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Hello!! It’s been a while since i’ve posted here and I hope you have been well. I’ve been busy building my hypnosis practice, Studio City Hypnosis. This blog will shut down in May but I would LOVE to keep in contact! If you’d like to see what I’m up to, get invitations to special events and informative videos follow me at http://www.studiocityhypnosis.com and click on “Sign Up!”
August is for Journaling
You have magnificence and depth in that beautiful brain of yours. Explore it.
I was recently in a class and was asked by the teacher, “Raise your hand if you like poetry.” Most people raised their hands. Then he said, “Raise your hand if you like writing poetry.” Very few people raised their hands. Now this wasn’t for reasons you would think. When we actually got to the root of it, it wasn’t that people didn’t enjoy the act of writing poetry, it was the fact that most of them judged themselves too harshly and felt they didn’t write well enough to deserve to be writing poetry in the first place. So the assignment given to us? Write a poem of course. I thoroughly enjoyed the assignment and wrote without caring about how it sounded. I just let the words flow out.
This month our challenge is Journaling. I want to strongly encourage you to write without thinking. Just let the words flow onto the paper even if they don’t make sense. I highly recommend you do this in sacred space. How do you create sacred space? It can be done many ways and it just means that you’ve created a peaceful container for yourself. A quiet place where you can reflect. It could be that you play music or watch a dance that inspires you. Maybe it’s setting the mood with incense or a candle. Maybe it’s sitting on the floor so you can feel more grounded. For many of you this probably means being outdoors in nature.
If you choose to write every day, that’s great! If you choose to write less often, that’s okay too. Use the tool of writing and see what comes to you. You have magnificence and depth in that beautiful brain of yours. Explore it.
Caring for Yourself by Withdrawing
Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, much can be gained from quiet solitude. Unfortunately too often it’s an idea that scares us. I’ve noticed the concept more often with men than with women. I can’t really say why that is, it could just be my own experience but I have a loose theory it’s because of how men are unfairly raised to suppress their feelings and when we’re alone we are left with nothing but our own thoughts and feelings to contend with. I know this is changing with the new generation of boys and men and I am grateful for that. But this is another subject for another day.
Sometimes the trouble is not knowing what to do with solitude. One great way to enjoy time to yourself is with a simple meditation. Here is a great one just for you. For this meditation you will be using all of your senses. Allow 1 minute for each step and remember that the circumstances don’t need to be perfect to meditate. You can let each moment be perfect just as it is.
1. Sound-listen to all the sounds in the room, the sounds outside and to your own breath. Let all sounds be a part of the moment. Even a crying baby if that’s what you hear.
2. Sight-focus your vision on one single object like a flower or a candle* or a painting
3. Smell-dab some essential oil in your hands and inhale, or light some incense or a scented candle*
4. Taste-take a sip of wine or take one sunflower seed or one single cherry in your mouth and savor the flavor for one whole minute
5. Touch-feel a piece of fabric like silk, faux fur, velvet or anything that’s soft or pleasing to touch
*Always use fire safety when working with candles
This month I have withdrawn a great deal. I have given myself ample time to rest, reflect and meditate. I just really like the word radical in “Radical Self Care.” It means go beyond the expected ways to take care of yourself and think outside the box. Do what you want to. And anyone who questions you about it well…f*&k ’em.
So what does Radical Self Care mean to you? Here are some suggestions if you need them:
Go for a swim
Read an interesting novel
Take a bubble bath
Drink a glass of wine
Take a break from work and do whatever the hell you want…then go back to work
Listen to your favorite music
Cook
Paint/draw
Get a massage or reiki or accupuncture
Take a nap
And anything else you want to add to the list. We have two more days until our next challenge. Use your time wisely.
