It’s Sad

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Mary Marsh

I am going to Denver this weekend to spend some time with my son and his girlfriend but I wanted to write you a short note to think about.

With the news of Whitney Houston’s death this week I have been thinking about what makes us happy. Most of us tend to think that if we just had more money, fame, beauty, and/or talent that we would be happy. However, Hollywood continues to show us that’s not necessarily true. Many of the rich and famous often turn to drugs and alcohol in their search for happiness.

So what do we need to be happy? Those of you reading this are blessed more than about 5.5 billion people on the planet and yet we seem to find things to be unhappy about. Why is that? Partly, I think, we look for happiness in all the wrong places! We look outside of ourselves, for things to make us happy. Or we put our happiness off until such and such happens, however, as soon as that happens, then we want something else so we end up putting off  happiness our whole life.

We have also been well trained to look at what is wrong in our life, instead of appreciating all the good we have. That is why I often recommend a grateful journal to write down 5-10 things each day you are grateful for.

But perhaps St. Augustine had it right when he said, “Our Hearts are Restless Until They Rest in You Oh Lord” From the Confessions Saint Augustine of Hippo. During this long weekend take a few moments to go inward and search for God. Hopefully, that will make you a little happier and much less stressed!

 

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Raw Vegan Sweet Onion Salad Dressing

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Mary Marsh

From: http://lowfatveganchef.com/raw-vegan-sweet-onion-salad-dressing/

 

Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing

Ingredients:

5-6 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
1 cup peeled cucumber, chopped
1 clove of garlic
1 cup of sweet vidalia onion, diced (about 1/2 large onion)
8 small dates, pitted
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
2+ tbsp water (to blend or thin as necessary)

Directions:

1. Place ingredients into a Vitamix or food processor and blend until smooth.

2. Taste test and adjust seasonings if desired.

3. Serve over green salad and refrigerate any leftovers.

Tip:

To make the onion flavour more mild, you can chop the onion in advance and let it sit out or in the fridge and oxidize so that some of the strong oils dissipate and it won’t be as intense.

For more recipes from http://lowfatveganchef.com

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Did You Fall Off the Wagon?

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Mary Marsh

Here we are already 1/3 of the way into February. How are your goals for the new year going? Are you still going? Thinking about giving up? Or fell off the wagon? By the end of January most people have given up on their goals for the new year. The gyms aren’t as crowded as they were a month ago!

Here are a few reasons for that:

  • You didn’t set goals, or didn’t write them down, or didn’t keep them in view like reading them ever day or looking at a vision board
  • Or you set a goal to wear a size 6 but eating pizza and junk food seems like more fun
  • You don’t have someone to be accountable to or a buddy to work with. Someone who will encourage you and keep you going when you want to quit
  • Unreasonable expectations- You gave up because you didn’t lose 5 pounds the first week
  • You didn’t plan- what to eat, when to exercise, when to visualize what it will be like when you accomplish your goal
  • You were trying to follow a plan that you didn’t really like or was to hard for you

 

Dr. Mercola posted this list of what all successful people have in common. I thought it might help you discover what is missing from your life and holding you back from accomplishing your dreams.

People who are wildly successful – think Clint Eastwood and Warren Buffett – take steps to help them realize their full potential. Some of these things are strategies you can easily emulate to rise to success in your own life…

  1. Create and pursue S.M.A.R.T. goals — S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
  2. Take decisive and immediate action – Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action.
  3. Focus on being productive, not being busy – In other words, work smarter, not harder.
  4. Make logical, informed decisions – Think things through before making life-changing decisions.
  5. Avoid trying to make things perfect – The only way to get things done is to be imperfect 99% of the time.
  6. Work outside of your comfort zone – Embrace all moments of opportunity for personal growth and success.
  7. Keep things simple – Rather than evaluating every last detail of every possible option, choose something you think will work and give it a shot.
  8. Focus on making small, continuous improvements – Soon you’ll find yourself on a spiral of changes – one building on the other.
  9. Measure and track your progress – Step back and assess your progress regularly so you know what needs to be done to excel and accelerate.
  10. Maintain a positive outlook as you learn from your mistakes – Look for the silver lining in every situation.
  11. Spend time with the right people – You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with.
  12. Maintain balance in your life – An imbalanced lifestyle will hold you back from reaching your full potential.

