by Cynthia Bischoff | Jan 14, 2012 | Heartliving
[A]s we are in the year 2012, there is so much in the popular media about what may occur at the end of this year. A few prophecies are:
- The Mayan belief that the calendar end date is in December 2012;
- A South African shaman who reports that a star with a large tail will soon return, indicating that thousands of years ago it turned the Earth upside down;
- Peruvian elders who say that we are in the “age of meeting ourselves again” and that all worlds will merge into one with the highest level of consciousness possible;
- A Pueblo Indian from New Mexico who states that the Purification process began in June 1998 and continues until December 22, 2012, in which it results in the era of Emergence–a rebirth of the Earth.
More than what may happen in 2012, let this be your year to get “right with the world.” How can you shift into a heart-centered consciousness?
- Practice a heightened appreciation for life.
- Focus on the present moment.
- Allow yourself to feel worthy.
- Increase your concern for others and have less concern for material things, outer success, and self-image.
- Become less dogmatic with your judgment and more spiritual in your application to life.
- Be kind to yourself and others.
- Above all, be kind to our world.
What regrets would you have if the world were to end tomorrow? Get right with the world today. The time is now.
by Cynthia Bischoff | Dec 17, 2011 | Heartliving
Families gather over the holidays, and even the most “healthy” families can have difficulty trying to balance getting along with each other and not feeling stressed by expectations.
A few suggestions may go a long way in helping you create a happy holiday:
- Don’t strive to be perfect or have a “perfect” holiday. While you can plan and prepare that special dinner and event, allow things to flow and don’t worry so much about controlling outcomes. Not everyone is going to live up to your expectations (probably not even yourself), so let go of those expectations for perfection. Remember “all is well” in the greater scheme of life.
- Reach out to others. If you feel lonely or isolated, seek out people and events that can support you. Or volunteer to help someone else or an organization. This can be a good way to lift your own spirit while you are helpful to another.
- Practice healthy boundaries. Be sure you are saying “yes” to what you really want to do. Many requests can come during a holiday, so be selective and don’t overload yourself and your schedule. Commit to what you know makes sense and keep those commitments.
- Manage your time. Keep a notepad in a designated place to schedule errands, items needed, etc. This will be the “go to place” for new thoughts and ideas that come up.
- Don’t abandon healthy habits. Be sure you are taking good care of yourself, whether it’s continuing to exercise, meditate for 10 minutes a day, or whatever helps you stay grounded. Even though many more delectable delights are available, you can still eat in moderation or make a different choice one day over another. Let go of guilt and know that you may eat a little more home-made sweets if that is your tradition. You will get back on track through intention.
- Allow yourself to trust your feelings. If something has occurred (loss of a loved one, divorce, illness) that has made you sad, it is normal to feel and to express your feelings. You can’t make yourself happy just because it’s the”season to be jolly.”
- Be love. I like to think of the holidays as a special time to be kind and loving to all people you meet on your path, whether it’s the person at the grocery store in front of you in the long line, or the one who takes the last item you really wanted in the bin at the department store. Know that “things” are just things and that how you are being is what counts in the greater scheme of life.
Happy Holidays!
by Cynthia Bischoff | Dec 10, 2011 | Heartliving
Laughter is good for your health. When you hear laughter, travel toward it. Spend time with fun, playful people. Be able to laugh at yourself and life’s absurdities by finding humor in everyday events.
What are the benefits of laughter?
Laughter:
♥ Increases our DHEA levels (anti-cancer fighting).
♥ Relaxes the whole body and relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
♥ Boosts the immune system and decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
♥ Triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural fee-good chemicals and promotes an overall sense of well-being that can even relieve pain.
♥ Protects the heart by improving the function of blood vessels and increasing blood flow.
Laughter can dissolve distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious or sad when you’re laughing. It can help you recharge and shift your perspective into a less threatening light. Remember your thoughts become things.
A humorous perspective can even be healthy!
by Cynthia Bischoff | Sep 7, 2011 | Heartliving
The word “synchronicity” was coined by Carl Jung, famous Swiss Psychiatrist, to mean “meaningful coincidence.” For example, you need a service and two people mention the same provider, unsolicited, in one day. You’ve been thinking about calling a person and you suddenly see him or her while running errands.
Our lives have a narrative structure, and synchronistic events often reflect turning points and directional arrows in our narrative. They can also indicate that we are in a state of “flow,” and synchronicities have been referred to as the “angel’s way” of speaking with us.
When we are in a challenging place in our lives and without actively seeking support, we may find that help arrives in the form of an accidental sequence of events which occurs exactly as we need in order to assist us in moving through a circumstance or event.
People often report the following synchronicities:
♥ It is common for telephones, addresses, and wrong numbers to crop up in many stories so that individuals may connect.
♥ Synchronistic events are almost always present for two people to meet the first time or an important subsequent time.
♥ It is considered synchronistic when seeming bad luck turns out to have a positive significance.
♥ Sometimes something will delay you, and the delay leads to a more fortunate outcome.
♥ The more obstinate we become about the way we think something “should” be, the more likely synchronicities will come to speak to us.
♥ The kind of child we have is always synchronistic–sometimes making parents confront their own shadows, develop their own strengths, and so on.
Most important, if we pay attention to the meaningful coincidences in our lives, we can question their significance. Are they directional messages, are they action-oriented, are they symbolic?
When an extraordinary, meaningful occurrence has significance for us, we should question how we might let it guide or change our story.
by Cynthia Bischoff | Aug 31, 2011 | Heartliving
Self-esteem can be seen as the combination of how you perceive yourself and the value you place on the self you see. You have core self-esteem which is the value you place on yourself at your core, and situational self-esteem which is the value you place on yourself determined by situational factors (work situation at the moment, weight at the moment).
Certain researchers say that core self-esteem is in place by age 4 and is determined by how your caregivers responded to you. No matter what, it is exciting to know that your core self-esteem can be improved. How?
♥ If you suffer from any thoughts of being a victim, expand your awareness so that you are able to decide that victim consciousness or self-blame is simply toxic now. Let it go.
♥ Make a nonjudgmental inventory of your talents and strengths and set goals for accepting them and continuing to improve yourself.
♥ Stop neglecting your own needs to take care of others. Be compassionate and loving, but not disrespecting of yourself.
♥ Do your very best at any given moment (it will vary depending upon what your circumstances are).
♥ Remember that positive self-esteem is not created by “all or none” thinking. Allow yourself to risk-take and realize that even seeming “mistakes” can help you grow!
♥ Let go of the cultural standards of beauty and FEEL your beauty from WITHIN. Offer that as a gift to yourself and everyone around you. People are drawn to others who feel good about themselves.
♥ Learn to speak about yourself with directness and honesty. Express your integrity through the harmony of what you say and do.
♥ Celebrate your successes!
[A]s we are in the year 2012, there is so much in the popular media about what may occur at the end of this year. A few prophecies are:
