Activation of Self-Strengths

How often does life throw 'a curve ball at us'? What we want and desire is to respond successfully to whatever life throws at us – with calmness and the certainty that we can deal with whatever is in front of us, and maintaining a sense of personal power and dignity.

I have no doubt that there are many ways and approaches we can use to achieve this state of mind. But one of them, a simple one – my favourite – is on my menu when I work with clients.

So I'll share it with all of you. Especially since it is something that anyone can do at home to improve their mood and behaviour for their overall benefit. To be more specific:

• It improves mood and behaviour in challenging situations
• it generates positive feelings of empowerment and being more in control
• enhances self-esteem by improving the beliefs you have about yourself – what you think about the type of person you are and your abilities
• improves personal effectiveness, allowing you to do what you want to do...

Activation of Self-Strengths

First, pick a challenging situation. How to pick one? Just notice that around some situations you have negative feelings – perhaps you keep putting certain things off. Or some situations make you feel frustrated. Or apathetic. Or panicky and anxious. It could be at work, or at home, or related to food or sex or relationships. The best type to pick is one that is a current challenge and that you meet almost on a daily/weekly basis.

Example. When I came over here to Belfast I became hugely anxious about talking on the phone or phoning anywhere. I could not understand what people were saying. I needed to see them, then I would at least get a rough idea of what they were talking about. I thought “they won't understand me; I am a foreigner, an immigrant, they will just hang up on me anyway. I don't speak in a way that they can understand....” I really panicked and froze at the thought of a phone conversation.

Second. Remember something from your past; a small event from your recent past can do the job excellently, where you successfully did something or used some skills or abilities in a similar situation and felt good about doing it and about yourself afterwards. The situation doesn't have to be identical to the challenge you're facing, just one where you tapped into abilities in a way that can be transferred to the current challenge.

Example. So I remembered that one day I received a phone call after an interview when I was looking for a job. All the worst conditions were in place – I was on the street with cars passing loudly by, it was quite windy and the caller had a real 'Belfasty' accent... But I remained calm and focused while the employer invited me to start working as of next week. I felt so proud of myself afterwards.

So the situation that I remembered was – I managed the phone conversation quite well despite all the obstacles.

Third. And then ask yourself a question: what does this situation say about myself? What does it tell me about my abilities, character, skills, values? And you will come up with one or more affirmative statements.

In my case they were the following: I can remain calm and focused when it matters. I can overcome a variety of obstacles when I am fully focused. People can understand me. I can talk on the phone to strangers here, I can understand them. I can keep my dignity in trying situations.

Why to do this? We verbalize the helpful self-truths and make them easily accessible. Because all the statements that you come up with are positive truths that tell you about your character or your abilities and skills.

These affirmations, self-truths, are very powerful, because they are the truths that you can easily recognize since they are based on actual situations. These positive self-truths can help you act in situations when you are not sure what to do, or when you want to act in some positive way rather than falling back to your automatic responses and becoming angry, or frozen, or just trying to flee or avoid the situation.

Fourth. And most importantly – activate this truth! How? Simply rephrase the 'self-truth' into a question.

“Can I be calm and focused when talking on a phone?” “Do I know what to do to in this trying situation?”

And you will naturally reply Yes to this question because it connects with an obvious truth. Yes. Because you already agree with it!

So after activating your 'self-truth' just notice the spontaneous response to it. Make a short pause, notice the positive response that it brings and then act from this new perspective.

Fifth. Summary - whenever you enter a challenging situation:

Recognize that you are facing your challenging situation,

Activate your self-truth by asking the question

Notice the change that the response brings (it will bring up the positive truth about yourself)

And then act from the new state of mind.

As one of my clients wrote after applying this procedure: “this exercise has already been of benefit to me and I’ve only begun using it. I’m keen to see how I develop over the next few months when the exercise has become embedded into my thought processes and I have used it in a variety of situations. Already I’m finding that the affirmation is like a safety net when I’m in a situation where I feel I have no control of myself or my responses. It anchors me and reminds me immediately that all is ok and that I’ve managed this situation before, no need to panic. It’s a powerful tool to have.”

It is like being a miner digging for gold, but that gold is easily found within yourself and your personal experiences. And once found, this 'gold' allows us to respond adequately.

So good luck and have excellent results!

