Purpose Driven Vision Boards

Many years ago I was introduced to vision boards. A vision board is any sort of board on which you display images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life. Some people call them dream boards. The person leading the group asked us to find images that would describe our ideal business. Then we cut and pasted the images that we had chosen out of magazines onto a piece of Bristol board. The vision board we each made was supposed to help us clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on, in this case, our business. It was to represent our vision of the future and act as a visualization tool. It was supposed to prompt us to visualize our ideal life on a regular basis.

The challenge I had was, that this activity was done in a couple of hours and I felt rushed and I felt incomplete. There was no inner reflection time to get clear on what I really wanted. So I just grabbed images that I thought would work but was unhappy with my rushed finished product. As a result, I put the vision board away in a closet and didn’t look at it again until I moved house. It really was not a vision board for me.

Then due to my coaching business, I came across vision boards again but this time really looked into how to do one that would actually work. I took the time to really go into my thoughts, dreams, aspirations and then created a vision board that actually worked. I manifested what was on my board this time. In the case of Hawaii (which was on my board), I even manifested an all expense paid trip.

So what was the difference? The first vision board did not have a real intention behind it. I also put it away and did not see it daily as a reminder of what I wanted to manifest.

When I made the second vision board I had an intention and a purpose for making it. I took time to do some inner exercises so that I was really clear on what I wanted. I created a calm space and had some music playing in the background as I searched for my images in a relaxed mode. Another aspect of making a purpose driven vision board is that I was aligned through my heart with what was on the board. I was emotionally connected to what I put on that board. I even added emotional words to my board. I laid everything out before gluing and then rearranged until it felt right.

After I had finished the board I had the board in front of me daily and I was able to affirm the desires on the board. What we focus on expands so I made a point to visualize daily and sometimes twice a day. This helped me to be a vibrational match to what was on my board and activate the Law of Attraction.

I took appropriate action towards manifesting what was on my board.  I also became aware of some resistance in the form of old belief systems. Old stories and thoughts reared their head and I had to strengthen my resolve to stay focused on what was on my vision board. I had to bring myself back to the vibration that was present when I made the board. My future purpose driven vision. I made the decision to take responsibility for my life, and instead of just letting life happen to me, I stayed focused on my vision and how I wanted to feel.

The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words,” certainly holds true here. The purpose of your vision board is to bring everything on it to life. First, think about what your goals are in the following areas: relationships, career and finances, home, travel, personal growth (including spirituality, social life, education) and health. Decide on what area you want to do a vision board and then set the time aside to do it.

If you would like guidance around your purpose and some like-minded people around as you make your vision board, let me know as I have some dates set aside to do exactly that.

To your future purpose driven vision,

Charlene

Daily Reflections To Make 2018 Your Greatest Year

2018 is a blank canvas. Now we can CREATE with fresh minds and open hearts to pursue our passions and dreams. It’s always exciting to be able to start fresh and recommit to our dreams. Here are 10 growth ideas that can be daily reflections that will help you make 2018 a year to remember.

The Laws of Lifetime Growth

1. Always make your future bigger than your past.
2. Always make your learning greater than your experience.
3. Always make your contribution bigger than your reward.
4. Always make your performance greater than your applause
5. Always make your gratitude greater than your success.
6. Always make your enjoyment greater than your effort.
7. Always make your cooperation greater than your status.
8. Always make your confidence greater than your comfort.
9. Always make your purpose greater than your money.
10. Always make your questions bigger than your answers.

Besides these laws, I am offering a process to support you in creating an amazing 2018.

Do you know what a Vision Board is?

It’s a way to manifest your dream life. When you make a Vision Board, you get clear on what you want to create in your life.

Once you get clarity, you select images and words from magazines and paste them on a big poster board. Seeing this board each day aligns your brain with the outcomes you most want to attract. (Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres and Katy Perry all swear by Vision Boards).

It sounds pretty simple. (And yes, there is a process to make your Vision Board more powerful.)

