Your health is the sum total of all the impulses, positive and negative, emanating from your consciousness. You are what you think.” ~ Deepak Chopra
Dec 28 2011
What are you thinking?
Nov 14 2011
igenius
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
~ Steve Jobs
Oct 31 2011
Ordinary
Friendship is sunshine for the soul.
“The great lesson from the true mystics…is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s back yard.”
~ Abraham Maslow
Oct 31 2011
Trick or Treat? What are you thinking?
Beware of the ghosts of the past! Look out for the gremlins! Unconscious cues affect your feelings. Your mind plays tricks on you. If you suddenly find yourself feeling negative or in a funk, consider what you just saw, heard or thought about in the minutes prior to the feeling. You may be able to identify the trigger – the mind trick – that created the change in your mood.
Scientific American Mind’s November issue cites a University of Toronto study last year where, “people who were unconsciously exposed to images of fast food logos became more impatient and less likely to be thrifty”. In another study, published in the March issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, when participants recalled an illness-related memory, they were less able to tolerate pain.
Your subconscious mind is constantly picking up on subliminal cues. You do not have to be at the mercy of these unconscious culprits! When you recognize the phenomenon, you can take control. More self-awareness is a simple way to outmaneuver it. Take control of your thoughts. Choose to give yourself a treat! Think about what makes you feel good. Live your life by choice, not by chance.
Sep 28 2011
Five Steps to a Positive Attitude
1. Choose the good thoughts.
What are you telling yourself? Pay attention to your thoughts and how they affect your body. If it doesn’t feel good, choose another thought.
Think about what you want. Think only in terms of the positive. It is far more powerful to be in favor of something positive rather than to be against something negative. Be “for” peace instead of “against” violence. Be “for” prosperity instead of “against” lack.
2. Praise Yourself
Eliminate negative self-talk! Appreciate your talents and gifts. Acknowledge your skills and abilities; your strengths and positive attributes. Treat yourself with the same loving respect you give to others. Love and accept yourself as you are right now.
Appreciate your body and how it serves you. Daydream and imagine yourself as the ideal…physically, emotionally, mentally. If you can see it, you can be it. The mind doesn’t know the difference between what you imagine and what you perceive as reality.
When you see yourself as healthy and successful, your mind becomes comfortable with it. Your confidence is boosted and you are able to achieve your goals.
3. Practice Gratitude
Note five things every night that you are grateful for. The essence of all you appreciate is constantly flowing into your reality. “This. I want more of this.”
Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, vitality and life satisfaction and lower levels of depression and stress. They tend to exercise more and feel better physically.
Robert Emmons, a psych professor at UC Davis found that a 21-day gratitude intervention produced high energy, positive moods, greater sense of feeling connected, more optimistic ratings of one’s life and better sleep duration and quality.
4. Focus on the solution, not the problem.
Einstein said that all of his most important and productive thinking was done by “combinatory play” with “images” in his mind. Thought experiments. Ask a question, Visualize a situation and perform experimental action.
Whatever you are thinking about is literally planning for the future. When you are worrying and doubtful, you are planning for and attracting something you don’t want. Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what is thought about. Choose the good thoughts.
5. Be present in the Now.
Stay focused on the present moment. Life begins now. Life is happening right now. If you are thinking about the past, you are thinking about it now. If you are thinking about the future, you are thinking about it now. The past and future exist in our thoughts.
Life exists in the moment.
Life is a series of moments. Each and every moment is an opportunity for choice.Focus on what you can do today, right now.
Breathe. All is well.
Aug 30 2011
Expectation
It's not that what you expect is the reality that you live,
but that you live the reality of what you expect.
What are you expecting?
Aug 29 2011
Your Control Center is Your Attitude
The control center of your life is your attitude. And your attitude is based on your thoughts and beliefs. Do you feel in control of your life? It can be scary when we’re doing something new and unfamiliar. As beings, we consider new experiences as painful. We want to know what to expect so we can feel comfortable.
Remember that the future only exists in your thoughts. We are making it up as we go. We tell ourselves a story about what might happen. Sometimes it’s a good story and we feel good. When we allow ourselves to imagine and experience a positive expectation, we benefit from those thoughts. We are more prepared and at ease in new situations.
Sometimes we tell ourselves a very bad story which makes us feel out of control. We experience fear and anxiety about things which don’t even exist! When you’re worrying about the future, you are literally planning for things you don’t want to happen. All the time and energy you spend in this negative emotional state is working against you. You are literally creating your worst fears. And your physical body is suffering from those thoughts!
Why not spend your time and energy focusing on your desires instead of your fears? Imagine the best case scenario. Focus on what you want instead of what you don’t want! Just that shift in thinking will make a difference about how you feel and how you react. In that moment, you actively take part in the creation of your life. You take control of the situation.
May 31 2011
Love & Laughter
“All you need in the world is love and laughter. That’s all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other.” ~ August Wilson
Laughter improves the mind and spirit. If we can laugh at our troubles, we can create positive biochemical changes in our body which will help reduce feelings of depression or helplessness. When we laugh, we breathe more deeply, which fills our body with oxygen and improves our immune system. Our blood pressure decreases and endorphins and other natural pain-relieving hormones are released. We create a better state of mind and when we are in a better state of mind, we are able to think more calmly and clearly. Our entire body relaxes.
In stressful situations, our body suffers. Constant stress robs us of our sense of humor. It takes the fun out of life! When we are children, we laugh on average about 400 times in a 24 hour period. As adults, we only laugh about 17 times a day! What a tragedy!
A good laugh bursts forth from the soul.
You can bring more laughter into your life. Collect books and movies that are funny and the next time you’re feeling down, bring them out and laugh. Choose to surround yourself with happy and positive people. Be more playful in your daily activities. Give yourself some “laughter therapy” whenever you’re feeling down.
As Oscar Wilde said, “Life is too important to be taken seriously!”
In my practice as a Clinical Hypnotherapist, I encourage my clients to lighten up. We focus on the positive aspects and the solutions which brings a sense of peace. Being able to laugh at yourself is an important step on the way to enlightenment…a state of acceptance and love for your true authentic self…including that part of yourself that laughs so hard, milk comes out your nose!
Apr 26 2011
Control Your Choices
“Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously.
Take Time to Smell the Roses
If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself.”
~ Robert F. Bennett
Apr 19 2010
Life is Change
“Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely.” — Karen Kaiser Clark
Life is constantly changing due to many factors beyond our control. We can not stop time. Imagine yourself five years from now. Do you appear the same? Do you have the same level of wealth? Do you see yourself as sick or destitute? Do you imagine yourself as healthy and successful? In essence, you can stay the same; you can suffer and be a failure; you can enjoy great abundance and prosperity. Most would consciously choose abundance and prosperity. Unfortunately, some of us, subconsciously, are choosing to stay stagnant or worse!
You have the power to decide how you live your life. You determine the level of joy you experience. It’s all as simple as choosing your thoughts. Choose to focus on what you want, NOT on what you don’t want! If you’re worrying about something, you’re planning for something you don’t want to happen. When you focus on solutions, you solve problems. Decide on a positive outcome and take the necessary steps to achieve it.
Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can choose to harvest flowers or choose to grow weeds. Spring is a time of new beginnings and growth. It’s a time to prepare our gardens for a bountiful harvest. What are you planting?