Category: Inspiration

Visualization: The Mental Rehearsal That Can Transform Your Life
Most of us are willing to admit that “positive thinking” can have a favorable influence in our lives. You can take that positive point of view one very significant step further with visualization. Visualization is like a mental rehearsal. Rehearsing the important events in your life can improve your outlook, turn the tides in your favor and increase your odds of a successful outcome.

Visualization, also known as mental imagery or creative visualization, is not based on luck or superstition; it’s not like wishing on a falling star. Science proves that visualization establishes a strong, identifiable connection between your brain and body.

The Power of Creative Visualization

Visualization has a direct impact on your motor control, perception, planning and memory. Professional athletes around the world have used visualization to improve their sports performance since it was revealed that the Soviets were using visualization to enhance their athletic performance in the 1970s.

Today, these techniques are used, not only to improve athletic performance, but to also reduce anxiety, battle depression and facilitate healing. The applications are endless. Visualization is a practice that you can learn to help you relax, heal emotionally, heal physically or cope with chronic pain.

The Effect of Visualization on Your Body

Studies reveal that your thoughts produce the same instructions throughout your body as your actions. When you repeatedly imagine the successful completion of a task, you condition your neural pathways so the imagined action feels familiar, this enhances your confidence and increases your motivation.

A fascinating study on the subject was performed at the Cleveland Clinic. Participants were divided into two groups to determine the effect of creative visualization on muscle strength. The first group participated in weight training exercises. The participants in this first group increased their muscle strength by 30 percent.

The second group did not go to the gym. They visualized themselves doing the same exercises, but did not do the physical work. Amazingly, this group of participants increased their muscle strength by 13.5 percent without breaking a sweat.

Incorporating Visualization into Your Life

While guided visualization has proven quite successful, you can use this simple technique to incorporate visualization into your life. This is not something that you need to devote hours to every day. You can begin by practicing just 5 minutes a day, either just before, or just after you sleep.

Start with gentle breathing and focus on relaxing all of your muscle groups. Imagine your scene. Imagine the details of your conversations. Create a picture in your mind that involves all of your senses with as much detail as you are able. Your visualization exercises should answer the following questions as intricately as possible:
- What emotions are you feeling?
- What do feel from your surroundings?
- Who are you with?
- What are you wearing?
- What do you smell?
- What do you hear?
- What can you taste?
Resist any negative urges and do not let self-doubt get in your way. If you find negativity or doubt getting creeping in, eliminate it. Start again. You may want to combine this visualization exercise with meditation or self-affirmation. Remind yourself that you are strong. You are capable. You will achieve your goals.

Visualization to Improve Your Health

There are many who believe that we can even heal our bodies and our minds with the power of our brains. An article in Psychology Today reports that visualization can be an effective tool in the arsenal of treatments available to those living with depression. Visualization can be used to resolve inner conflict. Many people have successfully reversed or improved their symptoms of depression by identifying the situation or situations triggering their depressive response, and using their new-found knowledge to adjust their belief system.

When living with a depressive disorder, Identifying your triggers can help empower you. You can re-address negative situations, think of new solutions and new options for living your best life. With renewed empowerment, the hopelessness or helplessness of depression can be replaced with hope and enthusiasm. To use visualization for this purpose requires only a few simple steps. Those steps include:
- Focus and relax your body
- Identify the source of your inner conflict
- Fill in the details, what do you see, hear, feel or think?
- Imagine yourself growing very tall, feel yourself growing larger
- Your newly imagined size will help you gain a different perspective
- Feeling more powerful, internal empowerment may replace negativity
- Your negative feelings may now be replaced by feelings of positivity and a new plan of action
Your Brain and Your Subconscious Mind

Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish between reality and imagery, so your subconscious takes over and acts upon the positive images you have created. The key to successful visualization is imagining that you already have what you wish to achieve. With time, the success you so intricately imagine becomes the life you live. The mental trickery builds your confidence and creates the connections between your body and your brain.

There are numerous accounts of people who claim to have visualized the healing of their skin conditions, autoimmune disorders and even cancer. Often reports of healing through visualization are beyond the explanation of the traditional healthcare community, but there has been some progress in explaining the phenomenon.

Your mind plays an integral part in your health and well-being. You can use the positive influence of your mind to implement positive changes in your life. To learn more about the impact and influence of your mind on your body and your spirit, visit Open Eye Wellness. You will benefit from the guidance and knowledge of a certified Natural Health Professional.

