NEW YEAR - NEW BEGINNINGS

Our New Year's celebrations for this year will soon be history. As we embark on creating our life during 2011, I'd like to share some thoughts and feelings about New Year's Resolutions.

Do you make New Year's Resolutions? Do you expect to accomplish them? If the truth be known for most of us we really do not expect to achieve them. It seems that we make them almost in jest.

But what if . . . what if we could achieve them? I suggest there are some tried and true approaches to doing just that.

It is often said that if we fail to plan, then we plan to fail. Many of us go through life without goals, without a plan. We just sort of move along with the tide. So a plan is the first important thing to accomplish our goals.

Have a serious planning appointment with yourself. For most people that should be 3-4 hours in length. I think one should have at least the following big categories:

Health, Wealth, Spirituality, Relationships, and Contribution

Then outline what you would like to achieve in each of these categories. BE VERY SPECIFIC.

Under health would be such things as improved nutrition, exercise, etc.

Under wealth would be career and business goals.

Include under spirituality whatever to you would increase your connection to the Divine, or "your source," however that would be in your belief system. I hope you will all include meditation.

The most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself. It is very important that you love and accept yourself. Also include other relationships in your life - family, friends, people in your workplace, etc.

Now go back over your goals and add time-lines. When are you going to accomplish each goal? You may have both long and short-term interim tine-lines.

Contribution or charity, a sense of giving, is very important to a healthy, well-balanced life, giving of time, talents and money. Nothing enriches our lives quite like giving to others. And it certainly is true that we get back what we give.

Now that you have that outline, go back over your lists and add strategies (what) and tactics (how) you are going to achieve each goal. Any skills you may be lacking, plan for how you will obtain them. Perhaps you may need a consultant, like a trainer if your goal is weight loss, or a business consultant for your business goals. Your level of specificity directly relates to your degrees of success.

And lastly you must be accountable to someone. there is much to be said for the so-called "buddy system." That is one of the secrets to success of such programs as Weight Watchers, Share your goals with someone and get their agreement that you will be accountable on an agreed upon timetable. If they decide to join you in mutual goals you have the best of all accountability arrangements.

Our success in attaining our New Year's Resolutions directly relates to our level of commitment, our belief in our ability to accomplish our goals, and the thoroughness of our plan of action.

Good luck with your 2011 plan.

Please visit my primary website, http://www.bettyshouselifeafterms.com/. You'll find me on Facebook and Twitter.

NON-JUDGMENT - AN IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON

Do you ever wonder what our purpose on this planet really is? Why we are here? It occurs to me that with maturity one gains a different perspective on this serious question.

I have become increasingly aware that perhaps one of the most important – if not THE most important – life lesson is giving up judgment.

None of us were born with right vs. wrong judgment . . . we were taught that by our parents, teachers, and society in general. And of course some of that judgment is necessary in order to have a functioning society. But carried too far it creates divides between not only individuals but all peoples and nations.

It seems that when we were younger we always KNEW what was right in all situations. I say that with tongue in cheek, of course. But with more maturity we learn more and more that we have no right to judge others.

I suggest that as we begin a New Year we recognize and accept that right and wrong do not really exist, but rather that everything just IS . . . whatever IT is! I have come to believe that perhaps this is our major life lesson. And when we really GET that truth, we can truly create a world of peace. A world in which all peoples can live together without any people trying to export their own brand of right vs. wrong.

In 1997 I wrote a book, From MS to Wellness, in which I outlined my belief that our body is designed to be self-healing. In it I chronicled my own journey from a diagnosis of Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis to developing a natural life-style approach to healing that incorporated a mind body approach.

Meditation (feeding the spirit)
Qi Gong, Yoga and a Healthy Diet(recognizing the body’s role)

A quote from From MS to Wellness:

“In its most malignant state, constantly judging people, places and events as right or wrong can totally rob us of real happiness and joy in our life . . . I learned from Dr. Deepak Chopra that today is the way it is because the universe is as it is, and that things happen because other things happen. Nothing is isolated. There is a connection to everything and everyone else. And when we fight against today, we are fighting against the Universe, and we can never win.”

I urge you to think about non-judgment as a major life lesson. For me this is an ongoing lesson. At least I have become more and more aware and increasingly cognizant of when I slip up and find myself landing with both feet in a judgmental situation. I can say that I am far less judgmental than when I began to make non-judgment a priority in my life.

Preview From MS to Wellness here. I invite you to my home website, where you may subscribe to my monthly web-based newsletter, Journey to Wellness.

Happy Holidays!

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HOLIDAY GIFT SUGGESTIONS

If you are anything like me, you are always looking for meaningful holiday gifts to share with friends and family. The key word in that sentence is “meaningful.”

Because I am an avid reader, almost compulsive really, I often turn to books. So I’d like to share with you a list of book recommendations . . . books that have been very meaningful for me personally.

1. The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.
2. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, M.D.
3. The Spontaneous Healing of Belief by Gregg Braden
4. A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
5. The Healer Within by Roger Jahnke, Doctor of Oriental Medicine
6. The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by Deepak Chopra, M.D.
7. Beyond the Quantum by Michael Talbot
8. The Field by Lynne McTaggart
9. Real Magic and The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer, Ph.D.

Drs. Lipton and Weiss, both trained in traditional medicine and both medical school professors, now travel the world teaching what they discovered about the connection between science and reality.

All of these books are classics. Michael Talbot (now deceased) and Lynne McTaggart helped those of us who do not have a background in science to learn about and accept quantum physics, which today seems elementary.

Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra and Wayne Dyer have given us masterpieces of understanding of our role in the Universe.

Dr. Jahnke’s The Healer Within is a classic easy-to-understand exploration of the how and why of ancient Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong’s healing techniques.

If you are facing a physical challenge, I respectfully refer you to my primary website, and my own books From MS to Wellness and Four Steps to Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis, in which I share my own healing journey to overcome multiple sclerosis. Both these books are about healing and natural health, and are applicable to any physical challenge. They feature my own exploration of Qi Gong and Meditation, which played important roles in my recovery.

Happy Holidays

to all

Betty