My Essay Blog

Most people do not take care of themselves. They think it is selfish and self-indulgent.This could not be further from the truth. My experiences have shown me that when I do take care of myself in the ways that I need to, it is only then that I am truly capable of being of real service to someone else. I have also found this to be especially true when one is away from “home” and from expected support systems.

When living abroad there are so many things to be aware of and take care, that it is too easy to forget to take care of oneself.

Have you considered how you can take care of yourself in your new environment? Here are some ideas that may work for you.

* Voice you feelings. Don’t keep them inside you. Share your accomplishments or disappointments with someone you trust. Remember that when you express your feelings, it is then that you can change them.

* Do not compare yourself with others. This kind of jealousy causes self-disgust. Do not think others are better than you. If there is someone you admire, use them as a model to improve yourself.

* Take time to play. Play is any activity that makes you feel good. You not only deserve it, it is essential to a balanced state of well-being.

* Learn to say no. When you become more comfortable with saying no to others you will find that your self-esteem improves. When you then choose to say yes to others, you will want to and you will feel great and energised by your choice.

* Exercise. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Take the stairs. You don’t need to go to a fancy gym to break a sweat. There is nothing like some physical activity to help shift yourself from a mood of despair to one of hope.

* Remember you are only a human being doing your best . Don’t let others put you high up on a pedestal. When this happens they expect you to be perfect and they feel angry and disappointed when you let them down.

* Please remember to laugh, laugh at everything, especially at yourself. Try it! It is the cheapest and most effective form of medicine for life.

* Practice being an encouraging and kind person. Find 2 people today you can help out in this way. When you do this, you will not only feel amazing, but it will kick up your self-esteem a notch or two.

* Take up a hobby. What is one thing you have always wanted to try out? It could be oil painting, learning a foreign language, taking flying lessons … the list is endless. Creativity helps you unleash a sense of enthusiasm and zest for life.

* Put time aside for your spiritual life. Slow down. Practice sitting quietly. When thoughts crop up, acknowledge them but do not pay attention to them. Be still. Be courageous and if a traditional religion has not been helpful for you follow your own spiritual path.

Action Plan For The Week

As an action plan for the week, how about choosing 3 tips from the list of 10 below? Put them into practice everyday and take note of how it affects your relationships with others. You might just discover that by indulging and taking care of yourself, you are in fact enabling yourself to help others by just being YOU.

Quote Of The Week

“Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.”

John Robbins, the heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice cream fortune, stated on the Coast to Coast radio show that one of the surprises of his research into cultures known for their longevity, was the importance of love and healthy relationships. Loneliness and negative interactions can depress the functioning of the body’s systems and lead to poor health, Robbins reported. “I believe that ultimately it is the love in our lives that underlies and makes possible our greatest healing and longevity.”

I have also heard that the number one killer in our society is not cancer or heart disease &ndash it is loneliness. This is not a surprise to me, as loneliness is often the underlying feeling that so many people attempt to avoid with their various addictions.

People in cultures known for their longevity do not live alone. Before modern civilization, people did not live alone. Our civilized way of life has led to the loneliness that is endemic in our society.

We are not meant to live alone. We are meant to live in caring communities with people to turn to for love and connection, and for help when we need it. Love, connection and support are vital for our health and wellbeing.

Without caring family, community, or friends to turn to, we lack the connection with others that we all need. However, in order to feel connected with others, we first need to be connected with ourselves.

We all need the feeling of inner connection that comes from being tuned in to ourselves and to our personal source of spiritual guidance. We need the feeling of inner connection that comes from taking loving care of ourselves &ndash physically, emotionally and spiritually. But the goal of inner connection is not being alone. When we connect with ourselves and with our spiritual guidance, we fill ourselves with love &ndash and we then want to share that love with others.

No matter how inwardly connected we are, we are not islands unto ourselves. We need others with whom to share our love and our joy. We need others to play with and learn with. And we need others to turn to in times of sadness and grief. Without this, we feel lonely.

