How to Live in the Present to Transform Your Life

What do you want to see transformed in your life? A bad habit? A relationship? Your finances? The Resurrection reminds us that new life can come from something dead. Things might seem hopeless but when we focus on the cross, we realize there is always hope. Hope to start again. Hope to make things new. And one of the keys to transforming our lives, is to practice living in the present moment so that is the topic of this week's post. 

Life is not always a bed of roses as you know. The key is to make it a bed of roses - by staying in today. Today is where Joy is found. Today is where action is possible. Today is when forgiveness heals. Today is when we can express love. 

There are several factors involved in transformation: the power of decision, the power of faith and believing, and finally, taking action in today. 

1. Reprioritize Your Life 
If we want to make changes we need to be really clear on our priorities. Start by asking yourself these questions:

- What do I REALLY want my life to look like? In 5 years? In 10 years?

- Where do I REALLY want to live?

- What TRULY makes me happy?

- What ONE SPECIFIC THING do I want to change?

Be specific in defining your goals. There is always something to work on, to improve, to learn, to unlearn. Growth and change make for a healthier, more enriched and more joyful life. Brendon Burchard, high performance coach, says this: "When you're done changing, you're done" and I agree.

2. Forget about the Past - Today is a new day

How often do your thoughts go back to some past event? Or become anxious about some possible future event that probably will never happen? Or let a situation control your thoughts? I'm guilty of this and it's a bad habit. We are suddenly anxious and often, don't even realize why. It's because our thoughts took us there. 

3. Conquer Mindlessness 

How often do you say or do something without realizing it? We could be driving, or taking a shower, or going to get something from another room and forget what it was. And our mind wanders. Happens to all of us. It's called mindlessness. 

Other forms of mindlessness include time we spend watching stupid television shows, playing games on the computer or cell phone, picking our skin or nails, pulling our hair, or snacking when we are not hungry. These are all forms of mindlessness which take us out of the present moment. 

Mindlessness is the failure to pay attention. It's like we are on auto-pilot. We eat, drink, pick, or do something unhealthy without really being present. I call it a trance. Who knows how or why it happens. 

So what should we pay attention to if we want to transform our lives? Here are some key things:

Pay attention to yourself.
Pay attention to your moods.
Pay attention to what emotions and feelings you are experiencing as you experience them and how your body is reacting. 
Pay attention to your reactions.
Pay attention to your interactions with others.
Pay attention to how you are feeling when you eat.
Pay attention to your calmness level.
Pay attention to how tired you are.

Pay attention to how loud you are talking. 
Pay attention to how much you have to do in any given day.
Pay attention to your stress level.
Women, pay attention to your hormones.
Men, pay attention to your work demands.

One thing that is particularly important is to pay attention to our urges.
- the urge to eat.
- the urge to snack
- the urge to get a drink or a smoke
- the urge to shop
- the urge to speak unkindly
- the urge to be impatient, rude or snarky

- the urge to interrupt

- the urge to raise your voice

- the urge to pick or pull at our skin, our hair, our nails

3. Managing Urges 
We have hundreds of urges in the course of a day. Often, we act on them  because we are unaware that the urge is controlling our behavior, not conscious choice. For example, I developed the habit of getting a snack later in the evening. I tend to eat dinner early so by 8 or 9 pm. I am often ready for a snack. I don't like to go to bed feeling the slightest bit hungry. Well, I am also trying to lose the winter weight I picked up. Which will win? The urge to snack or the desire to lose the weight? It's a daily struggle and it all goes back to our commitment to our decision to change. 

We cannot prevent urges from happening, but we can change our actions and how we respond to them and that takes being mindful and present. We can choose a response the is in line with our values. So in this example, I can choose to have a cup of hot tea instead of a piece of chocolate. Tea does not break my fast or spike my blood sugar. It's about noticing the urge and then making a conscious choice to do something different. This is called Habit Reversal Training, teaching ourselves new positive habits. 

When we continue to act on our urges, we eventually develop a habit and we all know how hard it is to break a habit. The key is to be aware of our unhealthy habits and behaviors and nip them in the bud. The more we pay attention - stay present- the more in control we are of our thoughts and behaviors, the more we are able to make conscious choices and move forward in improving our lives.

For Reflection 
I trust this post has been enlightening for you as learning about it has been for me. Is there a habit you would like to break? What urge do you have that needs to be replaced? What response could you replace it with? 

