Use meditation to lose weight.

As we all agree, the brain is the one in charge for most of our actions. Even though, not always the decisions our brains take are the smartest ones, fortunately we can educate them, according to our own desires and aspirations. One very important thing we can use our brains for is meditation, meaning to think profoundly at something in order to get it solved or to understand it.

If your issue has to do with losing weight, be sure you can solve it by using this method. Keeping a diet is something everybody feels he knows how to do, but nevertheless, the advice not always works for everybody. That is why specialists strongly suggest you should find your own ways to lose weight efficiently and without major discontent. This does not mean you cannot pay attention or get inspired by other people’s experiences, but do not forget that, in what concerns your own person, you’re the one who knows better.

How do you start your own meditation plan? First of all, gather as much information regarding the manner in which other people solved the problem, including the information you disagree with – you can place that one on the not to do list. Where can you find the information? As soon as you start digging you’ll realize it’s everywhere: TV, magazines, internet, friend’s advice etc.

Next step, once you got all the material you need, is to take the time to analyze it, meditating as well, on how you can adapt it, in order to best fit your needs. Remember to be responsible when keeping a diet, as otherwise, your own health might be in danger, so never exaggerate!

Here are some tricks that always work, if you adapt them a little bit to your personality:

• Whenever you do something tough, for which you need determination, think about how to make it fun: cook weird foods, for example; try eating things you never tried before or do whatever makes you feel that keeping a diet is enjoyable. Let your brain help you a little bit and you’ll see how easy and fun things can turn out!

• Set a goal. It is important to know what you are fighting for, but, however, do no exaggerate. Meditate thoroughly on what the goal means to you, what changes it could bring to your life and if you set your goal too high or too low.

• Don’t forget that help is something we all need. Think which sort of help could serve you best: a doctor’s advice, a counseling group, a specialized magazine, talking to your friends, listening to your own intuition etc. Do not be afraid to make the choice you consider the best, because, remember, nobody knows you better than yourself.

• Remember to enjoy yourself. No matter how difficult something seems to be, always try to determine a way to find pleasant and enjoyable things about it! In order to enjoy yourself, you have to perform actions that make you have a good opinion about your own person. For example, reading a book, taking care of a pet or of a sick person, sharing with others your efforts, followed by the deserved accomplishments, etc. are all things that feed your inner spirit and make you feel good about yourself.

Once you got the answers to the questions you gathered in the first place, you can build the list with the things to do and the ones always to avoid. Remember that this list should be a mirror of yourself, the result of your own meditation, so never distrust it and be sure you’ll see the results!

Understand Your Own Perfectionism.

If you do 99% of one thing right but mess up the other 1% and this keeps you awake at night then you are a perfectionist! In more general terms, whenever you participate in an action and something, no matter how small, goes wrong, you will feel responsible for the negative element. There are several reasons why this happens and also a few tips on how to make your perfectionism work for you.

Society teaches us to “do our best” even from early on in out lives. In school we are expected to have high grades and do well in sports. The same pattern follows us through high school and college. We are constantly aware that people around us expect results… good results from us. We are trained to think that anything less then perfect is unacceptable and when something goes wrong we take the blame upon ourselves and aggravate it. Living up to our expectations is difficult and we often act with the fear of failing, of not being perfect.

Let’s see how these negative characteristics of perfectionism can be turned to fight in our corner. The first thing would be to let your emotions surface. Perfectionism doesn’t allow any mistakes or hesitations. However, people around you are just like yourself – not perfect. They will get closer to you if you show your real self than if you show them a perfect mask. Stumbling on a word, dropping a paper or forgetting a name won’t make you fail in the eyes of others. On the contrary, a human approach to things will always attract more supporters than a cold, robotic approach. You can always turn a small mistake into a good joke that will instantly break the ice between you and an audience, for example.

Surrender your quest for perfection for something that works even better: authenticity. You cannot fool everyone all the time and you cannot constantly play a role in your business and social life. Of course, a mistake should be acknowledged and you should try to correct it the next time an opportunity arises. Improving yourself by learning from your own mistakes is essential, but don’t fall into the extreme where no success is satisfactory. The ambition to get everything right lowers your possibilities of enjoying life itself. You can never achieve perfection, thus you will never be completely happy.

Another problem with perfectionism is that it is, in its essence, demoralizing. If you’re in a middle of an important presentation and one of your slides falls off, you will, as a perfectionist, get overwhelmed by an acute sentiment of failure. The rest of the presentation will degrade itself because you will no longer be able to concentrate, as the pressure you are putting on yourself is clouding your judgment. Let go of your emotions and accept the small incident. There are always ways to turn it into something positive. Make a little joke with your audience or ignore the problem completely and go on with your speech. An honest response to any of your personal mistakes will always be more valuable and appreciated than a perfectionist frustration that ruins your entire day.

Tips to get along well with your neighbors.

Not many of us are lucky enough to live on such an extended property that no neighbor in the world can bother us. There are few who do, but the rest of us, whether we like it or not, must be in good relations with the people, above, below or next door to us.

Why is that? Why can’t we be always fighting with the neighbors? First of all because nobody likes living in a hostile environment and secondly because it’s always good to have somebody keeping an eye on your property while you’re gone, picking up your mail if you have to sign for it and you’re not home etc.

But what if your neighbor is so crazy and impossible to deal with, that he actually made his previous neighbors move? Should you surrender and move away, as well? Or should you try to somehow turn the situation in your favor?

Anyways, there are some things that always work, even with the strangest neighbors, and which you should apply whenever you want to improve or maintain your good relations them with the ones living next door.

• First of all be friendly: scream good morning or have a good one every time you see them; admire their car, their beautiful garden and their lawn.

• At the community reunion tell everybody how good, friendly and helpful is to have them as neighbors, although, in fact they are the most awful persons you ever had to deal with. This way, they will feel obliged to slowly start to behave.

• If your children go to the same school, offer to give their children a ride as well or at least organize a schedule, so that each family takes their turn.

• When you mow your lawn, you get dirty anyway. Offer to mow their lawn as well, and with the minimal effort (taking into consideration that you’re already dirty) you’ll make them feel they owe to feel thankful to you.

• If your next door people are found of animals and the have a puppy, don’t let them take it to a hotel or a shelter, while they go out of town for business, or vacation. Make the effort to take care of the poor creature, even if you have to take anti allergy drugs.

• When you barbecue in your back yard, especially if your houses are really close, don’t forget to grill some extra meat for your neighbors, as well. Remember how hungry you get, as soon as you feel barbecue smell and, no matter how many goodies you have in your fridge, you can never feel full, unless you cook your own barbecue.

• Invite them to swim in your pool, but demand, from the beginning that they have to contribute at cleaning the water.

• Don’t send away their kids when they come to sing carols for you for Christmas!

Tips to follow when you’re feeling down.

Everybody has, from time to time, a period when he or she feels more tired than usually, and has a hard time concentrating. The important thing is to know how to react under such circumstances and to be able to maintain control and not fall into depression.

There are a lot of ways to deal with such situations, the most important thing being to remember that the unhappiness is only temporary and the sunshine will appear again shortly. According to the situation one has to face, there are some, so called tips, that can help you gain back stability and control over your life. Here are some of them:

• If the situation permits it, nothing works better than a walk in the park – nature can do miracles when it comes to healing a tired human spirit! If you take your dog with you as well, you’ll see life at least 50% more beautiful.

• If you find yourself at the office and you feel you simply cannot go on with your work, take a moment only for yourself. Put an article or a work related material in from of you, in order not to look suspicious to your boss or colleagues, and… start dreaming. Imagine yourself on an island, lying in the quite sun of the afternoon, reading your favorite book. Before you know it you’ll start feeling better and you also got yourself a holiday to plan!

