4 Tips on Finding Inner Peace

Recharge Your Mind

Do you feel that your life is a constant treadmill? Is your mind and life filled with worry and stress? Are you overwhelmed because there is always something happening that robs your focus, interrupts your plans and steals your peace and energy? Sometimes, don’t you want it all to stop?

Growing up in the 60s, I always had time to complete household tasks, like cutting grass, over a weekend ... but also I had plenty of time to wash and wax my car as well as relax and have fun. No more. Now with everything that seems to be required by family, community, job and society and with the advances of technology, I feel drained with never enough time. In my mind, all I hear is “You are a failure. You didn’t finish.”

This mantra becomes endless and overwhelming. Where does the time go? Why don't I have time for me? Finding time is like attempting to find a needle in a hay stack. Boy ... that saying dates me.

Seriously, acquiring a skill or method to recharge your brain is necessary to mental, emotional and physical health. Everyone knows that recharging your mind is essential to increasing creative activity, mental focus and spiritual enhancement.

Sometimes unknowingly, you want what you don’t know you need. For the most part, you are unaware of building stress due to hectic pace of your life. Stress and mental chatter slowly increase, and then it hits. You do not recognize it and do not know how to get rid of the icky feeling. Please understand that stress makes you react irrationally and you become tense, constricted or revved up. In a revved up state, you may eat too much, forget appointments, drive erratically or get angry with others.  Many turn to food, drugs or other non-self-serving activities in an attempt to counteract the mental drain, emotional upheaval and confusion.

You are left with "What do I do?" and "Where do I go?"

Three Factors in Gaining Inner Peace

Factor One - Commitment

First of all, you have to be willing to make a commitment to yourself by affirming out loud “I am worth time every day for me.” This verbal declaration is a commitment ... a promise to yourself. If you make a promise to yourself, it is more likely that you will follow through. A self-promise is the hardest promise to break. When you break a self-promise, you know you are breaking it.

Factor Two - Consistency

Secondly, you have to create a daily schedule and mark a specific periods for Me Time in that schedule. Consistency is the key. For Me Time to successfully recharge, you should be certain to honor the commitment every day for the first 90 days. Once the first 90 are completed, you can move into a maintenance level of 4 to 5 days a week. Any less, and you will not get the results you are looking for.

Factor Three - Discipline

The last factor is willingness to form a discipline. Discipline is the act of forming a pattern over time with practice that produces mental improvement, comfort and overall well-being. With practice, you can train your mind to respond on what matters in the moment.

Me Time

I know that you can relate to recharging you batteries on your phone, your tablet, or laptop, etc. in order for it to function. Also, to improve the performance of your devices, you have to periodically turn your devices off completely for a while. The same is true for your mind. You cannot run on maximum power 24/7 and expect to function at peak performance.  The wear and tear on your mind is enormous. Recharging is vital to overall well-being, and with recharging your batteries, you will be more energized, focused and tranquil.

If you have a lot of chatter in your mind or you experience thought looping, a period of any kind of quiet time will help you attain some level of inner peace and comfort.

If you desire a greater degree of inner peace, then try a little Me Time.  Me Time is a mindful method that can rejuvenate your mind. Me Time or communing with yourself is a free style form of meditation and a great method of recharging your brain. To recharge your batteries, you have to achieve mental quiet and reduce the vibration activity in your mind.  Your question is probably “how do you do that?”

How to Recharge

I would like to share with you the process of Me Time to recharge mind. Dedicate 5 to 10 minutes a day to Me Time. Find a comfortable place, shut off all devices, sit back, close your eyes and with your imagination place a dot on the inside of your forehead. Focus intensely on that dot. As you breathe in, make the dot increase in brightness. Then as you breathe out, let it decrease in brightness. Within 5 to 10 minutes, your mind will be recharged. You will be surprised what a mere 5 to 10 minutes of quieting the mind can do to turn things around for you and improve your day.

4 Tips on Recharging Your Mind

Breathing

Find a quiet place ... close your eyes and just focus on your breathing. Focus on breathing in and then out. Breathing can be done either completely unconsciously or completely consciously. Breathing engages two distinct sets of muscles and nerves, depending on whether you use involuntary nerves and muscles or the voluntary. With focused breathing for 5 to 10 minutes a day, you will find that the breath has the unique characteristic of not only recharging your mind but also your body.

Go Outside

Make a point of going outside and enjoy nature. Talk a walk, go to a park or go to the beach. Observing nature can recharge you spiritual batteries. Just sitting and observing your natural environment brings stillness and nurtures you. So go outside for a little while and attune to the rhythm and vibration of the great outdoors.

