Archive for Life Coaching
AWOL
Posted by: | CommentsI want to apologize for being away from my blog for so long. Many of you who know me, know that for the last 4 months I have spent the majority of my time and energy in Ohio with my mom. She has been ill and after many trips in and out of the hospital and in and out of rehab, she has decided to go into long-term care. I am now working on selling her home and getting her down to North Carolina to be close to me.
I have had to draw on what I teach to get me through this very stressful time. Mind body practices have kept me sane and moving forward.
I will hopefully get back into blogging soon. Thank you for hanging in there with me.
Pay Attention to the Food You Eat, It May Save Your Life!
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Do I smell like garlic? Probably, I eat enough for a family of 10! Yes, I am Italian, but that is only part of my decision to load up on this healthy food.
As I expand my knowledge base in the health and wellness arena, I have become increasingly aware of the critical role the food we eat, not only how much but our choices, plays in our health and well-being. Both our physical and mental well-being depends on the fuel we feed our bodies, this vehicle that carries us through life.
Most of you have followed me on this blog as I successfully dealt with an extremely high cholesterol level with changing my food choices, a paradigm shift for me that was not that difficult. I would like to now share with you a short video from Ted.com, which features William Li, President and Medical Director of the Angiogenesis Foundation, the title “Can We Eat to Prevent Cancer”. It is a 24 minute video and I highly recommend you watch it, whether you are concerned with getting cancer or just interested in learning more about staying healthy. It is worth your time.
Dr. Li talks about angiogenesis, something I know a little about after having researched antiangio-
genesis for possible treatment for my niece, who had breast cancer, and my friend, who had lung cancer. Angiogenesis is the body’s process of developing new blood vessels. Abnormal angiogenesis can feed cancerous tumors. Antiangiogenesis is the process of starving tumors by cutting back their blood supply. We can do this with drugs, but we can also address this with the foods we eat.
Dr. Li explains how much of the food we eat has naturally occuring inhibitors of angiogenesis. Something we should pay attention to since our diets account for 30-35% of the environmentally caused cancers.
Angiogenesis may also apply to obesity since fat tissue is highly dependent on angiogenesis.
Can we be proactive in our approach to cancer, obesity, and other diseases by the food choices we make? Are you willing to add tomatoes, red grapes, green tea and strawberries to your diet for your health and well-being? Please let me know your thoughts after you watch this very worthwhile video.
Here again is the link http://www.ted.com/talks/william_li.html. To your health!
How Do We Change the World? Pull the Plug!
Posted by: | CommentsI wrote the newsletter below about a year ago. As the negativity in the world continues and seems to get worse daily, I think it is time to revisit this information. We all have the ability to make a difference. Will you join me in making a positive difference?
Fear and Quantum Physics
For years I lived with a 13” TV that was never plugged in. Those were the days. Really focused on my interests, my home, my work, friends, exercise, cooking, the beach. Now I am sorry to tell you that I have 3 TV’s, all plugged in. I watch entirely too many programs focused on devastating hurricanes, missing children, the Iraq war, the financial bailout, the housing disaster, and on and on and on.
It is very difficult to feel good about life and the world when we are constantly being inundated with such negativity. So what’s the answer? Pull the plugs?
I believe on a grand scale there is a huge amount of negativity in this country and in the world and we have the opportunity individually and collectively to make a difference. How do we do that?? Quantum physics!
Quantum physics teaches that nothing is fixed; there is no end to one thing and beginning of another; everything is vibrating energy, including us. We are in a constant state of potential. What we focus on we attract, which is the definition of the law of attraction. Whatever you focus on and give your attention to, whether positive or negative, you attract into your life; Universal energy that obeys the laws of physics.
Not only do movies like “The Secret” and “What the Bleep Do We Know” talk about “like attracting like”, but Proverbs 4:23 states, “Be careful how you think: your life is shaped by your thoughts.” In our hearts, we know this message. What we think about, we manifest into our lives.
Much of our energy, focus, and attention is being taken up by this negative vortex that has swept across the country. It is time to accept the responsibility and understand the power we have to make positive changes in our lives and also in our country. It is time to stop the negative energy frenzy, feeding and bringing about more of the same.
Please accept this challenge. Instead of focusing on all the negatives that are out there waiting for our attention, change your pattern. It may take a little effort to start firing a new neuron pathway, but it is worth it. We are worth it. We have the power to bring about change. We don’t have to depend on politicians.