• If you are at home, you feel lonely and miserable and nobody notices it, prepare yourself a bath. Turn the lights off, play your favorite music, light some candles if you want, and try to relax. Don’t forget to hang a note to the door asking everybody to give you a break. The time you spend only with yourself is more than precious, is unique, because nobody understands you better than you do, so try to take advantage of it as well as you can.

• If your love mate just dumped you and you feel like everybody knows it, try to do something that involves getting in touch with new people. Go to parties, go to movies, take some friends out for a beer or go on a blind date – anything that helps you understand your universe in not strictly related to that person. In no time, you’ll discover that there are things you forgot you like and there are new ones you can’t wait to try!

However, whenever you’re down, don’t forget to analyze yourself and discover what brought you to that state of mind. During the meditation have in mind all the good things that you did for you and, especially for the others, and remember how proud you felt during those moments. Do not forget that only during the moments when we feel down we consider our strong and weak points, that is why, whether we like it or not, the sad moments are necessary and bring changes in everybody’s life.

That is why, specialists strongly recommend you to find the way to turn the situation in you favor and to identify the way to improve yourself. Also, keep in mind no to be afraid to let the others know how you feel and ask for advice.

Tips on training your mind.

Today’s fast paced life often puts every one of us in difficult situations where stress and anxiety dominate our day. The frequency and complexity of problems that arise and need to be dealt with weakens both our minds and our bodies, making us incapable of finding the right solutions.

There are several ways to improve your power of concentration and to learn how to relax your mind and prepare it for future struggles. Your body responds to what your mind dictates, but most of the times it does this on a subconscious level. If you manage to tap into this vital resource, which is your subconscious mind, you get an extra edge in dealing with all problems that surround you.

First of all, try to change your daily routine. Not much, just a bit, but be very conscious about the changes. In the evening, try to recall all the events that took place in a day. Quickly analyze the highlights of the day and check for any gaps in your memory. If you fail to remember details about an issue you want to recall this is a good indication that you momentarily failed to concentrate during that timeframe.

You may also try to diversify the way you live. Again, changes don’t have to be drastic. If today is no different than yesterday and the day before you might want to include new elements in your life. You could start practicing a sport or maybe giving a shot to a hobby you never practiced before. Repetitive and dull actions slowly push your mind in a state of semi hibernation, which slows down your responses to the issues around you.

Stimulating your mind by engaging it in a new activity always has good results. You don’t have to play heavy mind involving games (such as chess, for example) to do this. Try the simple things first: take a different route on your way to work, buy another brand of laundry detergent. Try to travel by bus, if you normally use a car and stand up on a chair to have a different perspective of your bedroom.

You can also engage your mind in other interesting activities such as meeting new people or seeing old friends. Give a call to an old high school friend and go out for some coffee or a beer. Your talks will surely trigger a chain of events that you store in your mind but almost never utilize. Still, this would be a good exercise for the mind and, more importantly, a pleasant experience for you.

There are many things you dislike or despise in life. Give them a chance, try to view them from another perspective. If there is a person you hate try to put yourself in his or her shoes for a few minutes. Try to see yourself through the eyes of people around you and objectively observe your actions and beliefs. Try to let a clear mind analyze events that you find annoying and ignore the preconceptions that urge you to judge a person or event in a certain way.

All of the above are just some simple exercises that will help you face your problems better prepared. Do not over do any of them and let them integrate naturally into your way of life. You may soon look in the mirror and see a happier you!

Time to quit smoking.

Love and cigarettes have many things in common. They say that a relation is very much like a cigarette: you have to put an end to it, before it hurts you. Also, if you look at somebody who quitted smoking recently and somebody who broke up not long time ago, you’ll see a lot of resemblances. The comparison between love and a cigarette is quite accurate, with the specification that a relation can be with the right person, and, in that case it can’t hurt you, but a cigarette, no matter how light it is, it’s always harmful!

When do people usually quit smoking? Unfortunately, they wait until one morning when they look in the mirror and notice how yellow their teeth are, how bad their skin looks and how awful they cough; in other words, much more later than they should. If you find yourself in the same situation or close to it, that means you’ve just become or you’re about to become conscious about the fact that you have a problem.

Once you realize what your problem is, you get down to business and try to solve it – obviously by quitting smoking. First week after quitting cigarettes is idealistic – you breathe easier, your hands don’t smell bad anymore and, since you’re so determined, you think you can break any records.

Nevertheless, you should also expect to go through a period when you feel capable of killing for a smoke. Lack of nicotine will also affect you physically, not only mentally. You’ll find yourself in great pain, in a bad mood, just as if you quitted taking drugs. When you go through precisely the period described above, keep away thoughts like: I’ll smoke only one more and then I’ll realty quit – once you start smoking again, you suffered all that pain in vain. On the other hand, try not to:

• Start drinking, instead of smoking. It’s even worse.
• Keep any lights around or ashtrays – they will represent too much of a temptation.
• Encourage you friends to smoke next to you, just to show them how tough you are.

Keep in mind that there are thousands of people on this planet trying to quit smoking, so you are not alone. Try to get more information regarding the amount of evil cigarettes do to you. Watch TV, read magazines, go on line, or even try to get professional help, because once you did made your decision to quit smoking and you respected it for more than two weeks, it’s a pity to give up.

Many persons, and not only women, have confessed that they are afraid to gain considerable weight, when quitting smoking. Specialists have not denied this fear. They do admit that we have to use something in order to compensate for the cigarettes we don’t smoke anymore. Usually lack of cigarettes is compensated by candies, which served in great quantities will result into a lot of body fat; chewing gum, which actually stimulates our gastric juice and makes us hungry more often.

Nevertheless you have to assume all those risks and try to diminish the unpleasant effects by exercising a lot, because otherwise, the problems to deal with will be even more considerable than a few extra pounds.

A Better Understanding of Hypnosis.

In order to practice hypnosis for therapeutic reasons you will need three elements: imagination, concentration, and a real motivation to be hypnotized. Every time someone works with a group to induce hypnosis we can still say we are talking about self-hypnosis. It is every person’s individual option if they wish to collaborate with the operator and experience hypnosis.

Releasing the power of your subconscious mind takes some time and practice, but it can then be used to improve most aspects of your life. Therapeutic hypnosis is not available to all people, but most of us can reach light or medium states through concentration and patience. Deep levels of hypnosis produce the best therapeutic results, but beginners may also achieve efficient states of relaxation and inner peace too.

Lighter levels of hypnosis usually enable their operators to experience feelings of relaxation and calmness. Various perceptions of physical changes may also occur: tingling sensations in the fingers, blinking eyelids, a sensation of weight in some parts of the body etc. The intensity of these experiences is low, but a few weeks of practice can teach you how to develop these skills even further. Another element that often relates to initial hypnosis is time distortion. Most subjects will believe they were hypnotized for a shorter amount of time than it is in reality. After a few hypnotic experiences a person will start to get a better perception of the passing time.

The altered state becomes more enhanced as we progress to medium levels of hypnosis. Physical perceptions gain more importance and the subject may experience heightened tingling feelings or heaviness in the lower body. Some subjects experience floating sensations and all these feelings are perceived as being very real by the one being hypnotized. This stage allows the hypnotist to suggest stronger visual images in the subject’s mind. At this level, creating illusions becomes more accessible. New thresholds that were unavailable previously now become apparent. Conscious awareness may fade out for the patient when the level of hypnosis deepens.