The Power of Laughing and Smiling

Laughing and smiling, will also recharge your batteries. A full-out belly laugh or even a simple smile can make such a difference in not just you, but it can also lighten up your environment. Both change the chemical level in your mind and makes you feel better overall. They reduce stress and prevent negativity from entering your consciousness.

After Thoughts

I am positive one of these methods in this article will help you recharge your mind, settle your emotions, comfort your body and brighten your spirit.

 Take action…

I would love to hear your perspective.  Please express your opinion by leaving a comment below with your answer.

                           

Why Mind Code Rule Thoughts - Video

Let me ask you some questions. 

- Why are you not living your passion?

- Why are you not doing the work you truly love?

- Why are you not loving yourself?

- Why are you not having what you want?

- Why are you not living your dream?

Do you know? Is it possible that the reason is you do not believe in yourself? In fact do you believe others are more capable, smarter and deserving than you ? 

Maybe the answer to all of the above "why your are not" questions is the result of bad mind code? Very possible.

Understanding what mind code is and how it works

Everyone who has a computer is somewhat knowledgeable of "source code" Source code is the code that runs a computer in the background such as all the prettiness it produces from websites, pictures, word documents and so on. Basically it is the instructions of how the computer is to perform. If the code is written  bad then the computer does not work as it should. A virus or one small symbol change in all the pages of source code can ruin the whole computer. If you have ever experienced "blue screened of death" it is because there is an error in the operating system source code. A operating system source code error is also known as "bad code". Generally once that happens then it is off to the store to buy a new computer. 

Well the brain is the same way. The brain has two types of code to operate a whole human, innate code and mind code.  Both types of code are written and embedded without your knowledge. 

One from the time of conception and the other as your life unfolds. Both are undetectable to your conscious mind because they are embedded deep within your subconscious mind.

Innate Code

First human code is innate code. Innate coding is procedural instructions built into a human's DNA for how the body will work automatically. Innate code controls heartbeat, blood pressure, respiration, pulse, digestion and much more. 

Mind Code

Mind code or "event coding" determines how the mind will respond to life (think, feel, act and reaction). Event coding is procedural instructions or messages formed about self as a result of the experiences events.  So how is the mind code detected?


Recognizing Mind Code

"Core beliefs are your windows to your mind code"

There is a way to recognize and view a person's mind code. It is possible through a person's core beliefs. 

Core beliefs are the messages or procedural instructions formed by the person about the person during each life event experienced throughout a lifetime. So what does that all mean? If the core beliefs are negative then how a person thinks, feels, acts and reacts is negative. On the other hand if the core beliefs are positive then influence on the same will be positive. Of course there is no true negative core beliefs or positive ones you say. You are correct. But it is the balance of percentage of positive versus negative. Once core beliefs are made visible and based on the flavor or  inference of  those core beliefs then it is only one small step to understanding the nature of the mind code.

 Importantly, if  the majority of core beliefs are negative then thoughts and feels toward self will cause a person to be self defeating, self limiting, and or self punishing.

Another point is that core beliefs are the reflection of the person's mind code. The core beliefs can be motivators or barriers to getting what is wanted or achieving happiness or success.

So what can be done?

Discover the nature of your mind code, learn to shift it and your life will be whatever you want.

How do you do that? 

I am about to launch a groundbreaking mindcodearchitecture© self help product which can help anyone recognize his or her core beliefs, identify whether the embedded core beliefs generated from the mind code are motivators or barriers, positive or negative, create new core beliefs, shift what is not want and  radically change his or her Personal Philosophy.

Discover your mind's code that governs how you think, act, feel and react by watching this Mini Lecture on What is Mind Code? 

Start discovering your own mind code by experiencing the 

30 Day Mini Mind Challenge for FREE.

                                                   

8 Warning Signs Addiction Recovery is Fading

Addiction recovery is a fragile process that requires commitment to a promise to sobriety. Addiction recovery is a fragile process that requires commitment to a promise to sobriety. Many people attempting to achieve sobriety and a successful recovery find it very hard to keep to their promise to abstain. Many people, places and life situations will cause a person to relapse. 

Addiction recovery takes focus on your direction, commitment and consistency of performing your action plan. Relapse can happen at any time. If you are not aware of the warning signs of relapse you will not know when a relapse is about to happen.

