recieved from a woman named Cyndy, who loved her dog so very much.

Hi Gini,
I am one of your myspace friends. I am sending you 2 pics of myself and my Mitzi. Mitzi crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge on Sept 5 2007. She was 16 years old, the love of my life and my best friend. I am so blessed to have had her as part of my life. Together the two of us traveled all 48 states, Mexico and Canada. I drove a truck at the time. The pics I am sending are of our last hugs to each other.
Bless you for starting such a wonderful page.
Many Hugs,
Cyndy

Hugs Heal Story 2 - submitted by a friend of Hugs Heal

My fiancee and I have been having some really hard times with money lately. He is the more laid back person and I am the pessimistic one and I always think we are going to loose everything. Within the last week our situation has started to get worse. When I sit down and stare at our check book it upsets me. I try to find ways to calm down but I cant, I yell at my kids (I know how bad huh?) and cry. When I get like that my daughter who is 3 will come up and hug me and grab my face and tell me its ok....I feel so much better after that, it is like that hug from my baby girl makes the world so much better, and nothing else matters but having her in my arms... I love her so much! Hugs are great. I love hugs!

-Mandy from New York

Cancer Survivor Sylvia and Singer Jimmy Barnes

This is a photo submitted by a wonderful woman named Sylvia of her and her idol, Scottish/Australian Singer Jimmy Barnes. At the time she was living with cancer and he was about to go through open heart surgery.

Great news: She is now a cancer survivior and he came through as well!

Go Sylvia and Jimmy and Congratulations! Hugs Heal!

And here is a photo after these inspiring survivors made it through!

Random Acts of Kindness

I want to remind everyone, including myself, that a simple act of kindness can go a very long way. It seems as though people just forget that they have the ability to help others. Think about it.

If you spend 1 hour reading to child with terminal leukemia, do you think that child will ever forget that hour? Just one hour has changed this beautiful little person's life forever.

There is a woman sitting in a convalescent home right now, tired and alone. Her husband passed away a long time ago and she has no other family. You go into the home with a few friends and you sing a song to her. For a brief moment, her face lights up, as it hasn't done in a long time. Neither of you will ever forget it.

There is a girl at your school who doesn't have any friends; who looks at the ground as she walks and hugs her books to her chest in an effort to shield herself from the other kids cruel comments. Can you take a moment out of your life to smile at her? Say hello? Maybe even ask if she'd like to have lunch with you. A half hour out of your life may not mean much to you, but I'll bet it will to her. In fact, you'll never know this, but this girl had been so depressed and lonely that she was going to do something drastic when she got home that day. You didn't just change her life; YOU SAVED IT.

Every person has been imbued with a truly awesome power: the power to have influence on the lives of others. It's just up to us to use it.

Helping others is important and it isn't even difficult! "I don't have time to help" isn't an excuse or a reason. All it takes is one story. One song. One smile. HELP.

Hugs Heal Story 1- Shared by a friend of Hugs Heal

I recently found out that some women I work with were spreading rumors around that I was not a very nice person. This hurt me more than anyone can imagine. I felt alone, isolated and felt unloved and that no one needed me. I felt that I had made no difference in anyones life and that no one really cared if I lived or died. I was walking to get something to eat and ran into a cleaning lady that worked in the building. Sometimes, sadly enough, people ignored her because she is a cleaning lady. She and I got along great!! I always spoke and smiled at her and we liked each other a lot. Anyway, when I ran into her, she ran up to me and gave me a great big hug and told me that only 2 people in the whole building ever spoke to her and that I was one of them. She had tears in her eyes. That hug lifted so much weight off of my shoulders and gave me a new spark of energy. Also, it let me know that I DO make a difference, I just don't always see the difference I make. Little things can make a big difference in other peoples lives...so we should always treat everyone with the respect that all human beings deserve.

-Shared by Melanie

Hugs Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease!

Source: ABC.com

A study conducted at North Carolina University concluded that hugs increased levels of oxytocin, reducing blood pressure; which reduces the risk of heart disease, America's #1 cause of death.
So if you think hugs are worthless,
YOU ARE WRONG.

Hugs

This blog is dedicated to bringing people together and to spreading a message of love and kindness. Hugs Heal is inspired by the awesome healing power of hugs.

A hug is an embrace; to take someone into your arms with caring and affection. But thats not all a hug is. A hug is an expression of love, friendship, and kindness. A hug can heal the world's worst wounds; physical or emotional. A hug can give a person that bit of strength that they need in order to just keep going.

There is a hug for every mood, every ailment. The Comforting Hug for when you're sad, the Happy Hug when you're excited, and of course the Bear Hug; appropriate for all occasions.

My cat starlight hugging his kitty doll!