Coaching Healthy Lifestyle

The book Atomic Habits: An easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones by James Clear is a great review and application of how instrumental conditioning drives behavior. What is unique about it is that it takes how we respond to reward and punishment and applies it intentionally to change our behavior.

James lays out a case for the cumulative impact of good habits. He begins by stating that if you improve by 1% a day for a year your overall improvement will be more than 37%. However, you may not notice much difference with repeated use of habits until critical thresholds are reached. For example, with weight loss, exercise begins by building muscle, and then at a certain point your muscle mass is sufficient to burn the fat.

Transformation to mastery can be slow and persisting with small improvements can be challenging when the results are not immediately apparent. However, desired outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits so persistence is key.

Intentional use of habits improves all areas of life. For example, repeated action leads to automaticity that frees resources for other activities making you more productive. Repeated learning leads to greater availability of mental resources. Repeated investment in relationships leads to stronger connections. Conversely, not intentionally improving habits in these areas results in greater stress, less mental health, and a weaker support structure.

Read More »Atomic Habits: Review and coaching application

The Law of attraction at its core states that you get what you are focused on. This focus is epitomized by what we think and say which is why the book The Power of Words … that free me! by Jacques Martel is so important.

The words you use create your reality and follow from your thoughts. Do these thoughts represent freedom and love or, conversely, do they draw you away from freedom and love?

According to Jacques, every word is related to spiritual reality. Words have a vibration so better to use the ones that are life-giving. The intention behind the words used also carries a vibration that acts in concert to intensify or weaken the vibration of the word. This means that self-talk that is not loving weakens your own being. Furthermore, thoughts of others that are not loving weaken them and the exchange.

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“The Art of Having It All” by Christie Whitman is a compelling and insightful book that provides a comprehensive guide to achieving success and fulfillment in all areas of life. Through her own personal experiences and teachings with Universal Laws, Christie offers practical tools and strategies for readers to manifest their dreams and desires, while also finding balance and joy in the present moment.

Desire

The first step in this process is identifying the desires that are unique to you. These are not external factors that you think will bring happiness but the inner contentment that arises from your experience. The reason that many of these desires have not happened is that through social construction we have learned to impose conditions. The beliefs that we have acquired place constraints on what we think is possible.

Read More »The Art of Having it All: Review and coaching application

The ultimate force in the universe is Love. It tops the emotional scale given in the Abraham Hicks books. It is the peak experience described in Enlightenment. How can we experience more of it in our relationships with ourselves and others?

For those seeking to raise conscious awareness, experiencing more love is about the extent of surrender and acceptance for what is across all areas of life. This is not the same as tolerating or putting up with something. It is being absolutely ok with whatever presents.

There are 8 different types of love according to the ancient Greeks. These are Agape, Eros, Phila, Philautia, Storge, Pragma, Ludus, and Mania. Each of these can be considered from this perspective of radical acceptance.

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Shadow work comes from the concept of the shadow self, which originates in Jungian psychology.

According to Jung, a personality consists of the following:
a) the persona, which is the personality that people reveal to the public, and
b) the shadow self, which a person does not like to reveal.

One way to understand the shadow self is to think about the concept of the psyche, which includes both the conscious mind and the unconscious mind:
The conscious mind is the part of us that is aware and in control of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is the part of us that makes decisions and choices.
The unconscious mind, on the other hand, is the part of us that is not immediately available to our conscious awareness. It is the part of us that stores our memories, our emotions, and our unconscious thoughts and beliefs. This usually operates outside of awareness unless we have an insight or revelation.

The unconscious mind is often referred to as the “shadow,” because it is made up of the parts of ourselves that we have pushed into the shadows. This may be either because we are unaware of them or because we are avoiding dealing with them. These parts of ourselves can include our fears, our insecurities, our anger, our shame, and our repressed desires. However, they often also incorporate more positive qualities, such as our creativity, our compassion, and our sense of humor.

The collective unconscious also influences this shadow. The collective unconscious is a Jungian idea that refers to the collective memories and impulses of society as a whole. This means that the shadow self also includes racism, prejudice, and other systemic mindsets and responses.

Read More »Shadow Work: Claim Your Freedom of Expression