Your Mind Change – C Things DifFerEnTly ™

At the age of 4, I was told that I was adopted. I was told in a way that a 4 year old would understand. “You were chosen” or “We chose you” were the words that I remembered being told to me.

I thought that my parents went into a supermarket or some other place like that and in the midst of rows of babies they wandered down the aisle and CHOSE ME.

I didn’t ask why they chose me over someone else or any other question for that matter. I just accepted it and life went on.

When I became a teenager, I had more questions about my life before being adopted but they didn’t seem to know the answers or remember much so I decided to search for myself.

Who was I? Who am I? Why am I the way I am?  There were so many questions.

With the blessing and support of my parents, I researched, investigated and travelled outside of myself and my province to find the answers to those questions that had captured my mind.

Only now do I realize that even though I thought I needed to go travelling all over the place to find the answers that I was searching for, I really just needed to do the complete opposite.

I needed to be still and go inward.

This realization came about a while back when negative circumstances were enveloping me and trying to take me to a place where I refused to go. Don’t you hate when that happens? I was playing a fierce game of tug of war and instead of pulling with all my might to try to conquer the negativity, I just let go of the rope and walked away from the battle.

I wasn’t getting the answers that I was looking for from the outside world so I decided to see what would happen if I stopped, took a breath and disconnected. I got rid of the many distractions that were allowing me to NOT search for the answers and just continue on with what I called the stupid circumstances of my present situation.

I decided to C Things DifFerEnTly™ so I disconnected my phone and cable, and locked my social media door. I then sat on the floor surrounded by piles of thoughts and my curiosity and chose to start meditating.

Going inward is the most important journey that I have taken so far.  It was and still is the best place ever to visit!

What have I found from my journey inward?  I have found an untouched time capsule with my name on it lying on the ocean floor just waiting for me to retrieve it. A waterproof note attached states that the contents residing inside belong to me but are best to be shared with others.

So, I guess it’s time to haul this huge capsule overflowing with my treasures up to the surface and unlock it for the world to see. I hope there’s also some of those gold foil covered chocolate coins intact because long journeys always make me hungry.

When prying open the capsule the word  PURPOSE  pops  out followed by inspire, educate and motivate others. That’s good because those, along with helping others achieve their individual results are the main reasons that my Personal Training clients choose to spend their money and time with me.

In return, they teach me patience and increase my knowledge and problem solving skills which then allows my creativity to come into play so that I can try new ways of doing things to help them .It really is a give and take relationship. Just as importantly they make me laugh and that is worth everything.

I hope that I can take my skills and transfer them onto the journey that I am now taking with you.   Your comments, ideas and feedback will let me know if I’m going in the right direction or if I have to take out the dreaded map.  I’m looking forward to travelling with you. Are you ready?walk

We are now stepping onto the road of YOUR MIND CHANGE where I hope I can help you to

C Things DifFerEnTly™  so that you can find your treasures along the way.

You Never Know Where The Road Will Take You…

or who you will meet on your path.

The hard part for some is actually getting on the road. I’m not afraid of the road; I play on the road!

Throughout my life I have always been surprised at where I have ended up. Not having a “life plan” from an early age helped me so much. As I wrote in an earlier post I had no idea what I was going to be when I grew up. In fact, my career now didn’t exist at the time so that wasn’t even a possibility. What I did know was that I would always be ok. That was a gift that I always treasured.

I have taken chances personally and professionally in my life because I wanted to see where they would lead me. That scares the hell out of some people, but not me. I have learned lessons from missed opportunities that I don’t want to repeat. Some of my experiences worked out and some didn’t but I never had regrets and it always made for a fun and unique trip. My trip!

Even as I write this, I know that there may be spelling or grammatical mistakes, incomplete thoughts or ideas that could be worked out a little more but …. I don’t care. My first draft is my end result and it is honest and authentically me.

The coolest place my road has taken me to lately is the project that I am working on at present. I have never thought about doing a project like this. It just popped into my head one day and I ran with it. That is how a lot of things come to me and I am a curious enough person that I usually take some time out to see where it leads me. This time I was led to writing a series of children’s books. No clue why??? I don’t have kids. In fact there are no kids in my family. I have never written a book and had no desire to before this. Luckily I do have a great imagination which has in the past, helped me to connect with kids. One day I just saw something that inspired me and I started writing. There is more to this story but that will be saved for the future book launch/tour.

The reason for this story is just to make people think. Are you doing what you dream of doing? Are you constantly saying No to things that you should say YES to and vice versa?

