[Guest Blogger] Developing a Spiritual Life
Recovering from a serious illness or a profound life event can be a time of confusion and uncertainty when every suppressed emotion rises up to tear us down. Choosing to include a spiritual side to your life may feel overwhelming, but at the same time we know that a spiritual life is a worthwhile choice. We may wonder about the practicality of it. How can we live spiritually when everything around us is based on the material world?
Although personal and spiritual growth comes from within, most people appreciate the friendship, support and companionship of belonging to a religious affiliation or spiritual center. Through a spiritual relationship with a higher power, you will feel good about yourself and discover the peace and joy of abundant living. Spirituality can provide you with a foundation to go back to no matter what happens in your life. Furthermore, the power of prayer helps us experience a stronger connection with God every day.
Mindfulness
As you begin to create your new life, consider building a foundation for your spiritual self. Be mindful of what you are doing and of where you put your attention. Mindfulness helps us stay connected to our priorities. What brings us peace and joy is the foundation of our inner priorities: being spiritual lead, speaking our truth, and treating others with loving kindness. You will find that your inner priorities are more important than your outer priorities. Treat yourself with compassion when you fall down on your priorities.
Daily devotions
The Joy of Loving: A Guide to Daily Living consists of messages written by Mother Teresa and compiled by Jaya Chalika and Edward Le Joly. This guide for daily spiritual living includes messages for each calendar day and is useful to both the believer and the nonbeliever. The authors write…
“Mother Teresa speaks as the conscience of the world. She is a lighthouse for believers, sending rays of light that show the way in semi-darkness. And to nonbelievers in God, she is an anchor steadying their ship in rough waters.”
An easy way to get started is to begin each day, by opening this book and reading an inspirational message from Mother Teresa.
Ministry groups, retreats, broadcasts, podcasts and Apps
Consider meeting with the pastor or the spiritual leader of your local church if you have questions about how to proceed with your spiritual journey. There are many ministry groups, retreats and bible studies in your local community that can offer you the opportunity to make caring friendships with like-minded individuals.
You may also develop yourself spiritually through books, music, broadcasts, podcasts, blogs, Apps and tours of your favorite spiritual leader. Unique Daily Affirmations, a downloadable App for your cell phone, may keep you inspired to continue on your path to positive living. Let your curiosity lead you on your spiritual path. Reach out and connect with others as you explore your spiritual self.
About Gale
Gale O’Brien is a cancer survivor, motivational speaker and the award-winning author of Transformation: Creating an Exceptional Life in the Face of Cancer now available in both English and Spanish. Transform your life each month with timely tips on food, health, fitness, relationships, and work. Subscribe to the Transformation monthly newsletter or order her book by visiting: www.GaleOBrien.com.
[O.W.W.L. Success Tip] Which Pillar of Success is missing from your leadership?
I have written previously about the two pillars of success for any endeavor. I featured one of these in last Thursday’s blog post with an article written by client and colleague Gale O’Brien. She knows this first-hand, as she is a cancer survivor and health advocate.
O.W.W.L. Success Tip: To attain ultimate success in any endeavor, you must have 90% or above in the two Pillars of Success.
The first pillar of success is Well-Being, as Gale’s article discusses. In leadership, we call this Leader Care with a daily practice of doing things that regenerate, renew, and resource you.
The second pillar of success is integrity, which means being whole and complete – no parts broken. High integrity means doing things from commitment, inspiration, and because you said you would. Keeping your promises to yourself and others is a hallmark of a great leader.
Are you at 100% in both of these? If not, what can you do today to move in that direction?
Warmly,
P.S. I am hosting a free live teleclass you will want to attend on May 13. It covers the three areas that warm the cockles of my heart: weight loss sabotages, building businesses, and making money. Watch for more information coming soon on how to register for the free class.
P.P.S. Many people who follow and appreciate my work are earning commissions by referring others. I love to pay commissions! Become an affiliate in my Reciprocity Program.