Even better mental and physical responses can be achieved through the somnambulistic levels of hypnosis. Several physiologic responses can be observed, such as the REM (rapid eye movement) usually associated with dreams during sleep. At this stage the patients may experience complete conscious amnesia, being virtually absent from their surrounding reality. This is also the level where strong hallucinations occur, during the actual hypnosis process and even after it ends. Hypnosis is seen as the sleep of the nervous system. There is a decrease of the rate of respiration, not as strong as the one experienced during sleep. Circulation also slows down, together with the brain waves.

Brain waves variations in intensity start with beta, the fastest, then slow to alpha, theta and delta. Beta waves are primary when the mind is under a normal state of consciousness. Reduced levels of hypnosis decrease the brain wave activity to alpha and deeper levels may take a subject’s brain waves all the way to theta. Various applications of hypnosis include therapeutic pain relief, psychological treatment and many more.

The reasons your diet failed to show results.

You tried repeatedly to keep a diet and you almost did. It is true that here and there you did not quite go by the book, but still, for several weeks in the row you can’t say that you exaggerated when it came to food.

However, you were disappointed to see that you could observe no relevant result, despite of all your efforts. But maybe there are some things that you did not know about dieting. Let’s go over some of these tips together.

Do you make time to eat at the same hours every day? It is important not to miss any of the three important meals of the days, but don’t forget to snack also between the important meals. To snack does not mean to help yourself to chocolate or chips. Have something healthy: low-fat yogurt, dry fruits. It is not recommended to ignore your hunger, because otherwise you’ll get very hungry for your next meal and you’ll find yourself eating too much.

How many times did you find yourself eating for any other reason than hunger? We have to admit that often, it is not the hunger, but certain sentimental reasons that send us to the fridge. Listen to your body and try to understand his message; if you are worried, preoccupied by something, etc., eating might be a manner in which you can solve the problems, because during those moments you burn more calories than usually. However, do not eat only because you’re bored.

Is the food you’re eating health and diverse? Make sure your plate is full of diverse sources of vitamins. Include in your daily regime cereals, vegetable, fruits, eggs and milk. These kinds of foods stay in your stomach longer and give you more energy.

How many times did you find yourself verifying the nutrition facts? It is indeed necessary that your diet fallows healthy rules. Still, from time to time you are also allowed to skip the strict regime. That is why you should not turn into a maniac when it comes to calories. Use you common sense in order to determine what’s good for you and establish your own rhythm. Once you do that, you’ll get both the physical and the psychological satisfaction, so much desired.

You’re not hungry but you feel like eating… A story that you know very well, don’t you? You sit down in your living room watching TV, when you see a commercial with a lady eating a deliciously looking pizza. All of a sudden you can’t concentrate on the movie anymore and you keep on picturing the pizza, with some ketchup on it. Soon you realize you’re body is next to the phone dialing the number of the pizza place and ordering the desired… junk. Stop! You don’t really want to do that! Can’t help it? Eat something else, with less calories – it will keep you away from the danger; or talk to yourself – explain loudly why you should not do it.

Mind these little details and you are sure to be more successful during your next diet!

The Art of speaking clearly about things.

There were times when you tried to render a message, but instead of people finding out what you really wanted to say, they understood almost the opposite. Disappointed, you ask yourself why that happened. In order to express a certain thought the way that you really want to, you have to bear in mind a few techniques.

First of all, before saying something important, take the time and meditate on it. Find out, in the first place, if you’re really convinced about it. Don’t rush to any conclusions, because your decision has to be the correct one. Then, think about the perspectives one can have in mind, when reflecting on the issue in question. You wouldn’t want to express something you agree with, in a manner that would make the others believe you’re against it, as well as, you wouldn’t want to look interested in something you’re not.

Once you are convinced what your position is, regarding a certain issue, focus on when and how to present your thoughts to the others. Bear in mind that every single detail is of great importance.

• For example, if you have to present something in front of your colleagues at work, remember that including the clothes you’re wearing that day are important.

Specialists always recommend that you wear gray or black – the regular business outfit – because this way, people won’t be tempted to analyze your clothes instead of paying attention to your message.

• Also, remember that your voice has to be your ally. Since you are convinced of what you want to say, don’t be afraid to show it. Speak loudly, do not rush, take breaks to breath and articulate the words as well as you can. Show no hesitation and, although it’s an oral presentation, don’t forget to use the punctuation marks. Remember that a structured speech is always easier to follow and tips using rhetorical questions, helps involving the audience into your presentation.

• Another important technique, when it comes to keeping your audience interested and focused, is establishing eye-contact. Do not stare at only one or two people in the presentation room, only because they are your bosses or the special guests, but try rendering your attention to all the persons in the room, because, since they took the time to come and listen to you, you should consider all of them important. Also, the movement of your eyes and eyebrows can mark a point of extreme importance in you speech. Observe that when you are convinced of something your eyes get larger and your eyebrows rise, but when you’re talking about something you are not convinced of or you don’t know much about, your eyes get smaller and your forehead wrinkles. Therefore, do not forget to use your eyes during your presentation.

• Also mind your body position. When you want to convince and attract your audience, slightly bend forward. Also, be careful what you do with your hands – you wouldn’t want to realize your scratching your nose while you’re talking about an important issue.

• Keep in mind that the words you are using are the means you’re employing in order for your message to get to your audience. Adapt the vocabulary of your speech to the persons listening to you. Don’t use specialized terms for non-specialists, but try to make your message easy to follow.

Meditating on the tips above mentioned will help you improve the manner in which you make your opinions known to others. So, take a deep breath, keep your head up and give the speech!

Methods of Taoist Meditation.

The Taoist meditation practices are less abstract than the other similar methods evolved in India (the Hindu and Buddhist systems). One of the main focuses of Taoist meditation relates to the circulation of internal energy (called deh-chee). It can be used to promote a healthy life style and extend life expectancy, by improving spiritual relationships with the world. Practical aspects of Taoist meditation may relate to interests and activities such as self-knowledge, concentration, spiritual healing.

There are two elements related to meditation: the “jing”, which means calmness, stillness, and the “ding”, which stands fro concentration and focus. Calmness is directed towards cutting off external factors of disturbance and allowing you to direct your attention towards your inner self. By focusing on the breathing and allowing your mind to concentrate you should achieve a state called “one-pointed awareness”. This state allows you to achieve a deep concentration, enabling you to get a better understanding of any elements that you are focusing on. There are none, or very limited, distractions during this heightened awareness state. This technique may be used efficiently to find solutions to problems presented by the exterior world and also prepares you to deal with these difficulties.

The first steps of practicing Taoist meditation are often difficult as your mind is not willing to cooperate totally in the process. It is hard to tap into the high potential of the subconscious mind. Out thoughts tend to fly away, increasing confusion when we need clarity the most, bringing mental chaos when order is sought.

There are six ways that enable you to recover your inner concentration and increase your ability to focus precisely on what you dictate your mind to, not vice versa.

1. Focus on the flow of energy through your body. You can do this by paying special attention to your breathing, to the air going in and out of your lungs.

2. Take this a step further and focus on the contractions of the abdominal area as you breath in and out.

3. Imagine a candle, with your eyes closed. Shift your focus on the center of the flame but don’t loose sight of the edges. At this stage it is vital to eliminate or ignore all outside interferences.

4. Practice mantra, the 'sacred syllables' which lead to a harmony of the mind and relaxation of the body. The three most effective syllables are 'om', which brings equilibrium to your body, 'ah', which balances your vital energy, and 'hum', which takes the spirit into a heightened state of awareness and focus. Chanting of the syllables should be done in a deep, low-pitched tone and a long exhale of the air.

5. Allow your breathing to create a rhythmic “drum beat” which will increase your energy and help you ignore outside interferences.