If this post was helpful to you, consider joining our blog community. When you enter your email address in the box provided, you'll receive my weekly emails. You'll also receive a copy of my free eguide entitled "How to Develop a Spiritual Practice."

Stay tuned for next week's post on transformation. So glad you're here to learn how to ignite the power within and discover YOUR destiny!

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz 

New Thought Patterns to Help You Get Healthy

Summer is right around the corner and a great time to get in shape. Do you want to lose weight? Get more regular exercise? How are you sleeping at night? These are important questions to consider on a daily basis.  Stress depletes our immune system and makes us more vulnerable to overeating, makes us more susceptible to allergies, and affects our sleep. This week I am addressing the mindset we need to have if we want to have a healthier lifestyle.

I am a firm believer in making our health number one priority because I've had some serious health issues, despite my good diet and regular exercise. Good health is the cornerstone of a long and active life. Prevention is the key to maintaining good health. As I heard recently, it's easier to take care of your health so you stay well, than to rebuild it after you get sick. Ain't that the truth?

                                   

In this series, we've talked about how to start your day and the importance of good sleep. This week I'm sharing on the mindset and perhaps get you to think about health in a different way. In future posts, I'll offer up some weight loss tips you don't want to miss. 

Prioritize Your Health 
Many of us take our health for granted. Sadly, many people in our society don't make their health a top priority. They eat and drink whatever and whenever they want. They rarely exercise. They don't get enough zzzzs. Look around you. How many of your family members or friends are overweight? Studies have shown that the habits of the people we hang out with do influence our choices. 

Plus, thanks to the American Heart Association propaganda, obesity and diabetes have become a pandemic of sorts, especially in the US. This organization is largely to blame for encouraging people to cut out fats and replace them with carbohydrates years ago. We now know sugar is enemy #1. Healthy fats are crucial, especially for our brain, which is composed mostly of fat, did ya know? 

But you can be the game changer in your family and it all starts with a positive,  goal-oriented mindset. 

Personal Story
As a teenager, I battled my weight. I wore long sweaters to cover my ample derriere. Even my high school history teacher told me to lose the weight. How embarassing. 

So, I became an aerobics instructor and learned all about the body, the bones and muscles, nutrition, calories, etc. I became a health nut at an early age because I had a goal to lose the weight and get fit and trim before I walked down the aisle which I accomplished. I still maintain healthy habits to this day - for the most part. Okay, I do get the urge to splurge on kettle corn and tortilla chips during times of peak stress, but I am human too. People at work used to laugh when they saw the prunes, dried fruit and nuts on my desk instead of the candies and glazed donuts that were on theirs. You know the saying "A minute on the lips, forever on the hips."

A day without exercise is like a day without sunshine. Speaking of sunshine, we need a good dose of it daily and be sure to take your vitamin D, folks. If you don't live in a warm climate, it is crucial to supplement. 

Think Fit over Thin

It's really a question of fat mass vs muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Muscles give you that toned healthy look, no matter what your weight. And  maintaining muscle mass is crucial the older we get. This means weight training, folks and plenty of good protein. Weight bearing exercise like brisk walking is great for anyone and all you need is a good pair of fitness shoes. Incorporate protein in your meals and aim for at 25 - 30 grams per meal depending on your activity level. Your body can't build muscle without protein. But don't neglect complex carbs either like fruits and leafy green veggies. They supply the vitamins and some minerals like calcium and magnesium which is lacking in our soil these days. 

Think Fitness Plan instead of "Diet"
How many times have I heard friends bemoan "Oh, I have to start my diet tomorrow..." The word "diet" has gotten a bad rap, and implies deprivation so let's throw that out because no one wants to feel deprived. Let's use "fitness plan" instead. Fitness plan implies a thought-out strategy to achieve fitness, strength, and longevity. Doesn't that sound much better? It's all about mindset, folks. We have to reprogram our thinking about getting healthy and make it something we look forward to, not something we dread doing. 

Think Today Not Tomorrow 
It is never too late to change our habits and get healthy. There is no time like the present to do so. I believe in taking baby steps to make change doable. Small changes like substituting lemon water for that daily soda or coffee fix. Going for a walk at lunch or after dinner instead of sitting at your desk or watching the boob tube. Ditching sweets and snacks and choosing fruits and veggies to munch on instead. The key is to stop making excuses. You are worth it! You deserve to be healthy! You owe it to yourself and to your loved ones. 