Tony Robbins, author and coach, recommends you work on improving by 1% each day. Can you improve your diet, your exercise, your meditation, time with your family, what you do at work, etc. by 1%? If each day your goal is to improve by 1%, at the end of the month you have actually improved by 30% but your change is small and comfortable on a daily basis.

Here is another suggestion:

Write down your goal. Now write down 11 things you need to do to reach that goal. Why 11 things? There are 11 months left in 2012 so focus on the first item for the rest of this month. Take the second item for March and so on.

For example to lose weight:

Feb.- drink 100 oz of water a day

Mar.- walk – Start with 5 minutes a day and improve by 1% a day

April- meditate – Start with 5 minutes a day and improve each day

May- eat protein with each meal or snack

And so on, what ever you think you need to do to succeed, break it down, keep it simple, and manageable for you.

 

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Change Your Feelings, Now

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Mary Marsh

This week I am continuing with Anthony Robbins book, Awaken the Giant Within. Can you change your feelings just by labeling them differently?

An example from the book: Anthony and 2 of his business partners were together when they got the news that a deal fell through and they all just lost a lot of money. One of the partners was so angry he said he was “furious”, “livid”, and obviously very upset, Anthony was “angry” and “upset” but a little more in control, the other partner was just sitting there so Anthony asked him what he was feeling, he said he was “peeved”! Anthony looked at him almost laughing. “Peeved”, really?

However, he was the only one of the 3 not looking like he was about to have a heart attack so Anthony decided to experiment with using different words to say how he was feeling. He started using “peeved” instead of “angry” and some times he would even modify that with being a “little peeved”. He found that it would lower the intensity of his feelings. Sometimes it would even make him laugh.

He found that saying something different broke his pattern making him feel differently, like “peeved” instead of “angry”.

People often say they are “bored”, especially kids, I never use that word and I am never “bored”. Another one I have taken out of my vocabulary is “depressed”! So many people are “depressed”! Why? Is it because they aren’t “happy” and “bubbly” then they must be “depressed”?

In the book there is a list of replacement words for commonly used feeling words. For “depressed” he suggests: “calm before action”, “not on top of it”, “on the road to a turn-around”. Change “pissed off” to “tinkled”, that would break the pattern don’t you think? Or “oh shit” to “oh poo”. Change “sad” to “sorting my thoughts”. “Scared” to “excited”. Your body can’t tell the difference between being “excited” or “scared” it waits until you label it!

All performers have some tension or “butterflies” in their stomach before going on stage but it depends on how they chose to look at it, on how it affects them. For example: Carly Simon called it “stage fright” and it kept her from performing live for years. Bruce Springsteen calls it “excitement” and can’t wait to get on stage because he knows he is about to have an “awesome” experience! Same feeling, different interpretation, results in a totally different outcome.

Are you really “stressed out”? What are you telling yourself? Do you keep saying I am so “stressed”, “overloaded”, “overwhelmed”, etc.? He suggests changing it to “stretching”, “busy”, “challenged”, “in demand”, “blessed”, or “maximized”. How does that feel?

The same thing happens with your good feelings. For instance, if you always tell people you are “fine”, “good”, or “OK” does that feel the same as “awesome”, “vibrant”, “exhilarated”, or “fantastic”? Instead of “happy” try “ecstatic”, “jazzed”, “stoked”, “exuberant”, or “hyped”!

This doesn’t mean you should never be really “angry” or “sad”. There are times it is appropriate, when things need changing, like Jesus and the money changes. However,  often your daily upsets are not worth the energy you put into them, they only cause you to be tired and stressed out.