When you find yourself thinking about how bad things are, remember, you are a magnet! You will attract to you what you think about! One person makes a difference. 100 people make a big difference. If all of you on this email list accept this challenge and send this message to your friends, WOW! We are changing the world!
I Need to Get This Off My Chest!
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For the last month I have been in Ohio taking care of my very ill 92 year old mother. I am peaceful about my decision to be with her, to be her advocate, and make sure she has the best care. I believe everyone needs a patient advocate when dealing with critical medical issues and because of my 16 years in the medical arena, I am very qualified for that position. This blog post is about the attitude of not only the medical personnel dealing with my mom, but also almost everyone else, including my friends, concerning her age and what to expect because “She is 92“!
My mom is a happy 92 year old who sits in her livingroom, watching TV and eating pretty much whatever she wants. On May 15th she became very ill and ended up in the ER.
I was visiting so I was the one who took her to the hospital. I was immediately struck by the attitude of everyone who consulted on her case and took care of her. ”Well, she is 92! Her body is shutting down and she will be at a different level because of her illness. How can she possibly live alone at 92? It is just the beginning of other ailments to follow.” These are some of the comments I heard that really “pissed me off”! Excuse me, but I need to let you know my feelings at these comments and this attitude. Thank goodness I was there to “reset” these people and to keep their negative energy away from my mother.
Because of my profession, I know how important attitude, thoughts and energy are in manifesting your life and your health. My mother’s attitude is very positive. She wants to get back to her home and see her tomato plants and flowers. She is hoping that the house across the street, which is for sale, will bring nice new neighbors for her to know. She doesn’t think about failing health and doesn’t even think she is old!!!!! That is why my mom is still around and very sharp at 92!
It has been a month of hospitalization and tests, but she is now in a great rehab facility and doing really well. I took her hand weights for her to have at her bedside and use often. I trained her in deep breathing and relaxation exercises, which she does religiously. She is a star in PT and OT. She has a wonderful attitude and is worried about how she will get back into her house because she doesn’t have the key with her. Her focus is on getting back to Piccadilly St. and her neighbors and friends. Yes, she is 92, but to my mother, it is just a number.
This is a lesson for all of us. Do not let a number dictate how you will live your life! Make up your mind to live to the fullest no matter what age. Remember, attitude, your thoughts and your energy play a huge role in what you will manifest into your life. If you think you are old, you are old, even if you are 35!
How can this story of my mom help you to “reset”?
A Book That Teaches You When to Quit
Posted by: | CommentsI recently read an article about the book “The Dip, A little book that teaches you when to quit.” It was written by Seth Godin of “Tribes” and “Linchpin” fame. I believe he primarily works with companies to get their employees motivated and moving forward. He is also a marketing guru. But, like with all things, you can take the message and apply it to your personal life as well as professional. The book was released in 2007, but I had never heard of it. It was intriguing for someone like me who does not know how to quit to read about a book that tells you that quitting the right things is the road to great success, and “winners quit fast, quit often and without guilt.”
The gist of the article, and I assume the book, is that you need to focus on a few important issues and learn to avoid the “dead ends”. The “dip” is the wall we hit when we lose some of our enthusiasm on our journey to succeed. If you have too many things that you are trying to succeed in, you spread yourself too thin and your chances of success become diluted. So, decide “the right dip for the right reasons” and stay focused and concentrate your energy.
In my practice, I administer an assessment called the Print Survey. The assessment is a DNA of your personality. Everyone says the same about it. It is amazing how your true self is idenified by this 25 minute quiz. One of my strong characteristics, which was revealed in this assessment, is ”relentless determination”. As is pointed out in the results of the assessment, your strong characteristics can also be your shadow or “needs work” characteristics. Relentless determination, what does that really mean? It means I do not know how to quit and am pretty much driven to succeed.
Is that a good thing? Read More→
“I Try To Make My Choices Out Of Love”
Posted by: | CommentsI am one of those people who go to doctors’ and dentists’ offices and rip out interesting things from their magazines. Yes, I admit it. I am not proud, but I can’t help myself. Usually it is recipes, but not this time.
This week while waiting to see my dentist, I saw a small blurb from Melissa Etheridge and I felt it was so profound, I ripped it out with the intention of writing about it in this blog.
