Negative Body Image Issues

Building a Healthy Body Image
Both emotional specialists and psychologists generally agree that eating disorders are generally rooted in negative body image. When this happens, sufferers usually see distorted body images when they gaze in a mirror – and as such, feel “fat” or otherwise imperfect regardless of whether these terms accurately describe the structure of their physical bodies.

Negative body images can manifest from one or more of the following factors:

Negative Conditioning Our parents’ and family members’ attitudes toward food and concepts of beauty can significantly factor in our body image. For example, parents who…

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Coping with Failure

Lessons in Entrepreneurship Part II: How to Cope with Failures and Take Responsibility for Them
Being your own boss is an exhilarating feeling, but it also means extra responsibility! Handling this responsibility and accepting blame for all the failures is one of the most common hurdles that new entrepreneurs stumble against.

Being the captain of your ship means you must take complete responsibility for all your failures and set backs. By taking responsibility for your failures you admit to yourself you are facing the consequences of your past actions. This also brings the realization you have the power to change the future consequences by changing your present actions…

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Past Life Dreams

Dream Interpretation: How to Identify Past-Life Dreams
Dreams associated with our past lives often come at a time when we are dealing with life or relationship situations which may have a karmic link with our past. These dreams are actually past-life memories supporting us to see our present challenges from a higher perspective and shed the associated karmic baggage. For instance, a dream about an abusive relationship in your past life could explain why you share a negative relationship with the same person in your present life.

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Assertiveness: Standing Up for Yourself

Although some people don’t view it this way, being assertive is a positive thing. Unfortunately, people often equate assertiveness with aggression, stubbornness or being opinionated; moreover, this is especially true when an assertive person happens to be a woman as well.

In reality, however, assertiveness simply means having the conviction to say no when you’re unconvinced that something is right. Additionally, it means that you have created defined boundaries that you want others to honor and respect. When we view assertiveness this way, it has no negative connotations. The problem, of course, is that many people don’t have this view of assertiveness.

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Teething Troubles

Lessons in Entrepreneurship Part 1: Overcoming Teething Troubles
To become a successful entrepreneur requires courage, vision, leadership qualities, business acumen and confidence. Most of us are not born with all these qualities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t develop them. If you have a strong desire to start something of your own and be your own boss, success will come to you provided you stay focused on your goals.

How to Stay Focused on Your Goals
Most businesses face some amount of “teething trouble,” which is the most challenging part of entrepreneurship: retaining your faith, focus and confidence while trying to keep your little boat afloat. People who manage to get past the first phase of entrepreneurship without severely denting their confidence usually find the going easier as their business starts growing…

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Dream Interpretations

Guide to Dream Interpretation I: How to Remember Your Dreams

Dreams are tales woven by our subconscious, often to send across a message that our conscious is unwilling to comprehend. But the language of dreams is coded with metaphors and symbols, so to understand our dreams we therefore need to understand the unique visual language of our subconscious.

The first and most important step in dream interpretation is recalling your dreams accurately; however, it is at this first step itself that most of us falter. Generally we remember our dreams vividly the moment we wake up, but within seconds our conscious mind takes over. And as the minutes and hours of the day pass, the dream fades away from our mind…

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Building Healthy Relationships

Generally speaking, romantic relationships begin with a heady and intoxicating feeling wherein you see everything through rose-colored lessons. However, over time this is tempered by reality and the growing familiarity you have with one another. Unfortunately, sometimes this can result in conflict and contempt. Although all relationships experience setbacks, knowing how to overcome these setbacks before they grow is key to building a healthy relationship with your paramour.

Making Relationships Work
Although there are differences in all relationships, the existence of mutual love can help you overcome most of them. Below are some strategies commonly recommended by relationship experts.

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Improving Concentration

How to Improve Your Concentration Power
Do you have trouble staying focused on the task at hand? Is your attention span only slightly better than that of a two year old? Do you find it hard to battle distractions? If yes, then what you need are some exercises that can help you put a rein on your wandering mind!

Exercises to Improve Your Concentration Power
Mind-Clearing Exercise This exercise is useful for people who have never mediated and have extremely low attention spans. The mind clearing exercise is a form of guided meditation that allows you to literally clear your mind of all stray thoughts and anxiety. It is a good idea to record the following steps…

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Attracting Abundance

How to Attract Abundance
Your attitude toward money largely shapes your efforts toward achieving your goal of abundance. While a positive attitude will make it easier for you to attract opportunities and take advantage of them, a negative attitude (such as treating money as essentially evil, being too stingy, or focusing on what you don’t have) will end up repelling abundance.

If you treat money as a necessary component of life and focus on your dreams about abundance instead of lamenting your past losses, doubting your ability to achieve abundance, or grudging others for being “rich,” you will be able to attract better opportunities your way.

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Minor Arcana in Tarot

Tarot decks come in many different designs, with varying images, foci, and intentions, so provide yourself with the space to experience more than more deck. A typical tarot deck consists of 56 Minor Arcana cards divided into four suits – namely, Cups, Swords, Wands and Pentacles. The four suits represent the four elements of air, earth, fire and water. Each suit is a symbol of an aspect of human emotions and ambitions, and all suits have ten numbered cards and four court cards.

While the numbered cards generally refer to transient events, advice, ideas, etc., the court cards represent people in our lives or behavior patterns….

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Pursuing Happiness

Pursuing Happiness
For many people the search for happiness can last a lifetime. Although finding happiness is simple to achieve, it is also difficult to comprehend despite how many people follow this pursuit. This is because many people are unaware of what true happiness really is.

