It took me a long time to realize that I’m a bit of a control freak in some parts of my life. But really, isn’t everyone, at least to some degree? Don’t we all want to have some significant say about what happens in our lives, our relationships and in the environment around us?

We love telling ourselves that we actually have some level of control, and perhaps it is true that we do. It’s also possible that we really don’t have any control, and that in letting go of the very idea that we can somehow willfully control our lives, that we could find profound freedom. These are not questions that I can answer, but are certainly food for thought.

In this beautiful little article from Lynn Zavaro, she reminds us that the everyday can be an adventure, that the mundane and distracting can be opportunities to be present, and that embracing a letting-go-of-control mindset can be a fabulous opportunity to relax and de-stress.

Lynn notes that the mindset she embraces while traveling is always one of going with the flow and accepting that there will be delays, changes in plans and occasional mishaps. She allows this to be part of her adventure and remains in the moment while on the journey. Bringing this feeling and attitude into day-to-day life, including the various life stresses that are often unavoidable is something that just might bring all of us more inner peace. And I don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a bit more of that.

Be well,
Stephanie

The speakers this year include Dawson Church, who now manages the international EFT hub, EFT Universe. Dawson will be holding a one-day workshop on the Monday following the event on Tapping Down the Barriers to Prosperity.

Also presenting will be Andy Bryce, EFT Master and the AAMET’s Trainer of Trainers. Annabel Fisher, who specializes in chronic illness, is coordinating the event and giving a presentation about heart-felt EFT practice.

Come join us for these and other speakers, live demonstrations and a great opportunity to meet and network with other EFT enthusiasts! I will be there assisting for the weekend, and it would be nice to say hello.

Dates: Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30, 2011 from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm
Location: Sandman Signature Hotel & Resort – Vancouver Airport, 10251 St. Edwards Drive, Richmond, BC.
For more information and to book your ticket, please visit Canadian EFT Gathering.

Hope to see you there!
Stephanie

Does your workplace have Healthy Workplace Month or does it place an emphasis on wellness? Would you like to arrange to have local practitioners come in to explain or demonstrate what they do? If so, please contact me and I will look into arranging an event for your workplace.

One important thing that I realized from the Health Fair was how few people consider using EFT and energy therapies for physical issues. Often people only think to apply these techniques for emotional or psychological challenges.

In the brief sessions at the fair, I had some powerful successes with physical issues. Long-standing back and neck pain reduced quickly and easily once the initial trauma was treated. This is surprising to many, because we have a tendency to disconnect the possibility that physical problems may have an emotional element.

Even if you have a broken arm from an accident, in order to facilitate healing, there are emotional components that could potentially obstruct your body’s natural healing process. For example, if you were injured in an accident, you may be holding on to anger toward the person or circumstances around the original incident. If there were any difficulties with insurance, with your job or finances as a result, those frustrations may still be stuck in your body. On top of all that, you may simply feel annoyed that you have to deal with a broken arm and the added stress that it ends up causing in your daily routine.

Using EFT and energy therapies, all of these additional pieces can be cleared. This often results in quickened healing of the underlying physical issue.

Beyond that, occasionally, physical issues have a very surprising emotional origin. We may not even be aware of old emotions that are stored in certain parts of the body, especially in the back and neck. Once those emotions and traumatic memories are released from the body, rapid healing often results.

So the next time you have a pain in the neck or something weighing on your shoulders causing pain, consider doing some tapping or coming in for a session to clear away any blockages to your natural healing, particularly if the pain is not moving or has been stuck for some time.

Be well,

Stephanie

These healthy eating tips may be simple reminders of things most of us already know, but may or may not actually do. Following are some basic recommendations for improving your diet adapted from the Top 10 Rules for Eating Right by Dr. David Katz. I don’t agree with all of his guidelines, so I’ve morphed it into something that from my perspective is more palatable.

1. Use smaller plates

This is so very simple yet effective, especially if you tend to be a finish-your-entire-plate kind of eater. It really works. You’ll be surprised.

