Thoughtful Thursday

  Most of us have all heard of the idea that what you focus on expands.  The human brain is so efficient that it is filtering massive amounts of information constantly coming at it.  There is no way it can process it all.  Your brain has learned over time what is important to you and what it can safely discard.  Imagine you have decided to buy a new car.  A white Subaru Assent.  Guess what? It is now top of mind and you will see that model of car everywhere.  However, sometimes the information we have trained our brain to look for doesn’t serve us at all.  Focusing on thoughts like: ”I do everything wrong.” “Life isn’t fair.” ”I am not enough.” ”Things never go right for me.” With thoughts like these, our brain is focused on finding evidence to prove these thoughts are true because our brain has decided this important to us.  Is that where you want your focus?  Is there information or opp...

  The 7 Day Gratitude Challenge begins today!  Gratitude feels "good"  to us because we experience a surge of dopamine in our brain. Dopamine is a chemical naturally created in our body. This neurotransmitter sends a signal from our body to our brain and is responsible for our feeling pleasure, motivation and satisfaction. A daily practice of intentional gratitude strengthens these neural pathways and reinforces an attitude of gratitude. A rush of dopamine feels great but there is even more to the power being grateful. Here are 7 benefits to gratitude to help inspire you as we begin our week of intentional practice of gratitude. One: Gratitude and showing appreciation strengthens and invites more relationships into our lives.  Two: Gratitude improves physical health such as reducing cardiac diseases, inflammations, and neurodegeneration while encouraging better self-care. Three: Gratitude improves psychological health by reducing frustra...

November is the month of gratitude.  "Gratitude" is an interesting word. If you are familiar with what I teach, you know that: Our circumstances trigger our thoughts. Our thoughts create our feelings. Our feelings are the fuel for our actions. And, our actions create our life experience. This brings me back to the word "gratitude." Where does it fit in this model? Is it a thought? Is it a feeling? Is it an action? Or, is it the result? I believe it is all of the above. When I recognize and gratefully acknowledge what I have, those around me and who I am, This creates a feeling of gratitude within me which fuels how I show up in my life. Inspired to express my gratitude  by word and/or deed  to others, myself and God. Creating a life of being grateful.  A life that is done in gratitude. A life that is viewed with the lens of gratitude. I invite you to write down 3 things in your life that you are grateful for. Acknowledge them. Why are you grateful for them? Allo...

Have you ever really considered what your values are? Author, Tanya Dalton, teaches that you want to create a core set of values that speak to your passions. That inspire you. That guide you. That help drive the decisions you make. Not just the large decisions but the seemingly insignificant ones you make every single day. I didn't know what my personal core values were for a long time. I had a general idea but I hadn't taken the time to really discover them or get clear on what they were. Writing them down wasn't something I had really even considered. When our values are vague and ambiguous, it is hard to live by them. It is easy to get out of alignment with ourselves and make decisions that don't help us be the person we want to be.  You may find yourself saying "yes" to things that don't support your values or the life you want to create. You may have missed out on opportunities that would have aligned with what you want in life but you weren't loo...

This year, I have been implementing Christian meditation into my mindfulness practice. Taking time to quiet my mind . Detaching from the world. And attaching to God. This week, in my guided practice, I was asked to picture myself as a little baby. Made of love and light. Perfectly lovable. Remembering that I am a spiritual being having an earthly experience. A child of Heavenly Parents. Remembering, there is nothing I can do that will diminish the worth they have for me. Then, I was asked to picture myself as a woman. Strong. Confident. Compassionate. Faithful. I was reminded that this is how my Heavenly Parents see me. At times, I have forgotten that I am that perfect child or strong confident woman. But in this moment, light filled my soul as I felt the morning sun on my face. Reminding me of who I am.  Feeling the love that already exists for me as Their daughter. Now, I invite you to pause. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. F...

Earlier this year, I did a writing exercise. I began by writing down my favorite emotion.   Including the last time I felt it and the frequency. Next, I wrote down my least favorite emotion. Again, including the last time I felt it and the frequency. To my surprise, I was feeling my  least favorite  emotion  every single day . I was also feeling my favorite emotion only a  few times a week . I hadn't even realized this was happening. Picture a platter full of negative and positive emotions. I could have chosen any emotion that I wanted and I was choosing my least favorite one again and again.  Since then, I have taken responsibility for my feelings. I am the creator of all  them. It begins with my thinking. Understanding this has allowed me to intentionally decide how I want to feel and who I want to be. Intentional has been my word for the year 2021. This doesn't mean that sometimes you won't want to feel a negative emotion. Like sadness, grie...

I still remember the day I really found life coaching. Hearing of it years before, I believed that it was about just thinking positive. I am naturally a pretty happy person so it didn't really interest me. However, at this point in my life, I felt at the mercy to everything outside of myself. It seemed as if life was happening to me. I questioned my purpose and value. I spent time crying and wishing things were different. That day, sitting in my office, I came across a facebook ad.  Which then led me to a podcast. The seed was planted. I had to learn more. And that is what I have been doing ever since. Learning about my relationships -- with myself, God, and others. Understanding, on a deeper level, the love God has for all human beings. Becoming aware of my thinking and how it creates the life experience I am having.  Embracing curiosity on the way to compassion and understanding.  Facing my fears and having the courage to try regardles...