July is Radical Self Care Month
The month is half-way through and I’ve already been doing a ton of self-care. I went to the Mendocino Woodlands in Northern California, unplugged from electronics, tuned into the redwood trees and set my body back to the rhythm of nature. I’ve been slowly re-emerging ever since. I was profoundly moved by the quiet and by the loving and open-hearted souls I shared space with. It was so moving and reminded me to be gentle with myself and to be careful where I give my energy. Let’s dedicate the rest of July to continuing radical self care.
Be mindful how you spend your time and energy this month. Remember last year? Bubble baths, massages, time spent outdoors, naps, make art, make love, do yoga, anything that makes you feel radically taken care of. Nurture your soul. You deserve it.
Positivity~ Final 2 Weeks
How are your projects coming along? This is what my living room looked like over the weekend. I’m not finished yet but the transformation has begun! (Even my dog was getting into the action-notice the purple bone at the bottom. Haha)
As far as staying positive, it’s been challenging for many people these last few weeks due to Mercury Retrograde in Cancer (to read more about the astrological weather click here) and I am no exception. Lots of old feelings have resurfaced. Now is a prime opportunity to reflect and observe what is happening in our emotional core and go easy on ourselves. When emotions resurface like that, it means it’s time to recognize they exist, begin to work through them and eventually release them. But I must say it truly is possible to train your mind to think positively even through negative feelings. What’s working for me is keeping myself very busy, making gratitude lists and helping others. I recommend these tools and as always I recommend speaking with a hypnotherapist. One of the things I love about hypnosis work is helping people release negative emotions. It is so fascinating and truly remarkable how we can release them for good. I have experienced it in my own life and seen many people completely shift toward the better and stay that way.
These next two weeks we will complete our vision boards and begin to VISUALIZE. Once we get clear on what we want, our next step is to see ourselves there having already achieved it. There are great techniques for visualization. First, imagine yourself in the future, 5 minutes after you have already achieved your desired goal and look back. Feels great doesn’t it? Second, really stay there in those feelings and let them absorb. Notice the things you might be seeing and the things you might be saying to yourself and others like “I did it!” Practice this at least once a week and I guarantee you will feel much more positive about your life. Finally, the key is to take it easy and be GRATEFUL for what you have now. Having a mindset of abundance will only bring more abundance. You may like to start a morning gratitude list to shift your perspective to notice all the wonderful things you already have. That way, you stay positive about what truly is and if the rest of it happens, well that’s the cherry on top.
I will resume The Amazing Life Challenge after July 4th. Keep up the great work until then. For those of you in the states, have a blessed and safe Independence Day!
*For further information or deeper discusion email me at thislifeisamazing@gmail.com
Positivity Week 3~ Create a Vision Board
I’m really excited about our next project. Get your craft supplies out. We’re making vision boards! I hope last week was helpful. Getting clear on exactly what you want and getting it on paper is very powerful. Don’t ask me how it works but it makes things come to be so much quicker. In fact, many of the things on my list have already happened! If there is one thing I know being a hypnotherapist, it’s that visualizing is the fastest tool to make your dreams come true.
So here we go. Draw, paint, cut pictures from magazines, paste your list to it, whatever you want. We’re going to create our vision boards with exactly what we wrote on our lists and add to it. Whatever you dream or desire, put it on there. Think big, dream big. Add things that make your heart skip a beat. If it’s something someone else expects of you but doesn’t bring you joy, it has no place on your board. Get the drift? Have fun and as always, share your experience with us! You can see the beginning stages of mine. Share a photo of yours with us! Sweet dreaming!
Positivity~ Week 2
Last week we became more mindful of words and conversations. I found myself very aware of words I had spoken and then re-stating them out loud to correct the thought flow toward positive. It was kind of fun. Now let’s let all of that go with a deep breath and give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well done.