Loneliness is one of the hardest feelings to feel. The feeling itself can be experienced as life threatening since we could have died as babies if we were left alone for too long. We can feel lonely in many different situations: when we are alone and have no one with whom to share love, when we are with people who are not open to connecting with us, and when we are with people and we are not open to connecting with them.

The feeling of loneliness may be so painful that you turn to various addictions to avoid the feeling. Many people do not even know that they are feeling lonely because they respond addictively so quickly. They the grab the food, the drink, the drug, the cigarette, turn on the TV, get busy, or get angry before they are aware of having a feeling, and then wonder why they cannot stop their addictions. Often people become addicted to a dysfunctional relationship and cannot leave for fear of the loneliness and disconnection. When people are not connected with themselves and their spiritual guidance, they may have a connection addiction, constantly pulling on others for the connection they so desperately need.

Continual loneliness and the inner aloneness from inner disconnection, create much stress in the body, which leads to illness. In addition to proper nutrition and exercise, one reason certain cultures live long and healthy lives is that they have love and connection with others always available to them.

Do not discount the power and importance of inner and relationship connection. If you want optimal health, you need to take the action in your own behalf to seek out loving and caring people and to do the inner work necessary to become a loving and caring person with yourself and with others.

As life coaching is gaining popularity, so is interest in becoming a life coach. Many people love the idea of working for themselves and being in a profession that helps others. If you are thinking about becoming a life coach, there are several factors you need to consider.

First, decide what type of life coach you want to become. The word “life” covers a lot of territory so life coaches tend to specialize in specific areas. These areas include career and finance, goal setting, relationships, weight loss/fitness and drugs and alcohol, just to name a few.

What is your passion and how do you want to inspire others to create success in their lives?

When thinking about what type of life coach you want to be, examine your career, education and life experience to find your current strengths.

Once you have an idea of what area you want to focus on, consider what a life coach does. This is tricky because there is no one definition or universal standard so several interpretations exist. You need to develop a format in which you will teach successful actions to your clients.

A qualified life coach can break down goals into manageable, easier to confront steps while showing the client effective techniques for completing them. Just knowing what and how is not enough because clients often get in their own way. The life coach will evaluate their progress and motivate them to implement a plan with consistent action to actually achieve desired results. Before you begin on this path, know that there is a difference between understanding what to do and being able to get someone to do it.

There are three essential elements involved in becoming a life coach and they are training, skills and education. When it comes to training, there are many life coaching academies that offer courses and some even offer accreditation. Many of these courses have actual and practical value. Please note that there is no federal or state agency that has an accreditation for life coaching and schools offering degrees are self-accredited.

If you are considering taking any of these courses first look into the costs involved. Often an inexpensive introductory course is offered only to get you started. Since costs can add up quickly, check into the length of time, the number of additional courses required and make sure to get referrals from other students. Another important point to check for first is whether or not the school provides adequate tools for practical application when working with clients. This will be very helpful for beginners in developing step-by-step methods for life coaching.

There are a few key skills that are absolutely essential. For starters, you need to be a good listener, a creative problem solver and have considerable knowledge of human behavior. You need to be able to set goals and develop plans of action to actualize them. Life coaching requires that you are organized and can keep meticulous attention to detail to monitor weekly results.

Patience and the ability to deal with frustration are critical. Clients don’t always do what they agree to do and getting people to suddenly give up destructive behavior patterns can be a real challenge. You need to know how to motivate and be creative in overcoming obstacles and objections. You have to really like and care about people. You must also be able to accept failure as not all clients will change. There are a few more skills involved but these are fundamental.

A life coach should love education in order to stay informed of current advances and trends. The areas that require consistent study are psychology, goal setting, motivation, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, human behavior, habits of successful people, sleep patterns, relationships, business principles, principles of success, career development, drugs, alcohol, leadership, sales and more. A life coach is a relentless student of these subjects.

