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A Review: Lipstick and The Leash: A Woman’s Guide to Getting What You Want from Your Dog & Your Life.

May 17, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Irene Conlan -

This is a great book even if you don’t have a dog. But if you have a dog it is fabulous! Camilla Gray-Nelson knows dogs and how to teach them to have good manners! Yes, she really does. And it works. If you follow what she teaches you will find that it works with humans as well. No we don’t actually put a leash on our husband or friends but by using our posture, voice and requests in the right way we can get what we want much easier. From dogs and humans.

I didn’t get a puppy because I wanted to see if what she says in her book works. (I’m committed to doing a good job but not THAT committed). I got a puppy because, after losing my dear and very old cat, I wanted another pet and about that time I received a copy of Lipstick and the Leash. I had thought that a puppy was too much work but Camilla convinced me otherwise. One day while in PetSmart to get crickets for the frogs (don’t ask) I took a tour of their adoption kennel. They rarely have puppies but on this day there were three feisty two-month old brothers – it was the proverbial “love at first sight” and now Smarty is a very important part of the family. The picture is the puppy I chose. – my grandson named him Smarty.

I had read the book long before I got the puppy and thought I knew what I was doing. I quickly discovered that the puppy was in charge and I needed help. I grabbed the book and re-read it and I return to it every now and then for a refresher. I was doing a lot of things right, but Camilla’s teachings made all the difference. She explains clearly how to stand so the dog knows I’m in charge, how to use my voice so he pays attention and responds appropriately, how to correct him and set boundaries without dampening his spirit. He has never had to hear me screech “bad dog” because Camilla gave me tips on what to do when he does something I don’t allow – like jump up on me or anyone else or pull all the paper out of the office trash can (his favorite). Everyday is a new challenge but I have the tools now to meet the challenge head on.

I have read other books and watched a number of videos on how to work with a puppy – Lipstick and the Leash is by far the one that has helped me the most.

One of my favorite lines from her book (and there are many) is “She who sets the boundaries is the one with the status. She who yells is the imposter.” This is one of those teachings that applies to people as much as to pets and I think of it every time I am tempted to raise my voice. I don’t want to give my power away to the puppy nor to the grouchy neighbor , the car repairman, or anyone who gets my “angry juices” flowing.

I highly recommend this book to any woman who is left to train the puppy that her husband or children brought home (Oh, how I wish I had know these things with that series of puppies). And if you’re a woman – with or without a dog – who needs to step into her power, this book can help you with that, too. In Camilla’s words, “Dogs will follow and obey only a calm and proven superior. Humans are no different.”

Filed Under: Self Improvement

The Beauty of Self Esteem

May 16, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Robin Brain -

The French Have a Saying, “comfortable dans votre peau,” which means looking and feeling comfortable in your skin. Science can unveil its latest beauty theory, Hollywood can showcase its dewiest starlets, fashion magazines can parade their stable of underweight models, your mother can criticize your hairstyle, cosmetic companies can display their latest colors specially designed for complexions different to yours. Some random guy on the street may inform you he’d like your breasts better if they were a different size. When it comes down to it, however, you are the only person who can make others see you as beautiful. No, this doesn’t require magic, spell-casting, or mind control; it takes self-esteem.

Humans not only perceive, but are also influenced by, each other’s feelings. If people sense your self-hatred, there’s a good chance they’ll see you the way you subconsciously tell them to see you. In other words, you’ve got to believe you are attractive before other people will believe it. Throughout history, there have been beauties who could have been deemed too unusual, too plain, too ugly, too something, to be beautiful. Yet these smart ladies have ignored what society says is beautiful. They realize that to stand apart they must celebrate their own unique looks. We react to their self-comfort and are as comfortable with their beauty as they are.

Learning to appreciate yourself

Instead of worrying about what you look like, realize that your looks are only a small portion of what makes you unique. Take your mind off this small component and focus on your other characteristics, such as your spirituality, your generosity, your career, and your relationships with others. Always be aware that your body and face were created first and foremost to be functional.

Next time you compare yourself to a cover model, bring yourself back to reality with this tidbit: the average fashion model in 1968 weighed 8 percent less than the average woman; a model today weighs 23 percent less.