Happiness: What Is It?
Ask a dozen people what happiness is, and you’ll get at least a dozen different answers because people tend to define happiness based on what they most desire at any given moment. Someone who is struggling financially may equate happiness with having an ample supply of money, while someone who is lonely may think of it as finding love. In short, people find a connection between happiness and what they don’t have but do desire.

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Perfection Problems

Deeply rooted beliefs and long-term conditioning cause perfection, which can result in perfectionists believing that achieving excellence is the only way to find happiness. Unfortunately, such a degree of perfectionism can often border on obsession despite its positive aspects.

Yet the biggest problem with perfection is that despite the positive aspects associated with it, like meticulousness and diligence, is that perfectionism is not something of which one should be proud. Even though earnestness and a commitment to being as perfect as possible can be good qualities, perfectionism can often cause you more harm than good.

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Self-Hypnosis & Pain Relief

The stress of the holidays is beginning to hit most individuals already, coupled with financial challenges. Stress can hit us all differently, but in most instances the first physical signs of stress will come through some sort of pain: neck stiffness, lower back ache, shoulder tightness, etc. Taking a few moments to go inward to release the stress and associated pain can go a long way in making this holiday season a little more enjoyable.

In metaphysical terms, pain is actually the result of negative emotions like anger, jealousy, stress, anxiety, etc. You may have noticed how your head or shoulders start hurting when you are under immense stress or how anxiety causes discomfort in various parts of the body. If you look beyond the obvious you will realize that pain is simply a distress call of the body.

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Karma and Abundance

Each one of us desires abundance and financial security. We all want comfortable and fulfilling lives for ourselves and our families, and almost each one of us has had secret dreams of finding a hidden treasure or winning that elusive lottery or contest money! The problem is that for a lot of people abundance remains a dream. Have you even wondered why this happens? Of course you have! A more appropriate question perhaps would be, “Do you know why some are more ‘lucky’ than others?” There are two words that can answer this question: Karma and attitude.

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Time Management

How to Improve Your Time Management Skills
Time and life are constantly racing against each other. And unless we learn to fix the race by “managing” time, we’d better get used to life losing!

Time management is a simple skill, yet most of us fail to master it despite repeated attempts. The problem generally lies with either the strategy or our will power. The following tips, however, may make managing time easier for you.

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Forgiveness and Forward Movement

Forgiveness and Forward Movement
Love and joy are a part of life, but so are more negative experiences like heartbreak and hurt. Over the course of our lives we’ll meet untold numbers of people, some of whom will enrich our lives and make it more fulfilling. On the other hand, there are people who will either intentionally or unwittingly leave us hurting and break our hearts. Although the pain may ebb with time, the resentment can linger.

Negative Effects of Clinging to Resentment
Often people cling to anger and resentment because in some illogical way we view these emotions as being representative of punishing the person who hurt us. While we may move on, it’s sometimes difficult to forgive someone because to do so feels as those it’s a mark of weakness. Consequently, we may convince ourselves that forgiving someone is tantamount to condoning his or her hurtful actions…

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Preparing for Meditation

Although it sounds like a simple exercise on the surface, people often find it difficult to focus during meditation. This is especially true for beginners, who can find that it’s a special challenge to move from finding the time to embrace the solace meditation offers to committing to practicing meditation on a regular basis. Often this is because they underestimate the degree of focus necessary to practice true meditation, since it’s far more than a simple breathing exercise. Indeed, meditation is a form of intentional introspection that demands the total involvement of the entire person, including mind, body and soul. As such, it’s critical that you appropriately prepare yourself to practice meditation.

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Tarot Symbology

Previously we touched on the introduction of the use of Tarot cards and their ability to support us as we move through transition. Tarot’s symbols and images have fascinated mystics and artists alike for centuries. Every symbol and image in tarot is worth more than a thousand words; in fact, every card in tarot seems to tell a part of a universal story. A facet of life is depicted in each card, and when the cards are put together in a spread you can read the message like a page in a story book.

Based on their interpretations of tarot, several artists and mystics have created their own decks. They may seem completely different from one another, but if you focus on the images and colors you will realize that the stories they tell are essentially the same.

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Chakra Cleansing Therapy Explained

A popular alternative healing therapy, chakra cleansing is a method of balancing the seven energy centers that run along the human body’s midline. With roots in ancient Vedic philosophy, the therapy holds that our minds and bodies function properly when our chakras are properly aligned.

Many people are able to sense or feel (if not see) chakras during a cleansing session, which they often describe as manifesting as spinning globes or wheels of color associated with each particular chakra. There are seven main chakras. We will examine these, along with their associated colors, locations, and functions.

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Dealing with Insomnia

Nights are meant to be spent in dreamland, but for insomniacs catching the ever-elusive eight-hour sleep is like a dream that simply doesn’t come true. Stress, overconsumption of substances like caffeine, alcohol and nicotine, a noisy or uncomfortable sleeping environment, and indigestion are some of the main causes of insomnia.

Insomnia can have terrible effects on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. From baggy eyes and fatigue to an increased risk of cancer, insomnia comes loaded with a packet full of diseases -- not to mention the ill-effects on our ability to be coherent and make sound decisions.

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Stick to Your Fuel Plan

Motivate Yourself to Stick to Your Fuel Plan
There are four primary reasons for lack of motivation: boredom, no rewards, laziness, and a weak will power. A good fuel plan (Remember that a while ago we changed from using the word diet to fuel.) will ensure you don’t get bored or frustrated because of lack of results. We believe the following therapies will help improve your personal situation regarding your level of “laziness” and the possibility of having a “weak will power.”