Life coaching is a proactive approach to resolving obstacles in an individual’s life and it requires a clear picture of not only why and how, but also of step-by-step implementation and the ability to resolve blocks and setbacks as they come up. You’ll need to combine these factors into a working platform to assist your clients in reaching their goals.

Finally, when you are ready to start life coaching, how are you going to get clients? The idea of working for yourself and helping people may sound great, and it is but it comes with its difficulties. You are not going to simply get business cards made then start filling your appointment book. Schools offering great careers as life-coaches will only be able to give you limited assistance in getting clients. After you spend your time and money either with a life coaching school or developing your own style of life coaching it will be up to you to get clients. You are one hundred percent responsible for your income and success.

You should enjoy networking and self-promoting. You can build a clientele through friends, networking groups, placing ads, professional relationships, and whatever other creative ways you can think of. As you get clients and earn a reputation, your business will grow through referrals. All this takes time, so be prepared.

As you are developing your business, you will have to overcome the obstacle of people questioning what a life coach does. Be prepared by asking yourself why someone would pay you to advise him or her and have a good answer. The answer you develop to that question will be the foundation for your success.

After considering all of these factors, if you decide to become a life coach you will be entering a dynamic field. Being able to actually help people create the life changes they want is a highly rewarding and exciting career. You’ll be helping others gain success while creating your own!

The sun is the source of power in the astrology chart and in life. Without the sun there is no life whatsoever. If the sun exploded or stopped shining, everything would die very quickly. With all of our modern sophistication, it it’s amazing how most people do not remember this simple fact.

As such, it is the qualities of the sun in our birth chart and by transit that shows the nature by which we seek to access our personal strength and power.

Through the prism of the ego the infinite light of the sun gets filtered, leaving parts of our psyche in darkness. Once we begin living a more examined life our inner sun begins to illuminate the dark corners of our soul. Once illuminated, these darker parts of our self become resurrected.

There’s a classical yoga story that illustrates this point. It is the story of the snake and the rope. In darkness a coiled rope may have the appearance of a snake. If we encounter this coiled rope we may react as if we have seen a snake: by fearfully jumping out of the way, with our heartbeat racing, etc. For all intents and purposes, in that moment the rope IS a snake. Yet if we produce a flashlight and shine it upon the coiled rope, all of our symptoms disappear &ndash the truth is revealed. Nothing more needs to be done. The appearance of light removes darkness and magically our imagined symptoms disappear. Additionally, once we see the truth we don’t forget. After we realize that the coiled rope is not a snake, we don’t then forget this and react in fear again after we turn flashlight off. No, we remember &ndash and if we are smart, that experience changes us and gives us insight into the nature of our illusory perceptions.

This is the nature of the sun, to separate us from the darker parts of our being. The sun refers to the greatest possibility we have, the possibility of enlightenment. Yet it requires enormous sacrifice, in fact the ultimate sacrifice. What is that sacrifice? It requires us to sacrifice those familiar shadows of self that we hang onto, those shadows of the ego that gives us a sense of worldly identity. Living in full power and full clarity is a scary prospect, because it demands we grow up and become responsible for who we are now and where we’re going, rather than hang onto the disempowering blame assessed to the perpetrators in our past. As long as we are still a victim, living in the past, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, marching lockstep in accordance with our negative programming. Of all the planets, the sun refers to all we are becoming and are true desire to be self actualized. That’s self actualization begins with reclaiming the reins of personal strength, power and integrity.

The sun just entered Pisces on March 14. The sun in Pisces offers a great opportunity for us to dig deeper into mystical teachings, religion and spirituality as a means of self actualization. Creativity, music, teaching and all forms of inner expansion will be supported until April 13, when the sun enters Aries &ndash where the cycle begins again. Pisces is the sign of completions, returning home, liberation, freedom from bondage and an egoistic self-identity.