Celebrate your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears by bird-watching, smelling roses, enjoying a terrific meal, going to the symphony. Learning to appreciate your body and face for what they can do instead of how they look – helps boost your self-esteem. If you are comfortable and relaxed about the way you look, you will have a natural radiance and elegance about you.

Be happy being you

Celebrate the looks you were born with and play to your strong points. This may mean ignoring current fashion and wearing something that makes you feel good, whether that something be purple eye shadow that makes your green eyes shine like jade or an outdated hairstyle that plays up your bold profile.

When you are confronted with a media image of unrealistic beauty, ask yourself what it is about the image that is unnatural. You could write to or phone the television station or magazine responsible and let them know your thoughts. If your self-esteem is low, try reading confidence-boosting books, associating with positive people, or even visiting a therapist for professional help.

Don’t dwell on airbrushed images of underweight models. Eleanor Roosevelt knew what she was talking about when she said no one (or no thing) can make us feel inferior without our permission.

Read more on Lipsense and senegence lipsense.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robin_Brain
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Beauty-of-Self-Esteem&id=976222

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: Beauty, inner beauty, self improvement, Self Esteem

Passive Aggressive Behavior: Don’t Let Your Feelings Build Up

May 15, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Nora Femenia -

In a previous article, we discussed how to recognize passive aggression, and how the passive aggressive person communicates his or her emotions. Passive aggressive behavior takes many forms but can generally be described as a non-verbal aggression that manifests in negative behavior.

Instead of communicating honestly when they feel upset, annoyed, irritated or disappointed, a passive aggressive person will bottle the feelings up, shut off verbally, give angry looks, make obvious changes in behavior, be obstructive, sulky or put up a stone wall. It may also involve indirectly resisting requests from others by evading or creating confusion around the issue. It can either be covert (concealed and hidden) or overt (blatant and obvious).

A passive aggressive person is keen to avoid show how much is angry or resentful. They will cover up their anger with an appearance of agreement and friendliness by using kind words.

We all shut off sometimes, and keep our feelings bottled up. However, letting that become a normal way of interacting with people (because you’ve been hurt and can’t trust others, or because it’s just “easier”) can lead you down a dangerous road to passive aggression. Once you make passive aggression, your pattern of interacting with others, it’s very hard to keep friends and loved ones close, and you’ll find it hard to keep personal connections alive.

Perhaps you think that there is nothing wrong with not showing anger – that it is “zen,” “manly,” or “stoic.” There is nothing wrong, of course, with being in control of your emotions.

There is something wrong, though, with pretending that those emotions don’t exist. This passive aggressive behavior, done consistently, destroys trust between friends and significant others.

Ask yourself, what is the purpose of an intimate relationship if you can’t show your feelings? Sex? Financial support? Why not just get a hooker or a good job then? Even if you don’t want to admit it, emotional connection and support is probably important to you (it’s sort of an instinctive need in us humans, actually). You won’t be able to get it when you’re shutting yourself off passive aggressively, which means hiding your pain (anger, sadness, disappointment) will only actually cause more pain.

It creates negative energy in your partner, who feels that you don’t trust them. They get angry at you, and then you get angry at them for being angry, and then you don’t express it and withdraw more…. and round and round it goes.

Ask yourself – are you doing anybody favors by pushing your emotions deep down inside?

Aren’t you hurting anybody, including yourself?

You may feel that if you express your real emotions you won’t be accepted. In this case, you may be in danger of hurting people through passive aggression because you feel that they can’t (or won’t) love the real you.

This is your low self-esteem talking, and it’s time you started talking back.

Next time you’re feeling something strong and are going to (once again) pretend everything is okay, kindly open a door in your mind and kick that self-hating voice out onto the street.

Repeat this: “I am a person worthy of love, and I will show it by expressing my emotions in a grown-up and respectful way.”