2. Make half of every meal fruits or vegetables

Taking this one step could potentially transform your entire diet. Unlike using smaller plates, this recommendation is not always easy for someone who does not currently consume many fruits or vegetables. It may involve increased food preparation and planning. For those who need more of this good stuff (and by vegetables I don’t mean half a plate of potatoes), the healthy improvements in your skin, energy level and overall health will likely be a welcome result.

The one caveat I have for this tip is about eating fruit with meals. Many in the health food industry believe that combining fruit with other foods results in difficult or ineffective digestion. If your body lets you know that this does not work for you, then simply eat the fruit separately about 30 minutes before a meal or a couple of hours afterward.

3. Bring along nutritious snacks

Make a habit of bringing healthy snacks with you so that in a pinch, you’ll have some nuts, dried fruit, or some other densely nutritious snack to appease your hunger. It will save you time from having to purchase something while out, and you’ll be able to have some control over the quality of your food by being proactive. If possible, even on the run, give yourself a few quiet minutes to just sit, eat and relax.

4. Read ingredients and choose foods with short ingredient lists and identifiable whole foods

So many people do not read the ingredient lists of the foods they eat, blindly trusting the clever packaging that screams “healthy!” or “natural!”, when in fact the food may be a far cry from this. It’s a great habit to get into, and will begin to raise your awareness about what you are putting into your body.

5. Take an extra ten to fifteen minutes a day to prepare healthier meals

It takes less time than you may think to put together a meal that is both nutritious and delicious. The internet is full of sites devoted to quick and healthy meals.

6. Start listening to your body’s hunger and satiety signals

Do you lose track of time and forget to eat? When the noon hour rolls around, do you reach for lunch based on the clock like one of Pavlov’s dogs? Learning to tune into your body and find out when you’re really hungry is not something that comes naturally to many. If you’re out of touch with these parts of yourself, it’s worth it to start checking in with your body hourly to see if you’re really hungry or not. Likewise, when you are eating, checking in and stopping before you are too full will do wonders for your eating habits.

7. Pay attention to your food and the eating experience

Mindless eating while watching TV, playing on the computer or reading all take your attention away from the present moment. This tip is one of the most challenging for people if they are used to being distracted while eating. As you begin to become more conscious of the entire eating experience, you will increase and hone your own inner wisdom regarding the quantity and quality of what you are consuming. It will be much easier to notice when you are hungry or full. Slow down a bit, chew your food well, and your digestive system will thank you.

Cheers, Stephanie

If you finding that you’re not happy with your current job or career, it may that you’re living outside of your own hooray! zone.  Blogger and digital strategist Bud Caddell has summed up what constitutes the ideal work situation in this fabulous little Venn Diagram.

A friend passed this along to me last year and since then, I’ve quickly sketched it out countless times to others when the topic has come up. The diagram is fairly self-explanatory, but for more details straight from Bud’s blog post, check it out here.

Hope you enjoy this food for thought!  Stephanie

Sure, it’s an odd subject to get so excited about, but hey, that’s just how I roll. Recently, a dear friend let me know that she was feeling embarrassed about sleeping so much, since the message from her family was that napping was a sure sign of laziness. I’d never heard that before, since I grew up in a house where a power nap was the necessary transition between my mother’s hectic and demanding day as a nurse and the evening’s home activities.

I felt so sorry that she’d been missing out on what I consider one of life’s necessities (and pleasures). It’s as much a part of daily living as eating or breathing to me. If needed, I can nap on the hard floor of an empty office, a car seat pushed back, or a random couch in a lounge. I don’t recommend any of these places, but in a pinch, they do the trick.

This prompted me to start looking around for some research on the benefits of napping. Who knew it would be so ubiquitous? There’s even an entire book about it by Sara Mednick, a professor from the University of California, called Take a Nap! Change Your Life. I love the title. She gets just as excited about it as I do!

