Stop Dieting Start Living (part 2)

Well........the 12 weeks (of this program) have come to an end and that went really fast. I want to send out a huge thank you to Rachel Fox, the facilitator of this program. This was a very personal journey for her. We got to hear about her life long struggles with weight and body image and how she changed it all around to put the focus on being HEALTHY  and feeling great, and not to worry about what the scale says.

I have to admit, I'm still struggling with that one. In one of our sessions, Rachel asked us if we'd be willing to bring our scales in to get rid of them. I think I actually had heart palpitations. It really showed me how deeply ingrained that programming is for women to always be looking to the scale for validation. On our first night when we were introducing ourselves and telling a bit about our stories, I told the part of how for 2 years I have been tracking my food and hiking my butt off (unfortunately NOT literally!), and how disappointed I was that I had not lost an ounce. Yes, I was feeling stronger, Yes, my chronic pain that I deal with as a part of my illness has become less, but because those numbers on the scale had not moved, I felt like a failure.

Being a person that is obsessed with personal development, I have done SO much work on my self mentally and emotionally, but going through this process showed me that I still have a major mental roadblock when it comes to weight and body image. I have been avoiding it, while working on other areas that I felt were more important, but I definitely realized I need to kick this part of the work into high gear. As we went through the program and talked about food, moving our bodies, drinking water, I was like: check, check, check......so what am I doing wrong? It confirmed to me that my issue is with mindset. I can pinpoint when my weight started to become and issue and why, now it is time for me to spend some time to meet it head on, and the thought of that is a bit scary, but it truly needs to be done if I am ever going to be free of this.

In my first blog post, I had mentioned some of my fave parts of the first half of the program, now I will mention my fave parts of the second half. On one of the night, Patricia Dominguez, a nutrition expert from Integrated Nutrition Canada, came and spoke with us and some points she made really stuck out for me. When it comes to the Canadian diet, we are dealing with 3 main problems: Our obsession with sugar, a hijacked mindset and the troubling toxin that are so prevalent in our foods today. Some of the demos that she showed us were enough to turn your stomach. We also talked about how to reset the body through removing toxins from your organs, replenishing the natural flora in the digestive system, restoring the gut where inflammation is concerned, nourishing our bodies with whole foods and changing our mindset to make better eating choices. On another night, Sharon Villars from Bootstrap Lifeskills came by to talk about the 50 Shades of Blues, in how stress and overwhelm can affect your health. We did some pretty great exercises that definitely got us thinking about the language we use and how it affects our lives and health.

So, when I first agreed to be a part of this program, I had no idea what I was in for. I have done several 'weight loss' programs before, so I will admit that I went in a tad cynical about me learning anything new. But the truth of the matter is, this is not like all those other programs. You don't have to show a food journal, you're not counting calories, there are no weight ins or measurements taken. This program is learning about strategies that you could implement in your life in different areas that affect your weight and overall health. And in the end, it's your choice if you want to implement them or not. You are the one that has to do the work, this is NOT a quick fix issue.  So if you're ready to be honest about where you are and how you've been treating your body and wanting to learn some new tools to add to your repertoire, then this is the program for you. I believe in going forward, Rachel is thinking about changing it to a 2 day event instead of holding it over 12 weeks, so keep an eye out for that being advertised

As for Rachel's other venture of the Body Exchange , which is the Bootcamp for plus sizes.......I cannot recommend this enough. While I was there, I was LOVING it.....and my body was actually handling it quite nicely........until I took a bad fall in February, and my back and hip just haven't been the same since, and add round #3 of a nasty cold on top of that, and I was completely knocked out from completing my time there. Definitely check it out if you are wanting to get serious about moving your body and feeling awesome! Stop by Rachel's Facebook page to connect with her there to get more info on the programs.

On a personal side note......this will be my last blog post under the Positivity Kitty name, I am transitioning over to my life as a Certified Relationship and Life Coach and will be blogging under my business name of Reignite Your Purpose. I'm hoping that the website will be somewhat up and operational soon, so I will post later with the links to that.

Thank you for spending your time with me as the Positivity Kitty, and I hope you come on over to Reignite Your Purpose soon.

Hugs,
S

Are you a SLAVE to TIME? Here are some tips to make time work for YOU!

Do you ever feel like you are a slave to time? Like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done, or at the end of the day you feel like you've been SO busy, but yet you feel like you've accomplished nothing?

Today I listened to a guided meditation from Deepak Chopra. The focus in this meditation was Timing For Success and it resonated deeply with me. Deepak states that 'even though our true self is timeless, we live and experience sequential time'. I, for one, find it hard sometimes to think of our selves as 'timeless', as we have been so programmed to watch the clock or calendar. For the most part, in my opinion,  we let time control us. Lord knows I have fallen victim to that more times than I can count! Left feeling like I am running out of time, or i'm short on time, or there just isn't enough time.

The truth of the matter is, everyone has the same 24 hours in the day, and yet some can accomplish SO much in it, while others flounder. It all comes down to how you manage it. Deepak states that 'we must respect and manage our time each day skillfully so that we synchronize our biorhythms with Nature'.  Dr. Daniel J. Siegal from UCLA, came up with a great model for mastering time that helps support our well being, have a healthy brain and nurtures every aspect of our personal inner growth. He says that it's best to proportion our time into 7 different categories each day.  At the beginning of each day, have a look as to how you are going to make sure that you hit all of those categories during the course of the day.

The categories are:

1. Sleep time : Did you get enough restful sleep? 
2. Physical time: Did you allow your body time to move and to be active? 
3. Focus time: Did you spend some time alone to concentrate on what matters most to you? 
4. Time In: Did you set aside some time for prayer, meditation or inner reflection? 
5. Time Out: Did you set aside some time to just BE and rest in existence? 
6. Play time: Did you have time to just have some carefree fun? 
7. Connecting time: Did you spend some private time with your loved ones? 