Meanwhile, if you found the information relevant and interesting, please share it with others.
Comments, queries or recommendations, please let me know.
If you need more help navigating to healthier living habits, just call me or e-mail me.

Being Mindful of Your Mindless Microbes

How would you answer right now if I asked: “Who are you?” And if I added: “Why do you think so?” Your answer would probably depend on manyt things – if you have a family, or the kind of family you come froom. It might depend on whether you have children. Or a job, money, social status, beliefs etc. In short, your answer depends on whether you have something to boast about or not. 'Life' continually challenges us: “Are you somebody? Or nobody?” And much more depends on this answer than you might initially imagine.

The life and well-being of the microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi etc) inside you and around you depend on this answer. They are everywhere. They don't have an agenda as such - to harm or to help you – they just live. 

But there is a difference. Yes, microbes live according to the same natural laws as we humans. However, since they do not have 'minds', they don't have stresses either and they become dependent on the stresses of their 'owner'. Ourselves.

 

So when someone is in an agitated state, preoccupied with some petty meanness or waiting for the appropriate moment to enact some act of spite or vengeance, they can activate 'Arcanobacterium haemolyticum', actually bringing upon themselves ailments such as throat infections, pharyngitis, sinusitis etc.

Another example is Rhinovirus (the virus which most often causes the common cold) which becomes stressed when the owner acts in a desperate manner because of their own mistakes. 

 

The behaviour of microbes reacts on tiny changes in their owner's mood. If the person is resilient to judgments towards himself or loved ones, doesn't become too easily flattered or annoyed... they will also be more resilient towards disease. By calmly taking things as they are, their microbes behave exactly the same – just continuing everyday activities. If a person naturally feels they are a “somebody”, they do not jump about proving it. They calmly accept others' thoughts and actions but continue to do their own thing. Immunity, in this sense, actually mirrors your emotional resilience.

The“I am somebody” person tends to enjoy great health and has good immunity towards illness. Therefore building psychological resilience is the best starting point for having and developing a good immune system or getting back on track.

For testing your own resilience and to read more, I find that the following link is generally helpful:

https://experiencelife.com/article/the-5-best-ways-to-build-resiliency/

And, of course, the energy work that I do in Health Kinesiology can help to improve the immune system as well as helping people to feel comfortable and happier with who they are.

Beware of Winter

According to traditional Chinese medicine, when the seasons change different organs become vulnerable as our bodies shift to keep balanced. In winter, the water element predominates which corresponds to our kidneys, adrenals and bladder.

The kidneys are the primary source of vitality, energy and heat as well as vital essence. Energy is drawn from this source during times of stress and anxiety or when the body requires healing. The Kidney Meridian is also called the “Root of Life” because it houses the pre-natal force that we are given from our parents at conception. The kidney meridian also includes the adrenals (which physically sit on top of the kidneys.) The adrenal glands secrete a wide array of essential hormones that regulate metabolism, support immunity, and control sexual potency and fertility. (The kidney system also includes what the Chinese call the ‘external kidneys’: the testicles in men and the ovaries in women, so is very important in sexual vitality.)

It is critical during the coldness of winter to support our kidneys and adrenal glands through proper diet and lifestyle, good hydration, as well as energetic practices such as yoga and Tai Chi which I love doing myself. This helps to keep your core warm and well nourished.

In relation to diet:

focus on warming foods like hearty soups and stews, whole grains, roasted nuts, root vegetables, beans, garlic, ginger, miso and seaweed. These specific foods help to fortify the kidneys, uplift emotions, nourish the body, warm the core and help you to conserve energy.

It is also important to avoid too many raw foods during winter because they tend to cool the body and can deplete our digestive “fire” which is the ability to assimilate food efficiently.

In relation to lifestyle there are many good old recommendations that help conserve energy so that there is enough to see us through to Spring

• Sleep early, rest well, stay warm, and expend less energy. This restores Kidney energy. Getting to bed early and rising after the sun has risen - at least during weekends - will help you preserve your warmth and vitality.
• Find ways to relax and release stress on a daily basis. Include yoga, meditation, relaxation therapy or a short nap. This will support the adrenal glands.
• Use seasonal acupuncture to help tonify the organ system. This can be a superb preventative (or if you've left it too late, corrective) treatment for body harmony. And as you may know – I offer auricular acupuncture treatments £ 10 per 45 min to support your body and mind.

