Infertility - it’s something that has affected millions of people around the world.

And the National Infertility Association and Fertility LifeLines™, a free patient resource provided by EMD Serono, want to hear their stories. They are  holding the first-ever In The Know Short Film Competition.

Have you got a story to tell about dealing with infertility?

Anyone touched by infertility can enter the In The Know Short Film competition by  submitting a creative, inspirational short film about their path to parenthood (or the journey of someone close to them).

These films will be reviewed by a panel of judges. Competition finalists will have their films screened at a festival in New York City this fall where a winner and runners-up will be chosen and awarded prizes.

The winner will receive $1,000 and two runners-up will each be given $500.

The deadline to submit entries is August 1, 2009

You can find the full guidelines at Fertility LifeLines .

I find it really frustrating that all the great travel giveaways and sweepstakes seem to be only for US residents. Time and again, I get sent emails, newsletters, and discover in my RSS feeds links to great contests and giveaways that tell me I could win ‘a safari in Africa’ or a ‘month long vacation in Italy.’ I look, I salivate, and then I have to click away as I read once again ‘U.S. Residents only’.

And so it goes with this Green Vacation Sweepstakes on offer in celebration of the first annual nationwide Solar Day 2009 being held on 21 June 2009. Not to be confused with  Earth Day, Solar Day was created to help educate the public on solar energy benefits and options.  Held on the first day of summer, Solar Day 2009.

Sounds like a great idea. But what sounds even better is a chance to stay at the first LEED Gold hotel (and solar-powered) Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, California, just south of the town of Napa for three days. If you like wine and spas  (and who doesn’t), this would be a great place to be based while your exploring all the green, solar and sustainable wineries that are located around the valley.

That’s what you could win if you entered Solar Day’s Green Vacation Sweepstakes.

So what are you waiting for? Enter now…

http://www.solarday.com/

Creative and inventive types need to get out their thinking caps and see if they can come up with an entry for the 2009 DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge, a yearly online competition aimed at developing creative new tools for improving life with diabetes.

Not only does the winning design win up to $10,000, it could also help transform the lives of millions of people living with diabetes.

You have until May 1st to enter. Full instructions can be found at the Enter the Contest page.

Check out last year’s winning entries, which include an online logbook and a Pez-candy-like dispenser for glucose test strips, to get into the creative groove.

The winner of The Path DVD giveaway is…

Tobey

Congratulations Tobey. You will be receiving an email shortly with instructions on how to claim your prize.

The Path DVD, if you remember, is the first in a series of documentaries that are being created by Michael Habernig and April Hannah of Path11 Productions, who interviewed 13 individuals - well renowned authors, practitioners and well respected local practitioners in Upstate New York - who offer their their expertise on their own souls path, what they have learned along the way and their knowledge about the afterlife.

You can find out more about this interesting documentary by…

1. Checking out the film’s official website - www.thepathseries.com - where you can buy a copy of the DVD.
2. Heading over to facebook or myspace
3. Watch trailers and interviews at YouTube.

Earlier in the month I asked ‘Where Do You Go When You Die?’

It’s not exactly a light question but the reason I brought it up was because I had just run across a new documentary called The Path which was due to released mid Febuary and I had arranged for a DVD giveaway for Healthbolt readers.

I haven’t seen the DVD yet but the trailer gives the impression that it would definitely be worth checking out.

See for yourself…

The Path DVD giveaway is being extended until the 14th of February. So go and check it out and then leave a comment over at Where Do You Go When You Die?

Am happy to see that so many of you are like me and love hitting the road. Road trips really are exhilerating and result in such memorable experiences.

But road trips aren’t only about getting in the car and driving off in the sunset. They can also be about looking for change, looking for answers, and clearing the mind.

And that’s really what the book ‘Road Trip Guide to the Soul’ is all about. I can guarantee that by the time you’ve finished reading it and following some of the ideas and action plans, you’ll be feeling as exhilerated as when you got into the car and took off.