By incorporating those 7 categories of time into your day, you are making time work for YOU! As those categories optimize different areas of the brain, which lead to expanded awareness and a sense of fulfillment.

I am definitely going to make an attempt to incorporate this into my life. How about you? Do you think it is do-able? Do you already do this? I know for me, there are some categories that I do better at, and I sacrifice others thinking that they're not as important. But now I see that they are all equally important and it's about time I treated them as such!

I will leave you with today's centering thought:

I allow the flow of time to carry me forward

Hugs, 

S

The Lessons I Learned on Friday the 13th!

So......here it is, Friday the 13th (well it was when I was writing this) and while I see people posting about superstitions, bad luck and quips about 'stay safe out there', here I am basking in glorious Nature, watching the world go by, without a care in the world. I honestly didn't even make the 'Friday the 13th' connection for today until I looked at my social media feeds. Why do people make such a big deal out of this day? If you're on the lookout for something bad to happen on this day, I can guarantee that The Law of Attraction will answer that call! So seriously......let's move on!

You see.......I had this day planned on my calendar for a while now. It just happened to fall on this 'fateful' day because it was the ONLY day this week where I didn't have an appointment to be at. I would love to say that I bask in the glories of Nature that surround me often, but the truth of the matter is as much as we love each other, we haven't been spending much time together lately. I've just allowed myself to get too busy with other things.

And isn't that just how it goes with a lot of relationships, mostly with the MOST important relationship, the one with ourselves. We get too busy with the daily grind of life; work, kids, business, obligations, family, housework, you name it. We have an endless amount of avenues that take our energy.....and by the end of the day we have absolutely NOTHING to give back to ourselves!

My logo for Re-branding my business

Right now, i'm in the middle of transitioning my Positivity Kitty blog into a full fledged coaching business (yes, that means there is a name change that you will already see on my social media), and WOW, there is SO much to do! Re-branding, graphics, domains, hosting, website design and optimization and not to mention the training that I want to do to beef up my skills! Then there are the programs that I will be offering. I need to get complete clarity on those and write the programs! Some days....(OK seriously, most days).....it feels VERY overwhelming. This is a HUGE step for me to truly step out on my own, embrace the whole 'stepping into my greatness' mindset. It can leave you feeling very naked and vulnerable. And then the doubts creep in.......can I actually do this? What makes me think that I can do this? Who would want to listen to what I have to say? I have no real business blueprint to work off of, I'm a Scientist and an Educator, I'm not an MBA!


On my weekly session with my coach, Andrea, we talked about the doubts, the overwhelm, and we put a few more pieces into place, and she focused me on what my steps for the week will be. Then she asked me what my passions are? At first I was confused, as I thought haven't we been talking about the passion I feel for building this business and helping people create transformation in their lives and relationships? Then I realized that she meant my 'personal' passions. What things do I like to do that 'fill me up'? I have 3 main passions in my life; travel, nature and photography and the ultimate is when I can combine all 3.

Me sitting at my fave log on the Beach

So, Andrea gave me my homework for the week. I had to plan a little excursion for the day, to get out of the house, away from the laptop, away from all the things that I felt that I needed to be doing, and go spend the day re-charging. When she asked me where I would go, the first place I thought of was my fave  beach of Spanish Banks here in Vancouver. I told her how I had a favourite log that I sit at because it is set at the perfect angle that the whole city is directly in front of me. So the date with myself was set!





Friday morning as I got things ready to go, I struggled with the idea of my ever growing to-do list being left behind, but I jumped in the car and headed to the beach. I am SO grateful that I live in the one part of Canada that rarely gets snow, and even though it is only March, we've been in full Spring mode for a few weeks now. I knew that the moment I got there, any guilt I had about the work that I had left behind would soon melt away. This was MY time, time to reconnect with nature, time to reconnect and be present with me, time for me to be quiet with my thoughts and just soak up the natural beauty around me. It was quite a realization for me, that the approximately 6 hours that I was there, that I did not speak a word.....it was SO peaceful!

digging my bare toes into the sand! 

It's an incredibly grounding experience to get up close and personal with nature. By this I mean in the flesh, bare skin touching Mother Earth. We live in a very insulated world and with the great shoes that we wear all the time, we actually cut our selves off from the flow of energy from the Earth to us and from us back to the Earth. If you think this sounds like hocus pocus, Google 'Earthing' and see that it is an actual practice and has HUGE health benefits!



I believe that a lot of the stress that we feel in our every day lives is due to thei flow of energy being cut off and we living such insulated lives. As cliche as it sounds, we are all connected energetically and in turn connected to the Earth and when we cut off that flow of energy, it is like we are cutting off our life force.

So, I ask you.....what are your passions? What activities or places can you go to that re-charge you and fill you up? No matter how busy you are or what is going on in your life, make some precious time for you, put it on the calendar and KEEP that appointment!




Take care of you and you will have more to give back to those that you love!

Hugs,
S

PS.......in the near future, the new website and blog section will be set up, so things will look a bit different. At that time, I will set up a proper form where you can subscribe to ensure you don't miss any posts....because you wouldn't want to do that!!! LOL

Lose The Diet, Find Yourself

What's your history with the word DIET?

From my earliest memory, it seems like I've been on one of some sort or another.  My mother was obsessed with dieting when I was growing up. She was constantly doing whatever new fad diet that she would see in the grocery store tabloids. I remember the grapefruit diet, the soup diet, I have a vague memory of some sort of diet where we could only eat 'white' foods......It was crazy! If there was a diet pill being shown on TV or in the magazines, she was buying it, and a lot of times, she would give them to me to use. I remember her going on fasts that would last for weeks! We were never allowed any of the 'bad' foods in the house.