What are the words you use to describe your feelings? Pick 3 words you commonly use when you feel good and 3 words for when you don’t feel good. Pick a new word for each one. Ask the people that are close to you to help you break your pattern. If they hear you say “depressed”, “bored”, “sad”, or whatever you are trying to break, have them remind you that you are using new words now and see what happens!

For more information: Awaken the Giant Within, by Anthony Robbins

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Immediately Change Your Life, With 10 Questions

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Mary Marsh

I have been reading Anthony Robbins book, Awaken the Giant Within. (Which I highly recommend). Just in case you don’t know Anthony Robbins, is a highly sought after coach, motivational speaker, and author. He says the most important thing you can do to improve yourself and your life is to ask good questions. It doesn’t matter if you want to lose weight, get healthy, get rich, improve your relationships, or find your purpose in life it all starts with asking the right questions.

The more effective your questions the more helpful they will be. You can actually change your whole life by asking better questions.

Here are what he calls The Morning Power Questions:

1. What am I happy about in my life now?

      What about that makes me happy? How does that make me feel?

2. What am I excited about in my life now?

      What about that makes me excited? How does that make me feel?

3. What am I proud about in my life now?

      What about that makes me proud? How does that make me feel?

4. What am I grateful about in my life now?

      What about that makes me grateful? How does that make me feel?

5. What am I enjoying most in my life right now?

      What about that do I enjoy? How does that make me feel?

6. What am I committed to in my life right now?

       What about that makes me committed? How does that make me feel?

7. Who do I love? Who loves me?

       What about that makes me loving? How does that make me feel?

Here are the Evening Power Questions:

1. What have I given today?

2. What did I learn today?

3. How has today added to the quality of my life or how can I use today as an investment in my future?

He says if you really want to make changes in your life, ask yourself these questions everyday.

Depression is a huge problem in the United States. Some people believe part of the problem is we have no goals or our goals don’t challenge and excite us. You need to learn to think bigger. What can you do to improve some issue in the world right now?

For instance, obesity is taking a huge toll on our country and the world, so my mission is to help as many people as I can get healthy. What is your mission?

Perhaps, you want to lose weight? That is boring. You don’t want to lose weight you want to be vibrantly healthy, energetic, have fun, feel sexy in your clothes, etc. So make a goal to be healthy, sexy or whatever, then ask yourself what do I need to do to get that? So your brain gives you some answers, then when you are deciding what to eat or whether to go for a walk or not, ask yourself what will propel me towards my goal faster?

Maybe you are trying to decide what your purpose in life is. Try these questions:

  • What do you want in life?
  • What experiences and accomplishments do you want to look back on?
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • What have been your greatest successes in life so far?
  • What do you admire about other people?
  • What are your most important values?
  • What did you really enjoy doing as a kid at play?
  • Describe your ideal job.
  • Describe your ideal relationship.
  • How do you most enjoy spending your time? When you’ve got free time, what do you fill it with?
From: How to Find Your Purpose in Life by Ryan Murdoch

Perhaps you have heard of affirmations. Saying over and over to yourself something like: I am strong and healthy! I am an awesome person! I am smart! I make lots of money! These statements are fine, but if you don’t really believe them it won’t make much difference in your life.

So try asking yourself questions: Why am I so rich? Why am I so healthy? What can I do that will excite me and help many people? Keep asking these questions with emotion and really wanting and expecting an answer. Eventually, the answers will come.

Your brain is an amazing thing, it can do things no computer will ever be able to do. Ask it good questions and it will get you through any crisis.

For more information see Anthony Robbins book, Awaken the Giant Within.

 

 

 

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What Can One Minute Do?

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Mary Marsh

One minute doesn’t seem like much, in fact, we often kill 5 or 10 minutes in between appointments. These days, those moments are often spent tweeting, facebooking, checking texts, emails, playing games on our phones and so on. However, those things don’t move us closer to our goals.