Nora Femenia is a well known coach, conflict solver and trainer, and CEO of Creative Conflict Resolutions, Inc. You can find innovative and effective solutions for passive aggression behavior solutions at her website:
http://passiveaggresive.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nora_Femenia
http://EzineArticles.com/?Passive-Aggressive-Behavior:-Dont-Let-Your-Feelings-Build-Up&id=7043244

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: dealing with anger, passive aggressive behavior, self improvement

The Difference Between Letting Go and Giving Up

May 14, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Jason Osborn -

I have written a lot about not giving up and the importance of pressing through difficult times until you succeed. You have probably heard a lot of things about not giving up but one thing that isn’t discussed much is letting go. Sometimes you need to know when to cut your losses and move one. So what’s the difference?

Truly successful people know when to cut their losses and when to keep pressing on. The first thing that you need to consider is purpose of what you are doing. If you know in your heart of hearts that what you are doing is part of your purpose in life, you probably should never give up. Instead, the best thing to do is to keep trying different things until you figure out the secret combination that unlocks success for you.

A great thing for you to do whenever you start something is to figure out what your pullout point is. In business this might be a certain amount of money that is lost. For instance, you might be willing to loose one hundred thousand dollars on a project. Once you reach that point you will quit and move onto something else.

This is much different then just quitting something because you feel like it’s getting tough. If you give up because something doesn’t go the way you thought it would or it’s harder then you thought, you are giving up for the wrong reasons. Letting go is part of a successful strategy where giving up is part of failure.

Is there greatness on the inside of you but you don’t know how to achieve it? Jason has just completed his brand new 7 part e-course, ‘Find Your Greatness’

Get it free here: Find Your Greatness

Do you want to learn how to create successful habits and goals? Download Jason�s new FREE ebook here: Goal Setting

Jason Osborn has dedicated himself to changing thousands of lives by helping people find their greatness and true potential through his Find Your Greatness Newsletter.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Osborn
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Difference-Between-Letting-Go-and-Giving-Up&id=658146

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: Giving up, letting go, self improvement

Mother’s Day, a Brief History

May 13, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Linda Thurlow -

We can all say a big thank you to our mums on mother’s day. Over the years I have sent many bouquets to my mother. Did you know that this special anniversary has been officially recognised since May 10th 1908. The woman who had this day dedicated to her was known as Anne Jarvis. Anne was born in 1832 in Virginia, USA. Married at 20 it is believed that she had as many as 12 children, most of whom did not live into adulthood. Diseases such as, diphtheria, scarlet fever and whooping cough claimed the lives of most of her children. Ann realised that poor sanitation, including uncovered garbage and bad ventilation contributed to the spread of disease. Putting aside her own grief, Ann Jarvis became a community activist. Anne launched designated days for mothers where local women came together to improve their surroundings.

During the civil war, she organised women to nurse wounded soldiers from both sides of the divide. Anne had a massive influence on the lives of many women of the time, her own daughter Anna devoted much of her life to campaigning for a national holiday to recognise and commemorate all mothers particularly Ann’s. The first official mother’s day service was held on May 10, 1908 in a Methodist church in West Virginia. Anne saw it as a day to show love and gratitude, she suggested that white carnations represent family bonds. This American tradition has spread across the water and “a happy mother’s day is a tradition embraced by people in lots of countries” Giving your mother flowers on mother’s day is a wonderful way of showing your gratitude and love for a mothers love.

Flowers are said to give instant pleasure and happiness. Rutgers: University researcher Jennette Haviland-Jones Ph.D. explored the emotional impact that the receiving of flowers has on people.

It first of all revealed that those who send flowers, in comparison to other gifts, are viewed as successful, caring and emotionally intelligent people. For the person on the receiving end of this gift is the pure delight and positive emotion that they can evoke.

Flowers are not just for special occasions. It is commonplace to send flowers to your mother on mother’s day, to your lover on Valentine’s day, or to a grieving relative or friend, if you use your imagination a little, flowers can be given in between all of the “occasions” just to show someone you care.