It seems that napping has a host of benefits, including improved memory and creativity. A recent study’s findings showed that a nap can dramatically boost and restore brain power.   That doesn’t surprise me. I feel like a new person after a little 20 minute cat nap. After too long, however, I find I wake up rather out-of-sorts. The concise, well-presented information here may explain some of this, since after 45 minutes of sleep, you move into a different state of slow-wave sleep.

If you’re already a napper, then I’m just preachin’ to the converted. You already know the awesome refreshed feeling that results. If you aren’t, give it a try and notice if you feel any different after a week of short afternoon naps. You may be surprised at how much more energy you’ll experience as a result!

Cheers, Stephanie

I’m reading Jack Canfield’s The Success Principles again. I never seem to tire of this classic book on creating the life you truly want. I’m convinced that if you were to apply all of the principles in this gem, that it would be nearly impossible not to be successful in a meaningful way.

One of the key principles that he sets out in the first chapter is the idea of taking full responsibility for your life, and he uses a simple equation to illustrate this:

Event + Response = Outcome, or E + R = O

Our present reality and life circumstances are the Outcome. Every thought, choice, decision and action that you have taken to date have led you exactly to where you are right now. If you are not completely happy with your present life, whether it’s with your relationships, your fitness level, or your financial state, then in essence, the Outcome is something that you want to change.

Events happen around us all of the time (some argue that we attract and create these Events as well, but that’s another topic altogether…). Your parents split up, the family pet dies, there’s an earthquake, the power goes out… life is full of Events. You’ll hear many people claim that their present problems are a result of such Events. This isn’t completely true. If you were to go back and take a good look at all of the little (and big) actions, thoughts and decisions that had been made in response to these Events, you would likely see a course of life that led to this present Outcome based solely on those reactions, not on the Event itself.

So what do you do in the face of the stuff life throws you? Well, you have a choice. In fact, that is really the only thing you do have control over. You can choose your Response. You may choose to allow yourself to feel defeated, negative and a victim. Or you may choose to adopt a different perspective and to learn from the situation and prepare (as best as possible) for it if it happens again. You may choose to review the steps that led to it and change the current trajectory of your life.

For example, you might be laid off unexpectedly from a job. You might choose to fight the employer, fall into the doldrums, or be angry and bitter. Alternately, you might view this as an incredible opportunity! Perhaps you can finally go back to school, or move into a different field.

I know people who have turned job layoffs into awesome realities. One friend couldn’t find a new job and decided to take a vacation in Southeast Asia, where he ended up landing an excellent job and discovering a new creative passion. Seven years later and he’s still there! Another friend was laid off and used the time between jobs to study for a credential that later completely changed the way she did business. That single inspired decision is still paying off (literally) in her knowledge about how to earn more money.

So the next time life throws you a doozy, it might be worth it to take a good look at how you respond. Remember you have a choice! Be creative and see if you can learn from the choices that led to that event. Talk to people you trust and see if they can help you see a more positive perspective if you are having trouble seeing one. If you can shift your reaction, then you will be headed for a far better Outcome.

Be well, Stephanie

Feeling grumpy? In a bit of a funk? Having one of those days or weeks? Here are a few ways to bring gratitude into your daily life. Give one (or all) a try and just notice if you start to shift into a better headspace.

1. Take a gratitude walk. Get outside, preferably in nature, and go for a walk, stating aloud all of the things that you are grateful for. Breathe deeply and just keep on giving thanks. If you run out of things, just start over or focus on the little things like, say, being able to walk and breathe. Years ago my walk home from work was on a busy road, and thanks to the noise of the cars I could ramble on, sometimes loudly, without anyone noticing. I’d feel like a new person by the time I arrived home.

2. Start a gratitude journal. Easy concept. Powerful experience. Do this any time, or set aside 10-15 minutes a day and just keep writing. It’s one of the fastest ways to change an icky mood.

3. Do the mirror appreciation exercise for chronic bad moods and negativity. Commit to doing this daily for at least a couple of months. Before going to bed, spend a few minutes looking at yourself in the mirror and appreciate all that you have accomplished during the day.