Positive Affirmations Persistent self-talk, whether negative or positive, slowly makes its way to your belief system. Just like telling yourself every day you are not good at anything will kill your confidence, repeatedly telling yourself you are capable of sticking to your resolutions (Remember the word resolution is just a new solution to a challenge before us.) will help you become more assertive and confident. “Positive affirmation” is simply…

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Attracting What You Desire

Attraction Law
People have different ideas about what would constitute for them a perfect life: fame, happiness, health, love, wealth. And while we might differ on what we consider important, there’s no denying that we often find ourselves wasting a considerable amount of energy and time pondering the things we don’t have rather than focusing on those that we do. For instance, if we have love we might lament our lack of money, and if we have fame we might desire privacy. Comparison and jealousy are two human traits that affect us deeply and can even haunt us to the extent that we become resentful that others have what we desire.

The good news, however, is that we can have everything desire. In fact, we can easily influence the things that come into our lives with a little effort simply by employing respect and following the law of attraction.

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The Divine Exists!

What exactly is the nature of the Divine, whether you call it god, a superior being, or a greater essence? Is life in and of itself proof of a supreme being’s existence, or is this more a matter of faith? The answer is that studying life with care and pursuit of truth will allow you to discover that the tapestry of our entire existence is marked indelibly with a greater consciousness in every thread of the fabric.

By removing your glasses of cynicism and observing life with a child-like innocence, you will discover that everything you encounter is, in and of itself, a miracle. For instance, consider your physical body. It is a biological and engineering masterpiece in which every organ is designed to do a particular job, every cell has a specific purpose, and every atom works in conjunction with others toward the common goal of keeping you alive.

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Weight Loss Programs

Why Weight Loss Programs Fail
The $64 million question! The biggest hurdle most people face in their quest for fitness is lack of motivation, period. Most people start their weight loss programs in all earnestness but end up losing interest midway. The following are the some of the most common reasons for this lack of motivation.

Setting Unrealistic Goals
Success comes to those who can analyze their capabilities objectively and set their goals accordingly. The same rule applies to weight loss programs as well. Your weight loss goals need to be achievable yet challenging. Setting your goals too high is akin to pushing yourself toward failure, and goals that are too easy to achieve will eventually lead to boredom. In both cases the end result will be the same: your motivation levels will start plummeting within a few weeks of starting your fitness regimen!

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Banishing Victim Mentality

The first and most important step toward healing is to acknowledge that you possess a victim mentality and that it causes problems in your life. And as you might expect, often the most difficult part of this process is admitting to yourself that your problems might be, at least in part, your own creation. However, once you’re able to admit this, you’re in a prime position to begin working on adjusting your attitude – which, of course, will lead you to a better and more fulfilling life.

Often it is our past experiences that are deeply buried in the recesses of our subconscious that causes us to develop a habit of feeling victimized and shifting blame. If the bulk of your childhood memories are about facing neglect or feeling unloved, it can lead to a general feeling in adulthood that fate is poised against you or that everyone is out to get you…

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Finding a Great Diet Plan

I can hear most of you saying to yourself, “No such thing!” or “Best laid plans …” or “Really?” And I am the first to agree. Just the idea or notion of being on a diet is a reason to stop reading. And like most of us, we start off our diet plans with a lot of enthusiasm, but very few of us manage to stick to them in the long run. Why? The problem could be lack of motivation, a flawed diet plan, or both. Or you can really think outside the cereal box and admit that dieting is not the right perspective. Changing your thinking from “starting a diet” to “beginning a new relationship with food” is the very first step. After arriving and beginning to believe this new perspective, your “diet” will be supportive of the results you seek. Having a plan is always a great idea, and finding the right motivation is another critical tool.

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Expressing Emotions

Emotions, especially negative ones, are not treasure pieces we need to keep locked up and safe! Bottled-up emotions, in fact, can inflict more harm than most people would give them credit for. Negative emotions that are never released can lead to many physical and psychological ailments, from depression and extreme cynicism to heart diseases and high blood pressure.

The majority of us make a conscious decision to keep our emotions buried for fear of causing a confrontation or appearing vulnerable. The fact is that neither of these reasons for keeping one’s emotions bottled up is a sign of bravado or saintliness!

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Spirituality Explained

Understanding Spirituality
People approach and define the term spirituality very differently depending on their background and beliefs. For instance, for many people the word has a distinct religious connotation, while for others it may express something apart from or beyond the bounds of religion. From my perspective, experience, and research, I’ve found that spirituality lies somewhere between religious concepts and humanity’s innate spirit.

Spirituality and Religion
Our religious beliefs are imperative in helping us focus on and see things beyond the physical, material world because it aides us in traveling through the difficult patches we experience in life by imbuing us with the strength of faith. Although we follow and identify with many different religions on this wide, wonderful planet, the one thing that is central to and common among almost all religions is…

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Immaturity Through the Ages

It’s impossible to say for certain why the modern world’s concept of immaturity has changed, but I suspect it’s likely closely related to society’s obsession with holding on to youth. After all, entire industries are dedicated exclusively to catering to our desire to stay young, what with the popularity of cosmetic surgeries, anti-aging serums, botox, etc. Perhaps this new popularity of the “immature” lifestyle is yet another manifestation of this desire.

More specifically, immaturity in relationships is a more recent phenomenon. There’s no longer a stigma to being commitment-phobic, and in many social circles choosing to settle down with a long-term romantic partner is actually something to be proud of. This immaturity in relationships even extends to the professional world, as indicated by a marked increase in the incidence of quarter-life crises.

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Right Fitness Program

Just the thought of choosing the right fitness program can be overwhelming. There is so much information available, but how do you make the decision to take action and step into beginning a fitness program? This is something the majority of individuals struggle with. Take a few minutes and answer the following questions, honestly:
• How do I rate my fitness on a scale of 1 to 10?
• What are my fitness goals?
• What physical activities am I likely to enjoy the most?
• How much time can I devote to exercising every day?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you choose a fitness program. Your answers will give you guidelines on which to base your choice regarding what the most effective and enjoyable fitness programs will be for you.