This week, in addition to continuing positive language, we will be making a list of all the things we WANT in our lives. So get out your favorite pens and pencils and have some fun with it! Think about it, take your time and do this with mindfulness and intention. You can use these categories as a guideline but really think about all aspects of your life:
- Family
- Friends
- Partner/Spouse
- Finances
- Career
- Spiritual Practice
- Exercise/Food/Health/Wellness
- Personal Growth
- Living Space
For some, it may be easier to start with a list of what you don’t want. If this is the case for you, then you will be making two lists. First the don’t wants then the wants on a separate paper. Either throw the don’t list away, shred it or rid yourself of the list in a more ceremonial way like burning it. (ALWAYS use fire safety when burning paper.)
You may like to add a little to the list each day as things arise in your consciousness. All week we will be filling our thoughts full of what we WANT. How cool is that? We will already begin the work of creating positive energy in the right way around our dreams and desires. Have a great week and enjoy!
A Month of Positivity~Week 1
This month I’ll be breaking down POSITIVITY step by step. Each week we’ll have a new focus to make it easier for change to occur. Let’s begin!
Week 1: Positive Language
I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say to me “I really hate that I don’t have…” or “I never could be…” or even, “That (insert negative thing) always happens to me!”
It just makes me cringe! Our words have so much power. Our lives are made up of the choices we have made and the belief system behind them. If you say (that negative thing) always happens to you then it will. Not only are you bringing attention and focus on what you don’t want, you’re also giving it permission to happen again. The result is that you have created a belief system that this thing always happens and that belief will influence the choices you make and in turn, the life you lead.
So what do you do instead? When a negative belief rears it’s head, you can do a couple of things. One, you can challenge it. Really ask yourself if this is true or not. Two, you can just let it go. Look, our minds are full of thoughts (Stanford Research Institute research suggests a person has between 90,000 and 150,000 thoughts per day) so you’re bound to have a few unwanted thoughts. It’s only human. So if and when that happens, simply move on to the next thought. Be careful not to judge yourself in that moment, just move on without attachment.
This week be mindful of your words. Make an effort to avoid words like can’t, don’t, won’t, never or always. Instead use words like can, will, do, or phrases like “I’m getting better at…” Watch and listen to your own words and see what patterns and self perceptions are revealed to you.
Final Thoughts on Acts of Kindness and Reflections of Our Year Together
Today marks the last day of our first year of challenges! This last challenge was very interesting. One highlight from our “Acts of Kindness” month is feeling as though I was interrupting someone when asking a young girl if she wanted some cash. She was already eating a sandwich and was less than thrilled to receive my two dollars. I felt very awkward but I’m sure she needed those two dollars more than I did. Another highlight was challenging myself to look into the eyes of every person I passed while hiking and smile at them. Actually this was my mother’s challenge to me when I told her I passed by Ray Romano on my hiking trail the day before. She eluded to the fact that more people need to smile at one another in Los Angeles. She’s not wrong. I would otherwise have kept to myself and taken in all the nature that surrounded me. It actually felt like a sacrifice of time devoted to myself but hopefully I caused some momentary happiness in someone’s day.
To summarize this month, I think that when giving on any level it should be for the sake of giving not for the sake of feeling good about the giving and shouldn’t be done for the sake of karma either. No, giving should be done for the mere fact that there are people who need help, time, love, smiles and other necessities and if we have the means then maybe we just should but only when our own gas tank is full. Hopefully you all have filled your tanks this year with these monthly challenges.
As I reflect on the year that has passed, I realize that I developed many good habits and deepened my relationship to practices I already had in place that make my life amazing. Some of my favorites were Radical Self Care, Nature, Conservation and Gratitude. I have adopted the practice of sharing a daily gratitude list on Facebook, I am constantly learning new things, especially about nature and nature-based spirituality, I have gotten into the habit of turning off the lights and water when not in use at home and I am currently getting weekly massages. My, my, my that does sound amazing, doesn’t it?
Can you summarize your year with The Amazing Life Challenge? I really want to hear your story. Please comment below or email me at thislifeisamazing@gmail.com
Tomorrow begins round two! We begin with Positivity. Are you ready?
The AMAZING LIFE Challenge 