Say your goal is to lose a few pounds this year. You could spend a minute:

Walking, running, doing a few push-ups, squats, drinking a glass of water, closing your eyes and breathing deeply, looking up a new recipe you want to try, etc.

If you want to get up earlier to get a little bit of a workout, meditation, or whatever set your alarm clock one minute ahead each day in two weeks you will be getting up 14 minutes earlier to work on whatever you want.

Often we say we don’t have time to do the things we want to do but the average American spends 4 hours watching TV or doing something on the internet. What if you spent one more minute talking to your children, spouse, family, or friends instead of TV or computer time?

What if you know you should workout but don’t want to? Tell yourself you will do something for just one minute. Then your thinking, “That wasn’t so bad, maybe I can do another minute, or 2, or 3, or 4″. That may not sound like much, but it’s still better than nothing!

Or maybe you have decided you want to make a little extra money? Spend a minute looking at your options. Then each day spend a minute or two writing your ebook, book, or newsletter.

Once you get started it’s kind of fun. The hard part is getting yourself to start doing whatever it’s going to take to get you where you want to go. So start with just a minute before you know it you will be doing 15 to 20 minutes a day and getting closer to your goals everyday!

I have seen this idea before, the latest one was a post by Craig Ballantyne.
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How Can Love and Gratitude Help You Lose Weight?

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Mary Marsh

I was reading Dr. Emoto’s book, The Hidden Messages in Water, the other day. He takes water that has been exposed to words, music, etc. then freezes it to see what kind of ice crystals it makes. The two most beautiful crystals are from water that has been exposed to the words love and gratitude. Water exposed to the word satan, fool, or stupid create ugly crystals. Tap water or water from polluted sources can’t even create crystals. Click here to see some pictures of the crystals.

So I was thinking about our bodies, since it is about 70% water, how does what we say to our body or others say to us, affect our bodies water and therefore us? I don’t have any scientific proof but it would seem to me if you are always putting your body down, hating it, calling it names it will certainly effect your health, your weight, and your mood.

Perhaps a good New Year’s Resolution is to start loving and appreciating your body! A client told me she stood in front of the mirror naked everyday for a few minutes saying, I love and appreciate you and the weight just fell off. Try that this year or say, “Body- I am sorry! Please forgive me! I love you! I thank you!” several times a day or I found this list compiled by Margo Maine, Ph.D:

20 WAYS TO LOVE YOUR BODY!!

1. Think of your body as the vehicle to your dreams. Honor it. Respect it. Fuel it.

2. Create a list of all the things your body lets you do. Read it and add to it often.

3. Become aware of what your body can do each day. Remember it is the instrument of your life, not just an ornament.

4. Create a list of people you admire: people who have contributed to your life, your community, or the world. Consider whether their appearance was important to their success and accomplishments.

5. Walk with your head held high, supported by pride and confidence in yourself as a person.

6. Don’t let your weight or shape keep you from activities that you enjoy.

7. Wear comfortable clothes that you like, that express your personal style, and that feel good to your body.

8. Count your blessings, not your blemishes.

9. Think about all the things you could accomplish with the time and energy you currently spend worrying about your body and appearance. Try one!

10. Be your body’s friend and supporter, not its enemy.

11. Consider this: your skin replaces itself once a month, your stomach lining every five days, your liver every six weeks, and your skeleton every three months. Your body is extraordinary–begin to respect and appreciate it.

12. Every morning when you wake up, thank your body for resting and rejuvenating itself so you can enjoy the day.

13. Every evening when you go to bed, tell your body how much you appreciate what it has allowed you to do throughout the day.

14. Find a method of exercise that you enjoy and do it regularly. Don’t exercise to lose weight or to fight your body. Do it to make your body healthy and strong and because it makes you feel good. Exercise for the Three F’s: Fun, Fitness, and Friendship.