So why doesn’t everyone create Vision Boards?  Well in my experience as a coach, most of us never make the time to go inside to do it. We let our busy, distracted lives keep us, well, busy and distracted. 

It is time to change that.

On Jan 13/18 I am hosting the first ever CREATE YOUR LIFE VISION BOARD WORKSHOP.  It’s a full day immersion for you to focus on your authentic life, core clarity and ideal outcomes.

Due to the deep nature of the work, I have only made 10 spaces available. Contact me if you want to participate.

Here’s to creating an intention for 2018 to be your best year yet.

Charlene

Laughter Yoga at The “Inner” Centre

After a great weekend training, I am now a Certified Laughter Yoga  Leader.  What is Laughter Yoga, you ask?

Laughter Yoga is a unique model where participants can laugh for no reason without relying on humor, jokes or comedy. People come together in a group and experience Laughter Yoga exercises interspersed with breathing and stretching exercises. There is also Laughter Yoga meditation and grounding techniques.

Laughter Yoga was developed by a medical doctor in Mumbai, India, Dr. Madan Kataria. He was researching the benefits of laughter and decided to field-test his findings. In 1995 he gathered a few people together and started a laughter club. Through trial and error, it grew and developed into what is now called Laughter Yoga. Today Laughter Yoga is a worldwide phenomenon with thousands of clubs.

Dr Kataria and his wife saw the similarities between laughter and Pranayama exercises.  Pranayama means control of breath. “Prana” is breath or vital energy in the body. On subtle levels, prana represents the energy responsible for life or life force, and “ayama” means control. So Pranayama is “control of breath”.  So combining laughter with this yoga breathing, it brings more oxygen to the body and the brain. This helps us feel more energetic and healthy.

People come together in groups to do Laughter Yoga and together with eye contact and childlike playfulness start to experience real and contagious laughter. The concept of Laughter Yoga is based on a scientific fact that the body cannot differentiate between fake and real laughter.  People get the same physiological and psychological benefits with both.

In order to get the scientifically proven health benefits of laughter, we need to laugh continuously for at least 10 to 15 minutes.  Since the laughter is an exercise, we can prolong our laughter for as long as we want.  So a typical Laughter Yoga session would involve several types of exercises and go anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes depending on the group.

The Laughter Yoga sessions are held in safe environments where one can laugh loudly and heartily. Because to reap the health benefits of laughter, it has to be loud and deep coming from the diaphragm; a deep belly laugh.  Besides the belly laughter exercises, we clap, stimulating acupressure points in the hands, we deep breath to help flush the lungs and bring about relaxation and we play. The objective of Laughter Yoga is to cultivate childlike playfulness that helps us laugh without any reason, increases our energy levels and builds enthusiasm.

Marjorie Moulin was our instructor this weekend and a good time was had by all. She is a transformational coach and led us through all the exercises and kept us laughing throughout the whole weekend. The training was held at The “Inner” Centre, a seminar room in North York that became our safe environment. The room was very versatile and the kitchen was a great place to exchange ideas and share food.

For more information on either Laughter Yoga sessions or renting The “Inner”  Centre, please contact me. I’m very excited to add this new modality to my repertoire.

To your good health and laughter!

Charlene

Health Stats That Might Make You Pause and Think

What do you think is the number two health stats cause of death each year?

According to the National Institutes of Health, obesity, and overweight together are the second leading cause of preventable death, close behind tobacco use.

So our calorie-rich food has become an insidious instrument of death. We are literally digging our grave with what we put into our mouth. Obesity caused by a bad diet and lack of exercise kills some 400,000 people in this country every single year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only smoking-related diseases account for more deaths with a total of 435, 000 annually.

Think about it, while our ancestors battled disease, famine, and starvation, we are killing ourselves with excess. On top of that, we no longer get exercised by having to out and gather or chase down our food. Instead, we are sitting hunched over a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone every day.