For Reflection:

What fitness goals would you like to achieve? What small step can you take this week towards a goal? Today is a great time to take action so you can feel good in that new swimsuit and at the beach. 

I hope you are inspired by our new series. My goal is to motivate you to make the changes you desire so you can fulfill YOUR DESTINY! And do pass this on to a friend who will love you for it. 

If you enjoyed this post and would like to join our community, simply enter your email address in the box provided. You'll receive my weekly posts AND a copy of my free guide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path", and remember, communication and community is a two-way street so feel free to connect with me and others on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @ArielPaz08. 

In the meantime, check out my other offerings on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple. Pop on over to Pinterest and enjoy the collection I have curated for you. I just recently started posting on Instagram so follow me there too!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned as we learn more on how to ignite the power within so you can take back your life and discover YOUR destiny!

Until next time, keep looking up!

Ariel Paz

Step 3 - Rewire Your Brain and Improve Your Memory

Your brain is your most expensive real estate. Do you realize that? What we think, what we eat, and how we manage our stress all have a HUGE impact on our brain. What's more, scientists now know that we CAN rewire our brain. It is a process called neuroplasticity. How we think and what we think about can reprogram our brains for years to come. Welcome to week 3 on developing a spiritual practice. 

So far we've talked about reading spiritual material and starting the habit of journaling. This week I'm sharing on memorizing positive phrases and verses. 

                                             

Use it or Lose it

These days we don't have to use our memorization skills as much. Educators abandoned memory skills years ago, sadly. Our cell phones store all our phone numbers. We have planners and online calendars that remind of us our schedule and to do's. When was the last time you actually memorized something? And then we wonder why our memory is not so great and we forget things. 

Benefits of Memorization

Memorizing stuff is beneficial at any age, from the very young to the elderly. Remember learning songs in childhood that had little hand gestures to go with them? Like "itsy bitsy spider goes up the water spout"? Here's a cute video.  I remember having to memorize Shakespeare in school and recite it before my class. "Friends, romans, countrymen, lend me your ears...." 

Memorizing things gives your brain a workout. It helps stimulate the neural pathways that help ward off cognitive decline. For more on the benefits, give a read to this article by the Cleveland Clinic. 

Reprogram Your Brain

How we think and what we think determines our outlook on life, be it positive or negative and since you are reading this post, I believe you want to think and be a more positive person. This is where memorizing scripture verses comes in. Scripture is positive data. Faith-filled thoughts that dispel anxiety, fear, loneliness and much more. In times of stress, our brains (via the Holy Spirit) will bring to our consciousness the verses we have memorized which will help keep us grounded and at peace during stressful times. 

Scripture Has Power

Not only is memorizing scripture good for our brains, did you know that speaking out scripture gives us supernatural power? Yes, indeed. God is obligated to fulfill his word. There is power in His Word. So the next time you are in a bind, try speaking out a verse of scripture and see what happens.

For Reflection

What have you memorized lately? What sacred text will you be memorizing? Start small with short verses. Here's one to get you started "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind." (2 Tim 1:7). 

Do write and let me know what you thought of this post. Love hearing from you. Stay tuned for more practice wisdom to help us all become better people and more connected to ourselves and God. 

If you enjoyed this post, do consider joining our community of growth-oriented folks. Simply enter your email address in the box provided on the right and you'll receive my weekly newsletter. You'll also receive my free eguide "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path" which I think you will enjoy also. 

In the meantime, check out my books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple. Pop on over to Pinterest and enjoy the collection I have curated for you. 

Until next time, thanks for reading, and

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz 

 

Ignite the Power Within Step 3:8 Tips for Breaking a Bad Habit

Bad habits. We all have them. Don't kid yourself that your seemingly perfect friend is flawless. She has hers too. Habits are tough to break, for sure, but they can be broken.  Today, in our continuing series on transformation, we'll talk about how changing our thinking and learning to let go can help us transform our lives.

Where do bad habits start?
Bad habits often come from a poor self-image. Some bad habits include over-eating, getting high, drinking or shopping to excess, biting one's nails, picking one's skin, etc. The list goes on and on. The media overemphasizes being thin, having long luxurious hair and a porcelain complexion. It is important to realize these are all just mind games to make us spend our money on their products. Being super-model thin, having extra long lashes or a peaches and cream complexion is not going to make us a better person but our society has been conditioned to place a high value on the superficial. True beauty comes from within a person, not what's on the outside. 