Those of you who know Melissa Etheridge know that she recently had and overcame breast cancer. In her little paragraph called “Turning Point”, she talks about how she realizes now that her cancer was a really good thing. It gave her a new perspective on life. After winning her battle with cancer, she wasn’t afraid anymore. “I realized there are only two things in our reality, love and fear. I try to make my choices out of love.” The last sentence was the one that really resonated with me. Make your choices out of love not fear. A very important message for us to live by.
It is not unusual for us to travel through life and have our reality determined by fear. Where we go, who we meet, what we choose as a career. Fear makes many of our choices. It is our confidente and it keeps us in line and when we think we can step out of our comfort level, fear reminds us who is in charge. What if and ‘ ya but are close companions of fear and often play a huge role in our decisions.
How would it feel to live a life without fear? Read More→
Change is Sometimes Not Only Good, But Necessary!
Posted by: | CommentsChange can be difficult, scary and delayed by many of us. We think if we just don’t look around and face some issues in our lives, businesses and even our health, that somehow they will just go away and we won’t have to deal with them. I see this in my coaching practice often. Clients who have looked in another direction for years, finally come to realize they need to make changes to get out of the “stuck” place and move on with their lives. Even huge corporations find themselves denying that change needs to happen in order to continue to be profitable and stay in the game.
Case in point, Ford Motor Company has been forced through tremendous changes in the last few years along with other US car manufacturers. At times we thought Detroit and the American auto companies were going to be a thing of the past. Many recently had to be bailed out by the government. They were about as low as they could go. They were forced to change to survive.
Fast forward a few months, according to Fast Company, one of the auto makers, Ford, has just announced earnings of $2.1 billion dollars! They have new technology and they are not only black but “going green”! They are partnering with Microsoft, changing SUV plants into small car plants and tightening up operations. According to the Ford CEO, Alan Mulally, “they are fighting for the soul of manufacturing in the United States.”
Sometimes we are thrown into change kicking and screaming. We want things to stay Read More→
I Am Finally Giving Away My Washing Machine!!
Posted by: | CommentsI phoned the Kidney Foundation pick up service and away the washing machine is going, and with it goes the dryer! It feels so good to have finally made that decision! I feel free and happy they are on their way to a new home! You see, I have been holding on to a washer and dryer for 13 years, just “in case”!! Is that poverty thinking or what!
I moved to Davidson 13 years ago. I moved into a house that already had a washer and dryer so I put my duo into the garage “in case” I would need them. I have thought many times that I should call and donate them, but the little voice in the back of my head kept saying, “what if the washer and dryer you are using break down”. Those of you who are students of the “Law of Attraction” know what I have been doing. The vibration that I have around this is one of “lack or need”. That is the energy I am putting out into the Universe, energy that is insecure about my ability to replace things, if need be. Well, two years ago I bought a new washer and dryer, but the two in the garage remain, “just in case.”
I know where this comes from and I am sure Read More→
Do You Know What the Two C’s in Success Stand For?
Posted by: | CommentsIn my coaching practice there are two things that I see as markers for success, commitment and courage. Those of you on this list who have worked with me know that I always ask for a commitment to do what you say you will do to bring about change in your life, business or health. You are all probably smiling right now! Oh yes, I remember that talk!
It is sometimes easy to say we want to grow and change our lives, businesses, or become healthier, but when the going gets rough and we are challenged to step outside our comfort zone, many of us Read More→
Can You Be Happy While Working Toward Your Dream?
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I was walking Roxie, the wonder dog, this morning and I was in awe of all the beauty that was around me. One of my core values is nature. When I stay ‘in the moment” and use all my five senses to appreciate my surroundings, the regenerating power of nature is amazing. The flowering trees, blue Carolina sky, singing birds, scent of something blooming and the coolness of the morning air make me realize how fortunate I am. All of this feeds my soul and sets the tone for my day.
We have all heard “it is the journey, not the destination”, but how many of us really take the time to focus on the abundance that surrounds us daily. We rush around like the Mad Hatter and miss the joy that comes with simple things. Can we learn to appreciate the journey while we work toward our goals and dreams?
What would it take for you to be more connected to the energy around you? Would you be willing to practice getting better at being “in the moment”. It doesn’t have to be in your favorite space, it can be anywhere. You are learning a new skill. A skill that will help you stay connected to the Universe and all the abundance that surrounds you.
Start by “seeing”! When you really look, Read More→