6. Focus on a symbol that is very important to you. This can be a person you love, a deity or a place or notion. When you feel relaxed and focused switch back to the meditation.

Stop Putting On Weight During Holidays.

Holidays are a time of excess and abundance and these aspects also relate to food. Late December and early January are probably the most dangerous periods of time for your body weight. This is when a lot of celebrating takes place and there is food everywhere you turn your eyes. Fighting temptation after temptation each day for a few good weeks can be a tiring process, which materializes in two distinct stages.

The first stage, the most common one, is that of letting go. You stop caring about extra weight and start enjoying the season. If there’s food on the table you eat it, as there is no point in starving or feeling miserable, especially during times of celebration. Of course, this approach does offer a good short-term solution: you are happy and full at the same time. On the other hand, though, there is that annoying “little” detail of putting on weight. For each hour you spent celebrating and eating without control you’ll probably have to work ten times more to take that excess weight off. It is not a good deal and most of us are well aware of that, but still we keep on doing it.

The second stage is different – you resist temptation, fight it, ignore it, minimize it. You are successful in the end, and there is little or no extra weight, but your spirit is almost broken, not because of lack of self-esteem but because the fight depleted all your mental energy. This situation is as bad as the one presented before, but there are a few tricks that you can use to overcome both of the above-mentioned obstacles.

Moderation should be the word of the season. Take part in every fun activity, but do it wisely. Don’t let your stomach and your subconscious mind work against you. It is time to take control over things and never even think about over eating and then finding an excuse like “there was nothing I could do”. Try to eat little portions several times a day. If there is a big dinner enjoy it! But don’t transform this into a habit of having five courses for dinner each day.

Try to find some time to do a little work out. Set your mind on working out at least 15 minutes a day, no matter which day it is. When you do begin your workouts session hide all the clocks and watches in the room – you will probably go beyond the 15-minute limit. Excuses like “I’ll start working out seriously after the New Year” can only lead to negative results, as you are tricking yourself. Set a goal now and set it low. If you want to do push ups, for example, start by doing 5 at a time and then taking a break. After a while you will develop more stamina and strength and five push ups should be easy to do. When this happens raise the number – to seven maybe. Gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise or the time spent doing it – this is the best way to convince your body to adapt and burn more and more fat to replenish the used energy.

The whole idea of a celebration is to be with the people you care about. Food is an addition to the concept of holidays, so don’t let it grow beyond its limits. Place more accent on socializing then on eating and a natural state of well being will develop. If you use common sense and the basic principles and ideas mentioned above you will spend some wonderful holidays without working during the whole spring to take off extra weight.

Stay focused on your diet!

Who hasn’t been on a diet before? Probably, at a certain point in time all of us have. Surprisingly, only some of us got what we expected after weeks or months of severe diet. The question is why does it not work for everybody? What does it take to get the right results? Does it really depend on us or is it just our body the one who decides if it’s time to loose weight?

The answer to all the questions is related to how determined we are to reach the goal. In order to find out if it is worthy or not starting another diet in a particular moment of your life, specialists advise you to test yourself first. By testing they refer to both going to the doctor, in order to establish how strict a diet your body can endure, and to analyzing a few things about yourself. Also, doctors can help you identify possible health problems that prevent you from loosing weight, so do no hesitate to get informed.

Think about how many diets you kept so far and try to remember why they failed in helping you loose the extra kilos. It is very possible to discover that there where some aspects that you overlooked. You probably discovered that you were so concentrated to eat only the healthy stuff, that you started eating it too often and in huge quantities. You might as well recall that after long days of keeping the diet, one night you just couldn’t help eating a gallon of vanilla ice-cream. Then think why do you believe this time your decision to loose weight is different from the previous one. If your answer is not 100% convincing, forget about going on a diet!

Doctors believe that our bodies are more likely to loose weight in certain periods of our life, while during other periods we should spare ourselves from cutting down food. Therefore, it is important to know exactly when to start the new diet and you should never proceed with it before an exam session, during pregnancy, during a very stressful period at work, because you’ll never obtain what you wanted in the first place and, even worse than that, you might get sick.

Even if you are sure you find yourself in a moment in life when you are ready to start the diet, don’t forget to make a plan. Include, first of all, a list of goals – how many kilos you plan to get rid of during the next weeks? Also, put down as many healthy and low calories products as you remember (include fruits, vegetables, juices, milk and also cooked food) – it will be of great use, after a week you started the diet, and you have a hard time figuring out what else to eat. Furthermore, organize your time, so that you are able to go the gym at least two or three times a week. It will be of tremendous help, because you’ll get inspired by the people there, which will help you stay on the diet, when you’re ready to quit.

A last advice for you: be determined! You know a few kilos less will make a difference. It will help you improve yourself in your own eyes and in the eyes of the others! Repeat this message or post it somewhere you can see it all the time and trust yourself. If read this article, you are at least 10% more informed regarding what you have to expect from yourself and you are also 10% more strong.

First step accomplished. Congratulations! Now stay focused on the diet!

My weapon – my intuition!

You heard about it everywhere: the prince in the fairy tales mentions it, the characters in your favorite book, the Greek legends bring it up etc. All these situations make you wonder whether intuition is something writers have invented. Could it exist beyond the borders of human imagination? Or, in other words, does intuition exist in real life?

Strangely or not, intuition is a characteristic associated mainly with women. That happens probably because women are considered to be more sensitive and open minded. Modern studies, regarding the typology of the personalities, reveal that about a quarter of all women know how and frequently use this mental capacity called intuition.

If you still have doubts whether intuition truly exists in real life, think about your own experience. Remember how, all of a sudden a great idea occurred to you in the most unexpected moment, or you discovered, spontaneously, the answer to a question that had been bothered you for quite a while. It also happened to you to run into somebody you know and to guess exactly what the person was about to say; or, also remember that sometimes you think about someone and after a few minutes, that person rings you up. All these examples, which do not seem to follow any logical path, can be explained by using the term intuition.

However, we cannot always fallow what our visions or intuitions tell us, because we can’t always afford to be spontaneous and take the risk. Who hasn’t been wrong when following his or her intuition? Sometimes, it turns out exactly the opposite from what we expected it to happen and we discover that in fact, out intuition, was nothing but a fear, a thought that turned out not to be real. We feel very embarrassed at the moment and we don’t dare to trust our instincts anymore, which is precisely something that we should not do. Despite the occasions when you were wrong, you should never totally ignore your intuition, especially if you have a strong feeling about something or somebody.

But, what is intuition more exactly? How would specialists describe it? By using our intuition we can say that we let, in a way or another, our mind or soul transmit to the eye those things that cannot be correctly distinguished. Instinct or intuition requires, in the first place, an open mind, capable to receive and transform information. It is also true that intuition helps us perceive meanings beyond logic, read between the lines etc.

However, it is important to determine whether intuition has any effects on our everyday lives? Persons who use intuition frequently tend to analyze the possibilities and the effects certain actions might have, and they end up with a multitude of options, out of which they chose the most favorable one.

There are two types of intuition: the one based on reason, typical for the persons who try to dominate the capacity of understanding, controlling and predicting the reality; and the intuition based on affection, representative for the persons recognized by the others as energy sources, as they influence in a positive manner all the people around them.

Let’s not forget that intuition is, indeed, a real and positive characteristic, but nevertheless it must be combined with judgment and reason.

Look thinner than you really are.