Needless to say, I ended up growing up with a very unhealthy relationship with food. I used to sneak food and hide it under my bed. I would get into mom's baking supplies, as that would be the only time I would get any sort of chocolate, coconut or nuts. I would steal the powdered Jell-O or Tang Orange drink crystals out of the cupboard just so I could have something that was sweet. Every Halloween I would get in trouble for eating all the candy that I had collected so quickly. I didn't know how to handle being around the so called 'bad' foods. I rarely saw them, so when I did, it was the thought pattern of get in as much as you can, while you can, as you don't know when you're ever going to see it again.

During most of my childhood, it was just me and my mom at home. My brothers were quite a bit older than me and had moved out (except 1) by the time I was school aged. My dad worked in Logging Camps, so we would only see him on the weekends. Friday was always my favourite day, as not only would Dad be coming home, but before he left camp, he would fill up his lunch box with baked goods that the Cook would make. In those days, the camp cooks were amazing and fed their guys VERY well! It was literally like, 'hey dad........what's in the lunch box?'. Most of it never lasted the evening.

It was no wonder with that kind of early abuse on my metabolism, that I ended up being heavy my whole life. Even though food was heavily monitored, exercise was never encouraged. My brothers all played organized sports of some sort, but when I came along, my parents had the view that sports was not for girls. Yes, I would go for walks or bike rides, but even that wasn't encouraged. I was a shy kid and spent a lot of time playing quietly, either sitting in my closet playing with my Barbies and Little Ponies, or making Blanket Forts and living in my imagination.

As time wore on, the pounds kept mounting up. As an adult, I've tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Herbal Magic, with little to no results. I had some success with the Atkins Diet (lost 60 pounds), but I REALLY missed fruit, so that didn't last and gained 35 of that back. It didn't help at that time of gaining back that I was going through my divorce, stressful eating at it's finest! In 2009, I had my biggest weight loss success with the Sure Slim program, where I lost 80 pounds in about 6 months with no exercise. At that point, I felt like I could start exercising and learned to run for the first time in my life. Even though I was getting smaller as my muscles became leaner, I started gaining again. I was SO programmed by the numbers on that scale, that I spent most days in frustration not knowing what I was doing wrong. Then at the end of 2010, my world fell a part and I went through a string of very stressful events that led me to be diagnosed with a Chronic Illness that was stress based. In the first 2 months after the events, I gained about 30 pounds, which I couldn't figure out, as I was barely eating. Since my diagnosis, my weight has been a constant struggle. I have completely revamped my diet and I am eating the best that I ever have and have started doing a lot of walking and hiking, but I can never get a movement of more than 15-20 pounds. I think I have gained and lost the same 15 pounds at least 10 times if not more.

Then at the beginning of this year, a friend of mine had told me about Rachel Fox and how she was starting a 12 week program called Stop Dieting, Start Living. She would share with us her journey of weight gain, loss, and how she developed a good relationship with food. At this point, we are 3 weeks into the 12. Each week we have a certain topic that we talk about and discuss ways to deal with the issues. This past week we were talking about sugars, fats and processed foods. We did an exercise where we were given lists of food items and had to put them into categories of red, amber and green. We weren't given criteria of what the red, amber and green meant, we just had to go with what we thought was best. It was rather interesting seeing how our individual programmings all came out on how we chose which categories the food went in to. I know for me, I was thinking by glycemic index, what was processed and what would be considered GMO. We all had some surprises, and it was interesting to see what foods we would get confused on whether they were considered good or not.

As a compliment, Rachel also runs the Body Exchange Tricities, which is a Bootcamp for plus sized women. I have always like the idea of a Bootcamp, but I went to a regular one once, and thought I was going to die while I tried to keep up with the 'stick insects'......no offense to all you skinny, athletic people, but you can be a tad intimidating to us 'fluffier' folks trying to exercise among you! So when Rachel first mentioned about me coming out to try the Bootcamp, my initial reaction was, HELL NO! I've walked or hiked over 500 kms over the past 2 years, I will stick to that, thanks! But I knew that I was missing one key element, strength training, so I knew I had to give it a shot. At this point, I have gone to 4 sessions over the last 2 weeks, as it's recommended that you go 2-3 times per week (once a week is not enough). Since doing it, yes I have seen some movement on the scale, but I am trying not to focus on that as my only goal. I feel like I am standing taller (which is a scary thought with my almost 6 foot frame!), I feel the muscles in my arms and shoulders tightening up and feeling stronger. I've even done a little bit of running again. But the best part is that I am surrounded with women, JUST. LIKE. ME. Rachel gets what our struggles are, as she's been there, she can relate. The women in the sessions encourage and help each other through. There is no judgement, just positivity. We are all stepping outside our boxes, we are all in the same boat. We all 'get' each other.

I am looking forward to seeing what the next 9 weeks of the program will teach us, and what more time in the Bootcamp will do for my body.

To get more info on both the Stop Dieting, Start Living Program and Body Exchange Tricities, contact Rachel through her website, her page on Facebook, or by calling 604-492-4549

Me and fellow blogger Trish Mandewo 'duking' it out!

Trish's blog is www.livelearninspirebytrish.wordpress.com

How are you Getting Ready for the New Year?

HOLY COW!!! Are you like me in wondering where the heck this year went? In my video below, I do a wrap up of an activity that I do throughout the year to celebrate the wonderful things (great and small) that happened this year.

In my video above, I mentioned a set of questions that I work through at the end of the year to help me get focused on where I am headed in the New Year, so here they are. Remember, these will take some inner reflection and REALLY be honest with yourself to get the most out of the exercise.