The list is endless as are the types of flowers themselves. Giving them to someone you work with, the giving of flowers is not always a declaration of love, it is sometimes a show of appreciation, a thank you for getting the job done, a big well done and beneficial to everyone in the office! Giving flowers to the rebellious teenager; as a thank you for cleaning their room, this may on the face of it, be deemed as a bribe, but imagine the sheer delight of a clean bedroom, with a beautiful, sweet smelling floral tribute and a happier, cleaner him/her, Flowers as a gift send out messages of love, hope, kindness, thanks, and sympathy; the giving of flowers is as old as time itself, long may it prosper.

Linda Thurlow is a writer on many subjects including floristry and floral tributes including Mothers Day Flowers and the opportunity to order flowers online initiative

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Thurlow
http://EzineArticles.com/?Mothers-Day,-a-Brief-History&id=5446519

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: history of mother's day, mother's day, self improvement

A Healthy Mind Equals A Healthy Body

May 12, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Ebony Rosie Holmes -

There is an old saying that a healthy mind equals a healthy body. This is actually not so far from the truth. A healthy mind is indeed indicative of a healthy body. Health is both physical and mental and to keep your mind healthy it needs to be exercised just as much as the body needs exercising.

Life is a continual learning curve and we are never too old to be trained in a new skill. It may take a little longer to absorb new information as adults, but it is well worth the effort. I am very proud of the older people in our community who have integrated computers, mobile phones and other technological equipment into their lives, not easy when you’ve lived so long without them.

It is vitally important to keep on learning throughout life and I feel sad for those that say they hate books and avoid anything to do with study. Watching TV can be a useful medium for gaining knowledge of world events and other cultures as there are some great documentaries, but to become involved personally in new ventures is so much more satisfying. It seems that every town has day and evening classes covering a whole range of subjects and just by making the effort to get to the classes, a whole new world of people and possible friendships can open up, as well as learning about new subjects.

If I was a young person now in 2010, my first priority would be to learn a trade or have a profession that would provide me with a decent living. I tell this to my nieces and nephews as even if a trade or profession does not last them a lifetime, it is something to fall back on in hard times. Many of us born in the 1950′s and 60′s did not have the opportunity to go to university or learn a trade and some of us have had to change direction in mid life as our jobs have become obsolete. This has meant a return to study as mature age students to gain more qualifications. This was my path and I loved my years at university although it was hard work at times. My reward for all this work was gaining my honours degree and then my graduate diploma. So, don’t let your age or fear of failure stop you from taking on tertiary studies or any other course you want to do.

Having goals is another way to keep your mind active and helps to maintain your motivation levels whilst working towards your particular objectives. I have long term goals (5-10 years), medium term goals (2-4 years) and short term goals (1-2 years), which keep me feeling positive and motivated to achieve my ambitions. I review my goals every 12 months, usually as the New Year approaches.

Ebony values a healthy approach to life and knows full well the joys of having an active mind. She has found a book that covers a variety of these issues and it gives you advice on how to look 10 years younger. This is all good quality content for people who want information instead of fluff regarding real people getting benefit from a healthy overall regifter ones mind, body and soul.

http://www.lookingyoungertips.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ebony_Rosie_Holmes
http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Healthy-Mind-Equals-A-Healthy-Body&id=5908892

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, self improvement

Bill, Ducks and a Magazine: The Psychic Medium Blew Me Away

May 11, 2012 By ireneconlan Leave a Comment

By Irene Conlan -

Donnie Tash, a psychic medium, was my guest on The Self Improvement Show yesterday (May 10) and he blew me away. He said he had a message from my beloved Stephen who died in 2001 of Lou Gehrig’s disease. “He’s very grateful for all you did for him,” Donnie reported. “O.K., fine.” I thought. No big deal there. Donnie continued “He talked about how you bossed the doctors around and he talked about something you wrote – about someone named Bill and about ducks.” He continued, “He did well with the disease for a long time and then suddenly got worse.” I could confirm that Donnie was “spot on” about that.

I drew a complete blank. Stephen and I didn’t know anyone named Bill and I didn’t know about the ducks. I write a lot of articles and I probably talked about getting “your ducks in a row.” I couldn’t remember. Donnie insisted I wrote it for a magazine but I’ve never written for a magazine. Doctors, Bill, ducks, a fast decline and a magazine. What on earth was he talking about?