No matter how long we have had the habit, it is possible to break it. We have probably had them for quite a while so be patient with yourself. Here are some steps I am using to break one of my bad habits.

1. Make a decision to let it go.
All change starts with a decision and a change of mind. We must decide we are no longer going to tolerate a certain behavior and that we are going to make geting rid of it a top priority. It is hard to tackle a bad habit when we are busy focused on other things.  

2. Bring more awareness to the habit.
Instead of pretending it is not a problem, really focus on when you engage in the habit. As we said before, practice mindfulness. Be more aware of how often you do the behavior. It helps to write down when we engage in the behavior AND how we are feeling at the time. This helps bring the unconscious into the conscious. Keeping a log or a journal is great for bringing habits into awareness. 

3. Notice how you're feeling.
Emotions and stress have a lot to do with bad habits. We reach for the ice cream, the mac and cheese,  the chocolate or the glass of wine when we're feeling stressed and need comforting. Feeling our feelings is vital to connecting the dots and making positive changes. When we ignore our feelings, we fall back in the same negative patterns. Respect your feelings and give them the attention they are asking for.   

4. Substitute positive behaviors for the negative behavior. 
For example, instead of having that piece of cake or cookie, pick up a piece of fruit or go for a walk. Sip a glass of lemon water or hot herbal tea instead of alcohol. Stop yourself before you engage in the behavior by counting to 6 slowly. Then ask yourself if you really want whatever it is. If you do, go ahead and indulge and don't feel guilty. You are making a conscious choice and that is part of breaking the habit loop.

5. Be patient with yourself. 
Most bad habits took years to develop. Changing them isn't going to happen overnight and there will be setbacks. Forgive yourself, understand what caused the setback, and start again. Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up. That only enforces the behavior. Remember - tomorrow is a new day.

6. Develop a support system. 
Yes, I know it is embarassing to share your flaws with another person but we need support. Find someone you can trust and confide in them. Use the buddy system. Have them tell you something they want to work on and you can be the support for them and vice versa.  Don't try to go it alone.

7. Manage the stress. 
Stress makes us more prone to give in to bad habits: having that extra glass of wine, going back for seconds, chugging the beer, and heading for the bathroom mirror. When we are stressed, we have less self-control. We tell ourselves things like "I worked hard all week. I deserve this." What we deserve is to take better care of ourselves and to treat ourselves and our bodies with respect.

8. Watch the self-talk. 
Habits develop over time. We have internal dialogues that we might not even be aware of that perpetuate bad habits. For example, we might think "I ought to have perfectly thin thighs. But because I don't, I'm fat and ugly". Or "I can't put on a swimsuit because of these thighs." Men do the same thing. How many times have you seen a man wearing a cap on and when he takes it off, he is bald. Don't they know bald is sexy? These types of negative thinking patterns distort the truth about ourselves. We don't have to have perfectly thin or clear anything. We don't need a full head of hair to be loveable. We need to love ourselves exactly as we are while we are working on improving. Self-love and acceptance are crucial to making changes.

So there you have my 8 tips for breaking a bad habit. Give them a try and hang in there. You are not alone. We all have habits to break. When we make taking better care of ourselves a priority, we will see progress.

For Reflection 

What habit would you like to get rid of? Will you make a decision to make changing a priority? What are you saying to yourself about your habit? 

If you enjoyed this post and would like to join our blog community, enter your email address in the box provided. I'll also send you out a copy of my free e-guide entitled "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". 

This wraps up our series on transformation. I hope you enjoyed it. As the busy season and the flu season ramp up, the topic for October will be on staying well and healthy as we prepare for the holiday season. We'll talk about health, flu prevention, sleep, and maybe some Ayurvedic philosophies thrown in. Do tune in! 

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz

Breaking the Impulse Habit

It's a new year and most of us have areas we'd like to grow in. Perhaps we want to get a better handle on our finances or our diets, finally start an exercise routine, or like me, make meditation a part of your day. These are all habits. Habits, as you know, can be good or bad. They can move us forward into our destiny and they can keep us from moving forward as well.

The key to becoming all you want to be is creating good, healthy, habits and unlearning bad, unhealthy ones. Today's post is on a simple but powerful chain of events we all go through many times a day and how to use this process to develop better behavior patterns that move us forward into the life we dream of and deserve!