1. What am I most PROUD of this year?
2. How Can I become a better a) son/daughter b) woman/man  c) Partner  d) Business person  e) friend
3. Where am I feeling STUCK?
4. Where do I need to allow myself GRACE?
5. Am I passionate about my Career/Business?
6. What Lessons have I learned?
7. What did my Finances look like?
8. How did I spend my Free Time?
9. How well did I take care of my Body, Mind and Spirit?
10. How have I been Open Minded?
11. When did I feel the most Creatively Inspired this year?
12. What Projects have I completed?
13. How have I Procrastinated?
14. In what ways can I restructure my Time?
15. How have I let the Fear of Failure hole me back?
16. Where has Self Doubt taken over?
17. When have I felt the most Alive this year?
18. How have I taught other to Respect me?
19. How can I improve my Relationships?
20. Have I been unfair to anyone?
21. Who do I need to Forgive?
22. Where is it Time to Let Go?
23. What Old Habits would I like to Release?
24. What new Habits would I like to Cultivate?
25. How can I be kind to Myself?

Now......what quirky end of the year habits do you have? For me, I have this thing that I cannot take this years dirt into the next year. So, I have been busy getting my car washed, getting all my laundry done, my home has been vacuumed, dusted and scrubbed, and all garbage and recycling has been taken out.  I have no idea when I started this, as it seems like I have been doing it for years, but I just love being able to wake up on the first morning of a New Year and know that there are no chores that I have to get done. It truly is a fresh, clean slate!!

So what are yours? Leave me a comment below or tell me on my Facebook Page, as I would love to hear what you do to get ready to welcome in a New Year!!

I just want to wish you and yours a Happy New Year and may your year be filled with Many Blessings!

Hugs
Sheila

Want to make your Passion more Profitable? (special offer included)

On October 19-20, The Women in Biz Network (WIBN) is putting on their 4th annual conference to show us how to do exactly that! Women from all across North America will be gathering in Vancouver for 2 days of networking, learning and building relationships to help recognize their business dreams. Essentially you will be getting a mini MBA on small business growth. Where else can you get such valued information from so many successful entrepreneurs in one place? My brain is already spinning in anticipation of all the great nuggets that I will walk away from this conference with!!! I think this calls for me to go out and buy a new notebook, as I have a feeling that I will be walking away with pages and pages of business goodness!

Women in Biz Network is one of Canada's fastest growing national organizations of social influencers and thought leaders dedicated to professional and entrepreneurial development of all women. 

This years conference is centered around turning your Passions into Profit and will focus on Smart Growth Strategies where some of North America's top entrepreneurs will talk about how they built their empires and will provide real world skills for women interested in turning their passions into profit. 

Check out the Passion to Profit page for all the details of the speakers, topics and the agendas. 

Featured Speakers:

• Two Profit Canada Magazine Top Women Entrepreneurs (Kelsey Ramsden and Victoria Sopik)
• Canada’s First TSN Female Broadcaster and Author of the In-credibility Factor, Teresa Kruze
• Author Christina Rasmussen of Second Firsts
• Juno Award Winning Aboriginal Artist Brenda MacIntyre (now Success Shamman)

Sessions will focus on mentoring (including mentor matching), round table brain storming, pod casting, building online communities, developing your story, finding your voice, smart business plan expansion, breaking through barriers, how to survive the business tug of war and what to do when you get lost. I seriously CANNOT wait to get there!! 

What do you walk away with after the conference?

• Clear vision and goals for your business for 2014/2015
• Your business story defined
• New relationships
• Mentor possibilities (if you find a mentor through our program)
• Ongoing follow up and opportunities to speak to our experts with our follow up series
• 1 year WIBN Membership
• Ongoing opportunities to stay in touch via webinars, events and tweet chats

So here's the deal you've been waiting for..........if you use my promo code of "PassionPartner", you will get 50% off the regular ticket price! That means you get to hear all these amazing speakers and have mentor opportunities, all for just $100!!!!!!! That is a steal of a deal! Not to mention that lunch and refreshments are included in that on the Monday, and complimentary child care! Seriously, how can you say no to all that! The pre-conference day on Sunday is an optional add on for conference attendees. 

Is it time to take your business to a new level? Is it time to truly step into your Business Greatness? Is it time to stop playing small and finally realize your Business Dreams? Then it's time to invest in yourself, your business, your passion and turn it into some serious PROFIT!

See you there! 

Connect with the Women in Biz Network on 
Facebook  and Twitter

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you” ~Oprah

Do You Desire To Live an Extraordinary Life?

I know that I do, but I also know that sometimes the thought of being extraordinary is overwhelming......I mean, where do you start? What does living extraordinary mean to you? At this point, to me living an extraordinary life would be one filled with freedom, love,  happiness, integrity, authenticity,  sharing my gifts, helping people make their lives their definition of extraordinary. Maybe after this event my definition of extraordinary may change, grow or intensify in all these ways, who knows, but I am sure excited to find out!

When the opportunity came to me to be a Blog Ambassador for the Living Extraordinary event put on by the Conscious Divas, I was like, YES YES YES.......this is SO perfect for me!!! Here was an event that will focus on what I am always talking about and trying to live my life like........being more consciously aware of what is going on in your life and the world around you!

What would be better than sitting in a room full of like minded people, listening to 10 local luminaries, sharing their amazing experiences and insights on what it means to be EXTRAORDINARY? I seriously couldn't jump on this fast enough! And so should YOU!

So.......are you free on Oct 21st? Juggle your schedule, get a babysitter, PVR your fave shows, grab your best friend and get your butt down to the Imperial Theatre on Main St in Vancouver. This is a night for you to be inspired, enlightened, challenged and to raise your degree of conscious living.

We've all gone through challenges in our lives, some big, some small, some down right life changing. These challenges can leave us restless, wanting for more out of life, wanting to change our paths...at least I know that is what it did for me.....but when that happens, a lot of times we don't know where to turn. Who do we listen to? How do we take that first scary step? Here is your chance to listen to 10 people talk about what has gone on in their lives to help them raise their conscious awareness and be better connected with themselves. You never know what nugget you could walk away with, which story is going to resonate with you and who is going to inspire you to take that leap into EXTRAORDINARY.