Additional Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201110/visualization-strategy-rapid-treatment-depression

https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/how-to-use-visualization-to-heal-physically-or-emotionally

Visualizations
April 22, 2018
5 Questions to Ask to Discover Your Life’s Purpose

Searching to find our purpose in life is a lifelong journey. Purpose goes deeper than just what we do for a living; it’s what we want to do with our time, what makes us happy, and what fills us with a sense of accomplishment. Your purpose could be volunteering, writing, singing, acting, cooking, being a mother or father, being a loving spouse and the list goes on and on. When we find the thing we want to do the most, therein lies our purpose.

Rather than take years and years discovering the answers through trial and error, we can find what fills us with meaning by asking ourselves a few simple questions. These questions serve as the foundation for a greater understanding of ourselves as well as a springboard to our best life. By spending time to answer these five questions, you’re taking steps towards making your desires actualized.

1. How would you spend a day without limitations or restrictions?

Posed by Psychology Today as a “bonus day” unencumbered by necessary chores and tasks, this question is one of the most telling. It gets right down to the root of our individual soul, asking what lies there and what it requires to feel nourished.

The website recommends not focusing on leisurely activities to answer this question, but rather the things you would do if you were fully energized. What would you shift your focus towards on a day of endless possibilities? Hiking? Reading? Designing? Finding your purpose is finding your passion, so think about that perfect day and use your answer as your fuel to make it happen.

2. What do you want to be remembered for?

From the personal to the public, this question is geared towards the lasting impression you want to make on the world. You may want to do something for yourself at this moment, but how do you want people to feel inspired and enlightened by what you’ve done after you’re gone?

Success.com recommends writing an obituary for yourself (called an “autobituary”.) This allows you to take the perspective of someone close to you and describe in “their” words what you mean to them. Examples could be, “She was a wonderful wife and mother” or “He lived for his community.” Think about the role that most makes your heart swell with pride; that’s what you really want to be remembered for.

3. What values have shaped you over the years?

Oftentimes, we need to look to what we already know about ourselves to figure out what we don’t. Our values are the innate beliefs we hold dear to us that give us a firm grip on our reality. Without them, we’d be lost as to what makes us human. You may value trust and honesty, humor, creativity, openness, confidence, or compassion. There are many things which we consider to be at the core of what we want to see in ourselves and others. Look to your values to determine your purpose in life. If humor, maybe you want to start taking improv classes. If compassion, maybe you want to help an animal rescue. It all lies in what values you cherish most, so identify them and act on them.

4. What gets you in the flow zone?

Psychology Today defines flow as “being consciously in inner harmony with whatever you’re doing.” On their list of purpose-finding questions, they see it as an activity you do that makes you lose track of time. You’re not focused on anything around you; simply what you’re doing. It’s almost like the world doesn’t exist except to allow you to perform this task and enjoy it to the fullest. What grabs your attention so entirely that nothing else seems to matter? Is it swimming? Gardening? Photography? Find the thing that absorbs you for hours on end because that’s the thing you’ll want to stay absorbed in for hours more

5. What brought me joy as a kid?

It may be hard to know what we really want to do now, but what about then? Lifehack.org mentions that as we age, “we often stop doing the things we were passionate about as a child.” Do you still play with dolls or Legos? Do you still race cars or play dress up? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to “adult” those childish games. In other words, you can unlock the excitement of your childhood days by transferring the spirit of play into a mature form.

Dressing up in costume is a love of many cosplayers, so why not turn into your favorite superhero or princess? Building Lego structures as a kid could be turned into a love of architecture or building houses for the homeless. Come up with your own clever ideas using what all children possess in abundance — your imagination. Your purpose may have been right in front of your nose all this time.

These questions, and others, will help you find the purpose you’ve been seeking in your life. Your true purpose is a gut reaction so listen to your gut. It has a lot to say!

April 22, 2018
Setting Goals Improves Self-Esteem and Confidence

There is nothing better for your self-esteem than setting and achieving your goals, it is also a fantastic confidence booster. Think about what made you happy and proud as a child, for many people the list includes: earning good grades in school, learning and mastering a sport, achieving an award, and doing the things you set out to do. All of these things include setting some kind of goal and achieving it. According to self-esteem-experts.com,

“Setting and achieving goals builds positive self-esteem. You send a clear message to your brain that says I am a person who is successful. The interesting thing is the message that the brain gets is the same whether the goal is large or small. When you achieve a goal you are building the neuro-pathway that says to the brain I AM A SUCCESS and the more you tell your brain this, the more you build feelings of confidence and positive self-esteem.”

The message of success and the feeling of self-esteem that is sent to your brain is the same whether you complete a very large goal, or even a very small one. You can give yourself doses of self-esteem whenever you need it by setting and accomplishing even small tasks. According to selfgrowthhacker.com, “By first accomplishing small wins, you’ll start building self-confidence in your ability to finish goals. This will build up your momentum which will allow you to take on larger goals.”