Still blank, I was not able to confirm what he was telling me except for the statement about Stephen’s sudden decline and being bossy.

Well, we talked about it again last night and did some Googleing. It took a while but we finally found it. I wrote an article in March of 2009 for The AZNet News – a wonderful holistic newspaper published here in Arizona. I also submitted it to EzineArticles and posted it on this blog. (Notice the “zine” in Ezine as in magazine).

The reason I’m telling you this is that I completely forgot about the article, about calling Stephen “Bill” in anything I ever wrote and about the ducks. Donnie certainly didn’t know about any of it. For a Medium to pick up on details as tiny as these but, at the same time as highly significant, is more than awesome and certainly not coincidence. It is real! He got information! He didn’t get the information from me so I can only assume Stephen helped. You be the judge.

The message? Stephen was grateful that I still cared about what had happened to him and that I wanted to let people know about it. He wanted to say “Thank you.”

I have run the article in full below with the passages marked in red that Donnie Tash talked about and I couldn’t remember:

The Powerful Effect of Bedside Manner – A True Story For Healthcare Professionals

By Irene Conlan -

This is about bedside manner and it is a true story.

He – we’ll call him Bill – had been ill for several months with some strange symptoms which progressed rapidly. When he finally saw a physician, he was weak on one side of his body, was having trouble swallowing and had twitching muscles all over his body. He was sent immediately to a large neurological center for diagnosis and treatment.

After spending all day being examined in the emergency room he was finally admitted to a hospital room late in the day – discouraged, exhausted and frightened. They woke him in the middle of the night for an MRI and a CT scan and he got almost no sleep. The next morning started very early with blood work, more x-rays and a parade of health care professionals. By nighttime he was too tired to eat and sleep would not come. No one seemed to notice.

The next day the neurologist, considered one of the best of the best, came in with a retinue of residents trailing behind. Chart in hand he looked at this very ill man and said, “Well, we’re pretty confident that you have ALS – that’s Lou Gehrig’s disease. There’s no known cause, no treatment and no cure.” He spoke in Medicalese to the residents – words that regular people don’t understand – and then turned to Bill and asked, “Do you have any questions?” Everyone was too stunned to ask anything and the specialist and his charges, with no further comments or dialog, left the room.

The next day after the last confirming test was done, the neurologist came in again with his parade of residents. After dialoging among themselves, again in Medicalese, the doctor said to Bill, “The last test is in and it is confirmed that you have ALS. There’s no cure. Now don’t go running around spending your money on exotic treatments and alternative methods because nothing will help you. You can go on home and come back to the ALS Clinic. Do you have any questions?” Not waiting for an answer, he left the room like a duck with his ducklings trailing behind him.

The death sentence had been delivered without so much as a kind word or gesture.

The hospital staff came and went quickly like they were just too busy to say anything (and in all likelihood they did not know just what to say to someone who had just been told he was going to die a horrible death soon).

Later in his treatment – a month or two later at the Clinic – this brilliant doctor said, “I’m really surprised that you are not deteriorating faster.” Bill obliged him and his decline accelerated. Within a month and a half he died in hospice. (The care at Hospice, by the way, was amazingly supportive, loving and compassionate).

The doctor was brilliant. The hospital gave the best physical care that could ever possibly be given. The bedside manner of both the doctors and the hospital staff scored at Zero!

“Bedside manner” is really no more than:

o Common Courtesy

o Kindness

o Listening

o Showing interest

o Using understandable language

o Perhaps showing compassion

It does not matter if you are a renowned specialist in allopathic medicine, an osteopathic, homeopathic or naturopathic doctor, a dentist, a chiropractor, a reiki master, a spiritual healer or some other form of alternative and complementary medicine practitioner, your patient deserves to be treated like an intelligent, sensitive, competent human being. It is your job to give him information in a language he can understand, give him the bad news without robbing him of all hope and set a stage for his healing or transition.

Remember that your patient is more than bones, muscles, organs and skin and that what impinges on him emotionally, spiritually and psychologically impacts his response to medical care and healing work. Your bedside manner can be used as therapeutically as the prescription pad, the adjustment and the energy work. Put yourself in your patient’s shoes and think about what you would need to know and how you would like to be treated – then your bedside manner will most likely be what it should be.