So who are the Conscious Divas?

"We are a local organization dedicated to helping women (and open minded men) experience a more authentic, conscious and connected life. We are on a mission to spread ideas and possibilities that elevate consciousness and collectively increase ones state being in the world." 

Don't think this event is just for women, it is NOT......this is for anyone and everyone that yearns for a life that is conscious, connected and beyond ordinary. For those ready to discover new ideas and concepts in living consciously, and for those that find it exciting to spend an evening with others who share your conscious ideology!

So who's with me?

Go to the event page HERE to check out the bios of the speakers and to reserve your ticket. If you use the PROMO CODE of "MYFRIEND", you will get 25% off the regular ticket price.......how can you say no to that?!

Connect with the Conscious Divas on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about this amazing group of women and what their goals and visions are.

I would love to see you there!

Stop ‘should-ing’ on Yourself!

Now say that 10 times really fast! Yes, I know what it ends up sounding like, and you know what? It pretty well means the same thing!

‘Should’ is one of those words that needs to be banned from our vocabulary. Nothing says JUDGEMENT more than adding the word ‘should’ in front of an action.

·         You really should lose weight

·         You should have told him how you feel

·         You really shouldn’t wear that

·         Do you think you should do that?

The moment that word gets used, it puts the recipient of that word on the defensive. No other word causes people to second guess themselves, feel guilt, and feel judged more than that one does.

So what’s the problem with this word? The problem is that it comes from the side of pain, it holds us entrenched in the victim mentality and makes it sound like we don’t have control of our lives.

Right now, I am reading the book ‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’ by Susan Jeffers, and in one of the chapters Susan talks about the importance of developing a Pain-to-Power vocabulary. “The way you use words has a tremendous impact on the quality of your life. Certain words are destructive, others are empowering.” Like Michael Losier talks about in his book “Law of Attraction”, Words make up our Thoughts, which lead to our Feelings (positive or negative vibrations). So if we constantly use these words that come from a place of pain, helplessness, and depression, what do you think you are attracting more of in your life? You are going to receive more situations where you are going to use those words some more, causing more negative thoughts and feelings. It’s a nasty cycle, but once you are aware of those certain trigger words, you can catch yourself when you are saying them, and change them into words that come from a place of choice, power and strength.

Here is the chart that Susan Jeffers uses in her book to give you an idea of how to re-frame the worlds.

‘Can’t’ is another BIG one! Lord knows I have used that one WAY too often in my life! ‘Can’t’ implies that you have NO control over your life, like there is some outside force that is holding you back from whatever it is that you are saying you ‘can’t’ do. Think of your mind like a computer. When your subconscious registers you saying the word ‘can’t’, it stores it in the folder labelled ‘WEAK’. Like Susan says in her book, “Your subconscious believes only what it hears, not what is true”.  In a lot of cases, the truth is you CAN do whatever the situation is, but you CHOOSE not to, and instead of being truthful to the person asking you to do something or to yourself, you throw in the word ‘can’t’, so you feel you’re off the hook because that outside force is holding you back and you have NO control over it.

We need to start calling ‘bullshit’ on ourselves more often. If you change the ‘can’t’ to ‘won’t’, it shows that you are taking control and responsibility for your decision and are acting from a place of strength.  Better yet……..find a way that you CAN! There is a solution for every problem, IF you are willing and choose to look for it.

At a recent networking event, I was introduced to this video about a family that has brought up their children to NEVER say the word ‘can’t’. What this girl has achieved is beyond remarkable! So whenever I feel the word ‘can’t’ starting to rise up, I need to remind myself of this beautiful soul. What a freeing way to live, to know that you CAN do anything that you put your mind to, no matter what perceived limitations are put in your path. This family is truly an inspiration!! 

The bottom line is that these ‘pain’ inspired words just add up to EXCUSES!

What have you told yourself or someone lately that you ‘can’t do’ or that you ‘should’ be doing? I challenge you to find a way to re-frame it and find a way that you ‘can’ or ‘could’ do it!

What are your thoughts on these words, or others that you find that take away your power? What are you doing to combat them? Please share in the comments below! 

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What Can Walking A Labyrinth Do For You?

About one year ago, I met a lovely lady named Diana Ng, aka, The Labyrinth Lady, at a women’s networking event.  I remember her telling us about the Labyrinth that she had built in conjunction with the city of Surrey, BC, and I knew afterwards that it was some place I wanted to visit, but just never got around to it.

Most recently, I have been going through some major personal stresses, and I was really feeling the effects on my body and my mind.  Each day was a struggle to keep myself in a positive mindset and a lot of the days, I failed at it. 

I happened to be in Surrey one day last week, and had some time to kill between appointments in the area, so I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with the 3 hours that I had to fill. I knew I wanted to find somewhere to go and read my book, but I just didn’t want to sit inside in a coffee shop.  I just knew I wanted to be somewhere outside.  Then the thought came back to me, the Labyrinth. I remembered that I kept saying that I wanted to go, and here was the perfect time for me to go and find it. 

So that afternoon, I made my way to Fleetwood Gardens at 160^th and 80^th, got parked and then started the search of the gardens to find the Labyrinth. Luckily it didn’t take me long, as I noticed a man walking a pattern in the distance and knew that is where I was headed.  Honestly, I had no idea what I was looking for.  The picture I had made in my head was actually of a Maze done up with shrubs that you see in some English gardens.  At that point, I didn’t realize that there was actually a

difference between a Maze and a Labyrinth, so I was surprised to see that it was just a rock pattern in the ground.  Have a look at the clips I put together below of an interview that Diana did where she explains the difference between a Maze and a Labyrinth, the significance of the switchbacks and some feedback that she has received from people who have walked it.