8 warning signs that your addiction recovery is fading

1. Unwilling to get real about your addiction

To break an addictive pattern you have to be willing and ready to become sober and change your patterns of self-destruction.  Denial can blind a person's eyes, heart and thoughts toward your real need for sobriety. If you are entering into sobriety for some external reason other than self, sobriety is doomed to fail from the start. Be self honest about your motives to recover.   

2. Continued withholding of self-love

"Addiction enters when self-love evaporates."

Many do not realize that self-love is a major issue in addiction. The addicting process is so destructive to a person's character. The addiction soon takes center stage of your life. Addiction will cause you to abandon family, friends, interests, career and most importantly self. Understand in recovery self-love is strength and a barrier to destructiveness.

3. False recognition that you don't need help to get sober 

Recovery is more than just a decision not to use. It is more than a choice to "not do" a substance or habitual pattern. Recognition of how your thoughts or behavior is are distorting your view of self, actions and others. Becoming addicted is the act of forming a relationship with a substance, thought, emotion or behavior, which initially is viewed as vital and beneficial but over time turns toxic. Refusal to admit to the anger and grief of losing that addictive relationship can cause major internal disruption. The idea that you can do alone is a false acknowledgement. Without help the influence of past addicted patterns will draw you to return to the toxic relationship.

4. Looking all the time for a sure fire cure 

The major attraction about addictions is the immediate gratification gained. Recovery is the opposite. Recovery is a deep exploration, readiness, and willingness to commit to the long haul. It takes time, patience and investment. One needs to recognize the original thought that proceeded use, identify your character flaws, and focus consciously daily on the real underlying issues. There is not quick cure. Be willing to spend the time in sobriety.

5. Making excuses for unhealthy thought patterns 

 If you are don't identify and change the thoughts that got you started into the addictive relationship then the original distorted thoughts will surface and take over at any time. The subconscious will allow the sobriety to occur for a while and then trick you into to returning to old thought patterns. Thoughts such as "I am not good enough without___", something bad will happen if I don't use ____", and "I need ___ to function (be social...)". Don't be fooled - every addiction starts with a thought.

6.  Believing recovery is a road to failure

Recovery is an up and down process. One moment sobriety is easy and the next it is full of nothing but hurt and pain. It is a moment to moment battle. Recovery is a hard and constant conscious effort until a new pattern is established. It will take a good 6 months to a year to establish a new pattern. Understand that the strongest skill an addict has is the ability to create habitual patterns. Create and practice a healthy pattern. Choose freedom, not enslavement.

7. Believing short-term sobriety is a cure 

In the short-term the subconscious will allow a change to happen and remain silent. But after time the subconscious will soon torment the conscious mind to return to comfort. Comfort is the old established pattern of use.  

Many recovery addicts believe that after a short time of sobriety they can return to maintenance use without consequences. The subconscious which make 90% of all decisions, will convince you that you are cured and one use will not cause a problem. Don't be tricked. Sobriety is long-term commitment. There is not a cure. Underlying, once an addict always an addict.

8. Inability to love self

Addiction enters when self-love is lost. Part of a successful recovery is to reconnect with self and begin to build a loving relationship with self. If there is no self love there then it is very possible relapse will occur. Addictive habits are developed to fill the hole where self was once.

Own and guard your sobriety or you will be headed for doom and failure in the form of relapse. Be strong in your resolve. Know the warning signs and engage help as soon as you notice anyone of them.

Take Away

To increase success in recovery design a strong action plan with a sponsor or holistic addiction recovery coach, commit to it, follow through each step, create positive thoughts and practice health each day.

                                      

About the Author

The author, Coach Bill Tollefson, is a Master Certified Holistic Addiction Recovery and Life Coach in Cape Coral Florida. He brings his education, expertise and training of 38 years as a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, reality therapist and licensed addiction counselor to his life coaching practice. 

Dr. Bill coaches over  Skype and by phone - 239-349-2209. Or go to his website for more information.

Or join Dr. Bill's Making a Positive Change Community for FREE

2 Quick Tips on Setting Up Boundaries

If you have ever been in therapy or life coaching you know how important personal boundaries are to have. Many do not understand or how to create boundaries. Unfortunately even when you learn them, putting them into action is another thing.

What are Boundaries?

Simply put, boundaries are like a "job description". With healthy boundaries you can ensure your personal safety and protection when you are with other people. Without boundaries you are vulnerable and unprotected. Others will think that they can do, make you do or say anything whatever to you and you will accept it. 

