When asked what the biggest problem in the world today is, many of us would say it’s our environment.  Jeff Primack owner-CEO of Supreme Science Qigong Foundation http://qigong.com/ says our biggest problem today is in our separation in consciousness.  He says (paraphrased) even if we resolved all the earth’s problems, we’d still fight over land.  However, when the reality of all humanity is connected, world peace will happen.

At Supreme Science Qigong Foundation, Jeff is more interested in the evolution of people than in food healing even though he teaches food healing by increasing the consumption of phytochemicals in his seminars.  Jeff believes that Qigong is the unifying agent that will connect us all so that “the ultimate all is one experience”.  He has been passionately spreading his philosophies about food, healing, spirituality and transforming world consciousness through his world wide Qigong seminars.

What is Qigong? At first glance Qigong is an exercise that professes to build the immune system and strengthen the body through a series of slow, controlled, and specific Tai Chi (originating from Qigong) moves performed in synchrony with deep breathing rhythms. It is a self-healing tool using a moving form of meditation.  When we look deeper, we discover that “Qigong is the father of traditional Chinese Medicine”, which is over 5000 years old. Kept secret and only practiced by the wealthy elite and martial artists, with the Cultural Revolution, Qigong is now available to all.

According to traditional Chinese theory Qi is the vital energy that gives us life. It is derived from the air we breathe, the food we eat and the environment in which we live.  Qigong is also used in healing others in body, mind and soul. And it can be used to help in healing our entire universe.

The gentle, deep breathing techniques are said to revitalize our tissues, organs, muscles bones relieving pain, eliminating stress and strengthening our ability to send out Qi for use in healing others and our planet.

Studies have shown Qigong to be a cure for many ailments from high blood pressure to cancer. In the Western world many of us have found Qigong to be the key in improving our overall health. The positive effects from incorporating a regular practice of Qigong include inner peace, a healthy energized body and a calm state of mind that supports us in managing the stresses and disease in life.

Practicing Qigong together with healthy eating and using herbs is touted as the secret to longevity.  It is said that many practitioners show “profound anti-aging effects, often looking decades younger than their actual age.”

As we practice the art of Qigong, we are moving energy in a meditative dance, bringing Qi to us, sending Qi to the earth to others and out into the universe.  There are specific moves involved such as Wuji Stepping, Push Hands Movement, Locomotion Movement and others that allow us to move while breathing in concert with our actions.

I attended the 4-day Qigong Healing Revolution in Tacoma in July-August 2010 and was moved deeply in this experience.  In addition to learning and practicing 3 levels of Qigong, we learned about healing through food, and the 9-Breath Healing energy method among many other topics.

At one point in the seminar the chairs were arranged in a long spiral around the room. Six hundred of us sat holding hands and used this healing 9-Breath method to send healing energy through prayer to those suffering in the world.  We prayed specifically for healing and forgiveness for the local city, the state, the country, the world, elected officials, the children, Africa, Israel and the Middle East, the soldiers, those responsible for the war, our prosperity, our neighbor’s prosperity, for those we need to forgive, for forgiveness of ourselves, and finally we sent prayers of gratitude to God.

There may be some truth to Jeff Primack’s beliefs about our separation from one another in consciousness. Personally I don’t know if this is an area that will ever be healed.  However, there was a definite connection to everyone when practicing the art of Qigong during the seminar. I felt very connected to others in the room and especially when we were praying.

At any rate, there are so many benefits in practicing Qigong that it may very well solve another big problem in the world today, the stress, anxiety and lack of positive, healthy inner connection with self.  Try it for yourself and notice how you feel. If it feels good continue the practice and reap the healthy benefits of quieting your mind and healing the evolution of your mind and body through Qigong.

To find a class and learn more about Qigong, visit these sites.

http://www.worldtaichiday.org/

http://www.qigonginstitute.org/main_page/main_page.php

http://qigong.com/

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Womens_Health_Watch/2009/May/The-health-benefits-of-tai-chi

http://www.qi.org/

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http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Integrity-Coaching-Training-Systems/119120654781699

Your comments & feedback are always welcome and encouraged. For an appointment call 206-459-2898 or e-mail me at: patricia@integritylifecoach.com Home pagehttp://www.integritylifecoach.com Copyright© 2007 Patricia Eslava Vessey…All Rights Reserved

You probably think you’re doing everything you can to stay healthy: you get lots of sleep, exercise regularly and try to avoid fried foods, etc. But you may be forgetting one important thing. Relax! Stress has a bigger impact on your health than you might realize… Stress is hard on your immune system and it interferes with healing.  It increases chronic inflammation risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, allergies and autoimmune diseases including type 2 diabetes…  Worrying about the danger of stress is definitely stressful—but not you can take a deep breath, exhale and relax because help has arrived at the SeaHurst Chiropractic and the Highline Athletic Club!