From Diana’s website, she states “Labyrinths are ancient, transformative tools found in cultures all over the world dating back 4000 – 5000 years. Its circles and spirals meander into a purposeful path of centering symbolizing wholeness and unity, change and growth. A powerful tool for reflection, discernment, self-discovery, it enhances right brain activity. The labyrinth reduces stress, quiets the mind, leading to balance and insights. It offers a place for people to escape their pressures-filled lives, helps them find calm to open up their hearts.”

At the entrance of the Labyrinth, there is a sign that tells you more about the history and gives you instructions as to how to walk it…..”quiet your mind and allow yourself to find the pace your body wants to go. Become mindful of the sensation of walking. Continuous awareness of these sensations develops the strong concentration needed in order to gain insight.”

There are also 3 specific stages in walking a Labyrinth. Purgation (releasing): the act of shedding thoughts and distractions enables you to let you of the details of your life. This is the time to open your heart and quiet your mind. Illumination (receiving): At the center, stay there as long as you like, sit or stand, meditate or pray. Allow yourself to receive guidance. Union (returning): To leave the center, follow the same path back out. There can be a strange sense of strengthening and clarity. You become more empowered to find and do the work you feel your soul calling for.

So, I started walking the Labyrinth, and it honestly didn’t take long for me to start feeling the sense of calm. The concentration on my steps and in walking the pattern actually cleared my mind of the troubles that I have been dealing with lately. Upon noticing this, I actually tried to think on the issues that had been weighing on me, but I actually couldn’t. It was like my brain just wanted to rest. When I got to the center, I didn’t feel like sitting on the ground, so I just stood there and closed my eyes. While standing there, this big gust of wind came and blew through me, as if blowing my troubles away. When the gust had stopped, I opened my eyes and walked back out the Labyrinth. I exited the Labyrinth feeling calmer and more at peace. It was at this time that I noticed 3 big red chairs directly across from the Labyrinth and I knew that is where I needed to sit to spend some time reading.  My mind was now quieted enough that I knew I could sit still and just absorb the info in my book.

I definitely enjoyed my time in the Labyrinth, and wish I lived close enough to it to walk it every day, but being that I know that I will be somewhat in the area on a weekly basis, I am going to make a point to visit it as often as I can, as long as the weather holds, and use the time after wards to sit in the big red chair for some quiet contemplation and some reading.

I left the gardens that day feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, with my mind way more at peace. I will however suggest that if you are planning on going, I would avoid walking the Labyrinth in the late afternoon/early evening hours.  In my time sitting there, I noticed a ritual that happens with the people that live in the area, the park turns into a meeting place with the women gathering at one end by the parking lot, and the men gathering at the benches right by the Labyrinth, in what my dad would call “hen parties”. The group was way too loud to enjoy the meditative moment of walking the Labyrinth, in my opinion. So if you are thinking of visiting the Labyrinth and enjoy the peace and clarity that it provides, I would do it earlier in the day.

Thank you Diana for sharing the story and the power of the Labyrinth with the world!

You can connect with Diana on Facebook here, and visit her website. 

Have you walked the Labyrinth? What was your experience? I would love to read your comments.

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Ever Been To A Salt Cave?

A while back, I remember catching a glimpse of a report on the news (or some other show) about salt caves. Honestly, the only thing I remembered from it was that they looked cool! Then last fall, I came across a sponsored or suggested post in my Facebook newsfeed about the SaltWonder Himalayan Salt Cave.  The memory of salt covered walls and floors was triggered and I figured I would look into a bit further.  At this point in time, I was dealing with my chronic illness and trying to find natural remedies to help with my gamut of symptoms, and I was interested in checking this out to see if it would give any relief. For me, part of living a happy, positive life, is to take care of my body in natural ways and reduce the amount of chemical and pharmaceutical ways of treating ailments……and this looked right up my alley!!

Upon checking out the website, I learned how salt caves have been widely used in Europe for decades, but they are relatively new to North America. I also learned about how salt is considered a cleansing tool and that they use a Halogenerator to disperse dry saline aerosol into the air for you to breathe in and for it to come in contact with your skin surface. This excerpt from their website REALLY caught my attention as to the benefits of Halotherapy………”our SaltWonder provides sessions of “halotherapy” (salt therapy) that benefits one’s health, mental and psychic well-being, as well as beauty. This procedure creates a curative effect on numerous breathing conditions and symptoms such as chronic bronchitis, sinusitis, shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughs, wheezing, respiratory allergies, rhinitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, colds, influenza, smoke related cough (secondary smoke symptoms). The sessions of salt therapy significantly reduce stress, anxiety, regulate sleep patterns, enhance concentration capacity, bring feelings of freshness, relaxation and satisfaction. The simulated salt cave microclimate retards skin aging, smoothes out wrinkles, reduces inflammation and acne.” According to that, everyone could benefit from some time in the cave!!! I was sold…..I didn’t have any breathing issues, but I liked the idea of reducing stress, regulating sleep patterns, increasing concentration and the anti-aging!! At that point in time, there was only a large public room, which worked out fine, as my friend and I had it all to ourselves.  Have a look at the video below to give you an idea as to what the public room looks like.

After an hour in there, I felt soooooooooooo amazingly relaxed.  I couldn’t believe that I was actually able to sit still for that long, and actually I couldn’t believe that a whole hour had gone by. Some of you might be thinking……..how do I know that I was actually breathing in the salt air?  Well, I licked my arm afterwards, and I was definitely salty! So there was definitely lots of salt in the air! In the public room, there is a play area for kids, so this is a therapy for all ages.