A recent article in The New York Times cited several studies showing that sitting for extended periods of time at a desk, in front of a T.V. etc. leads to weight gain and increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and a variety of cancers and early death. The body literally shuts down following prolonged periods of sitting causing a metabolic disaster of such proportions that even getting a full hour of exercise each day can’t offset the impact. Yikes.

We have a serious health care problem right now and most of it is self-inflicted. We aren’t taking proper care of our own health.  It is time to wake up and start questioning the status quo.

Many foods have become highly addictive and can create a super-normal stimulation to our brain. We also can get sucked into the pleasure trap. There are many layers to uncover in our patterns of eating. The bottom line is that our survival instinct kicks in and our primitive brain wants those calorie-rich foods in order to survive. So ask yourself, are you eating consciously or unconsciously?

You are the only one responsible for what you put into your mouth and how often you move your body. Think of your body as a mass of energy. Energy is your life force and vitality.  What you eat or drink either feeds and strengthens your energy or reduces and represses that energy. How you move and rest either circulates and replenishes that energy or depresses and decreases it. Become conscious of what you eat, what you read, what you watch, who you spend time with, and how you move your body.

Think for a moment and decide on even one adjustment you can make, to live a healthier lifestyle starting today. If you are stuck in any area, please reach out for help.

To your good health.

Charlene

7 Steps to a Healthier Life

Are you in a place where you are not satisfied with your current level of health?  Need a healthier life?

Perhaps your current level of fitness, or maybe your current level of energy? Are you feeling overweight and out of shape or are you simply feeling exhausted or stressed out?

Do you want to feel better? Do you want a healthier life?

We all want to change and to feel better but ultimately hate the idea of change. In fact, for real change to happen, we have to be really uncomfortable, in emotional discomfort or feeling afraid. Sometimes it has to really hurt before we will actually move forward and make any change.

Based on over 65 years of life experience around change, I have put together 7 key steps to help with the process of change so you can experience a healthier life.

Step # 1: Find Your Why

When you have a strong emotionally-charged WHY you will be propelled towards the change you want.

Step # 2: Make A Decision

The Latin of the word decision literally means, “to cut off.”  So to make a decision means that you are cutting off any other options and going for what you want to change.

Step # 3: Take Responsibility

Many people believe that their poor health is because of something outside of their control. If you truly want to change…you must take responsibility for your own choices. You must let go of excuses. Let go of victim mentality. Realize that no one has more invested in your health than you. Empower yourself by realizing that you can choose to change.

Step # 4: Change Your Vocabulary

Your thoughts become what you say. What you think and say will show up in your life. What you say to yourself is a reflection of your beliefs and reinforces your behaviors/habits. Changing your vocabulary will help you to imprint new beliefs. Use “I am” statements to reinforce the change you desire.

Step # 5: Look at Your Paradigms

Paradigms are habitual behavior patterns housed in our subconscious mind. The strategy of paradigms is to keep you safe, comfortable and secure. Old existing paradigms can block awareness, so we need to work on expanding our awareness daily.  Paradigms show up in great abundance when we get out of our comfort zone. That is the fastest path to change our non-productive habits.

Step # 6: Make A Plan

Specific, written measurable goals will put you in the top 3% of the people and will increase your chances for success. Prepare for setbacks and keep going with your desired change.

 Step # 7: Be Accountable

Find a support group. Find an accountability partner and/or get a coach or a mentor. Ultimately you are looking for accountability for yourself.  Step by step with the help of accountability partners, you’ll get there. By building in these layers of accountability, you will be much more likely to succeed with your changes.

Keep going over the seven steps until they become familiar and almost second nature. Stay tuned for a webinar that will give more insight on implementing these steps.

If you are looking for a healthier life, feel free to check out https://charleneday.com/personal-health-assessment/.

To your healthier life!

Charlene

5 Things to Avoid in Your Anti-Aging Skin Care

We all want to have great skin as we age. But environmental factors, stress, genetics, and a busy life all play a part in how our skin looks over the years.