So how do you go about setting and accomplishing your goals? Here are some tips to complete your goals whether they are big or small:

Write Them Down

Emmitt Smith said, “It’s only a dream until you write it down, and then it becomes a goal.” Write down your thoughts, your ideas, your dreams, your goals, your inspirations. Writing them down helps you focus and it gives concrete evidence and support to your goals – it makes them more real and tangible because they are not just thoughts in your head. According to positivityblog.com, “A written goal brings clarity and focus. It gives you direction.”

Be Specific

A goal to do something big like graduate college, write a book, or learn a new language is a fine and admirable thing – but it likely won’t happen if you do not establish specific smaller goals that lead to that big accomplishment. Be specific and create a plan of action for your goals.

Be Realistic

If you have never been running a day in your life and you set a goal to run a five-minute mile in two days – you will probably be disappointed and fail to reach your goal. You must set goals that are realistic and attainable – setting hard goals is fine, but make sure you give yourself the time to work on it in order to achieve them.

Tell Others

According to Forbes.com, “Making yourself accountable to your friends and family is one of the best ways to reach your goals… When you tell people your goals, they will jump in the boat with you and help you get there. You will be shocked by the support you’ll get from your network.” Tell your friends, family, and co-workers of your goals and your plans – some may join you, and others will help be your cheerleaders in achieving your goals.

If you do not achieve some of your goals try to remember what psychologytoday.com says, “You can gain confidence simply by taking action towards your goal even if you don’t get the result you were looking for. Keep in mind that success is in the doing and not necessarily the result.” You will gain self-esteem and confidence in the setting, trying, and achieving your goals – all you have to do is get started.

April 22, 2018
Overcoming All Odds: Beating the Obstacles Blocking Achievement

Obstacles come in all shapes and sizes, and can surface in every aspect of life. All of us are fighting a different battle of some kind that is trying to keep us from achieving goals and gaining success. Some are smaller and fixable (communication breakdown with a colleague or a highway closure on the way to work), and some seem impossible to overcome (physical limitations from an accident or rejection from several job interviews). Fortunately, whenever we are struggling with our own demons, we can always look to others who have beat all odds to achievement as a shining example of hope. Sometimes looking at another’s struggles can shed perspective on our current situations, and reassure us that anything is possible.

One of my favorite examples of someone beating all odds is none other than Albert Einstein. Einstein was a globally recognized American scientist who wrote the most profound and complicated scientific theories known to man, and changed the face of science forevermore. Even though he passed away in 1955, Einstein’s theory of relativity is still one of the two pillars of modern physics.

The best part of Einstein’s story is not quite in his successes, but the hurdles he had to conquer to achieve goals. Ironically, family and school professors thought Albert was a stupid and effortless child. Not speaking until the age of 4, Albert’s parents thought he has mentally slow. In school, Albert did not often speak or make effort in his homework, forcing teachers to believe he was lazy and would amount to nothing.

Einstein’s hurdles in education did not end in childhood – he failed an entrance exam into a Swiss polytechnics school the first time around and was accepted only because of an “acceptable” understanding of math and science. After graduation, Einstein searched fervently for a teaching career and did not land a job for two whole years.

Remove self doubt – you CAN do it!

The most amazing testament of Albert Einstein’s story is that for over 20 years he was a misunderstood individual who was deemed as unintelligent, when in reality he was working through equations and theories in his mind since an early age. Einstein later judged the teaching system as it did not allow for creative thinking.

If Albert Einstein had quit and believed he was useless, we would not have Quantum Physics and the Theory of Relativity today. Einstein’s theories changed the world, and fortunately he was alive to experience the fruits of his success in his latter years. His story is a beacon of light for those of us currently facing trials in achieving goals.

I strongly believe that any complicated trial we face means success is just around the corner. For more inspiration of overcoming obstacles and achieving goals in your life, take a look at my book titled Trading Pain for Purpose.

July 21, 2015
Harmony of the Body, Mind, and Spirit
Body, mind, and spirit, these are the essential elements of human beings. Intrinsically connected, if one of these puzzle pieces is out of sorts, the other two are affected. For instance, if the body becomes diseased or injured, this affects the mind by causing pain and worry, which in turn afflicts the spirit with fear and distraction. This vicious circle can turn in upon itself in a downward spiral, until all peace and harmony is lost.

Conversely, when body mind and spirit are working together in harmony, you achieve the opposite effect. By making a concerted effort, and living mindfully, you can raise yourself to this higher plane. Here’s how:
When all of the essential elements – the mind, body and spirit – are working together in harmony you can achieve a state of peace and well being which enhances your life and allow you to make the most of your days.
July 26, 2014