Recently, I saw that the owner, Nuca Stoica, had built a private room where you lay on a heated bed of salt, so of course, I had to try that out. There is a lot of pain involved in my chronic illness, so the thought of laying on a heated bed of salt would definitely give me some increased relief, not to mention being a private room, you are able to expose more of your skin surface to the salt aerosol for even greater benefits. As you can see in my video

below……..this was such a relaxing experience!!

In expanding the benefits of going to the Salt Cave, Nuca has also invited people in to do some yoga, meditation and sound healing sessions within the cave. Keep an eye on the website for when those special events are available, On July 19^th, a Nebulization room has now been opened for an even more concentrated therapy in only 20 minutes. Check out this most recent interview that Nuca did with Shaw TV about the salt cave.

If you or a loved one suffers from any sort of breathing issue, skin inflammatory issues, or are in need of some relaxation, with anti-aging properties thrown in, give Nuca a call and book an introductory appointment in the cave……..you won’t be disappointed!! Right now Nuca has some summer specials going on, so definitely take advantage of those.  You can find them on his website or his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/saltwonder

SPECIAL OFFER!!! Call Nuca and tell him that you read all

about his Salt Cave on my blog, and you will get a 45min session in the large public room for ONLY $19 (reg price $45)!!!

SaltWonder Himalayan Salt Cave
940 West 16th St.
North Vancouver, BC
604-971-5220
www.saltcavebc.com

True Happiness Can Only Be Achieved Through Death!

When I did a search to see if I could find anyone who talked about this, I came across some works of the Dalai Lama and the ‘Art of Happiness’. Where he stated that even though our happiness is influenced by what we have and what happens to us, the source of long term happiness in mental. Being that it is mental, the most effective way to seek happiness is by training our minds, which is a gradual, life-long process. “The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within, replacing previous negative conditioning or habituation with new positive conditioning. ... Through training we can change; we can transform ourselves." [page 43]

The ‘Death’ involved is the death of limiting beliefs, thought patterns, behaviours, things that we have always done in the past. We all have a certain method of operation that was developed along this journey of ‘growing up’. For the most part, it has served us well, as I assume that we are all (for the most part lol) well-adjusted members of society. We get dressed, go about our days, do some work, feed ourselves, have relationships, take care of our loved ones, provide for ourselves and compared to some areas of the world, we really have nothing to complain about. But are we truly Happy?

I like to people watch, whether I am in a restaurant, in the park, walking down the street, in the grocery store, on public transit or wherever…..Observation is one of my strongest skills (has been since I was a kid), and I like to watch how people conduct themselves and relate to those around them and I have to say……..the majority of the behaviour and interaction that I see is NOT that of a Happy society……..and I used to be right in the middle of all of that.

When you think about how the path of your life has been going up until this point, I can’t help but cue up Dr. Phil with his famous, “How’s that working out for ya?”…….when I actually took some time and looked at how things were going in my life and asked myself that question…….it wasn’t working out that great. Sure I had a career, I survived a failed marriage, I had friends, I had a decent relationship with my family members, I owned my own condo, paid my bills, did volunteer work……..but at the end of the day, when I came home at night, when I was truly honest with myself…….I wasn’t happy. I felt empty, alone, unfulfilled, desperate for change, but what? When I allowed myself to feel those feeling, then I would get that part of my mind nattering at me, “what are you complaining about? Look at all that you have! There are people around the world that would kill for what you have.” So I would feel guilty for thinking that way, and push it aside and continue with my regular M.O……..and I think that most of us get caught in that trap.

It took a catastrophic event for me to actually STOP and realize that I could not continue down this path that I was on……..and I truly hope that you don’t have to get to that point, as I wouldn’t want to wish that on anyone…….but I want to encourage you to take stock of your life. Put aside all the things that you have accomplished, all the material things that you have worked hard for and accumulated, all the ‘trappings’ of life and just look inwards……..what do you feel? Sit quietly, close your eyes and ask yourself, “what am I feeling?”…..and then just listen….What are the first words that pop into your head? Don’t force it….just let the words and emotions bubble up. Keep going until you feel empty…….maybe even set your phone to record as you say what each word is as it comes up, in case you really get on a roll! What were your predominate words? Were there words that came up several times? Did the words have emotions attached to them? After looking at that list, how do they reflect what is going on in your life? Does your emotional world match or is it at conflict with how you show up physically in the world?

If you cannot say that you are truly living a life of pure happiness, in EVERY aspect of your life, then I would suggest that maybe you want to take a look at that. Maybe you have some old thought patterns, limiting beliefs and behaviours that are ready to be put to rest.  Are you ready for those negative aspects that have been controlling how you show up in the world, to be put to ‘death’? Are you ready to see what life can be like after that ‘death’?

I have seen a lot of people say, “just BE Happy!”…….sure, you can put on a happy face, and act like everything is perfect……..but what does that prove? I did that for decades, and it nearly actually killed me. Living a life of integrity, where what I say, do and believe are all in alignment, is SO important to me now and I encourage you to do the same. Once we deal with all the mental and emotional “stuff” that has accumulated over the years, and do the work to release it, all that is left is Happiness…….as that is our true essence.

Over the last couple of years, I have done a lot of personal work on my own, and have had great results in changing how I think, believe and perceive the world, but I know that I have some deeper limiting thoughts and beliefs still holding me back, those programs that are constantly running in my mind and I am SO ready for them to go to their ‘deaths’. So over the next little while, I am looking forward to some mental and emotional ‘funerals’ happening, as I work with someone who is highly trained at helping people move past their ‘stuff’ and discovering their Excellence. I cannot wait to see what life will hold after these ‘deaths’ occur.

I am looking forward to the ‘rest of my life, being the BEST of my life!’

Do Our Thoughts and Words Actually Have Any Power?