There will be a solar eclipse March 19 at approximately 3:33 GMT, that is about 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 18 &ndash 7:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, March 18. During this time it would be very beneficial to meditate on your emerging spiritual progress and to internally declare what you’re willing to sacrifice toward that emerging spiritual path. This positive intention will be particularly powerful during this time.

So many people today go through life under the misconception that they aren’t creative or can’t use their creativeness, and thus end up leading ordinary and unsuccessful lives. That is simply not true. The fact is, we all need to exercise and train our creative muscle. Stimulate your creative genius and help it grow.If we don’t practice,or don’t know what to practice, we don’t grow to our potential. Just planting a seed is never enough, we must nurture it until it reaches for the sky. That is the secret to success.

So how can we change this misconception? First, do you want to? Good! Now that we have the very first step in unleashing your creative side, move on to reading everything you can get your hands on. Learn other’s secrets to success. Look for mentors that have what you want. Once you have found one or more mentors, open yourself up for the infinite possibilities. Growth could be slow at first, but once it takes off, you won’t be able to stop it! Success comes from your creative self, unleash your inner success.

A good practice is to focus in on something creative everyday, this is a time to stretch. Pushing your boundaries. As you stretch, you may feel uncomfortable or even foolish but it will be well worth it, you’re growing. You are creating a new you! Take a deep breath and feel the possibilities. Feel all the potential flowing through your every cell. When every cell is vibrating with creative energy,you are on your way to a renewed you.

Now, I bet you’re thinking that there must be another way! Is there a secret to success? Well there are only two ways: creation or decomposition. You are either creating a better you,or you are rotting in place.In both directions you will succeed, but which one you chose is all important. Just like that seed planted but not nurtured will rot in the soil, missing out on it’s full potential. So, you have a choice: Rot or grow? Yes, I believe in a Higher Power, let’s all grow in that direction.

So where will you be a year from now, who will you be? Hopefully not the same old you. Wake up your creative inner self and become the you that you are meant to be. Work for a change in your self. Start a new successful path, create the wealth, happiness and success that you have always dreamed of. Creativity will set you free, to do, and to be whatever you want. Free your self from the day to day commute and start a business you can do from home. Be able to do with your days whatever it is that you want. Whatever you can dream… you can create. Others are doing it,why not you?

Learn from those who already have created the life that you dream of, do it today! What better place to start than right where you are…we can help you along the way. Learn the secrets to success from others that have tested the bridge to the future. You’re About To Learn ‘Secrets To Success’ That Most People Will Never Know About. How To Really Create Wealth Online…follow the creative path. The possibilities are waiting for you….

When they make the decision to quit smoking, most smokers turn to patches or nicotine gum. The snag is that these aren’t particularly effective. Partly because you’re still getting an intake of nicotine.

There are other methods to quit smoking that don’t involve the use of patches, gum or drugs. One of the most effective of these is using hypnosis to quit smoking.

It’s been shown that hypnosis has a success rate of around two people out of every three who use it. That’s a lot more success than near enough any other method.

The good news is that not only is hypnosis more effective but it’s cheaper than most of the alternative methods (apart from will power of course, but that has the lowest success rate). Patches seem to be priced at around the same cost as your daily ration of cigarettes. A hypnosis course to quit smoking will likely only cost you about a week or two’s worth of your regular cigarette intake. So providing you manage to quit for at least two weeks, you’ll be in pocket.

You may be asking what happens to the one person in three who doesn’t manage to use hypnosis to quit smoking. Why didn’t it work for them?

There are a lot of possible reasons. One of the most common is if they were the only person in their group of friends who tried to give up. It’s difficult to go against the crowd, so that person needs to either be very strong willed or change the group they mix with. Otherwise they don’t stand much chance of being able to give up smoking.