Join us the last Monday of June, July & August, eliminate stress and improve your health!

 When:  June 28, July 26 & August 23, Time: 5:30-6:30 PM (Bring a mat!) 

Where: Seahurst Chiropractic 5:30-6:30 PM OR; Highline Athletic Club 6:45-7:45 PM

Cost: $35.00 per session or 3 sessions-$90.00 prepaid. Call 206-459-2898 to register.

Cultivating Hope.

Our wonderful dog Spencer, an 11 year old Papillion, loves to shake his paw for a cookie.  We bought special healthy snacks for these special times, and they are a-plenty.  Spencer jumps up and down and barks for a cookie after each meal we eat, as we are stir our coffee (who knows how this was created), after baths, nail clippings, and just because he thinks he’s a good boy

One day I tried an experiment.  Instead of a cookie, I gave him pieces of his dog food for the hand shaking.  He didn’t even notice the difference!  Interesting….  So I decided to use his dog food instead of an actual cookie for awhile.  Still he didn’t notice. 

My husband felt like I was cheating Spencer out of a real treat, but I don’t think so.  First, I figured his dog food is probably healthier than so many “cookies treats all day long.  Second and most important, it’s not important to Spencer what treat he gets.  He is more interested in the process of shaking hands for a treat… 

 What a powerful lesson for us?  How often do we fix our eyes on the treat and exclude the opportunity to fully experience the process or journey we are on?  Is the treat more important than your journey?  What are some ways to add that awareness and appreciation along the way?

Spencer

 PS Spencer still gets some “real” cookie treats

I’ve been retired (after 30 years of government work) for 15 months now. I’m so fortunate to have begun my career early. I can’t believe the time has passed so quickly. 

I am thrilled to have joined the ranks of my esteemed retired colleagues who entered into this life changing, identity re-defining new state of “being” before me.  They said, I would love it and they were right.

Retirement has been both a soul quenching joy and a huge challenge this year.  I had big plans for expanding my coaching and training business after I retired, and couldn’t wait to begin “my new job”.

During the process I learned an amazing lesson about balance.  Without the external controls of an 8-5 job, my new work schedule was often 6:30 am to 11 pm.  I barely took time for food and bathroom breaks not to mention walking, golfing, visiting friends or other activities I longed to do in my retirement.  Thank goodness I taught fitness classes and had to get away from the computer and phone.

I finally had time to work on my business, and was driven to make it a success.  However, the deadly “owning your own business tentacles” wrapped tightly around me smothering me in the many activities required to run a business.

It’s no wonder that after several months my life became unbalanced. I focused exclusively on one goal. I began to feel trapped, unhappy and discouraged.  This was not the retirement bliss I had written about in my 5 year future-life letter while in coaching school almost 5 years ago.

I had a huge revelation! What the heck was I doing?  Here I was TRULY FREE AT LAST, and working myself to the bone – not enjoying it like I hoped for in my letter.  

I finally realized that NO goal is worth sacrificing my own wellness to achieve. When we work like this, and many of us do… our bodies give us warnings to stop such as headaches, fatigue, depression, weight gain/loss, lack of sleep, anxiety or major illness before they eventually break down…

I thought about the lessons I emphatically teach in my workshops…

First take extraordinary care of yourself, eat well, exercise and engage in nurturing activities like getting a massage, loosing your self in a hobby, journaling, meditating or reading a good book.

Second, create an internal and external support system that will help enable you to achieve your goals without sacrificing your wellness in the process.

Third, take quality time to reflect, acknowledge and peacefully contemplate where you are and where you want to be.  After all, we can’t help others if we don’t first put the oxygen mask on ourselves…

Ask yourself:  What am I doing? Where is my life unbalanced?   What am I giving up to achieve what I am pursuing? What are my TRUE priorities?