You’re in the middle of a diet, but you’re anxious to look thinner or you simply have a more robust body and there is nothing you can do about it. Don’t worry; there are little tips that work even in your case! Here are some of them:

• In what concerns women, things can be worked out more easily: make-up can be an ally and a special tool to make some changes in your favor. It is essential to get a tan! Stay in the sun or go to a beauty saloon, use a tanning lotion or whatever it takes to color your skin. If you use a tanning lotion insist more under the cheeks, as the colored areas always look deeper and this will make your face look thinner than it really is. Use a lot of eye make up in order to make your eyes bigger, because the bigger your eyes look, the smaller your face seems. Also, give special attention to your eyebrows for the same reasons as the ones mentioned above. You can even make up your legs: lay a vertical line of oil on the middle part of your legs, so that it makes your bone shine. You’ll discover that you’re legs, due to the extra shine, never looked longer!

• This trick goes well both for men and women. It has to do with the manner in which we arrange our hair. The more volume we give to our hair, the better. Your face will look smaller than it really is and it will give you a certain charm, especially if you don’t forget to play with it, from time to time.

• The clothes you’re wearing can indeed make a difference! Don’t use clothes that are too colored, they will only attract more eyes on the areas that you plan to hide. Chose black or dark blue clothes, as they will make you look up to 5 kilos thinner. In what concerns the right length for the skirt, women who intend to look a lit thinner than they really are should stick to the skirts that go up to the knees. Shorter ones show how fat their legs are and longer one show tick ankles. Both men and women should wear clothes with vertical stripes (they go for pants, skirts, shirts, dresses etc.). Use blouses and shirts with buttons, because they create a vertical line. The same effect is produced by long zippers. Loose the pockets or avoid filling them up. They will only make those areas look bigger than they are. Both men and women wear jeans from time to time, so make sure you have in your wardrobe at least two pairs of jeans that do not disadvantage you.

• Mind the position of your body. A correct position can make you up to three centimeters taller than you are.

• Reduce the quantity of alcohol that you consume. It will not only improve your health, but also help you get rid of one two pounds, in no time.

Keep in mind these tricks and use your imagination to discover more!

Learn to feel good about yourself.

It happened to you more than once to meet a person and before getting to actually know the person, to realize that you simply couldn’t get along well with him or her, no matter how hard you tried. There are a lot of ancient believes, which say that people we simply can’t stand, reflect, in fact, a bad or weak point of our own personality, which we totally dislike. In other words, if you dislike about yourself the fact that you are afraid to speak in public and you are making efforts to change that, you will probably despise people who have the same problem that you do. Nevertheless, once you solve your problem, your feelings towards that person, might turn into pity and you might find yourself trying to help that person.

Always remember that, in order to feel good about yourself, you have to create and maintain a perfect harmony between your inner and outer world, meaning between your soul and your body, between your thoughts and actions, between yourself alone and yourself in the company of others.

We all agree that our inner world, our souls, have a great impact on also on the action we perform in the outside world, which is why specialists strongly advise you to meditate on how to achieve harmony within yourself. Here are also some things to keep in mind:

• Try to forgive more, because nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes. Accept the errors that people around you commit, but don’t forget about your own mistakes. Remember that it takes a very strong person to have the power to admit having done something condemnable and even if, at the beginning, the others might blame you, be sure that, after a while, they will appreciate your honesty.

• Get more attached to the persons around you and say a strong no to the isolation. Scientists confirm that human beings are more happy and feel more accomplished with themselves when living in society, surrounded by other people. Thus, you shouldn’t be afraid to make more friends. If you are wondering how you can do that, we recommend you start by listening more to other people’s problems, stop being egocentric and offer your help, whenever you’re given the opportunity. The feeling of being useful to the others, will result into a feeling of quiet and peacefulness with your own person.

• Although everyday life gives you plenty of reasons to be angry and affected by stress, keep in mind that defeating these feelings will make stronger and thinking in a positive manner, by trying to discover the good aspects in any less desirable situation, will get you through problems.

• As the human being should be, as we stated before, a perfect harmony between our souls and our bodies, don’t forget to take care of you physical appearance, as well. If you are not satisfied with the way you look, do not hesitate to do something about it. If your problem cannot be solved by any possible means, then you must start to love yourself exactly as you are. As soon as you do that, by finding the peacefulness and the joy of being alive, you’ll discover the same kind of feelings also in the eyes of the ones surrounding you.

The last advice specialists give you is to never be afraid to ask for help or advice, because by doing that you do something for yourself, you let the others teach you how to improve your own person, which will always result in making you feel accomplished.

Integrate in the new team!

When you change jobs keep in mind the first days are all you get to make your new colleagues like you. This article will teach you some things about how to act during your first days at work and please be convinced they are indeed crucial.

Accommodation period takes at least three months, during which people won’t judge you according to your professional achievements, but to your image. Try to respect the dress up policy that the company you work for promotes, but do it in such a way that makes you look good – this will give you more confidence in yourself.

Despite all the stress and the worry that you deal with, your attitude must be relaxed, must communicate self trust. In what concerns the dialogs with your colleagues, don’t be shy, let them know things about you, but do not tell everything – save a little mystery. However, during the period of accommodation, never talk about your previous job in a bad manner; don’t say how efficient or less efficient working there really was etc. Remember that you are not working there anymore and all your comparisons are annoying. Also, hold yourself from giving advice or from making observations – the new people at the office can’t enjoy this privilege.

Another important issue: don’t complain – at least, not from the very beginning. The coffee is too strong, your desk is not well positioned, you have too many duties and the list can go on – imagine your own opinion about somebody acting like this from the first days of work.

The ideal thing during the first day would be for your boss to present you to other members of the office. In case he doesn’t have the time to do it, don’t isolate yourself. Go and introduce yourself to the others, tell them you’re member of the team etc. Try to learn everybody’s name as soon as possible. They will all feel more important, if you do that and they will like you more.

Once you started work, open your eyes widely and listen to everything that is going on around you. Take advantage especially of the lunch and coffee breaks. During those moments people are more relaxed and they speak openly. This way you can find out the unwritten rules of the company, who owns the power, what kind of conflicts and complaints there are in your department etc.

No matter what, try no to be late during your first days at work; prepare yourself for the meetings, by trying to anticipate what problems will be discussed etc.; respect the deadlines; don’t talk about your personal problems or about your sexual life; think positive, smile a lot and show everybody you look forward to starting work; don’t make promises unless you are sure you can respect them; work fast and well; don’t talk to your colleagues about the salary you negotiated or about your promotion intentions.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the emotions you have to go through, don’t forget your main purpose: to do the job for which you’ve been selected as well as possible.

Improving Health Through Meditation.

There are several health conditions that can benefit from the positive aspects of meditation. You can use meditation to improve several aspects of your life, such as: eliminating drug addition, prolonging your life expectancy and improving the condition of several illnesses.

Prolonging life expectancy is scientifically proven by two main factors: lowering the body’s temperature and restricting the calorie intake. Meditation can help you achieve the first condition, as a state of heightened mental awareness enables you to slow down your body processes and achieve a positive state of relaxation.

Pain management also benefits from the healing power of meditation. Stress induced anxiety increases perception of pain and, in turn, more pain triggers increased anxiety. Employing mediation techniques that teach the patient how to better resist the negative effects of physical pain through mental abilities can interrupt this vicious circle. Improving your relaxation helps diminish pain, but it doesn’t eliminate it, so use this technique combined with modern treatments.

People often adopt meditation in order to reduce stress factors. It is, indeed, a efficient solution to improving your capacity to resist the negative effects of outside pressures. The source of these pressures may come from various aspects of life, such as family, work, illness. Scientific research has shown that several hormones and other biochemical compounds found in our blood that are good indicators of stress do decrease during meditation. Stress factors often manifest themselves as muscular tensions and psychological problems such as depression and anxiety, so by using meditation techniques you should be able to minimize their effects on your mind and body.

Reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks is also one of the benefits of meditation. You can lower you blood pressure as a result of meditation practices, thus lowering the chances of heart problems. Infertility is another issue that may be addressed by meditation practices. There are several psychological additions to infertility, such as depression and low self-esteem, and a reduction of these negative factors becomes more likely through meditation. Chances of pregnancy increase when the patients become more relaxed and in tune with their inner selves. Fewer respiratory crises are observed with patients suffering from chronic breathing illnesses, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Breathing techniques combined with effective meditation improve psychological and physiological responses.

Other health problems related to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) find solutions in meditation practices. You can reduce physical tensions and pain, such as headaches. Meditating can offer you a break from the every day problems, offering you a chance to recover and face outside difficulties with ease. Increased stress can worsen symptoms of PMS, aggravating muscle aches and fatigue. A general improvement of your body’s response to stressful factors will lessen PMS’s negative effects, relaxing your mind and body.

Meditation is a powerful adjuvant in all the above-mentioned conditions. Of course, it is not a cure for some of them and medical treatment should always be considered first. Meditation helps support medical treatments by helping you relax and accept more positive aspects of your life, while diminishing the negative effects of distressful factors and illnesses.

Improve your image at work.

The image we have at the place we work or, in other words, what people we work with think about us, is always important for each and every one of us. It sometimes happens that you’re very close to a promotion and you’re wondering how to prove that you’re better than your hard-working colleague; or maybe you realized you would like to get along better with the persons you meet at work everyday. In any of these cases, as well as in others, an improvement of your image can only have positive results.

There are many ways in which you can modify or adapt your image to your true needs and here are some of them:

1. Tips regarding the relation with your colleagues.

• Getting along well with the people around you is sometimes a question of diplomacy. Take some time and analyze each and single one of them, established their needs and try to be helpful – even though they would be suspicious at the beginning, after a while you are sure to obtain the desired result. After all, who wouldn’t want to have a partner at work, offering to help him finish the project earlier? This way, you will not only make proof that you are a wonderful team worker, but you also make sure you have somebody to turn to, when you need to leave early and finish your at the same time.

• Pay attention to what your colleagues have to say. Although the meeting might be just as boring as usual, the fact that you express an opinion about what another person is presenting, will sure put your personality in a good light. Don’t hesitate to congratulate your workmates every time they accomplish something, no matter how insignificant it might be. This way, they will feel you approve and admire them and they will always come to you for advice. Also, don’t forget how interested we all are about our physical appearance! Thus, be smart enough not to miss any chance to compliment a colleague when he or she got a new hair cut, a new outfit or simply looks good that day. Remember how good, a compliment like that, makes you feel.

• Whenever it is not impossible or very difficult, try to do little things for your workmates. For example, when you go out to buy yourself coffee or lunch, ask the others if they need anything. Imagine how good it would made you feel if somebody offered you a cup of coffee, when you’re too caught with your work at the office.

2. Reorganize your office.

• Design the room you’re working in, so that it looks more like a welcoming space, rather than a traditional office. Mind things like the color of the walls, the type and color of furniture etc. Also, remember how nice it is to remark living things in other people’s offices. What about placing some nice plants or an aquarium in the room you spend eight hours daily? On one hand it will point out that you indeed like your job, since you invest time and energy to decorate your office, and it will make the others pay you more visits. However, do not exaggerate by adding a bed and shower in your office!

Depending on the environment we work in, it is sure that, sooner or later, we will have to upgrade our image, so whenever you feel is necessary, don’t hesitate to do it!

Improve the relation with your parents.

It is true that they give us birth and they raise us, but after a while, who hasn’t gone through a period when they felt their parents kept messing up things? Even though your thirty you mom still calls to see what you’ve eaten, to tell you it’s cold outside and you should put an extra coat or to remind you to close all the windows before going on vacation.

Little by little, all the extra care they show towards us gets to annoy us tremendously. At the beginning, we try to keep it to ourselves, so that we don’t bother anybody, then, we try to avoid visits and telephone calls, just to make sure we won’t start a scandal. Nevertheless, the more we try to stay away from any uncomfortable talks, the pushier our parents get.

The question arising is how to find equilibrium? How to escape the daily phone calls, which provide you with unnecessary advice, without making your parents feel bad, rejected or misunderstood.

Depending, obviously, on the parents, there are a few strategies that you can try. For example, if you know your mother is going to call you at 8 am sharp, in order to tell you what the weather is like outside and what you should wear that day, ring her up five minutes earlier than she would normally call. Act natural, like you didn’t plan in detail the call. Ask her how she slept, how the dog is and inform her on the weather. Tell her you just watched the weather forecast ten minutes ago and she should definitely wear warm clothes, in case she goes shopping. First, she’ll have the impression she forgot to call at the regular hour and inform you about the weather, but then she will start thinking that you follow her advice and you check the forecast before leaving for work.

We always have to remember that, although we grew up, our parents keep on seeing in us children in need to receive help and advice. That is why, they constantly try to be present in our lives and protect us, in the way they consider best.

But, in spite of all the good intentions, an over caring parent can be a problem to anybody. So what do we do when the only hobby our parents have, is to go on taking care of the poor 30 years old child, meaning your own person? If no method, like proving we are capable of handling things by our own, works, than you definitely have to start finding another hobby for your parents. It might take a while, but you can’t give up! Keep our mind open and think about options like: getting them another pet; subscribe them to dancing club which organizes daily meetings – this way they’ll be busy, healthy and also tired and they might give you a break; call their friends and invite them to pay them visits more often etc.

You’ll see that reaching the purpose is much easier than you expect, but be sure that, after a while, you will accept those phone calls, so don’t make the mistake to totally break the relations with your parents!

How to make a good impression at a job interview.

You finally found the job of your dreams; you already sent the resume and, to your great satisfaction, they called you for the interview. You are conscious about the fact that you’ll have to compete with people at least as good as you are, so you want to take precautions and train or prepare for the interview. Here is list the most frequently asked questions during the hiring interviews:

• Talk to us about yourself. – You should make a short and relevant characterization of your own person, but talk about you for no more than 2-3 minutes. Create your image according to the job requirements: some positions require aggressiveness, ambition, while others request control, diplomacy.

• Why did you choose our company? To such a question you should answer by talking about the company’s prestige and the manner in which you will be useful to accomplishing its objectives.

• Give us a good reason to hire you instead of another candidate. This is a good moment to come up with a good publicity about yourself. Underline the new things you can bring into the company, which no one can. Show off: point out your qualities, your experience, your studies etc.

• What attracts you the most about this position and which is the less attractive thing about it? To such a question always present at least three positive aspects, but only one negative.

• What do you expect from this job? You should answer that this position offers you a great opportunity to use your experience and it helps you build the career you always wanted.

• What does an ideal working environment mean to you? Describe a professional environment, where there is no discrimination and the employees are treated correctly.

• Why do you give up your present job? If you got fired, say something about the restructure policy of the company you work for. If it’s not the case, state that it’s time for you to move forward.

• For how long do you want to work for us? Do not make the mistake to tell them that you are in search of a temporary position, until you find something better. Say that you are interested in working in this company for as long as the relation is productive on both sides.

• How would you evaluate the company you worked for? How would you characterize your former boss? You should under no circumstances say anything incriminating about them. Point all the experience you achieved y working there and put your previous boss under a good light.

• Why haven’t you found work by now? Answer that you did find several opportunities, but none of them corresponded to your expectations. Say that a job is not hard to find, but finding the ideal job it’s a real challenge.

• Can you handle deadlines and stress? Present a situation where you dealt both with deadlines and stress and point out how well you managed the situation.
Meditate a bit more on questions similar to the ones above, dress smart, be confident and you’re ready for the interview! Good luck!