Start by looking directly into your eyes in the mirror and then begin stating aloud any achievements, disciplines you’ve kept (dietary, exercise, etc.), and any negative behaviour that you did not participate in during the day. Be sure to maintain eye contact. When you are finished, look yourself in the eyes and say “I love you” and stand there for another few seconds taking in the entire exercise.

This will probably feel strange and silly at first, but stick with it and pay attention to how the negative self-talk in your mind begins to quiet over time. It’s such a simple exercise, admittedly bizarre, but more powerful than you would expect!

I’d love to hear from you about any results you have after trying these activities. And a big thank you to all who are reading this blog.

Warmly, Stephanie

You won’t read much here about the latest super-food craze or about the constant conflicting research studies telling you that, say, wine is evil, then two months later that it’s going to save your life. Quite frankly, I’m not interested. I’m actually a big believer in moderation and listening to your body’s needs, whatever they are.

That all being said, I thought you might like to know that there has been some consistent research done about the beneficial effects of dark chocolate. Partly for fun, just because it’s chocolate, and so many people have strong cravings for the stuff, but also to point out that sometimes we like to label a food as bad, when it actually may be exactly what your body wants or needs at that time.

Many women crave it during PMS, and perhaps you crave it when you’re stressed. A recent study published in the Journal of Proteome Research found that eating dark chocolate may lower levels of stress hormones. And, no, I didn’t stumble upon this research while studying proteomics! For the full article on the WebMD site, visit here. The only beef I have with this research is that it was funded by, well, Nestle. Surprise, surprise.

You may be aware that dark chocolate has very high magnesium levels. In fact, one bar may provide the recommended daily allowance (Meisel, 2005). There are many other benefits, which are discussed in this article from the CBC. In it, there’s also another link to the dark side of chocolate that may well convince you to reach for the organic and free trade varieties.

Finally, how can you tell whether your chocolate craving is due to your body’s needs, or just a plain old junk food craving? Tune in, listen and ask. If you think that you may actually be having sugar cravings and wanting it for the wrong reasons, I’ll soon be posting some information about how to overcome just such cravings.

Ciao for now,  Stephanie

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve heard people talk about this or have seen it in writing, it’s usually stated with a heartfelt level of conviction. I assumed that those in the know must be basing that number on something, some substantive evidence, despite the fact that the claims varied from 100 to 30 to 21 days.

Well, you can only imagine my surprise when a simple internet search proved this to be oh-so-unclear (um, this is sarcastic if you don’t know me yet). It turns out that the 21 day theory had its origins in a book by Dr. Maxwell Maltz published in 1960, called Psycho-Cybernetics. The validity of this theory is questionable, and a more recent study in the European Journal of Social Psychology reveals the magic number to actually be wildly varying, between 18 to 254 days, depending on the habit.

Other than getting frustrated with repeatedly trying to pronounce the word automaticity in it, there is some good reading about this in an article from Psyblog that you can access here. The good news from this research is that it seems to be fine if you miss a day while creating a new habit. The bad news is that it might take you 254 days to create a habit of doing 50 sit ups before breakfast.

Now this is just my take on this, but if a habit is that hard to create, it may be worthwhile to take a fresh look at the underlying goal and to readjust your activity to something that is simply more appealing to you, and therefore, easier to get yourself to do. In the sit-ups example, if your goal is to have strong abs, maybe a Pilates class, yoga, belly dancing or working out with a buddy would end up being a fun activity that would then be easy to stick with.

So, should you give up on the idea of sticking with something for a set number of days? Absolutely not! Try on your new habit for a few weeks and see how you feel. Are you resistant to it? Do you just hate doing it? Check in with yourself to find out why. Is there some other way to reach your goal? If you can’t think of another way, brainstorm with a friend for new ideas. You may be surprised to find that there are other ways to get what you want, and you may find some activity that you actually enjoy!

Cheers,  Stephanie