By Irene Conlan

Irene Conlan has a masters degree in nursing, a doctoral degree in metaphysics, is a certified hypnotherapist and an ordained minister. She practices holistic hypnotherapy in Scottsdale, AZ and the Phoenix metropolitan area. Irene can be found at http://www.theselfimprovementblog.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Irene_Conlan
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Powerful-Effect-of-Bedside-Manner—A-True-Story-For-Healthcare-Professionals&id=2241610

There you have it. the magazine, Bill, the ducks, and, the article doesn’t say so, but, yes, I got bossy.

Thank you Donnie, for being so great at what you do and do it with such integrity.

If you want to listen to the show it is: http://www.worldtalkradio.com/worldtalkradio/vepisode.aspx?aid=61590

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: gratitude from the grave, psychic medium, self improvement

Gratitude from the Grave

May 10, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Donnie Tash -

After a loved one passes away, whether having suffered from a long illness or suddenly, we are totally grief stricken. At this time, we realize that final arrangements for a funeral or memorial service need to be made. During the process of saying goodbye to our loved ones, we try to make the ceremony special and honor their wishes. Many times people do little things, such as placing a personal memento next to the body or talking about and remembering special events that took place while they were alive.

I recently gave a reading to a woman who was referred to me by a friend. She was curious to know if she was receiving messages from her recently deceased brother. As I began her reading, many of her deceased loved ones started to communicate with her from the other side. Specific names were revealed to me, so I was sure we had made a connection. Her brother started to come through and he validated things that had taken place and wanted her to know that he was aware of her actions. As the reading began to wind down, I asked her about a blue object that was at the funeral. I asked her “What was the blue all about?

Something that was put near him in blue?” She told me that he loved the University of Michigan and Duke University and that he wore Michigan team clothing all the time. I then stated that he was buried in a blue Michigan shirt. She said yes, he was.

So, even the smallest things that we do to honor our loved ones do not go unnoticed. Our loved ones from the other side are grateful for everything. Even their belongings that we continue to cherish, such as a piece of jewelry, picture or medal, are reminders that they are still loved and never forgotten and can serve as a link to open a connection with them on the other side.

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: gratitude from the grave, psychic medium

10 Tips for Living Now

May 9, 2012 By Admin Leave a Comment

By Neva Howell -

One of the reasons I love having animals around is that they are so self-realized and they live always in the moment. I love just watching my cat do anything at all because whatever it is he’s doing, he’s doing fully.

I envy that full-out expression. Maybe that’s one of the reasons God gave us pets, to remind us about the NOW, which is the only moment we have for sure.

But how to do we, in this forward-moving and forward-thinking world, live in the one moment that matters? There are bills to pay and deadlines to meet and kids to get through school and college. There are meals to prepare and personal relationships to maintain.

I have not mastered living in the moment but I do have a few tips on doing it that have been helpful to me and my hope is that they would benefit you as well.

10 Tips for Living Now:

1. Observe animals. Truly, they remind us to invest in the moment with gusto. If you don’t have a pet in your life, consider getting a dog or cat. If you can’t do that, go to the zoo.

2. Observe children. Children are deeply now-oriented and while that can drive a mother to distraction at times, it’s also a great blessing because it models how to be present fully with whatever we are feeling.

3. Take a deep breath. Get in the habit of pausing when the mind is on overload, leaping into a future not yet here or a past already gone, and taking a deep breath. As you release, release also the path your mind has taken and gently breathe yourself back into this moment.

4. Observe what is around you. One simple tool for getting back into the now is to look around you and focus on something in your immediate environment. Try to see something as if you never saw it before…that plant on the desk, the color of the walls, the design in the picture, the face of a co-worker.

5. Move your body. Find something around you to hold on to and do some stretches or put on some music and dance for a few minutes. When we rush into the future or past, we cause our body to enter fight or flight status because we can’t do anything about either the future or the past. This is a stressful situation on the body and causes unconscious rigidity. If we can remember to stretch at such times, or dance, we can bring our attention back to the body and back to the now.