Harness the Power of Breathing.

Many cultures see breath as the connection with the soul. Every one of us may be considered an expert in breathing – after all, we are doing it every day! However, this is a wrong assumption and many people never even see the hidden potential breathing incorporates.

The importance of breathing is obvious and we depend on it to sustain our lives. As human beings we have to eliminate the things that our body is no longer using, and breathing takes care of 70% of this process. Other than eliminating the air from your lungs, after it has been depleted of oxygen, breathing also takes out toxins from your body. You can also eliminate non-chemical items such as emotions or stress. By harnessing the immense power of breathing you can create a better connection with your inners self, preparing to efficiently combat outside stress factors.

By becoming more aware of your breathing you will be able to reduce any outside negative elements. Focus your attention on your breath and direct your mind to think only about it. The rhythmical sensation your breath produces will help your mind, and your body, relax and slow down. Thinking is responsible for most of the tensions and upsets we face, and this little exercise takes thinking into a harmonious and peaceful location.

Many of our thoughts are negative in nature. We often use or think about words like “won’t”, “can’t”, “shouldn’t”. Their negative connotations reflect on the way we feel, increasing nervousness and stress. Your brain processes millions of thoughts on a daily basis and focusing it on your breath gives it a much-deserved break. Temporarily lowering your mind’s activity gives you extra peace and helps relax both your brain and your body.

Try to see your breathing education similar to practicing a sport. In order to reach a goal you will need to improve certain skills. You can’t just be an Olympic athlete – you have to become one! This can be done by building up your strengths and stamina, as well as improving your techniques. Improving your breathing works exactly the same way. Right now you are at a low level, as you didn’t do any additional exercises to improve your breathing. Your subconscious mind usually takes care of this process, leaving your conscious mind to deal with other things. However, this is the time to take things into your own hands, and consciously control your breathing for the duration of the exercises.

At first, try to analyze yourself every time you inhale and exhale. Do this until your mind gets used to the rhythmic tone of breaths and let your brain preoccupy itself only with your breathing. It might be hard at first, as you will get distracted by sounds or movements around you. In time, however, you will manage to ignore outside interference and sustain a prolonged period of clear focus. Regularly practicing with your breathing and you will soon begin to see some of the positive effects of better understanding and controlling one of the vital elements that keep us alive.

Gain back your time and eliminate stress.

Work, meetings, deadlines, appointments, telephone calls, shopping, taking the dogs out etc. – all these are things most people have to accomplish daily. Most of the times, on the waiting list there are other things like: family, friends and even ourselves. Sometimes we discover too late that the points mentioned on the waiting lists are, in fact, the most important and, unfortunately, sometimes, we don’t realize this at all, so find ourselves wondering for what reason we are so unhappy.

There are different books and seminars that help us find out what the best option for managing our time is. All these sources are against enemies and they intend to offer you the best solutions to eliminate it for good, or at least to reduce it drastically.

All this people know that time is more than money – time means, first of all, life and, more than that, it means our lives. That is way we have the obligation not to surrender in stressful situations and to go fighting for the joy of living. Let’s not forget also that deficient management of time can produce tremendous health problems, both at the physical and mental level.

But there is good news! Time can be domesticated – we can make it, in certain manner, obey us. First step in implementing this process is to identify the elements that robe your time. Normally, they are divided into two groups:

• The external factors (unexpected phone calls, very long phone conversations, unplanned visits, the policy of open doors, not sufficiently trained personnel, frequent meetings, interruptions caused by colleagues, friends and family etc.)

• The internal factors – related strictly to our own persons (priorities and objectives that change, the lack of a daily working plan, lack of self imposed deadlines, the tendency to take care of too many things at the same time, disorder, lateness in resolving the conflicts, incapacity of saying no, lack of decision, tiredness).

By reading the above enumeration, you probably pictured recalled all the similar situations that you went through. Now, all you have to do is to find a way to defeat and eliminate them, so that you can be the master of your own time again. Here are three possible ways in which you can do that:

• Get used to write everything down. It is useful, especially if you have a bad memory. Otherwise you might fail to remember to go to important meetings, to make important phone calls, to answer messages you promised you would answer. You can also write down great ideas and inspirations that occur to you in the most unexpected moments.

• Make a list of priorities. It takes you very little time to draw it and you can even do it while you’re having your morning coffee. Write down, the things you need to do that day, in the order of their importance and urgency.

• Learn to say no. One big mistake that a lot of us make is that we put other people’s problems in front of ours. Nevertheless, by helping them in a bad moment for us, we give rise to frustration, stress and we find ourselves unable to respect previous engagements.

All these advices are also present in Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber’s book New art of time against stress and they invite us to meditate that more than a weapon against stress, time management is also a philosophy of life.

Explore Your Past – How to Learn From Memories.

Who you are today, your personality and your values, depends on the past events that shaped you. You can always find connections between a present thought or feeling and a past event, no matter how far away it might seem. Explanations for present events can be found by going through some memories, and this practice shows you how to do that. By trying this you will be able to reinterpret yourself, by learning not to judge your actions but to accept and understand them.

Begin by finding a comfortable position, in a chair or armchair. Have a piece of paper or notebook and a pen ready and put them besides you. Try to relax your body and your mind and breath rhythmically through your nose. When you have achieved a state of increased self-awareness go back in time and think of an unpleasant memory that has marked your entire life. You don’t have to find something dramatic – in childhood, for example, even the most insignificant looking remark may have a huge impact on your personality. Let’s say that, as a child, you broke a crystal vase that your mother held dear. She might have said: “You can’t do anything right!”. Of course, that was just an anger driven reaction on her part that disappeared after a short while but you, as a child, were deeply affected by it.

When you have selected your past event try to briefly write it down and finish with a phrase that summarizes your experience (e.g. “You can’t do anything right!”). Make sure your breathing is still rhythmical and relaxed and then think about a minimum of three things that you can learn from that past experience. Do not get stuck on the final phrase, but try to analyze your action in a non-judgmental manner. The main idea is to identify and assimilate the things that you could have improved. Don’t quickly dismiss your past problem by saying “it was a child’s mistake”. The goal here is to find out how any mistake can teach you to become better, instead of lowering your self-esteem and confidence.

When you have found a few positive remarks about the past experience try to write them down. Don’t force your mind to come up with the ideas; instead, try to let everything flow naturally. After you’re done writing make sure to read the statements a couple of times and remember their essence. Put the paper aside and get back to connecting with your breathing. Take a minute or two to focus solely on your breathing and then recall the positive ideas you jotted down on the piece of paper. As an example, in the case of the broken vase, you could write: “I have to concentrate more on my actions”. Repeat that thought in your mind and make sure it represents you completely. Do the same with all the other positive ideas you cam up with. Believing in them and repeating their essence enables you to make them part of who you are.

This exercise is especially useful when you are aware that you are about to go through a similar experience. You may not be in danger of breaking another vase, but you might be in the situation where something a friend holds dear will be in your hands, in your responsibility. If you feel stressed and fearful about that situation make sure you recall the positive aspects from your exercise. Repeat them in your mind before the event and your self-confidence will receive a well-deserved boost, allowing you to do your job free from any negative roots to the past.

A Few Steps For Fighting Depression.

One of the most destructive states for your mind and body is strongly represented by depression. It is a phenomenon that affects millions of people around the world, no matter what culture they belong to. The triggering elements of depression are infinite and they vary from case to case. Outside and inner factors often attack our mind and body together, making depression a profoundly negative aspect of our lives. Let’s have a look at some great tips to conquer the negative mood and get the most joy out of your daily routine.