Stay tuned for Part II

Your comments & feedback are always welcome and encouraged. For an appointment call 206-459-2898 or e-mail me at: patricia@integritylifecoach.com Home page http://www.integritylifecoach.com Copyright© 2008 Patricia Eslava Vessey…All Rights Reserved

Hi all,
I just completed a session with my coach, and by the way, if you are shopping for a coach, it’s important to ask potential coaches if they are recipients of coaching.  This is because you want to know if your coach is also growing, learning and moving forward in their own lives.  Being in a coaching relationship is a commitment to their personal growth, and when they are at their best, you receive the best services.  I cannot say enough about how coaching has/is helping me stay true to my goals.  It is the best thing I have ever done for myself.  Maybe I’ll write about it in another post…

I want to share the steps I go through when I face adversity.  I hope they will be an encouragement to you.  (Note: I have way too much content for a blog post, so check my website for an upcoming Ecourse on this topic, and for future workshops/telecourses.  This post is a condensed version.  If you want more now, please contact me for coaching. or send an email to find out more.)

We all go through hard times.  It’s the human condition.  There is no escape.  So, stop feeling like a failure for having struggles in the first place.  What is more critical is how we manage ourselves during these times.  I look at them as opportunities to learn, grow and redefine some aspect of me, and what I want in my life.  Maybe I’m not living the way I want to, maybe I’m not honoring myself in the areas of exercise, balance, self-talk, time alone and it’s at the boiling point.   Maybe I am tired of being in a job that doesn’t fit who I am, and it has reached crisis level.  Struggles represent anything that is no longer working for us.

Think about it, it’s these hard times that move us out of discomfort into a more meaningful existence, and isn’t that what we all want?  We want our lives to matter, to contribute, to help others and to live life passionately following our purpose, right? 

Life is so much easier when we are not in boiling water, isn’t it?  We may continue on in our meager existence, maybe cooking small, or taking ourselves out of the kitchen altogether, afraid to even try creating our own feast. So how do we take full advantage of “being in the boiling water” and nourish ourselves in the process?

When I am in major boiling water, I am in and out of the carrot and egg pots several times until I finally land in the coffee pot.  The entire pot jumping time depends on the type and depth of my struggle. My steps include the following:

1) Recognize – and appreciate that I am in boiling water
2) Retreat – and go within with lots of soul searching questions
3) Resolve – to stay with it to the end, avoiding the tendency to escape from it, and
4) Recreate – new ways of being, thinking, feeling and/or acting as a result of my learning.

It is so important to nurture, love and support yourself in this most important process and opportunity.  Maybe this includes taking walks, warm baths, writing, painting, meditating or all of these self care activities.  If you are deeply frustrated, angry or depressed, resist any urges to strike out at others, and/or yourself.  Instead, support yourself through it as you would care for those you love.
 
Love, and Abundant Blessings to You,
Patricia
Your comments & feedback are always welcome and encouraged. For an appointment call 206-459-2898 or e-mail me at: patricia@integritylifecoach.com Home page http://www.integritylifecoach.com Copyright© 2007 Patricia Eslava Vessey…All Rights Reserved
 

Hi Everyone, and Happy summer!  I hope it’s warm and sunny where you are located. 

I receive lots of inspiring email stories so worthy of sharing with you.  This one is a great example…
———————————————————————————————————-
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee…
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.
 
A  young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
 
Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to a boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.
 
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she asked, ‘ Tell me what you see.’
 
‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.
 
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.  Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked, ‘What does it mean , mother?’
 
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity:  boiling water.  Each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.  However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
 
‘Which are you?’ she asked her daughter. 
 
‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
 
Think of this:  Which am I? 

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.  When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.  When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?  How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
 

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.  The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
 
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!!
———————————————————————————————————-
Most of us want to be coffee when it comes to adversity, right?  While these examples help us zero in on our individual responses to difficult situations, where to we get instructions on how to elevate ourselves to that higher “coffee” level?  The happiest people make the best of everything, but how do they do it?

Once the tornado begins, and we are in carrot or egg response, how can we step out of that powerful swirling windstorm and react differently, especially if that is our ingrained, lifelong response?

No matter how unrealistic or silly, list 3 things you can do to stop… in the midst of an unwanted response, and rise up to a new level. 