6. Engage the senses. Having an aromatic cup of hot tea or eating something that you really enjoy can help bring you back to the present moment. Just don’t do anything else, like working with one hand and eating or drinking with the other. Just enjoy the food or drink fully.

7. Learn about someone else. We tend to focus on ourselves and our own problems a lot. This is part of what sends us into the future or into the past. By choosing to learn a new thing about someone, we not only shift the attention from ourselves to someone else but we also have to be present to get the response.

8. Declare the truth. Two words can instantly bring more awareness to the moment. Say “I AM” with conviction and vocal strength and you will be not only affirming your existence in the now but your divine nature in the world.

9. Ask for help. Remember that you have a Divine right to call on help beyond your personality self. Pray for more awareness of the present moment.

10. Be in nature. There is a tremendous gift of energetic awareness in nature. Be in it often. That old advice of hugging trees and putting bare feet on the earth to ground, center and bring you to the present has persisted because it works!

Neva maintains a health and wellness portal to provide educational articles on alternative health care and spiritual healing. More information: http://www.askahealer.com/free-spiritual-articles.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Neva_Howell
http://EzineArticles.com/?10-Tips-for-Living-Now&id=296922

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: living in the moment, living now, self improvement

What Happens When We Die? I don’t know. Do you?

May 8, 2012 By ireneconlan Leave a Comment

By Irene Conlan -

There are some things that we just don’t know for sure and one of those is what happens when we die. Do we go to a place called Heaven or one called Hell? What about Limbo? What about the Bardos? Do we come back again and live another lifetime or do we just have one chance to get it right? (And what does “getting it right” mean?) Do we just cease altogether and disappear from all realms?

You can find “experts” who represent each of these ideas and declare that they are the only ones who have it right (I always find it amusing when someone gets dogmatic about things that cannot be known).

One thing for sure is that we are all going to do it – each of us will “die” some day - so you might want to give it some consideration while you can.

You might want to watch the videos on the right. Put together, they are nine parts of a documentary made for HBO and present a number of different points of view on life after life or, if you want to say life after death that’s o.k., too. There are a number of movies that deal with life after death - like What Dreams May Come, Meet Joe Black and Heaven Can Wait. There are many more, most of them comedies. We have books, movies and TV shows about ghosts, apparitions and paranormal phenomena and stories of near death experiences by people who have been pronounced dead only to come back with stories of “the other side.” Read the “Featured” article on today’s blog – Life After Life – Death Is Merely a Changing Room for one of these stories. As a hypnotherapist I have worked with a number of people who had near death experiences who wanted to remember more about what happened and see if they could re-create the amazing love they felt while they were there. They don’t waver in their stories nor does anything change – they simply recall more of the details and bask in the feelings of love and exhilaration. I have read a couple stories of those who did not have a wonderful experience but I have not met them.

Some claim they can talk with those “on the other side.” I had someone that I loved very much who died of Lou Gehrig disease in 2001. A couple of months after his passing a psychic friend of mine said she had messages from Stephen. They didn’t make sense to her and she apologized for telling me such strange things. But I knew exactly what she was talking about – things that only Stephen and I shared with each other. She was, excuse the expression, “dead on.” No one else knew. So where did the message come from? Many say they can feel the energy of their loved ones and some have seen them. How do you explain that?

What about Mediums? I don’t know. But I don’t discount them. I know there are charlatans in business, in entertainment, in sports, in government, in religion, in education – and in the paranormal realm. I know, too, that there are people in those fields that you can absolutely trust.I know several mediums that I absolutely trust. I know others that I don’t think are accurate.

I think life is an exciting, crazy ride that we know very little about. I plan to keep an open mind and an open heart so I don’t miss a thing. I happen to believe that that part of me that is “me” – the conscious part of me – will continue and since I have no choice in whether or not my body dies, I might as well look forward to the next great adventure.

In the meantime you might want to listen to The Self Improvement Show tomorrow when Donnie Tash, a gifted medium, will talk about “Gratitude from the Grave.”

Filed Under: Self Improvement Tagged With: life after death, Life after life, self improvement, soul

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