Basically boundaries are an invisible but a clear line between what you will do or not do, what you will allow and not allow,and what you will accept and not accept. Boundaries convey to others what your limits are. 

Believe it or not other people are happy when they know what your limits are. It helps them to know how to treat you.

6 Types of Boundaries

There are many different types of personal boundaries. Here are just a few:

Emotional

Mental

Physical 

Sexual

Spiritual

Environmental

If you don't have them what does that mean?

Sometimes the lack of boundaries is merely a sign of a deeper problem: confidence, esteem, feeling undeserving and unworthiness.

2 Quick Tips on Setting Up Boundaries

1. How you want to be treated.

Write a list of all the things you will not accept from others or do with as well as for other people in each of the type of boundaries mentioned above.

For example: "I will not accept you using anger toward me when you talk to me."

2. Set a Consequence

When you set a boundary be sure to attach a consequence. 

For example: If you talk to me like that I will walk away." 
Consequences tells other people what you will do if they break your personal boundaries. Be sure if you set up consequences, when they break them you follow through with the consequence.

After Thoughts

To be healthy in mind, body and spirit, you need to have strong positive personal boundaries. Boundaries help you to make positive changes in your life and know what you stand for.

Learn More at Dr. Bill's website 

                                      

Story of Life Coaching Success: Guest Blog

I was asked to guest blog and I wanted to write to say what a difference life coaching has made for me and my life.  I have spent all of my adult life in therapy, trying to recover from devastating childhood trauma.  The best I ever got was a temporary false sense of healing that never lasted. With each new therapist I tried, I hoped that “this would be the one” who finally had the key to my freedom.  And after every new therapist, I suffered more devastation when my pain returned even more deeply and intensely than before.  My issues seemed overwhelming and literally terminal to me. 

Then I discovered, quite by accident, Dr. William Tollefson, Life Coach.  Coaching with him I have made a positive change in my life. I discovered what had eluded me for literally decades.  Today, I live in glorious freedom.  Freedom to enjoy each day, make good decisions, have healthy relationships and think clearly for myself.  I am a whole, healthy human being for the first time.  I can say this with full confidence because it has not only lasted, but the authenticity of my healing is apparent to me and to others by my sense of owning myself,  thoughts, body, heart and soul totally like I have never had before.  I know who I am today.  I love myself, care for myself and am capable of loving and healthy relationship with others. 

Life Coaching, Dr. Bill in particular, uses and teaches tangible, real-life exercises and skills that are life changing if you are willing to put in the work.  No more hashing through your past, just powerful emancipating experiences through assignments.  All I had to do was trust the process, complete my assignments and practice my new skills.  If you are ready to do the hard work along with a sincere desire to reach for a better life then life coaching is for you. Discover the barriers that keep you from having the life you desire. If you just feel “stuck” in any area of your life, life coaching is the way because it certainly helped me to recognize the key to my growth. I held the answers to my questions of what I needed to change my life.

What 40 years of therapy couldn't do for me, life coaching with Dr. Bill did!!!! 

Go for it!!!

J.B.

10 Guidelines for a Healthier Body and Mind

One of the good aspects of Life coaching is that I get to work with a person as a whole. I mean every aspects of them. Not only do I assist a client to look at his or her issues, intentions, goals, barriers, relationships, performance skills but also career, health and exercise as well as nutrition because they work together to make a life. A person cannot be separated into parts, but as a whole system. If you just work on one aspect then some other aspect of his or her life is out of balance.

So in this blog, I would like to address healthy nutrition and shift into a healthier mindset. With a world or fast food, processed food and larger than life portions at restaurants, everyone is concerned about their weight and health.

Here are some useful guidelines for healthy eating and helping your body make a positive change. These suggestions can increase your awareness in the area of nutrition and if followed, they can better your physical and mental life.

1. Spicy Food

Want to wake up your metabolism. Include chilies, and hot peppers (Cherry, Anaheim, Jalapeno, etc.) in menu and your cooking. Any type of pepper containing Capsaicin. Capsaicin naturally melts fat cells in your body. Spicy foods will naturally cause you to eat less.

2. Detoxing Water Drinks 

No matter how “clean” of a life a you lead, eating healthy, frequent exercise, good sleep, and regular stress relief, a body is likely to show evidence of accumulated toxicity. Regular detoxing is extremely important to good health. Purifying drink waters can help your body to rid itself of some of these toxins, while also giving your body a chance to reset, repair and regroup.

Here is two suggestions that will help you to detox your body.