What would it look like in your life if you were successful at changing this response?  How would it affect your relationships, self esteem and success?

Many blessings,
Patricia

Hi everyone,

I was in a Toastmaster’s meeting yesterday, and the table topic was about our mothers.  I instantly panicked and decided when It was my turn I would pass.  Then I realized that I have not thought about my mother in a long time…even this close to mother’s day… Thoughts of her death immediately flooded my mind.  As I pushed them aside, I asked myself, what positive qualities I have that I can attribute to her.  I thought with warmth about how gregarious, tender hearted, and loving she was and I realized those qualities are shared by my siblings and me.

Most noteworthy however was my mother’s love of dance.  I grew up watching Shirley Temple movies, Lawrence Welk, and anything else on the tube that involved movement. Every time these activities were on the TV, she and my father called out to me telling me to come in and watch.  I was the only one of five kids who shared their love of dance, and they encouraged it regularly.  

My father played guitar, banjo and mandolin in a band on the weekends.  I have priceless and loving memories watching them dance to “In the Mood”, their favorite song.  Before I got older and self-conscious, I was out on the dance floor with them.  I would be all dressed up in my pretty, frilly dress jitterbugging and slow dancing with my mother and father.

These are truly wonderful and positive memories I have of my mother and I am thankful for her legacy to me.  I only wish she were here so I could tell her.  My mother died of a massive heart attack at our Christmas dinner 25 years ago.

I recognize, and appreciate that each one of our circumstances is unique with respect to our mothers.  However, if you could come up with three positive things your mother gave you, what would they be?  Write them down and spend time appreciating them, and your mother for giving them to you. 

If you are a mother, write three positive things you have learned about yourself as a mother. Next spend time honoring and appreciating you.

Happy Mother’s Day to every mother, and thanks to all who support us!
Blessings, Patricia
 

Hi everyone,

It looks like spring is finally here, although the sky looked very grey and rainy last night like a winter storm at the ocean.  Today is sunny though, here in Western Washington, in spite of the clouds. 

I don’t know about you, but I have favorite trees in my neighborhood that I drive by each day.  I watch them eagerly awaiting their magnificent display of flowers. Spring is a time of rebirth, of letting go of the past flowers still clinging to the branches, so that new ones can take their place.  It’s a time to gaze in wonder at the spectacular colors, shapes and aromas of brand new flowers. 

For those of you who attended my workshops in February and April on Extraordinary Wellness, and Extraordinary Relationships, thank you so much!  It was an wonderful having you in class.  Your participation truly made the workshops meaningful, inspiring, and successful. I truly hope you are implementing the changes you committed to, and that you create a support system with your accountability partner.

Many of you indicated on your evaluations that you want round two of Extraordinary Wellness & Extraordinary Relationships.  Others said you want classes on fitness and coaching among others.

I want to let you know I am in the process of locating training sites and I will be scheduling additional training in the future.  Let me know if you have leads, or if your worksite would like to host a training (just send me an email).  I am also working on CDs for my classes and will be offering those too.  Let me know if you have questions.

So, what will you do for yourself this spring?  Like the brand new flowers of spring, what new form of self-care will you add to your life, and what past flowers/habits clinging to the branches, will you let go of?

Many blessings to you!
Patricia

It is amazing what an injury can reveal.  Did you know you have an opportunity to up the ante on your self-care plan even when you are injured?  Don’t wait until you have a serious injury like mine before you start appreciating the precious gift of your body. Ask yourself,

1. What will I stop doing NOW that does not support my body?
2. What can I do NOW to acknowledge and appreciate my body?
3. What three things will I do NOW to support my body?

Years ago, too soon after a car accident, I was doing abdominal exercises in one of my classes and felt a sharp pain in my neck.  Ice, massage, and rest did not cure the pain, so I saw a doctor.  Several painful tests, especially the one where you have to lay down flat for the MRI, revealed a herniated disc pressing on my spine and nerves.  After several months of physical therapy, sleepless nights, and unbearable pain, in consultation with my doctor, I decided to have surgery. 