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Feeling and Staying Attractive for Life

Don’t panic or click away too soon, because I promise this isn’t one of those articles where the writer offers beauty tips. Being a beautiful person means much more than looking attractive because a truly beautiful person isn’t necessarily one who is physically stunning. Beauty really is only skin deep, so the true mark of attractiveness is inner beauty and personality.

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Healthy Eating

Whether your goal is fitness or weight loss, you can’t accomplish either without eating healthy. Healthy doesn’t mean starving yourself or counting calories frantically. It simply means providing ample nourishment to your body. With the temptation of sugary treats and junk food it may be a challenge, but if you adopt the right eating strategies and perspectives, it won’t take you long to make eating healthy a natural habit.

Here are some tips and suggestions that can help you eat healthy and stay fit.

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Resolving Guilt

Resolving Past Shame
All of us have some skeletons in our closet because we’ve all done things we may not be proud of; after all, it’s only human to err. While time does manage to blur the memory of our past, for most of us it isn’t easy to get over the guilt of our past actions. It could be something as small as lying to someone you love to cheating or hurting someone knowingly or unknowingly.

While guilt keeps our conscience alive, it isn’t an easy feeling to live with. The purpose of guilt is to make us realize that our actions were wrong so that we do not repeat those mistakes again. Once guilt has achieved this, there is no reason to hang on to it; admittedly, however, getting over one’s guilt...

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Finding Guidance

Regardless of their personal belief systems (spiritual focus, formalized religion, or a combination thereof), people tend to like the comfort of feeling connected to those beings that support us from the other side, whether we believe “the other side” to be an alternate universe, a heavenly realm, etc. One reason people find this so comforting is that they like knowing that something greater than themselves is available for them from which they can seek or receive guidance and clarity. I maintain that our angels (or guides, if you prefer) constantly surround us, always at the ready to gently guide us toward happier and better lives if we are willing to ask for their help. We can communicate with these guides in any of several ways...

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Sussing Out Your Sixth Sense

What we commonly refer to as our “sixth sense” goes by many different names: gut feeling, inner voice, instinct, intuition, subconscious. Regardless of which term you prefer to use, this sixth sense is not some magical or mystical power that only a few people are blessed enough to possess; rather, it is as common and natural as the other five senses that we automatically accept as being valid and real because of our experience.

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Affirmations for Leadership

Positive Affirmation to Build Leadership Qualities
Leadership qualities are essential for professional success; after all, it will be difficult for a person to go too far up the ladder without basic qualities like initiative, assertiveness, and vision. If you examine these qualities you will realize that they are all offshoots of the most essential quality for success, and that is self-belief.

All of us want to do well in life, but often the problem is we don’t have enough faith in our own abilities. This lack of faith comes from several limiting beliefs, which could be the result of our conditioning, life experiences, cultural and family background, etc…

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The Law of Attraction and Building New Relationships

While it’s undeniable that being in a loving relationship can be incredibly fulfilling and full of positives, it’s also undeniable that finding relationships like that can be difficult. We’ve all experienced the defeated and heartbreaking feeling of rejection or an otherwise failed relationship, and most would agree that the risk of these unpleasant experiences are worth it if it means finding real love and joyous fulfillment. That said, it’s this end point that it can take an entire lifetime for some of us to reach.

While some might claim that finding love boils down to fate and being in the right place at the right time, others would argue that we exercise some control over what – and whom – we attract into our lives. If you’re in the second camp like I am, then you understand that your thoughts and actions determine your fate. Whether you call it the law of attraction or fate or something else, these are the factors at work in finding fulfilling relationships...

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Healthy Body Image

How to Build a Healthy Body Image

Most psychologists and emotional specialists agree that the root cause of eating disorders is a negative body image. This means people see distorted images of their bodies when they look into the mirror and feel “fat” whether or not the term describes their physical body structure accurately.

A negative body image could be the result of one or all of the following factors:

~Negative Conditioning The attitudes of our parents and family members toward food and “beauty” play a huge role in building our body image. For instance, if parents are obsessed with counting calories or give a lot of importance to outer appearance, the child may develop similar attitudes and may end up developing a negative body image.

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Anti-Success Attitudes

You may have noticed that most successful people have an air of confidence about them; they are successful because they believe in themselves. For instance, there are several examples of very successful businessmen who never did well academically. In sports it is not hard to find people who made it big despite several setbacks (physical and/or financial). There are quite a few actors who are successful in every sense of the term without being supremely talented. If you look at the common thread joining these success stories, you’ll find it boils down to self-belief.

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The Skinny on the Dip

...the Dip, which focuses primarily on motivation, aims to instill in readers the constant reminder to remember you’re in “the Dip” when you find yourself struggling through the proverbial darkness before the dawn that we all face when we are striving to master something or achieve a particular goal. You know the wisdom tidbit that says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”? The Dip falls somewhere between your second and 999th step, but you’ll likely feel it most when you encounter difficult obstacles or unpredictable situations that seem designed to hamper or even kill your goal.

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Using the 10-10-10 Strategy for Effective Decision Making

From the first moment a friend told me about Suzy Welch’s 10-10-10 strategy for decision making, it struck home and had an immediate impact on me because at that point I was revisiting and evaluating the aftermath of a choice I had made a decade ago. Using Welch’s strategy would have been incredibly supportive of helping me make a more informed and appropriate decision ten years ago, so I immediately added the 10-10-10 approach to my toolbox of decision-making skills.