[O.W.W.L. Journey] Guest blog post substantiates my “preaching”
I have written many times about the importance of self-care as one of the two pillars of success. My client and colleague, Gale O’Brien, knows this first-hand, as she is a cancer survivor and health advocate. To your health! Janis
Why the Care of Yourself Matters Most
by Gale O’Brien
My cancer journey taught me the importance of self care. I realized more than ever that I needed to take care of myself so that I could have the energy to get through my cancer treatments. Taking a new attitude toward my diet increased my awareness of how good health affected me, and that choice built upon itself daily. I researched what else I could do to develop better health, and began to properly care for myself. In turn, I felt happier and hopeful about my future. As an added bonus, I lost 25 pounds and became physically fit for the first time in my life.
Self care begins with you! Here are seven practical steps to make self care your #1 priority:
- Focus on health and feeling well.
Stop obsessing over external appearances and obtaining an ideal body, and instead focus on the way being healthy makes you feel and what it gives you. You’ll find a deeper sense of gratification and more motivation to stay on track. You’ll also begin to lose tolerance for the way unhealthy choices make you feel.
- Feed your body exceptional food.
Food is a major vehicle for toxic substances to find their way into our bodies. Feed your body nourishing food so that you always feel your best, and remove the worries of disease and poor health. This includes taking daily nutritional supplements that raise and sustain your energy level, manage inflammation and provide a healthy balance of vitamins and minerals. I recommend the Lifelong Vitality Pack from doTERRA. You’ll want to nourish your body because you are grateful for it, so healthy choices will come with ease.
Exercise daily. Yes, DAILY!
Reframe the way you look at diet and exercise as something wonderful you do for yourself, rather than a way to punish your unhealthy choices. Prioritize your daily schedule to allow for 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity EVERY day. Start by taking classes at your local gym or community center three times a week. Then add thirty minutes of fast walking, twice a week, to your schedule. Finally, use the two remaining days of the week for exercising socially (hiking with your partner, dancing with friends, bicycling through your neighborhood, running in local races or participating in charitable walkathons).
- Make time to meditate.
Meditate to get in touch with your emotions, to connect with the bigger picture, and to feel at peace. Meditation purifies and strenthens your heart. It steadies your nerves and helps us embrace our fear and our anger, and that is very healing.
Deepak Chopra says…
“Meditation makes the entire nervous system go into a field of coherence.” - Treat yourself the way you’d treat someone you love.
Our subconscious mind hears our self-talk and responds to it in a similar way, so make sure your self-talk is loving, supportive, nurturing, and forgiving. Look in the mirror everyday and repeat the phrase “I am deserving and worthy of all good things, and I accept myself unconditionally.”
- Stay positive and show gratitude.
Learn to catch and release negative thoughts about your body and to focus on the good that it brings you every single day. Show gratitude by focusing on what you have accomplished. Listing your achievements instead puts your focus on what is going right, which in turn motivates you to do more.
- Love yourself first and the rest will follow.
Learn to love yourself by reciting daily affirmations. Once you begin to treat yourself with the respect and care that you deserve, the habits needed for physical transformation develop naturally.
Ask yourself, “What will the quality of my life be if I put my self care last?” I implore you to take action now by making your self care your #1 priority instead of waiting until you are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
Gale O’Brien is a cancer survivor, motivational speaker and the award-winning author of Transformation: Creating an Exceptional Life in the Face of Cancer now available in both English and Spanish. Transform your life each month with timely tips on food, health, fitness, relationships, and work. Subscribe to the Transformation monthly newsletter or order her book by visiting: www.GaleOBrien.com.
[OWWL Success Tip] Your Time is Critical to Creating an Exceptional Life
How you spend your time is critical to creating an exceptional life. Have you dedicated copious amounts of time and attention to your work and your life to maintain high personal standards? Has your passion for excellence driven you to go the extra mile, never stopping, never relenting until you’ve done it right? What happens when we get carried away with perfectionism? We become disgruntled and discouraged, even depressed, when we fail to meet the impossibly high standards we set for ourselves, making us reluctant to take on new challenges or even finish tasks we’ve already started. The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists. It rewards people who get things done.
Are you a control freak? Have you wasted time and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control? This is a recipe for frustration and misery. Some forces are just out of our control. Consuming yourself with the negative aspects of a circumstance is a waste of time. However, if you look at the circumstance productively and positively, coming from the standpoint of “What’s my next best move?” you put yourself back in the driver’s seat.
In his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, Timothy Ferriss says…
“Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is often a form of mental laziness – lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.”
Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time. They are heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc. They barely have enough free time for family get togethers and they rarely get enough sleep. Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. However, it’s all an illusion. They are like hamsters running on a wheel. Have you been guilty of busyness?
Friends, family, coworkers, colleagues, even acquaintances can eat up your time, especially if they are toxic people. Toxic people drain you. Be smart when it comes to spending your precious time with other people. In creating an exceptional life, start associating with people who are like minded, focused, and supportive. Socialize with people who create energy when they enter the room versus those who create energy when they leave. Reach out to connected, influential individuals who are aligned with your dreams and goals.
Seth Godin wrote an excellent book, Tribes, on finding a tribe and working together to make a difference in all of our lives. We are the sum of the people we spend the most time with. If you hang with the wrong people, they will negatively affect you. However, if you hang with the right people, you will be enriching your exceptional life.
Gale O’Brien is a cancer survivor, motivational speaker and the award-winning author of Transformation: Creating an Exceptional Life in the Face of Cancer now available in both English and Spanish. Transform your life each month with timely tips on food, health, fitness, relationships, and work. Subscribe to the Transformation monthly newsletter or order her book by visiting: www.GaleOBrien.com.
[Guest Blog] What’s the Buzz About Essential Oils?
Have you been wondering what all the buzz is about essential oils? Would you like to stop catching every cold that’s going around, instantly relieve a headache, calm hyperactivity and stress, or diminish depression without using synthetic chemicals?
Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, and flowers of plants. Their role is to protect plants from bacteria and fungus, deter insects, and slow decay. To extract the essential oil, plant material is steam distilled at exact temperature and pressure. The resulting essential oil contains powerful properties.
Essential oils have a long history of use for health, wellness and beauty. They contain hundreds of healing compounds in just a single drop. They also contain antibacterial, anti-fungal, antispasmodic, and antiseptic qualities.
Essential Oil Quality Grades
Not all essential oils are created equal. Ninety five percent of all essential oils are created for the food and cosmetic industries. These oils do not contain the healing power of nature. There are four distinct grades of essential oils:
- Synthetic Grade: These oils are used for perfumes, candles, and cleaning products. Most often these fragrances are made from synthetic ingredients in a laboratory. They do not contain healing compounds.
- Food Grade: These oils are created for the food industry for use in mouthwash, chewing gum, mints, and candy, etc. These oils are most often created in a laboratory of synthetic ingredients.
- Therapeutic Grade: These oils contain hundreds of healing compounds in each drop. They are properly distilled and properly packaged. They are pure and contain no fillers. They can affect the body for change through oxygenation, cleansing, calming, and focus. Once you have secured high quality, therapeutic grade essential oils, there are many ways to use them on a daily basis for improving body, mind, and spirit.
- CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils are 100% pure natural aromatic compounds carefully extracted from plants. They do not contain fillers or artificial ingredients that would dilute their active qualities. Proper extraction and quality control methods also ensure that essential oils are free of any contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides or other chemical residues.
Daily Uses for Essential Oils
Certified pure essential oils can be used aromatically, topically, and internally to:
- Improve sleep
- Reduce aches and pains
- Relieve nausea and upset stomach
- Enhance beautiful skin and diminish scars
- Cleanse mouth and teeth naturally
- Replace chemically toxic household cleaners
- Relieve earaches
- Reduce stress
- Assist with natural weight loss management
- Improve moods
- Sooth cuts and scrapes
- Repel bugs
- Relieve allergies
- Replace dry seasonings and spices in recipes
Essential oils for fast, effective relief of ailments
Still not convinced to make the switch to using essential oils for your medical ailments? JAMA Internal Medicine recently published the report “Cumulative Use of Strong Anticholinergic Medications and Incident Dementia.” This study used more rigorous methods, longer follow-up (more than seven years), and better assessment of medication use via pharmacy records (including substantial nonprescription use) to confirm a higher dementia risk linked to more use of common drugs such as Benadryl, Claritin, Prozac and many more. For the complete article, visit: .
Gale O’Brien is a cancer survivor, award-winning author, motivational speaker and wellness advocate. To attend one of her upcoming essential oil classes, please visit: . To order her book Transformation: Creating an Exceptional Life in the Face of Cancer, now available in the revised edition and the Spanish edition, please visit: .
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9 Unconscious reasons you can’t keep the weight off and what to do about it
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