The best way to quit smoking with hypnosis is to sign up for one of the instantly downloadable courses. There’s

How many times have you looked in the mirror and seen something you don’t like? It happens to the best of us, we get caught up in what we ‘should’ look like. Thighs are too big, hair is too straight, too many freckles, breasts are too small… the list could go on, and for many of us it does. The question is, are you loving who you are and keen to further improve yourself, or are you getting caught in the old “I’ll be happy when…”? “I’ll be happy when I weigh only X kg”, “I’ll be happy when I get a boob job”, I’ll be happy when I have this or that done”.

The truth is that happiness isn’t a place, person, operation, destination or weight goal. Happiness is a feeling, and it’s entirely within our control as to if, and when, we feel it or not. The challenge many of us face is that we’re always searching for something externally to make us feel good rather than finding it within.

I know this, because I spent most of my life not liking what I saw in the mirror. I was Bulimic for 8 years and ALWAYS thought I was too fat. It wasn’t until I was looking back in hindsight, that I realised my problems never had anything to do with my weight. I’m 5’2” and at my very heaviest I was only 55kg (121lb), but I thought I was a huge, hideous monster. I was never happy unless I was down to 48kg (106lb), which &ndash funnily enough &ndash only seemed to happen when I was even more depressed, or on the ‘break up diet’ when I’d split with a partner. Most of the time I was never more than about 50kg (110lb) yet I absolutely believed that I would only be happy when these last 2kg (4.4lb) had dropped.

2kg? How could 2 measly kilograms really dictate whether or not I was happy? From the outside in, it was easy to see that I had a problem unrelated to my weight, but as the person experiencing this, it was all I could think about. In fact ‘think’ is too mild a word. I was obsessed. I would starve myself for days, only to binge on huge amounts of food which I would then purge, several times a day. This was a destructive, cyclic pattern and it was ruining my life, my relationships and my health. Even now, years later, my digestive system doesn’t function properly and I have irrepairable damage to my teeth from all the purging.

I tried everything I could think of to make the changes I knew I needed. I went to counselors, support groups, psychiatrists, nutritionists, everything… you name it, I tried it. What I hadn’t tried at that point, is to truly understand that I needed to fall in love with me, just the way I was. When I was 26, I started working one on one with Nina, a very intuitive life coach who helped me search inside myself to find the answers I was looking for.

There were many months of tears, frustration and soul searching… but eventually there was peace. I was able to understand why I was using food as an emotional crutch and what the real cause of my behaviour was. You see, the eating disorder was simply a vehicle for dealing with the real issues, and once I knew what they were, I was able to address them directly.

Today I am happy, healthy and loving who I am. I’m still human, I still have bad days, and I still have an ‘ideal weight’ that I’d like to get to… but it doesn’t dictate my life and I love myself regardless… squishy bits and all.

“A great title is a work of genius,” said E. Haldeman-Julius in the 1920s.

Haldeman-Julius sold 200 million (really) of his “Little Blue Books.” His headlines were his product, because he sold his books by the title. About halfway through his brilliant marketing career he wrote a book called “The First Hundred Million,” in which he shared some of his secrets…

EHJ had a system.

Snoring is an inconvenience and a health hazard for both the snorer, and his or her spouse. Many people will turn to surgery in a desperate attempt to cure the snoring, but non-surgical treatments are available.

While undertaking any non-surgical treatment for snoring, it’s important to establish a baseline to measure the effectiveness of the treatment. This can be a difficult and time-consuming task. Those with willing partners to assist them can ask for feedback as to whether or not they notice an improvement once a treatment is under way. Those who live alone can make nightly recordings to assess the effectiveness of any treatments they try.

Drug treatments fall into three groups. The first works to stimulate respiration, the second opens the airways and the third works to keep the patient from entering REM sleep. All stages of sleep have been proven to benefit health and well being, so one must question the validity of taking a drug that interferes with natural sleep patterns.