Granted, it can often be difficult to make informed, thoughtful, beneficial decisions. Everyone has found herself in a position at one time or another where she made decisions based on gut, guilt, or instant gratification; that is, we sometimes find ourselves making choices reactively rather than proactively.

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Mentoring: An Art Form

It’s quite common for people who don the mentor cap to initially make the mistake of becoming involved emotionally with their protégés’ success. Unfortunately, this is one of the most detrimental things a mentor can do. Although it sounds contradictory, mentoring successfully is first and foremost about detached involvement. The following guidelines can help you succeed in making this detached involvement work for both you and your protégé.

As a mentor, your primary responsibility is to build confidence in those whom you mentor. In addition to helping your mentees fully realize their weaknesses and strengths, you also have the responsibility of helping them learn how to minimize

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Chakra Cleansing

Making Sense of Chakra Cleansing Therapy

Chakra cleansing, or balancing, is a popular alternative healing therapy that involves the seven energy centers along the midline of the human body. The concept of chakras has its roots in ancient Vedic philosophy, according to which the proper functioning of our body and mind depends on these chakras.

During a chakra cleansing session most people are able to sense, feel, or see chakras as spinning wheels or globes of colors associated with each chakra. The following is a list of the main seven chakras, as well as their colors, locations, and functions.

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Assert Yourself

The Need to Be Assertive

Assertiveness is a positive trait; however, few people truly see it as such. More often than not, people confuse being assertive with being aggressive, stubborn, or opinionated. Additionally, this happens more often in cases when the assertive person is a woman!

Being assertive simply means putting your foot down when you are not convinced about something and having the conviction and guts to say no when you don’t want to say yes. It also means you have very defined boundaries that you are asking others to respect and honor. According to this definition, assertiveness has no negative connotations attached to it. The problem is that most people do not understand the concept of assertiveness.

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Assert Yourself

The Need to Be Assertive

Assertiveness is a positive trait; however, few people truly see it as such. More often than not, people confuse being assertive with being aggressive, stubborn, or opinionated. Additionally, this happens more often in cases when the assertive person is a woman!

Being assertive simply means putting your foot down when you are not convinced about something and having the conviction and guts to say no when you don’t want to say yes. It also means you have very defined boundaries that you are asking others to respect and honor. According to this definition, assertiveness has no negative connotations attached to it. The problem is that most people do not understand the concept of assertiveness.

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Going the Distance

Robbins then shares his “4-square” system (belief, potential, action, results) as well as how these elements are vital to momentum. He notes that we all begin from a place where our beliefs about our potential is strong, which determines the actions we take and fuels the results we will achieve. In essence, your results reinforce your beliefs; therefore, changing your beliefs will change your view of your potential rather than changing your potential or taking further action. Going the distance, or following through, encourages you to visualize what you want, know why you desire it, and follow through.

To put the 4-square system to work for you...

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Reiki Healing Techniques

Healing Through Reiki

Reiki is one of the most important healing techniques we employ at Therapy in Transition. On the surface Reiki may seem like a strange therapy because it appears to promote healing when the practitioner simply places her hands over the person’s body. In truth, however, there’s much more to Reiki than what you “see.”

Origin of Reiki

Reiki is a Japanese word that comes from the terms rei, which means “universal,” and ki, which means “life energy.” All of us are nothing but energy in metaphysical terms because energy flows from top to bottom and nourishes all of the human body’s cells and organs. Reiki practitioners are aware that negative feelings and thoughts are responsible for disruptions in this energy flow, which manifests in the human body as mental and/or physical ailments. Reiki removes these disruptions, thereby healing a person who receives treatments.

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Healthy Relationships

Building Healthy Relationships

Most romantic relationships start off with a heady feeling that makes everything seem rosy in the beginning; time and familiarity, however, introduce contempt and other inevitable conflicts. Every relationship has its share of trouble, but the key to building a healthy relationship is knowing how to overcome the problems before they get out of hand.

How to Make a Relationship Work

Though every relationship is different, as long as there is mutual love one can iron out most relationship problems. Here are few strategies that most relationship experts recommend…

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The Truth Behind Tarot

History of Tarot Cards
The origin of tarot cards is, appropriately, somewhat shrouded in mystery. Some believe the cards originated in Egypt, while others claim they were first used in India. However, most experts believe tarot originated in the fourteenth century in Italy, where the cards were first called “Tarrocco” and were used to play a game similar to bridge. Hundreds of years later, occult arts devotees in England and France first encountered the cards and saw symbolism in the cards as being laden with magical and mystical meanings.

How Tarot Works
You might be asking yourself, “Are tarot cards really magical?” The answer is a decided no. The magic lies not in the cards themselves, but rather in your own mind. In essence, tarot functions as a visual tool that can sharpen your intuition because it’s easy for the conscious mind…

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Abolishing Victim Mentality

Getting Past Victim Mentality
Realizing that that you have a victim mentality and that it is causing problems in your life is the first and most important step toward healing. It’s admitting to yourself that your problems may be your own creation that is the most difficult part. Once you reach past that stage, you can start working on changing your attitude so that you start living a better and more fulfilling life.

Causes of Victim Mentality
The habit of shifting blame and feeling victimized generally arises from past experiences buried deeply in the recesses of one’s subconscious. You may feel that everyone is out to get you or that fate is never on your side if your childhood memories are that of feeling unloved or facing neglect. People with a history of childhood abuse may…

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Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness

The pursuit of happiness can turn into an eternal search for most people. Happiness is perhaps the most sough after, the simplest to achieve, and yet the most difficult to comprehend feeling in the world. The reason so many of us are unable to find happiness is because we don’t really understand its true meaning.

What Is Happiness?