One lucky Healthbolt reader will be able to discover this for themselves. The winner of Sadie Nardini’s Road Trip Guide to the Soul is…

Brandlyn

Congratulations Brandlyn. I’ll be sending you out an email with instructions on how to claim your prize.

Death and Taxes - they are the two real guarantees in life. And of the two, taxes are probably the one that we understand the most about. Death, on the other hand, remains a mystery.  For ever, people have been asking the question ‘what is your purpose and why on earth do we live only to die?’

Many have tried to answer this question but in the end, death and the possibility of an afterlife, remains a mystery.

The directors of a new documentary The Path are hoping to remove some of this mystery surrounding death, dying, and, in particular,  the afterlife.

It features interviews with 13 individuals - well renowned authors, practitioners and well respected local practitioners in Upstate New York - who offer their their expertise on their own souls path, what they have learned along the way and their knowledge about the afterlife.

You can watch the trailer here.

According to the Michael Habernig and April Hannah, creators of The Path, they hope that people watching this documentary will…

 ”…take away some knowledge about other possibilities of the afterlife [and]  feel empowered to become their own explorers and researchers. We want people to leave the theater feeling like they need to find out more answers for themselves and begin to experience other possibilities as to what may be out there after we die. We are also hoping that the fear of death will subside as our documentary does give hope that consciousness lives on and never dies.”

The Path is due for release 12th Febuary and I have to admit I am intrigued to hear what they have to say.

Healthbolt’s got a copy of The Path DVD to giveaway.

So if you’re interested, all you need to do is leave a comment telling us why you want to see this DVD.

Entries close 11th Febuary 2009 and the winner will be announced on the 12th February 2009.

There was a lot of interest in the Sexbolt Saturday: So What Goes on ‘Behind the Bedroom Door’? Book Review and Giveaway.

Thanks to everyone who entered, especially those who helped list all the singers who sung ‘Behind Closed Doors’. I had no idea that so many singers had recorded it. Here’s what you all came up with - Charlie Rich, Tom Jones, Dolly Parton, Percy Sledge, Bobby Goldsboro, Tommy Overstreet, Diana Ross, Steve Ivey, Don Estelle, Little Milton, Perry Como, Hank Thompson, Loretta Lynn, Ronnie Milsap.

Of course, now I can’t get the song out of my head.

But on to more important things.

The winner of Behind the Bedroom Door, thanks to the faithful random number selector, is…

Shannon Baas

Congratulations Shannon. I’ll be sending an email shortly with instructions on how to claim the book.

As for everyone else, don’t forget that there’s still another book giveaway - Take a ‘Road Trip to the Soul’: Book Review and Giveaway - up for grabs.

Friends say that whenever I hear the words ‘road trip’ my eyes light up and I’ve got one foot heading out the door trying to catch a ride. I just love getting out on the road and heading somewhere. I don’t even have to be heading anywhere in particular. I just like to be on the road.

So it‘s not surprising that  Sadie Nardini’s book ‘Road Trip Guide to the Soul’ caught my eye. After, the whole premise of the book rested on one of my favorite activities. But once I started reading, I soon realised that this road trip was unlike any other I had taken.

Instead of packing a bag and jumping in a car, it was asking me to unpack, declutter, and remove the roadblocks in my life. Quite a daunting task, if you ask me.

But I was up for the challenge. After all, it was making sense. Life really is like a road trip - it can be good or bad, fun or sad, exciting or scary, adventurous or boring - all depending on how you approach it.

Half way through the book, I suddenly realised that this could turn out to be the biggest, most important road trip of my life. Following this metaphorical road trip had the potential to change my life for the better

As far as self help books go, this one’s a winner. Sounding more like a friend than a self-help advisor, Sadie shares personal anecdotes and advice based on eastern wisdom, western science, and yogic principles.

Remember, travel is not all about the destination. Mostly, it’s about the journey and in this journey Sadie Nardini offers a fun step by step guide to removing roadblocks and re-discovering the adventure of life.