I was pretty frightened after the doctors reviewed the risks with me; death, paralysis, infection, stroke, swallowing difficulty, speech problems, or injury to the nerves or vessels of the neck…  However, the thought of living with chronic pain, and curtailing my activities for the rest of my life was definitely, not how I wanted to live.  I knew too many people who were “out of commission” for extended periods because their backs “went out”, and that was not for me.  I could not imagine having to be so careful all the time.  I wanted my life back and would face my fear and go “under the knife” to get it…

It had been weeks since I taught a fitness class, or worked out.  Having to wear a neck brace all the time to alleviate the pain prohibited a number of activities and kept me absorbed in my injury.
 
As my inactivity continued, I realized I was depressed.  After 20 plus years (at the time) of teaching weekly fitness classes, a sedentary lifestyle was foreign to my body, and I knew I had to get moving, somehow.  I figured I could not hurt myself any more, so I attended a few exercise classes.  Even though I worked out in pain, I started feeling better emotionally and somewhat physically too. I knew from research that exercise is a highly effective treatment for depression, and the treatment was working, even after a few workouts.  It’s amazing what exercise can do for your emotional state.  The cures for so many of our ailments are within easy reach…

Just before the surgery, my family and friends threw me a “last supper” celebration.  We laughed and joked, but secretly I my terror grew.  When I got to the hospital and met with nurses, and anesthesiologists, et al, they asked me how I was feeling, and told them I felt good (because of the effects of exercise…).  The next thing I remember was waking up in the operating room with my doctor looking down at me and asking if I had told everyone I was feeling good.  I groggily said yes, I was feeling better.  He  said, I am not going to operate on you then, and he sent me home…

Now I was really depressed because I had already resolved and processed the fear, the shaving of the back of my head, and recovery time, and I had my last supper…  I wanted this surgery, and now feared I would have to live a life limiting and pain filled existence. 

The next day I met with my doctor, and after a discussion, the surgery was rescheduled and successfully completed.  My pain was instantly gone, the recovery was tolerable and I resumed my fitness-teaching schedule in five weeks, which was pretty amazing.
 
When my neck injury healed, I had a new appreciation for my body.  I realized how much I rely on its strength and stamina on a daily basis, and how much I take it for granted.  I depend on its health and well-being, and in return, I gain freedom and independence in the world.  I became fully aware of how well my body had served me during my lifetime, and I was filled to overflowing with gratitude. 

I had been teaching fitness classes and offering personal training to help others.  I had never really worked out to help me, Patricia… My neck injury was a gift, which helped me, connect with my body and acknowledge and appreciate what it does for me.  With this knowledge, I vowed to up the ante on my self-care plan.  I became more gentle and caring in all things I did for me.  I vowed to become stronger, to apply my personal training skills on myself too. With this new purpose fitness took on a completely new meaning for me.
 
When I am practicing self-care, which includes lovingly tending to my body, intellect, emotions, social, environmental and spiritual dimensions, I am teaching myself to acknowledge, nurture, and value myself.  This not only enables me to be more effective in whatever I set out to do, it also fills me up and provides me with more to share with others.

It is interesting what an injury can reveal…  Many blessings to you all.
Patricia

Your comments & feedback are always welcome and encouraged. For an appointment call 206-459-2898 or e-mail me at: patricia@integritylifecoach.com Home page http://www.integritylifecoach.com Copyright© 2007 Patricia Eslava Vessey…All Rights Reserved

This prayer is in a couples daily devotional book my husband and I are reading.  It is titled Quiet Times For Couples by H.Norman Wright and it is filled with many wonderful insights.  One of them is this prayer for couples.  It is meant to share.  Many blessings to you this special heartfelt day. 

(James Dillet Freeman)

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring,
and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding.

May you always need one another -
not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness.
A mountain needs a valley to be complete;
the valley does not make the mountain less, but more;
and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it.
So let it be with you and you.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults.

If you have quarrels that push you apart,
may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another’s presence -
no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side,
and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities.
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy.
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another!

http://www.myhappylove.com/lyrics/wedding-poems/blessing-for-a-marriage-251.html

http://jamesdilletfreeman.wwwhubs.com/
Patricia

Hi everyone and Happy Holidays,

I am thinking about you this special time of year with gratitude, and wishing you all the gifts your heart desires. May your life be rich in love, peace, joy, and overflowing with abundance in spirit and harmony that you share with others.