If you ask around you’ll come across several different meanings of happiness. Based on what they desire at the moment, people interpret happiness in different ways. Happiness could mean finding love to someone who is lonely…

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The Psychology of Obesity

Obesity is blamed on many things related to our physical health: food cravings, metabolism rate, thyroid issues, lack of exercise, binge eating, etc. Yet examining obesity from a psychological perspective reveals that there’s far more to obesity than just the physical causes and effects.

A healthy diet and exercise would be sufficient means for an obese person to get down to a healthy weight if obesity were a physical problem alone, yet this those two tactics alone rarely are enough for obese people to lose down to and maintain a healthy weight. In addition to diet and exercise, obese people must also remove from their psyche the reasons behind their unmanageable food cravings.

While we may not be able to recall the specific experiences or details of our childhood that played significant roles in influencing the adults we have become…

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Pet Therapy Basics

Humans recognize the ability of pets, which are so versatile, varied, and universally loved, to heal and comfort. Many research studies have shown that owners and pets connect in multiple ways and that animal companions can boost the self-esteem of and provide spiritual fulfillment to their owners.

Pet Therapy Basics
Animals are beings that aren’t burdened with humans’ emotional complexities. The fact that animals still respond to love and care despite the fact they can’t speak for themselves evokes a sense of protection and compassion among humans; relatedly, proximity to animals can have multiple positive emotional and psychological side effects. For example, pets can distract humans from focusing on...

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Problems With Perfection

What’s Wrong With Perfectionism?

Perfectionism comes from deep-rooted beliefs and one’s conditioning. Perfectionists tend to believe that seeking perfection is the only way of achieving excellence, but what they forget is that while being meticulous may be a good thing, perfectionism often borders on obsession.

The biggest problem with perfectionism, however, is that most people don’t realize that perfectionism is not something to be proud of! Earnestness and diligence are good qualities, but perfectionism can do you more harm than good!

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Feeling Attractive

How To Feel Attractive In Your Own Skin

No! This isn’t one of those “beauty tips” articles, since beauty, after all, is only skin deep! Looking attractive goes far beyond looking beautiful; an attractive person may or may not have great features or a perfectly chiseled body! What makes a person attractive is his/her personality and inner beauty.

How To Look Attractive

To look attractive you do not need botox injections or cosmetic treatments, nor do you need expensive make-up. All you really need are the following tools…

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Forgive and Move On

Why Is It Important To Forgive and Move On?

Hurt and heartbreak are as much a part of life as love and joy are. Life introduces us to several people; some of them make our lives far more beautiful, while others knowingly or unknowingly break our hearts and leave us hurting. With time the hurt may diminish, but the resentment often stays.

The Futility of Holding on to Resentment

Most of us hold on to resentment and anger because in some twisted way these emotions make us feel that we are punishing the person who hurt us. We may move on, but we find it hard to forgive because forgiveness seems like a weakness…

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Adjusting Your Emotions

“A couple of months ago things were so stressful at work that everyone – including me – was tense all the time. By the time I got home I was completely drained and wanted nothing more than to go straight to bed.”

Does the above scenario sound at least a little familiar? Can you identify with the premise if not the specific situation? If so, how long was it before your mood lifted? Did you have a serious talk with yourself, trying to convince yourself to focus on something – anything – else? Consider the last you found yourself really angry or down. When you think back on it, do you recall that your emotions slowed you down or perhaps even crippled you emotionally for days or weeks?


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Embracing Change

My husband and I took our son for his first official haircut when he was 15 months old. The trauma of the event was not significant, but the energy exchange during the event was decidedly intense. My son went from sitting on my lap and enjoying the process while my husband entertained him to the opposite end of the spectrum, screaming and struggling to be let down. As you can imagine, it was an emotional roller coaster for all three of us.

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Meditation Preparation

Preparing Yourself for Meditation

Meditation may sound like a simple exercise, but most people find it difficult to focus on a mundane task to the exclusion of everything else. The problem most individual – especially beginners moving from finding a few minutes to embrace the solace of what mediation offers to becoming more committed by embracing a weekly or daily ritual of meditating – underestimate is the amount of focus required for an exercise as simple as meditation. It isn’t just a breathing exercise. Meditation, in fact, is a way of introspecting: it’s an exercise that requires the complete involvement of one’s body, mind and soul. Therefore, it is important to prepare oneself for this ironically simple exercise…

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CranioSacral Therapy and Its Benefits For Your Business

I often have clients ask me how having regular CranioSacral sessions can help them make better decisions relating to their business. I can understand why people who aren’t familiar with the process might wonder how five grams can affect their ability to stay focused and on task or otherwise impact their decision-making processes.

But as a CranioSacral practitioner, I know that the therapy sessions certainly can impact your professional life because I’ve received so much positive feedback from countless clients over the years. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m always happy to address questions about CranioSacral therapy because I understand that it almost always means the people asking those questions have reached a place in their lives in which they’re prepared to embrace changes that will allow them to move forward in their personal and professional lives.

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Attracting New Relationships

How to Attract New Relationships

A loving and fulfilling relationship can make life beautiful; unfortunately, finding such relationships is not easy! Most of us go through our share of heartbreak, but if it means finding love and fulfillment in the end the heartbreak is almost always worth it. However, it’s reaching “the end” that takes quite a few of us an entire lifetime and sometimes more.

A lot of people believe that being able to find love is a matter of fate. But is it really? Don’t we have any control over whom we attract into our lives? The fact is we do because our thoughts and actions decide our fate. Heard about Karma and the law of attraction? Well, those are the two laws that apply to relationships as well.