First is lemon water. First thing in the morning, heat up a 1/2 a cup of water and squeeze in a half a lemon. Drink and wait for a 1/2 hour before eating or drinking anything. One drop of hot sauce would enhance flavor. This will help detox the body.

Second is Ginger water. Cut finely a few slices of ginger (root) and place in with boiling water for about ten minutes and drink 1/2 of cup of the water is has cooled down. The pungent compounds found in ginger water boost your energy level. At the same time it purifies your body.

Wait 30 minute before drinking or eating anything else.

3. Get Plenty of Sleep

Put down your electronics...computer, tablet, and cell phone....as well as turn off the TV when you go to bed. It is recommended you get at least six to eight hours of sleep per night. Sleep benefits the body in many ways and breaks down unwanted weight fastest. US research studies has shown that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 hours after midnight.

U.S. research studies found: During sleep, our metabolism is running at full throttle.

4. Cut Out Carbohydrates in the Evening

Cut out carbohydrate - rich foods such as potatoes products, bread, rice, pasta and bread sticks for dinner. The highest rate of fat burn is at night. So the more carbohydrates you eat after 4:00 pm the harder it is for your body to get rid of it. What would be better would be meals in the evenings are contain fish or lean meats with salad (with low salt and low fat salad dressings).

Think about giving up white flour and wheat products for your health. Current wheat seeds have been mutated and are one of the major contributors to obesity. Flour and wheat products are not the same as back in the 1960s and have more powerful damaging result on your body.

5. Stay Away from Processed Foods

Processed food are any food treated to preserve, enhance the flavor, lengthen its shelf life or change the texture, in such foods as processed meats, packaged baked goods, and frozen dinners. Processed food can cause weight gain quickly, increase high blood sugar, increase possibility for diabetes and heart disease.

Cooking from scratch at home can take longer but is so much healthier.

6. Cut Out Sugar

Stop eating sugar or sugar substitute products. These products cause the Adrenal glands to produce adrenaline to neutralize the ingested sugar. Sugar substitute products actually fake out the body. The body thinks it is getting a lot of sugar and produces a large amounts of adrenaline to counter act it. Since the body is left with the produced adrenaline, the body yearns for more food to reduce the surplus adrenaline. So avoid diet products. Diet products are not the answer to losing weight and can prompt your body to eat more. USDA research studies show that artificial sweeteners suppress metabolism and can trigger food cravings.

6. Adopt a No Dinner Day

Consider not eating one dinner once a week. Just drink only calorie-free drinks throughout the evening, such as mineral water or unsweetened tea or green tea. This will not only shed the pounds, but also slows down your aging process.  

7. Don't Miss Breakfast 

Don't skip breakfast under any circumstances.
Eating breakfast in the morning is good for your body and kicks up metabolism rate and burns calories over the entire day. 

8. Water is your Body's Best Friend

Water is your body's main chemical component and makes up 60% of your body weight. Every cell in a human's body needs water. 2/3 of body is consists of water, and it is the main component of human body. The brain consists 90% water. Water helps to keep fluid levels up without adding additives and restrains hunger. It also increases hydration and the energy consumption. Every day you lose water through your breath, sweat, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply. 

How much? For your body to function properly and health of your skin, you must replenish its water supply.  Suggestion is that you drink at least 1 gallon of water and eat food which contains water. You will burn around 100 calories extra just by drinking water.

Eating foods that have large volume of water and less calories, such as vegetables, soups and fruits will make the stomach fill full without adding fat.

9. Leave Snacks in the Snack Machines

Give up eating snacks between meals, especially if you are a diabetic. Nibbling from a snack machine daily or often increases your insulin level, which will inhibit fat loss.

10. Vigorous Daily Walking or Exercise

Walk, walk and walk some more. Walking daily for at least 30 to 45 minutes a day can influence your health positively, increase weight lose by raising metabolism rate, reduce stress and enhances mood by increasing endorphins in your brain. Your skin is an important route of elimination, and your body is capable of removing many toxins through your sweat. Vigorous walking and exercise can help your body to sweat more while also enhancing blood flow to remove toxins through your skin. 


If you adopt and follow all 10 guidelines above, your body will 

become healthier and strong as well as your mind. 

If you need help getting your body and mind healthier then visit my website home page at: http://www.MakingaPositiveChange.com  and download your FREE eBook today.

Also take the FREE mini mind challenge to see if you are a candidate for the 30 Day Challenge

The 30 Day Challenge is a self help product which can help you learn if you are your own barrier to being healthy and reverse it in ONE MONTH.