So if you’re like most people you’re probably buying something that promises to slow down how your skin ages. Anti-aging skin care.  However, in your pursuit for nicer, healthier skin, is what you’re putting on your face even safe?

The truth is, most anti-aging skin care products contain questionable and even downright harmful chemicals.

Your makeup, face cream, skin moisturizer, or cleanser may deliver short-term smoothness and brightness but it may disrupt your hormones and fertility. They can also expose you to known cancer-causing pesticides, and deliver dangerous toxins that penetrate and age your skin.

Here are the 5 harmful chemicals that are commonly used in anti-aging skin care:

1. Parabens

   Parabens mimic estrogen and lead to hormone imbalance. Now, CDC reports suggest their presence in every American’s body. Whether they are or aren’t, avoid products with parabens to prevent reproductive issues like infertility or slowed growth and developmental disorders in children.

2. Phthalates

   A common ingredient in “fragrances,” phthalates block testosterone and damage a man’s reproductive system. These dangerous chemicals have also been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

3. Mercury

   You know mercury is bad, but some anti-aging skin care products use it to lighten the skin. It absorbs easily through your skin and with enough use can develop into mercury poisoning. Steer clear of products with “calomel,” “mercurio,” “mercurio chloride,” or just plain old “mercury.”

4. Petroleum

   As an industry standard, there’s a lot of information out there touting the safety of petroleum by-products, so you might be wondering why you should avoid it. It’s because it contains 1,4-Dioxane, which has been listed by the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable carcinogen. You don’t want cancer from your moisturizer, do you ? I would hope not.

5. Hydroquinone

   Hydroquinone reduces the melanin in your skin to get rid of those unsightly marks, but in doing so, it hurts your skin in many ways. First of all, it’s permanently altering your pigment while also weakening the elastin and collagen in your problem area – the very things that are key to keeping your skin firm and youthful!

Here are other ingredients to avoid:

• Colors
• Propylene Glycol
• Lanolin
• Quaternium-15
• EDTA
• Ethanolamine
• Formaldehyde
• Styrene
• Quat Ammonium
• Silver
• CFC
• Perfluoro
• PEG 1
• PEG 2
• PEG 3
• Cyclosilicone

So why do companies even use these types of chemicals if it’s well known that they’re harmful or even downright dangerous for your skin? Because they do offer results and they’re less expensive and easier to source.

Now, after eight years of research, there is an anti-aging skin care line that does not use any of these chemicals. In fact, it has a list of over 2500 chemicals it does not use in the anti-aging skincare line. And the products are all 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free. In a clinical study, 100% of women reported having younger-looking skin, and 2/3 shifted their skin age into a younger decade. If you want to find out more or have a demo, feel free to contact me.

To your good health,

Charlene

Gratitude and Happiness Revealed - Happy Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner in Canada, I thought it is the perfect time to be reminded about gratitude. It is wonderful when we become aware of something, then we notice it everywhere. Being reminded of the vibration of gratitude is always wonderful. A reminder to be mindful and in the present moment, to reconnect with our inner being or soul, to be connected with a universe that celebrates life and that we are all connected, all one. In this, happiness is revealed.

I discovered the TEDxSF video by Louie Schwartzberg on Gratitude. Please take a few minutes to watch this amazing video.

By happy coincidence, I was reading the chapter on Gratitude from The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. So gratitude is in the air around Thanksgiving.

As this video suggests, we have so much to be grateful for; each day we are here, our precious life, so much.

It is easy to notice that people who live from a place of gratitude, experience more of life’s goodness. With the natural principle that action and reaction are always equal, what we put out, comes back to us. When we feel gratitude, the universe sends it back.

As Wallace Wattles says, “It is necessary, then, to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you; and to give thanks continuously. This will bring you into harmonious relations with the good in everything, and the good in everything will move toward you.”

As we all are working for a better life, this video is a great reminder to cultivate the attitude of gratitude daily.

I wish for you a day filled with gratitude and continues daily! Feel free to check out the meditation on The Law of Gratitude if you want a daily reminder.

Charlene