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Attracting the Best

Law of Attraction

Everyone wants a perfect life: wealth, fame, health, love, happiness -- we want it all and more! The problem is more often than not we end up wasting our time and energy thinking about the lack of these very things in our life. If we have wealth we feel sorry for our state of health or relationships, and if we have fulfilling relationships we lament the other things we don’t have. Jealousy and comparison: these eternal human traits haunt us, and we often end up resenting fate for bestowing more on others.

The fact is we can have all that we desire; that is, we can make our fate smile at us, if only we try. How? you may ask. Simple: employ respect and follow the law of attraction.

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Meeting Needs With NVC

There’s no one on the planet who hasn’t been in a situation wherein tempers and/or emotions escalated – perhaps even dramatically – due to miscommunication or poor communication. When this has happened in your own life, you’ve likely looked back on it afterwards and wondered how things got so out of control. You might even have tried to determine who was to blame for the bad communication , or perhaps you ended up pursuing avenues of explanation that resulted in self-doubt or justifications for the communication mishap and resulting behavior.

A colleague introduced me to three levels of communication that have served as a reminder that I shouldn’t automatically accept everything I hear at face value. Given that I’d had a lifetime of communication by the time the colleague pointed this out, it’s ironic that this idea actually sounded like a new piece of information to me. The three levels of communication explain even further why we shouldn’t accept everything we hear at face value. Those levels are…

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Revisiting the Seven Habits

It’s been almost a decade since I read the infamous self-help book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, but it’s such a helpful tool that it came as no real surprise when I recently felt compelled to re-read it. As I did so, I found myself wondering if I had addressed or implemented the particular habit introduced in each new chapter. By the time I finished those chapters, I was delighted to find that I had, in fact, embraced them since my initial reading of the book. Of course, I had also adapted the suggestions or guidelines in the book concerning the habits to tailor them to my own unique needs and experiences. This discovery reminded me that we each determine our own level of success.

Covey encourages readers of his best seller, which has sold 15 million-plus copies in almost 40 languages since its first printing in 1991, to embrace the seven habits he outlines so they can implement them in their own lives to increase their success or effectiveness as well as become more satisfied with their accomplishments at the end of an established time frame...

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Existence of the Divine

Why the Divine, a Greater Essence, Must Exist!

Is the belief in god, the Divine, or a greater essence merely a matter of faith, or is life in itself a proof of the existence of a supreme entity? The fact is if you examine life carefully, you will realize the entire fabric of our existence has the indelible mark of a greater consciousness that is found in every thread!

If you take off the glasses of cynicism and observe life with the innocence of a child, you will realize everything around you is nothing short of a miracle!

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Understanding the Energy of Your Aura

When you hear the word “energy,” the first thing you probably think of is gas, electricity, or something similar that produces change or movement. In truth, this definition is very similar to how practitioners like myself would describe energy from the perspective of our work with auras. “Aura” refers to the space surrounding your physical being that extends upward and outward in the basic reach of your arm span. People often think of their aura as being their “personal space” in which they determine what gets in and what’s excluded.

Human beings are living, breathing sources of energy. Think, for example, of the heat our bodies produce when we’re cold or the perspiration we produce when we’re hot. Similarly, our metabolism is another form of energy that converts our food from simple nourishment to fuel.

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Mentoring Effectively

The Art of Mentoring

Being a mentor is a role that comes with a lot of pride and responsibility. The pride lies in achieving a position from where you can help others with the hindsight of your experience, and the responsibility lies in the fact that you will be playing a vital role in the careers and lives of those you decide to help.

When you take on the role of a mentor, you may make the mistake of getting emotionally involved in the success of your protégés. That, however, is the biggest mistake a mentor can make! It may sound like an oxymoron, but mentorship is actually the art of detached involvement.

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Understanding Spirituality

Understanding Spirituality

The word “spirituality” holds a different meaning for every individual. For some people the word has religious connotations, while to others spirituality may mean going beyond the boundaries of their religion. So, what really is spirituality? The answer lies somewhere in the middle of the concepts of religion and the spirit of humanity.

Religion and Spirituality
Our religion helps us focus beyond the material world. It helps us traverse through some of the roughest patches on the road of life by giving us the strength of faith. We humans may follow different religions and may pray to different gods...

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Offering Advice: You Can, But Should You?

Are you a good listener, or do you offer unsolicited (and perhaps unwanted) advice? Learn more about knowing when to hold your tongue when a friend is facing challenges by reading our latest article at Beauty Forever Network. Click here to be taken directly to the article.

Economic Stress

Over the past several months the media has inundated us with fear-based and negative reports about the state of the national and global economies. Because of my line of work as a life coach, I’m in a position to work with clients who are struggling with decisions regarding how to best address both their financial, physical, and emotional well-being.



Making decisions regarding these two important facets of your well-being can be difficult because we so often tend to put our financial security first. And the truth is that we must address our financial solvency and stability by paying bills and setting aside money for the future. But I also believe strongly in balancing our physical and emotional well-being as well because if we ignore those facets of our life we run the risk of hindering or entirely halting our forward movement.

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Examining Immaturity

The Changing Concepts of Immaturity

What is age, if nothing but a number! Or so the “18 till I die” generation believes. There was a time when the word immaturity had only negative connotations attached to it; now, however, immaturity is a term which we have come to be secretly proud of! After all, being immature gives us the right to stay a commitment-phobic single, make impulsive decisions, and behave like we are 18 when we are actually pushing 30. Immaturity allows us to stretch our adolescent years for as long as we want. It makes us feel young!

Why Has the Concept of Immaturity Changed?

So what has made us change our concept of immaturity? Perhaps it has to do with our present-day obsession with holding on to youth. An entire industry has grown around the human desire to stay young; whether it’s by botox, cosmetic surgeries, or anti-wrinkle creams, we want to look and feel young for as long as possible. The new age “immature” lifestyle is perhaps another manifestation of this desire...