For other diet and lifestyle recommendation during winter I have found the following pages to be really good for general advice:

http://fiveelementhealing.net/winter-the-season-of-water-element/

: http://www.reneparke.com/winter-diet.html

or http://straightbamboo.com/how-to-stay-healthy-in-winter/

Everyone loves a good yawn... And here is why.

If you have had a session with me, you will all have seen and heard me yawn. And it doesn't mean that I'm tired or bored or was out dancing last night - it just shows that the energy has shifted. That's right. 

But I would like you also to consider yawning and all the benefits that it may bring to your system so that you can do it with greater vigour and enjoyment.

 

Yawning:

• brings fresh oxygen into body cells including the eyes and brain,
• a really good yawn will contract and expand muscles from the top of your head to the tips of your toes – including the shoulders, the eyes, the neck, the belly. A really good, nice little exercise.
• is capable of changing emotional states from negative to positive
• helps to detoxify the liver and to balance the energy in the liver meridian
• relaxes the solar plexus area and tummy muscles that accompany indigestion, so well-being comes into your midriff, and
• wakes you up in the morning. It also calms you down for deep restful sleep at night.

Now - those are just a few benefits.

Is there an optimal method of yawning? Which can ensure that you get all those benefits? Yes, there is... and it also heightens the pleasure! 

Simply make a big, uncensored sound as you exhale!It is completely natural to exhale with sound. Whatever the sound, let it come out.

You see, once we get past a certain age, we no longer make sounds as such. Most people have been silenced from childhood, except for rational speech. Throats get tight, our jaws sit in tension and the grinding of teeth occurs and so on. But re-opening to any extent the pre-verbal expressions of your voice will help to release energy and to relax your body and mind. Sound itself becomes an effective and very joyous way to energize the whole system. Why?

1. Sound carries negative emotions, thoughts and vibrations away from your centre.
2. Sound can become a positive emotion (energy in motion) which you generate yourself.
3. Sound physically vibrates, loosens and re-energizes nerves, muscles, tissue as well as bones in the body.

So – let us start yawning together? 

And if you would like to book an appointment with me for any of your concerns/goals or simply to keep yourself in a tip-top state either in Belfast or in Coleraine, call me now, because in the first half of September i am going on holidays - to Istanbul!

Water cleanse symbol

Perhaps you already know all there is to know about water? Well, let me share just one thing more.

Did you know that

if you drink bottled water, then it's better to choose sparkling  water, because the carbon dioxide it contains can inhibit the growth of bacteria? Still bottled water may contain huge amounts of bacteria because the water may be bottled and stored for more than a year, allowing organisms to multiply.

It is also advised not to use tap water for cooking, because the chlorine used to control bacteria in public drinking water alters the taste of food and adds nothing to its nutritional value.

So you are further advised to use carbon filters, ceramic filters, osmosis filters and so on. Which seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to, so...

Do you want to try another easy way to improve the quality of your water? Why not use a symbol? The effects of symbols are well documented because of the power that they have. Their impact is usually  very slowly to penetrate. But guess what - this water symbol is super-fast in cleansing and purifying water. You can find it here http://www.iona-light.co.uk/images/water1.gif

This Water Cleanse symbol clears water of the patterning it picks up from anything it has come in contact with. It takes just a few seconds to see a difference. All you need to do is – print out the symbol and place your water bottle or cup or saucer over it.

The best part of the process is that you yourself can become an expert in registering the difference. Just pour tap water in one cup and taste it, and then put that tap water in the cup over the symbol, hold it there for some 5 -15 seconds and try again. Taste the difference! And do tell me your experience.

So what's wrong with our wheat?

I have gone off sugar and yeast for Lent this year. Sugar I can cope with, but yeast in practical terms means going off white bread and many other breads. And guess what – I feel great! I do not want to say that I did not feel great before, but – I definitely feel greater than before!!! Lighter, would be one word to describe how I feel. Even more alive, would be another way to describe it.

At the same time I wonder why many of my clients seem to be intolerant to wheat. Not particularly to gluten. But to wheat. How come that wheat, which along with other grains has been a staple food for centuries, is now causing so many problems?