Put yourself out there, show off the gifts that are inside you. If you don’t know what those gifts are, meditate. It is a great way to turn off the world and re-acquaint yourself with your true self.

Since I began meditating a few years ago, I have become much more creative and solutions to problems come with a snap of my fingers. I see things very differently and things that were not even on my radar become very clear.

I hope this post helps anyone who feels stuck in life. Walk out your door,head down the road and spend some quiet, uninterrupted with yourself. You’ll be amazed at what life will tell you if you are wise enough to listen.

Shed Your Skin In A Mindful Way

As I have said before, I think that the human body is an absolutely brilliant mixture of art and science. Your mind may live in the past, present or future, but your body lives only in the present moment. It is constantly shedding its previous form without you even being aware of it. When it has finished with whatever it may have needed at a point in time, it gets rid of it immediately so that it can continue to grow and flourish and do its main job which is to get you through another day in your life. For instance, when you eat or drink anything, your body has a multitude of specialized systems to process what it needs and then rids itself of the unneeded waste.  It literally gets rid of shit.

Your mind could definitely learn something from the body. Sometimes it likes to hold onto things for days, months, years or an entire lifetime. If your body behaved that way, you would see the illnesses and diseases appear in a very short amount of time. Your mind is at its best when it is in the present moment. It is clear, focused and doing what it does best which is dealing with what is in front of you at this very moment. Unfortunately too many people prefer to live either in the future or in the past which are the worst places to be since both are really only in your imagination. Think about it, you really can only imagine the future. It hasn’t happened so all the dreams, plans, wishes, expectations or fantasies do not currently exist and may or may not ever come into existence. The same goes for worries. Worrying is just an imaginary thought process that you are spinning into things that will probably never come to fruition. Again, your imagination is at work and your imagination can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Don’t let tomorrow’s worries take away today’s peace.

The past on the other hand can keep you imprisoned in doubts, regrets, positive or negative memories that are no longer relevant or useful. All of which are again in the imagination. We have to use our imagination to bring back those memories because the events are no longer with us except through our minds. When we look back at something we usually remember it as something different; much better or worse than it actually was. Just ask 2 people who experienced the same event to tell you the story. You will get 2 different scenarios and memories.  Could haves, would haves, wish I hadn’ts, why did I do that’s, and remember whens. That is not you NOW and there is nothing you can do to change or re-live what has already happened. It will never be the exact same time. Your mind can keep you there in a make believe game of different endings but the show has already finished and everyone has gone home. All you can do from the past is remember through your imagination or hopefully bring any lessons into the present and pull them out in the future if need be.

Both are tricks of the mind. The body would never hold on to anything it can’t use now nor would it anticipate things that will probably never happen. Could you imagine if it did? You would be in a constant place of stress; racing heart, constant dilated pupils and quick and shallow breaths. You would not be able to function if the body behaved as stupidly as the mind’s ability. The trick is to try to get the mind and body on the same level or in balance. There are a few ways to do that with the most important being meditation. When you meditate the intention is for your mind to calm down. It doesn’t always work that way but it is the intention.  Another way that you can do that is by consciously making the intention to let the past go and stop thinking about the possibilities of the future. Live in the moment. That is your mind working for you a positive way like the body would.

I took this advice months ago when I made a bunch of drastically needed changes. It started with a big time haircut. For years, I had long hair which people used to love. It was nice, thick and strong and most importantly for me, easy to care for. People always identified me by my golden mane. I no longer wanted to be identified by any one part of my body so I chopped it off and you know what? People seem to love it even more. Funny, isn’t it? For me it was letting go of a part of me that was rooted in the past. I also made other big changes as well including shredding all of my diaries that I had kept from the age of 16.  I am no longer that person. I had a lot of fun in the past but I don’t carry around the same body, thoughts or ideas so off to the recycling world they go along with other reminders of the past including letters from past loves who are no longer relevant in my life, cards from friends and others from a long time ago and hundreds of photos. After much thought and a bit of hesitation( as I am a sentimental ,romantic type)I decided that if I was going to live in the moment then I should practice what I preach as it were so I let them all go and you know what? It feels great . Everything that surrounds me now is being used and has a purpose in this present moment. Like the body, my mind was ready to get rid of the waste.

We’ve all heard “The past is gone, the future hasn’t happened and the present is your gift.” Well treat it like that. Don’t miss the moment of now, good or bad. Be grateful for what is right now.  It is here to teach you something if you let it.

Which of the three do you spend most of your time and thoughts in?