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Finding Your Balance Amidst Chaos

We have a great new blog entry about finding and maintaining your personal balance up on Beauty Forever Network. Click here to learn more about how establishing and maintaining a ritual or routine, along with regular journaling, can help you find balance.

Understanding Tarot

Are you curious about the history and use of tarot cards? Click here to go to our website to read our new article about understanding tarot.

Connecting With Angels

Seeking Guidance

Whatever a person’s belief system might be – whether it is formalized religion, a spiritual focus, or a combination of a few – each of us likes to feel connected to those who are supporting us from the other side, other realms, or even an alternate universe. One of the underlying commonalities is that there is something greater than ourselves from which we seek to hear, see and receive guidance. One thing I have come to know is true is that our guides and angels are always around us, and they are willing to gently guide us toward becoming better and happier human beings. All we need to do is to request them for help.


There are several ways to communicate with your angels. Some of the simplest and most common ones are...

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The Sixth Sense

What is intuition? A gut feeling? Instinct? Your inner voice? The subconscious? Or a sixth sense? It is actually all of these, and the word you choose to describe it depends on your conditioning and beliefs. Intuition is not a special power that a few blessed souls possess; it is universal just like the sense of smell. Some of us may be more intuitive than others, but the fact is that all of us posses this sixth sense.

Theories of Intuition

A common theory of intuition is that everything in the universe is energy; needless to say, this is a well-accepted fact as well. In metaphysical terms all human interaction can be described as interaction between energies. Our bodies are capable of sensing the energies around us and our mind can sense the energy of every situation we visualize: this ability is called the sixth sense or intuition. By paying close attention to the subtle reactions of our body and mind to every person we meet and every situation we find ourselves in (visualized or present), we can understand and interpret the meaning of our mind and body reactions (Read: intuition).

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Intentions

Today's blog posting:

Over the last few weeks I've been revisiting the purpose of why I began facilitating the educational seminars. To date they have been successful, although not exactly what I had envisioned – or so I thought. The reason for hosting the seminars was to get my name out there, provide a service to the community, and have a way in which I was also able to give back.

But was I really being successful? Did I really hold the limited vision of only one or two people for attendance? What is my true intention behind these seminars? What fears might be holding me back from receiving full attendance?

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The Value of a Business Plan? Priceless!

Recently I was fortunate to receive a free copy of Palo Alto's Business Plan Pro software. When I picked up my free code on July 01, I knew having this software was going to be important. But it wasn't until this week I realized just how important!

I have worked on creating business plans for other organizations with the purpose of needing to raise financial capital and impress investors. My perspective regarding completing a business plan was definitely that it is a good exercise for companies of all sizes at no matter what stage they happen to be. It was from this premise I began "officially" working on my own.

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It's All a Matter of Perspective

Today is a day the world has decided to pay respects to a man who on more than one occasion changed the course of direction in the music industry. Michael Jackson (or MJ, as some refer to him) is also considered the “King of Pop.”

In death we begin to view an individual from the eyes of goodness and greatness, but why is it during life we view these same individuals from a completely different perspective? I am generalizing here, but in more cases than not Michael Jackson was definitely put through the ringer when it came to judgments made against him. Did he deserve some of these? Possibly, but it's not my place to judge his actions of the past, nor is it my place to judge another in the present or the future – especially when the actions did not directly relate to me personally or my family.

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Meet Karen Kleinwort: Our Flourishing Friend for July

"When you first meet Karen Kleinwort, you'll notice her friendliness, warmth, and tendency to physically reach out and touch the person with whom she's talking. We guarantee you'll be drawn to her amazing blue eyes and passion to help women live their best lives. We are excited to share her inspiring story as well as how her love affair with an adopted shelter dog named Tito changed her life forever... "

This is the beginning or the teaser from Flourish-PDX's newsletter today. We are honored to have been selected by such a fantastic organization to be their chosen friend this month. Enjoy their article here.

Namaste,
Karen

Let Your Light Shine

Jackie is back in the saddle and has her blog posting up a few hours early. Here is a little taste:

This week we’ve had a number of untimely celebrity passings: Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon, Charlie’s Angels star Farrah Fawcett, music icon Michael Jackson, and most recently the man known as the King of Infomercials, Billy Mays. Though all of these individuals left their own mark on the world with their unique talent, style and personalities, they share one thing in common: they all loved what they did and let their light shine through in their work and everyday lives."

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Commitment Phobia

Do You Suffer from Commitment Phobia?
Is the inability to have steady, committed relationships a problem? If you have commitment phobia you’ll probably answer this question with an emphatic “NO.” In fact, in all probability you attribute your “forever single status” to your desire for freedom or your flirtatious nature. While that may be true in some cases, often claims like “I like my space and independence,” “Love is too complicated,” etc., are mere euphemisms for a deep-rooted phobia of commitment. Being commitment phobic not only hinders your ability to create and enjoy a wonderful personal relationship with another person, but it very possibly can affect your professional success as well...

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Restrictions

Restrictions may be held deeper than you might realize…

Working with my clients over the last few years, I 've come to realize that most individuals say what they think they believe and know but ultimately don't embody the belief. Here’s an example:

John hurt himself while doing yard work this week. He has had past issues with neck pain and a lower back ache for a long time. While he was working with me for coaching and receiving both the energy and body work during his sessions, he continued to approach his professional work with the same determination.

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To Be Or Not To Be In Business

Today's blog posting is ready to read:

Forgive me, but I'm going to jump right in and assume you’ve all heard the famous Shakespearean saying “To be or not to be: that is the question.” Let me ask you this: Have you thought about actually applying it to your life or career? With the state of the current global economic crisis, it might not be such a bad idea.

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