15. Think back to a time in your life when you felt good about your body. Tell yourself you can feel like that again, even in this body at this age.

16. Keep a list of 10 positive things about yourself–without mentioning your appearance. Add to it!

17. Put a sign on each of your mirrors saying, “I’m beautiful inside and out.”

18. Choose to find the beauty in the world and in yourself.

19. Start saying to yourself, “Life is too short to waste my time hating my body this way.”

20. Eat when you are hungry. Rest when you are tired. Surround yourself with people that remind you of your inner strength and beauty.

Don’t Weigh Your Self-Esteem. It’s What’s Inside That Counts!

©2005 National Eating Disorders Association. Permission is granted to copy and reprint materials for educational purposes only. www.NationalEatingDisorders.org  Information and Referral Helpline: 800-931-2237
 
 

Remember God made your body, therefore, it is amazing and wonderful!

 

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Baby Steps to Change

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Mary Marsh
New Year’s Resolution often don’t last longer than a few weeks or so.
 
How can you be successful this year? Here are a few suggestions:
 
Choose a simple action, something easy that you know you will
 
do so you can have success and build your self-confidence.
 
 Write it down and put it on your bathroom mirror or
 
someplace you will see it often.
 
Get a picture of what you want your life to look like or make a collage.
 
Put it where you will see it often.
 
Spend 5 minutes a day visualizing what your life will be
 
like when you achieve the change you want.
 
How will you feel, how will you look, how does your life look?
 
Really feel it and enjoy your daily fantasy!
 
Some people recommend doing the same thing for 21 days since that is how long it takes to create a habit. So each 21 days add something else.
 
For example:
 
First 21 days visualize.
 
Next 21 days visualize and drink an extra 2 glasses of water each day.
 
Next 21 days visualize, drink 2 extra glasses of water, and sleep 1/2 hour
 
more each night.
 
By the end of the year you would have a much
 
healthier lifestyle in several simple steps.
 
Others suggest a 100 day plan. Which means each day for 100 days you take a step in the direction you want to go.
 
For example:
 
Day one visualize.
 
Day two visualize, drink 2 more glasses of water.
 
Day three visualize, drink 2 more glasses of water, add 1/2 hour of sleep a day.
 
At the end of 100 days you have a healthier lifestyle.
 
The idea is to keep things easy so you know you will succeed. The number of days really doesn’t matter what is important is what works the best for you.
 
If you really want to make this work, tell a few friends what you are doing so you are accountable to someone.
 
 
 
Have a happy, healthy week!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Happy New Year

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Mary Marsh

We have been in Minnesota with family and friends for the past week. I got a Vitamix (an awesome blender) for Christmas. I am looking forward to making some great tasting smoothies, etc. with it!

As always it is hard to believe the end of the year is here. This is a good time to take a look at what is working in your life and what isn’t.

How is your health? Your finances? Your relationships?

What do you want to change in 2012?

Think about those things the coming week. Write down 2-3 things you would like to work on this year and I will give you a few suggestions next week for accomplishing them.

I hope you have a safe and Happy New Year! Mary

 

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A Christmas Prayer

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Mary Marsh

Merry Christmas! I have been visiting family in Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota this week. It is always so good to see everyone. This time of the year is so busy I just want you to take a moment to remember:

  •  Jesus is the reason for the season
  • To thank God for all your blessings
  • To take time to breath and relax
  • To say a little prayer

Here is a Christmas prayer to get started:

Lord Jesus, we praise and

thank you in this joyful season

for the wonder of your birth. As

you embraced our humanity, we

now humbly acknowledge you

as our Creator and Redeemer.

May our celebration of your

birth lead us to a deeper

appreciation of all likfe, from its

earliest stages to its natural end.

Help us to cherish the gifts of

family, friends and the time to

enjoy them. May we grow in

gratitude for the presence of

your Holy Spirit throughout the

year. Amen

2008 Creative Communications for the Parish

Have a wonderful Christmas! Mary

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