Each chapter highlights pit stops one takes on a road trip, starting with the garage (read excerpt here) and heading on to the gas station, stopping to adjust the mirrors, hitting the carpool lane, and finding the treasure trove. But unlike a real road trip, each of these pit stops offers anecdotes, ideas, and advice on how to revolutionize your life.

You can hear more about these nine steps in Sadie’s own words by watching this series of short videos Sadie has put together.

Sadie (who generously sponsored a Yoga DVD giveaway last year) has offered to give away a copy of ‘Road Trip of the Soul’ to one lucky Healthbolt reader. Just leave a comment and tell us about your best road trip and you could be in to win. This giveaway will run until Thursday 5th Febuary 2009, with the winner announced on Friday 6th February 2009.

‘no one knows what goes on behind closed doors’.

- Behind Closed Doors, Charlie Rich, 1973

Okay, so it’s not something that we freely admit but let’s face it, we all have a little bit of curiosity as to what goes on in other people’s bedrooms. After all, we live in a world that seems to be obsessed with sex. But when it comes to talking about the intimate details of one’s sex life, it’s something that seldom happens, especially among women.

Writer and editor Paula Derrow thinks this is because of fear…

‘fear of being exposed as inadequate, or worse, of being boring. Living in an all-sex-all-the-time culture may be liberating in many ways, but it can also breed shame - shame for not keeping up, for not being invited to the party.’

So Paula set out to open up the door by getting a number of well known women writers ranging in their twenties to their seventies write about, well, their sexual experiences. The result - Behind the Bedroom Door - a collection of extremely frank, truly honest, and often hilarious essays that literally offer exposure to the other side of the bedroom door.

The result - a real page turner of a book that will hold your attention in it’s truly illuminating and deeply honest discussion about sex that’s seldom found. You’ll nod, laugh, despair, and empathize as you read essay topics range from illicit affairs, one night stands, sex toys, and sex addiction to dealing with sex in pregnancy, monogamy, lesbian affairs, and living in a sexless marriage. Nothing is left unsaid in this book that shatters many of the deeply entrenched myths about women’s intimate lives. Covering a wealth and variety of female sexual experience,  Behind the Bedroom Door will leave you questioning conventional notions about women, sex, and sentiment. 

Having read the book, I got to say I was really curious as to how Paula managed to put this book together. So I asked her.

Healthbolt: How did you choose these particular writers and was it easy to persuade them to write about their experiences? 

Paula: I turned to the best writers I know, both from working at Self over the years, and from all the reading I do. Some writers led me to other writers. I also called some favorite writers cold (or their agents), and tried to pique their interest with this juicy topic.

Healthbolt: How in the world did you manage to get these writers to lay open such personal aspects of their lives for public display?

Paula: As an editor at Self and a teacher focusing on personal essay writing, I’m used to pushing writers to go deeper, to search themselves for the real meaning of what they are trying to say.

Healthbolt: Any problems along the way?

Paula: Of course. Given the personal nature of this topic, there were some challenges: Some writers dropped out; Some husbands objected and persuaded their spouses to drop out.

Healthbolt: I guess that’s understandable. After all the writers are not using aliases and are really exposing themselves and often their spouses or partners in these essays. And yet, they were willing to be extremely frank and honest in their essays.

Paula: Mostly because I tried to emphasize that these stories weren’t about betraying a partner or airing dirty laundry or simply about voyeurism - each one is about the women herself - what she feels, experiences, desires and worries about in bed. Making sure that we were keeping the focus on that helped make it easier for each writer to feel comfortable and deliver.

Healthbolt: Well, you certainly succeeded. Anyone reading Behind the Bedroom Door will get a much better understanding on the variety and extreme differences that each of us experience behind the bedroom door. It’s definitely got Healthbolt’s seal of approval.

….

Healthbolt’s got one copy of Behind the Bedroom Door to give away. All you need to do is leave a comment here by 31st January to be in to win.  And when you leave the comment, if you know, tell us who else sung the Charlie Rich song ‘Behind Close Doors’.