Here is an article I wrote for the holidays last year – hope you enjoy it.

http://ezinearticles.com/?12-Transforming-Questions-for-the-Season&id=372368

Warmest regards & best wishes,

Patricia
Patricia Eslava Vessey, CPC, ACC
Certified Professional Coach
Integrity Coaching & Training Systems
www.integritylifecoach.com

(206)459-2898

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

Just Released: “Vibrant & Lasting Relationships” by Co-Author Patricia Eslava Vessey – Order your copy today!

Hi everyone,  I hope you have been safe in the challenging weather we have experienced in the Western Washington lately.  My husband’s family is in Aberdeen and was surrounded by water, and without power for many days.  It will be some time (if ever) before life is back to normal there.  Many of my family members are in Kitsap County, a disaster zone.  My brother’s long, winding dirt road to his home was washed out by land a slide, and that is where we are having Christmas this year.

It seems every year we get reminders of how unstable our world is becoming.  More and more we are learning to be prepared for disasters, and to carry on, and make the best of it.

With every disaster comes a gift. Our unpredictable, often unsafe world gives us the  pportunity to refocus our attention, to clarify, cherish, and cling to what is important-what we value.  What is truly important to us?  How would we behave, if we really knew our time was limited? What would be important to say to loved ones, colleagues and friends?

What would we give?  Maybe it is the gift of time given to those in need. Perhaps it is encouragement, donations, or kind words to someone with whom we have had a conflict. What we can control in our unpredictable world is how we respond to one another.  We have the opportunity to respond with love, support, and service.  What will be your response? To whom will you reach out to today?

I wish you many blessings this holiday season. I also want to thank you for supporting me by attending my workshops and classes, and by your encouraging emails.  You are AWESOME, and it is a privilege to know you!

Warmest regards,
Patricia

This special time of Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to press the pause button and take stock of the blessings in our lives. It is a time when we can notice and be grateful for a job and roof over our heads, a loving God, good health, cherished friends, a loving pet, and companion, grandchildren, freedom, and life itself.

Being in the state of gratefulness brings in positive, healing energy that nourishes us deep in our souls. Not only does it feel good to be grateful, it is good for our health too. Thousands of years of literature talk about the benefits of cultivating gratefulness as a virtue, essential to health and well-being according to University of California psychology professor Robert Emmons. 

According to research, grateful people take better care of themselves and participate in healthy behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, and regular check-ups.  Gratitude can also help us better manage stress, and cope with daily problems.   Gratefulness produces more optimism too, and that boosts our immune system.

So how do we cultivate gratitude?  We can begin by keeping a “Gratefulness Journal”.  Keep it on your bed stand, and every evening before you go to sleep, write something for which you are grateful. For example, I am grateful for my health, freedom, job, children, pet etc.  If you are facing a challenging situation, reframe it by looking at the positives and opportunities in it, like learning to manage stress, or learning new skills etc.  Also, each evening, write down the happiest moment of your day.  In doing this, you get in the habit of looking for happy moments rather than dwelling on the negatives, and this helps our overall well-being.

By the way, how many times have you stopped and expressed gratitude for being able to resist that dish of ice cream, piece of cake, or other food you should not eat?  When was the last time you felt good about exercising, doing a distasteful but necessary task, or just being nice when you are having one of those days? Remember to express gratitude in all things.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Your comments & feedback are always welcome and encouraged. For an appointment call 206-459-2898 or e-mail me at: patricia@integritylifecoach.com Home page http://www.integritylifecoach.com Copyright© 2007 Patricia Eslava Vessey…All Rights Reserved

My husband and I were taking an energetic walk in our neighborhood this evening.  We have a couple of routes we can take depending on time.  It was a beautiful evening as the sun went down, and it felt wonderful to move after sitting all day at work. 

As we walked, I thought about some of my personal training and coaching clients and the struggle they have in giving themselves time to exercise. I said a little prayer for each of them. My hope is that they will see the benefits in taking time for themselves.  Even a short walk in the middle of the day if that’s all that time allows, will revitalize them for the rest of the day. A walk can also give them mental, emotional, and spiritual clarity, something we could all benefit by, in our busy, hectic lives. 

Ask yourself this:  How would my life be different if I took better care of myself?  What would the benefit be to those around me?
Happy Fall, a wonderful time to walk and enjoy this colorful time of year.
Blessings,
Patricia