The simple truth is that wheat is not what it used to be. In ‘Lose Wheat, Lose Weight’, Dr. Dawn Hamilton points out that there are major changes in the way that modern wheat is cultivated and stored, and in how bread is baked.

Up to the 1950s wheat was grown on land that was regularly manured. It would be harvested and then dried thoroughly to prevent mould formation. It was then stored for months to mature. Only then would it be considered suitable for milling into flour. In the bakery the flour was then mixed with yeast and left to rise. This process might take up to 24 hours to complete. It was kneaded, shaped and proved again before baking. This produced a tasty wholesome loaf.

Nowadays wheat is grown using chemical fertilisers and sprayed with pesticides and fungicides while it is in the field. It is harvested and then sprayed with a chemical (potassium bromate) to ‘mature it’ in 48 hours before being milled into flour. It is also common practice to irradiate wheat to avoid insect contamination. During the milling process the wheat germ is removed to improve shelf life. Unfortunately this removes much of the natural goodness – the germ contains Vitamin E and many B vitamins. The bran is removed, drastically reducing the fibre. The natural yellow colour of the wheat is not considered aesthetically pleasing and so the flour is bleached using banzoyl peroxide which then has to be neutralised with calcium carbonate (i.e. Chalk). Then preservatives and conditioners are added to improve the texture. Vitamins are added back in, but not necessarily in a form that the body finds easy to assimilate.

In addition to flour, the average mass-produced loaf also contains accelerators such as ammonium

chloride to speed up the process of rising. Bakers use ‘flour improvers’ (e.g. soya flour) and

emulsifiers such as sodium stearyol lactylate. Preservatives are also added so that your loaf can

last for a few days in the bread bin. The result of all of this, comments Dr. Hamilton, is that “the amount of nutrition we get from many wheat based foods, including cereals and pasta, is poor. Eating a diet that is dominated by wheat means exposing oneself to a build up of chemicals.“

And that's it. If you have weetabix for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and then pasta for your evening meal, you aren’t really doing yourself any favours. I don't say that you should eliminate wheat from your diet completely but if you do eat a lot of wheat you might want to reduce your intake and consider some alternatives. Have a varied diet and if you have any issues with food intolerances, wheat or otherwise, please feel free to get in touch.

Using oils to learn life's essential lessons

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well and ready for your monthly tonic. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading and Happy International Woman's Day to all the women! And hello as well to all the men. So, this woman - ME!- has recently returned from a wonderful course in England and I am now combining the use of essential oils with all my usual HK techniques in my sessions. This is an excellent way to help people recall specific events in the past which continue to contribute to ill health and to releasing their traumatic effects.

And no wonder – the use of Essential oils with their well-documented benefits on the brain's limbic system (which governs emotions and moods) is an ideal way to simultaneously tackle the internal and external ravages caused by stress. And they work instantly and directly.

In addition to the physical properties of the oils, I am also using them for their emotional relevance. For example, it was a surprise to me to learn that Tea Tree oil – which is very well known for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and, I suppose you could say anti-'bad stuff ' generally– resonates with “cleanliness and purity” and is highly beneficial for those people whose symptoms make them feel unclean, e.g., cold sores, thrush, cystitis, fungal infections, athlete's foot, dandruff.

Or about Clary Sage oil – this helps all of us accept our yin (female) traits and to recognise them as being as powerful as our yang (male) traits. Clary Sage is excellent for men who have lost touch with their female side, or do not want to submit to it for fear of ridicule or loss of manhood. Men who have been forced never to cry or show emotion respond well to Clary Sage, helping them to submit and accept their emotions and to release them without the fear of looking silly or stupid.

As for women, we all know that they traditionally find it hard to surrender to their bodies – monthly periods are even referred to as a ‘curse’. They constantly do not accept themselves and worry endlessly about superficial things like weight, unshaven legs or armpits, pimples, their complexion etc and will go to great lengths to hide any perceived flaws. How can a woman's femininity be valued when she cannot accept herself? These perceived flaws are perfectly natural but women can put themselves under tremendous pressure to the extent that some start hating themselves and desperately wishing to be someone else, rather than simply accepting who they are. Clary sage oil is excellent for helping a woman to feel empowered and happy with who she is and with her femininity.

So if you would like to experience where essential oils can take you, contact me and regain your true self and spirit with the help of essential oils.