Back in Dec. 2010, I went through a trauma that caused me to completely change the way I thought and looked at the world. For the first year after the trauma, I knew something had to change, but honestly, wasn’t really sure what. Then in Dec. 2011, my lovely friend and chiropractor, Liz, mentioned that she really thought that I would benefit from a 4 day seminar that was coming up. I figured that I didn’t have anything left to loose, so why not. That seminar was the catalyst for the journey that I have been on ever since.  I learned more about myself at that seminar than I had in all the decades before. One thing that really stuck in my mind was this story that our facilitator, Tim O’Kelly told us about an experiment that he had read about in regards to plants. In the book, ‘The Secret Life of Plants’, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, did experiments on plants where they had a plant connected up to electrodes to measure if there were any difference in electrical impulses when different stimuli were presented.  The part that really changed things for the researchers, was at one point Peter just ‘thought’ about lighting a match and putting it to one of the leaves, and at that exact moment, the readings from the plant went off the charts! Here was an example where a simple thought caused a physical reaction in another organism. The thought of this stuck with me and nagged at me ever since.

Growing up in a Christian household, there was always lots of talk of the power of positive thinking. The problem was, there wasn’t much example of it. So, I always heard that I must think positive, but I couldn’t really find anyone that was actually modelling it, so the belief system was put in place that it wasn’t really an important thing to do.  It was great in theory, but what was the point? So, as I grew up, I never really gave it much thought.

Along with that, we have all heard the rhyme, ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me’. Well, again, great in theory, but we ALL know that words DO hurt. They cause an emotional reaction. Now people may then say, ‘oh, you’re being too sensitive’, ‘you’re too emotional’, but the fact of the matter is, when someone says something negative to me, yes I feel an emotional reaction, but a lot of times that emotion is accompanied by a physical reaction as well. It could be pain, stiffness, upset stomach, allergies, etc. It took me a lot of years to actually make that connection that emotions always have a physical representation.

At the beginning of this year, I came across an article talking about a rice experiment performed by Dr. Masaru Emoto. When I looked further into it, I found that Dr. Emoto was a researcher and alternative healer from Japan that had done many experiments showing how words, thoughts and intentions affect the physical world. He had also done an experiment showing how the crystalline nature of water changed in regards to what words and intentions were put towards it. I was fascinated by this!

This got me thinking. I didn’t have the equipment to be able to re-create the plants experiment that I originally heard about, and I definitely didn’t have an electron microscope sitting around that I could use to see how the crystalline structure of water changed, BUT, I could re-create the rice experiment. The thought of that created quite an excitement within me. Here I had the chance to actually give myself PROOF that words and thoughts did actually have a physical affect in the world.

As excited as I was about setting up my own experiment, a part of me was resisting. What happens if I didn’t get any results? At one level I do believe that words and thoughts have power, but if the experiment didn’t work, would that mean that all that I believed would be WRONG? That doubt kept mulling around in my head. About a month later, I was at another workshop that referenced Dr. Emoto’s work with water. Again, that inner prodding was poking me, ‘DO THE EXPERIMENT!’. In March I went out and bought some of the things I needed, but again, I procrastinated in actually getting it going.

Finally, at the beginning of May, I decided that I HAD to do this. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that this was something that I needed to do. So, I set it all up (realized afterwards that Dr. Emoto cooked his rice first before putting it in the jars, but oh well!), and got ready to share with the world what the results were.

I cannot tell you the amount of relief that I had that I actually got results! That doubt was always there, but now, I could finally put that to rest. I kept the jars going for a second month, and from the pictures, you can see that the changes continued to intensify. Here are some things that really stuck out for me while I was doing this.

Every day, when I looked at the Positive jar, I just sat in amazement. I couldn’t believe how clear the water, to this day, remains. When it first started, there was a little bit of colour change and particulate matter, but as time went on, the water remained virtually transparent and colourless. In the negative jar, on most days, I could barely stomach looking at it. The Yellow colour of the water just kept intensifying and the destruction of the rice kernels continues. I now equate that to how negative words and thoughts end up causing the physical reaction in our bodies.

The human body is made up of about 70% water, so when I look at how the water changed in the negative jar, to me when we speak negative words and have negative thoughts, we are in turn poisoning our cells.  This would make sense why those emotions in a lot of cases result in pain and inflammation in our bodies. I imagine the water that makes up our cells turning that bright yellow colour and how that must inhibit the function of our cells and then I look at how clear the water is in the positive jar, and want to make sure that my cells stay looking like that, so that they can easily do the functions that they need to do each day. As for the Ignored jar…….it started out quite milky looking, but now in the second month, is now getting a yellow tinge. So even though no words were spoken to it, it is still feeling the response of being ignored.

Dr. Emoto first did his experiments to show how we need to be mindful when speaking to children, and how it can affect their physiology, but I think we need to expand this to how we speak and think to ALL of the people around us, and most importantly TO OUR SELVES!

Now more than ever, I am convinced that our Inner Dialogue not only affects our mental and emotional health, but also our physical health. Change our minds……..change our bodies. 

What are your thoughts on this? I know that for a lot of people, this may be thinking ‘outside of the box’, and I encourage you to do your own experiment. When you see it physically manifesting right in front of your eyes, it changes your perspective.

If you want to check out the articles about Dr. Emoto’s work on the rice experiment and with the water (which includes a 1 hr documentary), check out these links:

http://topinfopost.com/2014/04/07/an-experiment-proves-thoughts-intentions-can-alter-the-physical-world-around-us

http://agreenroad.blogspot.ca/2012/05/dr-emoto-on-vibrations-water-energy.html

Also, check out this excerpt from the 1970’s on the original plant experiments that started me thinking about all of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt3smrXkVpE

I am thinking that the next experiment that I want to do is this one on talking to plants:

http://royce3.tripod.com/Et__cetera/Talking_To_Plants/talking_to_plants.html

If we can just increase our awareness to the words that we say and the thoughts that we think, and learn to control and shift them, we can all live much happier and healthier lives.

Hugs,

S