It all starts in our minds.
We each have more than 60,000 thoughts a day which include thoughts, memories, and feelings. These are sensory inputs into our behavior and actions. These sensory inputs are evaluated - appraised - by our consciousness. This is why mindfulness practice is so important. In order to take control of our habits and behaviors, we must first take control of the sensory inputs that are causing them. This is what mindfulness is all about.

The appraisal process. 
Whenever a thought, memory, feeling, or emotion rises up, our conscious (or perhaps not so conscious mind) evaluates it as either pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Each of our 60,000+ thoughts are evaluated instanteously and then what happens? We react, don't we?

The reaction. 
Reacting is usually not the proper thing to do in normal situations. We want to live a conscious life, meaning we make conscious choices including what to do about our thoughts, emotions, and feelings. They can control us and make us do or say things we will soon regret. How many times have we lost our temper because we misinterpreted what someone said and blasted a loved one? How many times have we reached for that sweet to calm our stress or heartache? These are examples of reactions and not conscious choice.

With every appraisal, our minds react with either aversion, craving, or neutrality. Depending on our level of conscious awareness, we will be manipulated by these stimuli. I don't know about you, but that is not how I want to live. I have also noticed that stress and high emotion, hijack our consciousness. We regress to child-like behavior which is never a good thing. So what comes next?

The action. 
After we have appraised the stimulus as either pleasant or unpleasant, and reacted with either a desire or a disdain for whatever it is, we proceed to the third link in this chain of events - we take action. So here's an example, I feel pain in my hip - unpleasant. I don't like pain - aversion arises. I take action; I get up from my chair, I stretch, I complain. Or here's another example. A loved one says something. I evaluate it from my own perceptions and history. This evaluation may or may not be correct. I interpret what they say as negative - aversion. Next I take action. I can either question what they mean (healthy) or I can yell at them (unhealthy). These are just two examples of this powerful Appraisal - Impulse - Action chain that we must take control of if we want to be more in control of our own lives.

What area of life would you like more control of? It's a new year so it is a perfect time to make change. Start with something small - like maybe not replying as quickly when someone says something. Most of us are too quick to answer and don't give enough thought before we do. Write and let me know how it goes for you. We can all learn from each other, yes?

If you enjoyed this post and found it helpful, consider joining our community.  For more on helping us all find healing, wholeness and harmony and discovering our destiny, enter your email in the box provided. You'll receive my bi-weekly posts as well as a copy of my free eguide, "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". 

Stay tuned for more on this, and until next time,

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz 

Why Your Daily Choices are So Important

We all make lots of choices every day. Some are concious and others are from sheer habit. Some of them are minor like what shirt or tie to wear or where to have lunch. Other choices are much more important and in fact, some determine our destiny, like what career path we pursue, if we choose to marry and who, who we hang around with, and what actions we will take. In reality, our lives as well as our destinies are made up of the many decisions we make every day.

Think about it for a moment. Choices about what to eat, what to buy, whether to exercise or plop ourselves in front of the boob tube over time, all become habits - some good, some bad. These habits will either benefit us or harm us in the long run and by then, it will be too late.

Daily choices of a donut over a piece of fruit,  a workout or a boob tube session, a choice to be kind or to be rude, a choice to stay addicted or to get healthy, a choice to choose peace or to allow drama and strife. Our choices determine our lives and our destinies.

The same principle applies to our thoughts and beliefs.
We can choose positive uplifting and hope-filled thoughts. Or we can choose negative, depressing, and discouraging thoughts. We can choose to see the silver lining of every difficult situation or we can allow our peace and joy to be stolen by the inevitable challenges of life.

This same principle applies to our spiritual beliefs.
Spirituality is a crucial component of our lives. We are spiritual beings living in a physical body. Ignoring our spiritual self is like ignoring our need to eat or sleep. We are body, mind, and spirit and all three components need to be attended to.

We can choose to have faith in God or not. We can choose to have faith in ourselves or not. And we can choose to have faith in others, or not. The daily choices we make in this area will strongly impact who and what we will become and whether our not we will achieve our destiny. Our choices also impact who and what others become.

So today, I ask you this question: will you choose faith? Will you choose to believe in God, yourself and your loved ones? As the Bible says "Faith is the belief in things not yet seen". Because, after all, if we could see it, it wouldn't be faith at all now would it?

I hope this post was encouraging. If you enjoyed it, enter your email address in the box provided to join our community and receive my bi-weekly posts. You'll also receive a copy of my free eguide "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". 

Until next time, choose to believe in yourself, in others, and in God and as always,

Keep looking up!

Ariel Paz