 

 

Body Language

The body is especially important to me as I have studied it for many years for my career. I believe it really is the greatest piece of art and science ever.

As a Personal Trainer, I am always interested in learning more about the human body; form, function and movement.

We were meant to move and when we choose not to the body starts to react subtly in negative ways. Injuries happen easier with a tight body, illnesses start to develop more often and  certain diseases set into the cells of a body that has been bombarded by  stress, poor eating and sleeping habits and  just plain disregard for all of the wonderful and magical things that it does for you each and every minute of your life. If you looked at any single body part and paid attention to its form and function, you would truly be in awe and would appreciate all that it does for you.

It is constantly giving you messages but if you’re not listening then you will surely miss out on what it is trying to tell you. We have all heard the following expressions- “I have a gut feeling” or “What does your heart tell you?”

It is constantly communicating with you. It tells you when it has hunger, thirst, has to get rid of waste, needs to move or just needs to rest. It is always reacting to the outside world as well as to others positive or negative energy.

Happiness, fear, excitement and sadness will bring forth some sort of physical response and chemical reaction to the body; a raised eyebrow, dilated pupils, increased heart rate, a tear, a smile or a deep belly laugh.

 To become in tune with your body, all you have to do is raise your awareness, take a breath, listen to it and let yourself feel what you need to feel from your most trusted source. It will guide you if you let it.

I love the fact that I get to make a living from helping others keep their most prized possessions happy and healthy.  I always say that your body is really the only thing that you own and will be the only thing that travels with you throughout your lifetime. Friends, family and others may pop in and out of your life and material possessions may get lost or stolen, ruined or given away.

Your body is the only thing guaranteed to be with you from your first heartbeat to your last so take care of it and it will take care of you.

 

In Pursuit Of Balance For Maximum Wellness

 

With every new year that approaches, millions of us make resolutions to change our lives in one way or another. Will this be the year that you finally quit smoking, drinking, eating too much or will you finally decide that this is the year that you’re going to get into better shape?

  As a Personal Trainer I see the change that comes every January; the unfamiliar faces of the determined in the gym. They all have the same look in their eyes; a bit of apprehension mixed with enthusiasm. Day by day and week by week those well intended people and their new shoes slowly disappear.  They all had good intentions mixed with great new outfits but they didn’t have the one thing that’s vital to obtaining any goal, COMMITMENT.  I wholeheartedly believe that the first step is always commitment.

When you commit to something it can take you in many interesting directions and to people and places that you never knew existed.

What I have figured out through a great time of reflection is that if you don’t have balance in your life then you really aren’t living but merely existing. I definitely enjoy having balance for maximum wellness and I definitely feel it physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually when I don’t.

A motto that I came up with over 20 years ago and use to this day professionally and personally is

“Total fitness is a broad umbrella-like concept that encompasses the body, mind and spirit so

Let The Body Work, Let the Mind Relax and Let The Spirit Play.”

To achieve Balance for Maximum Wellness you have to do one thing this New Year. You have to choose to either say YES to things that you previously would said NO to or say No to things that you previously would say YES to. That’s it.

Still having fun! -Lisa

Christmas Time Is Here

christmas_2016

It’s that time of year again- THE HOLIDAYS. The time when you eat too much, drink too much and exercise too little (except for all of the running around that you’re doing to get everything done).

For me the holidays have always represented a time of personal reflection. I think it’s also because my birthday is at this time of year as well.

Every year when I put my Christmas decorations away, I think of what will be going on in my life when I take them out the following year. I wonder if I will I have the same job, the same residence, be living in the same city? Perhaps a new and exciting person will come into my life and I always hope that the people that I have in my life will be there next year- happy and healthy.

And you know what? Every year I am surprised by how my life is when I take those decorations out. I am very blessed to have the life that I have and am thankful to be able to enjoy the holidays in whatever form they take.

I love everything about Christmas. So much so that every year in July or August I find myself starting to sing Christmas songs. It’s strange, but true. I love the music, the lights and watching the kindness of others.  I also like watching Frosty, Rudolph and all of the other must see shows, spending time with family and friends, all of the food- OH, HOW I LOVE THE FOOD, going to movies and just enjoying the slow and relaxed pace.

I refuse to get stressed out over the holidays. I don’t want to miss out on the pleasures of this time of year and you never know what the next year will bring.

So, enjoy the holidays. EAT, DRINK, BE MERRY (in moderation) and just remember that I’ll be looking for you in the gym in January.

Lisa