Some over-the-counter decongestant inhalers can be beneficial in keeping nasal passageways open. Simple saline nasal sprays will work to keep the mucous membranes moist and unclogged, thus reducing vibration noise.

People who sleep on their backs are more likely to snore; so numerous devices have been designed to manipulate the sleeping position.

Specially designed pillows force the snorer to sleep on his or her side. Snoring balls can be useful if you try sleeping on your side but always roll to your back. This little wonder is sewn into a pocket on the back of a pyjama shirt, making it uncomfortable to sleep on your back. Snoring balls can be purchased in stores, or fashioned from materials readily available in the home. Sleep position monitors are also available. These electronic devices emit a beeping alarm when the sleeper rolls from back to side. The premise is that the snorer becomes conditioned to sleeping on his or her side.

Nasal strips applied externally to the nose will act to widen the nasal passages. Athletes also use nasal strips to improve their respiratory efficiency. Another device based on the same principle is a dilator. This plastic or metal coil is inserted into the nostrils before sleep, keeping the nasal passages open during sleep. Both of these gadgets seem to cut down on the vibratory noise of snoring.

There is a huge market of appliances devised to help desperate snorers. Other choices include oral appliances, tongue trainers and even a little device that emits an electric shock when it senses snoring.

Diet and food allergies or intolerances can also contribute to snoring. Allergies can cause mucous membranes to become inflamed and congested. The congestion blocks the airway and snoring occurs. Some people have reported that avoiding dairy products can improve snoring, while others have found that vitamin C can worsen their condition.

Weight is another contributing factor to snoring. There is a direct link between snoring and obesity or even excess weight. Once other underlying causes can be ruled out, weight loss should be the first treatment considered for snoring. Of course, reduced snoring is only one of countless benefits you’ll receive from attaining a healthy weight.

Finally, avoiding alcohol and sedatives can greatly improve a snoring problem, as these substances can cause tissues to relax and obstruct the airways.

While immediate surgery might seem like the alternative to a snorer, or a snorer’s bedmate, there are many alternative treatments to consider before going under the knife. Ask you doctor which treatment option might be best for you.

Spring-cleaning: for some a chore for others a joy. I learned about this ritual at an early age. Now, the thought of spring-cleaning evokes precious memories.

When I was a young child, back in the land of four seasons and none of them rain (Manitoba), the cold inhibiting days of winter were ushered out with a yearly farm ritual: spring-cleaning. No corner of our home was left untouched by brooms, dusters, scrub brushes, rags and other cleaning weapons. Every inch of closet was emptied, inventories were taken, value was assessed, surfaces were washed and cleaned, and then those clothes that were still ‘good’ were organized in a useful and efficient way. Beds were moved, dressers emptied, ceilings dusted.

My memory of choice is the window cleaning. After windowpanes were removed for cleaning, the windowsill became a place of pure ecstasy! I can easily recall those moments: sitting on my perfect perch, watching the ice break up in the creek behind our home. Huge pieces floated by, cracking loudly, twisting, crunching, piling up in a chaotic proclamation of the new season’s arrival. Fresh air was in abundance; pussy willows to the left, bird feeders with chirping chickadees to the right. It was heavenly!

It was that type of day where I learned that hard work pays off. At that early age, I felt the change of energy in my home and in myself after a day of thorough de-cluttering and cleaning. The house felt lighter, brighter, more cheerful. I felt like skipping.

The best part of de-cluttering and organizing for me today is hearing my clients describe similar feelings of lightness and freedom after a session together. Whether in their home or office, de-cluttering can be a cathartic passing of the old, the start a whole new season in life.

What are your plans this spring? Is a cluttered room or desk stopping you from enjoying your home or office the way you’d like to enjoy it? Have your dust bunnies proliferated beyond a reasonable limit? Do you find spring-cleaning to be a daunting task of Olympian magnitude? Has it never even occurred to you that a good spring-cleaning would be appropriate at the office?