1. Go outside.

A nice spring day, for example, can cheer even the saddest person. But staying out in the sun is beneficial for more than just poetic reasons. Sunlight has an important role in many chemical processes taking place in our body. Lack of sunshine triggers the release of melatonin, a hormone that gives a feeling of lethargy and tiredness. This hormone is only produced in the dark – this is why wintertime also brings more depression, as the sun is hidden and the nights are very long. All year round cloudy weather may have the same negative effects. If you live in such an area try to “get away” a few times a year and go to someplace where you can enjoy the sun. Finding reasons to go outside is easy: practice a sport, go fishing, try hiking, do some gardening.

2. Get involved.

An active life leaves very little room for depression. You tend to let negative feelings dominate your mood when you reach a point of constant and repetitive analysis of your problems. Involving yourself in several inspiring activities will greatly reduce the times when you feel sorry for yourself.

Maybe you are depressed because you failed to reach an important milestone in your journey towards a goal. Don’t get discouraged. Try to pursue that goal right away or, if it is completely compromised, find a different ideal to fight for.

3. Allow some time for relaxation.

Have some fun and relax your mind and your body. When negative thoughts start circling around you shift your focus to a pleasant element. It can be a person, a location, something around you or even a distant memory. Clear your head, by using this technique, of all the negative feelings and all your worries.

4. Balance your diet and take care of your fitness.

Try to lower the use of alcohol or caffeine from your diet. After the momentary boost is gone you will only feel worse and get addicted to wanting even more. Some good physical exercise will never do any harm - so try it. The fitter you are the more self-esteem you’ll experience and this will eventually lead to your happiness.

5. Socialize.

No matter how difficult it might seem to get out of the house and smile in the company of others, this is probably the most effective way of getting over depression. Socializing is essential for anyone of us and you should consider it a fun activity, not an obligation. Select some friends that have always made you feel better and reconnect with them.

Dare – even in your shy way!

If you are reading this article you probably are one of those persons who turn red up to their ears, loose their breath, remain speechless, have trembling knees etc under certain circumstances? I bet you think it is one of the worse things that can happen to a person. Guess what? Specialists disagree with you!

Let’s talk about shy persons for a minute. They are those people who go to the supermarket and are afraid even to talk with the sales person. They turn red before saying the first words and when they do they never say it load enough, so they have to repeat it. No matter how hard they try, it goes worse every time. The more they strive not to blush, the redder they become.

What about work? – You will probably ask. Well, indeed, shy people have to work as well. But they say shy persons never get bored, as they are always trying to observe the others and improve themselves. That is why it is widely accepted that timid persons know a lot of things about human character in general, although they normally don’t dare to get in contact with many persons. In spite of the fact that during teen age these persons had usually no social life, most of them grew up as great human resources manages or psychologists, precisely because being left outside the group, they could analyze the others better. Also they tend to choose careers that imply a lot of PR work, just because they need to prove themselves they can do it.

But there’s also another great thing about introverted people – they are, just like us all, curious and, since they normally have nobody to ask, they start reading books or research on the internet. How many good-looking, successful and extroverted people do you think still read nowadays? As a result, shy persons have all the opportunities in the world to get good positions, in almost any field. They are hard working, they can keep their mouth shut and they can be loyal.

Furthermore, timid persons have started to rejoice such good a fame lately that we, the daring should get some lessons. Did you know that they actually have more contact with the public than the rest of us normally do? That happens because shy people give others a feeling of serenity – they don’t seem capable of talking over somebody else’s private issues.

You would never guess, but they say very high hills were actually designed for shy women. They need to prove they can do it, and by it I mean absolutely anything. These kinds of persons are fighters, so if, by any chance, you are member of this group don’t be embarrassed! Your group mates are among the most motivated persons, since they have a well-established purpose they want to reach. For the rest of us, I would say that being a little shy, from time to time, could bring out some nice results!

The key word to your success is dare, you’ll see the rest of it comes along!

Create A Realistic Plan For Success.

Every one of us wants to be successful, but we often rely on luck and chance to achieve our goals. The best example in this case is someone who wants to get rich but only has one alternative: playing the Lotto. Of course, there are chances of becoming rich over night, but how likely is it that this will actually happen? Creating a realistic plan in order to achieve the desired results is vital in any case, no matter how high or low your hopes are.

The safest way to do this is by taking successive steps and gradually increasing your chances of reaching your ideal. Try to think of a metaphor and compare your desires with a professional swimming competition. The first thing you need to do, in order to have chances of winning the race, is to make sure you are not afraid of the water. Before you even consider entering the race you have to eliminate your fears. They are the ones holding you back, but be careful, some of your fears might save you from getting hurt or failing.

Once you are convinced that your goal is worth fighting for, you have to start the hardest stage in you plan: preparation. You cannot expect to win a professional swimming race when you don’t even know how to swim. Start with the basics and never skip any steps out of desire of reaching your goal faster. The experience and knowledge you are skipping will probably come back and hurt you later on. Prepare by taking gradually increasing steps. Swim half a lap first, and then move on to a full lap. Your skills will progress each time and you will soon beat your own lap records every time you enter the swimming pool. It might take days, weeks or years to prepare for the “race”, depending on what your goals are. The main thing is to enter the race feeling confident in your own success and having all the skills that would allow you to win.

Taking steps one at a time and keeping your plan realistic gives you two important benefits. The order and precision of a plan brings confidence. You don’t feel like you are reengaging each new issue on a day-to-day basis. Organizing your strategy reduces the chances of making wrong moves or taking less efficient decisions. Secondly, having a sound plan has many psychological benefits and your subconscious mind worries less, giving you more energy to concentrate on what’s important. You are creating a pattern in your awareness that accepts success and integrates it in your plan. When both you conscious and your subconscious mind believe in your chances of reaching a goal you benefit from a power of concentration and focus that eliminate outside interference and let you follow the shortest path to success.

Even though chance may still play an important role in your quest to reach your ideal, having a realistic plan let’s you change the “unlikely” into “possible”.

Chinese techniques for your health and strength.

Chi Kung, Tai Chi or Tui Na massages are only few of the keys to self-trusting and to physical harmony. Using these techniques you can achieve many accomplishments without having to put yourself through great psychological or physical efforts, violent conflicts or aggression.

Be sure that, once you dominate the genuine laws of the universe, which you assimilate by the methods above, it will be impossible for someone to dominate you.

Chi Kung – the art of internal harmony

Chi Kung is a philosophical system at least 5000 old, which made it through the centuries and which became very popular at the beginning of this millennium. This art of the vital energy is the most advanced and complex method of improving health and longevity, by offering a feeling of harmony with yourself and with the surrounding world. The four main principles of this technique are: the mind, the eyes, the movement and the breathing.

The mind represents the intention, the eyes are considered the focusing of intention, the movement is the action of intention and the breathing is flood of intention. It obviously takes time and practice to understand profoundly their dynamics.

The benefits resulting from practicing Chi Kung can be divided into five categories:

• Cure of illnesses and improvement of the general health state
• Increase of vitality and development of your internal force
• Prolongation of youth
• Cultivation of the mind and intellectual capacities
• Spiritual progress

According to Chinese medicine, various diseases are the result of anger, sadness, joy, harmony and optimism deficit. All these factors, together with deficient nourishment, make Chiu – the vital energy – to diminish or to be present in only certain parts of your body. By practicing Chi Kung you can learn to be more conscious of what’s going on in your inner universe and to build yourself a defensive system against the disequilibrium, which affects your vital force.
The harmony of breathing and the agility obtained without efforts during the training sessions, confer a better concentration and a fast recovery from stress, tiredness, by inviting you to meditation.

Tai Chung Chuan �