PST! It's Annette...

Part 4 - Loving Your Self

2011-01-02T11:27:00.000+02:00

Louise Hay offers some helpful tips on How To Love Your-Self.

1. Stop all criticism: Criticism never changes a thing. Refuse to criticize yourself. Accept yourself exactly as you are. Everybody changes. When you criticize yourself, your changes are negative. When you approve of yourself, your changes are positive.

2. Don't scare yourself: Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts. It's a dreadful way to live. Find a mental image that gives you pleasure (mine is yellow roses), and immediately switch your scary thought to a pleasure thought.

3. Be gentle and kind and patient: Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be patient
with yourself as you learn the new ways of thinking. Treat yourself as you would someone you
really loved.

4. Be kind to your mind: Self-hatred is only hating your own thoughts. Don't hate yourself for having the thoughts. Gently change the thoughts.

5. Praise yourself: Criticism breaks the inner spirit. Praise builds it up. Praise yourself as much as you can. Tell yourself how well you are doing with every little thing.

6. Support yourself: Find ways to support yourself. Reach out to friends, and allow them to help you. It is being strong to ask for help when you need it.

7. Be loving to your negatives: Acknowledge that you created them to fulfil a need. Now you are finding new, positive ways to fulfil those needs. So, lovingly release the old negative patterns.

8. Take care of your body: Learn about nutrition. What kind of fuel does your body need to have optimum energy and vitality? Learn about exercise. What kind of exercise can you enjoy? Cherish and revere the temple you live in.

9. Mirror work: Look into your own eyes often. Express this growing sense of love you have for yourself. Forgive yourself looking into the mirror. Talk to your parents looking into the mirror. Forgive them, too. At least once a day, say: "I love you, I really love you!"

10. LOVE YOURSELF - DO IT NOW! Don't wait until you get well or lose the weight, or get the new job, or find the new relationship. Begin NOW - do the best you can.

Love yourself. Nurture yourself. Treat yourself as if you are treating the most precious thing on earth. Regenerate yourself. You will discover that, the more you love yourself, the more love you will attract into your life. You will be able to give love to others - and the more you give the more they will want to be around you and give back to you. Everybody wins. Loving yourself and accepting yourself benefit the lives of others and most importantly! Your own life.

The end is the beginning and

Say yes to the universe and the universe will say yes to you.

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Part 3 - Loving Your Self

2010-12-19T11:27:00.000+02:00

Meditating on self-love.

Here is a simple meditation for learning to accept and appreciate yourself just as you are.

This meditation is done from the perspective of your ‘Spiritual Self’. Your Spiritual Self is one and the same as your innermost awareness... it is the quiet, non-judging observer within you and all the rest of you... your body, mind, emotions, personal traits, etc., we will refer to as ‘your personality’. Just for this exercise, think of your personality as a separate person.

Sit comfortably and close your eyes (after you have read these instructions). Now begin to observe your personality... notice your thoughts, your emotions, how your body feels…. Take some time to get acquainted with your personality. Objectively think about its various characteristics.

Next, imagine that your personality is your child and that you are its parent. See this child as a perfect creation of Spirit... still growing into its highest potential, but perfect at whatever stage it's now at. Accept your child as it is... accept it completely, just as it is. Look at your child with appreciation and compassion. Look fondly and compassionately at your child, with all of its strengths and positive traits, as well as it's various weaknesses and follies. Open your heart and embrace this child with complete, unconditional love.

Practicing this exercise will help deepen your self-love. Although encountering challenges along the way is a necessary part you journey, you will find that healthy self-love can be a tremendous ally in smoothing out the rough and rocky stretches of your path. (Jim Malloy The World Wide Online Meditation Center www.meditationcenter.com)

Following is another meditation from Jim Malloy I chose for you to support you on your healing journey. Just follow the simple steps and accept whatever happens.

* Sit comfortably with your spine reasonably straight. It's fine to lean against something. If you are feeling too bad to sit up, lie down flat on your back. If you are in too much of a funk to do that, any position will do.

* With your eyes closed, take a few moments to pay attention to your breathing... breathe naturally, and observe your breath coming in, filling you, and going out.

* Now, focus your attention on the emotions you are feeling. Take some time to simply feel the emotions. Try not to analyse them, alter them, or push them away. Just feel the emotions, remaining as present as you can with them for a few minutes. (This is a powerful means of emotional healing, but if it is too painful, you can skip to the next step.)

* Next, imagine a radiant face... the face of the most loving, caring, compassionate, being you can think of. (You may see this face, or you may just sense or feel its presence. However you experience it is ok.) This face may or may not be familiar to you. You may think of it as a manifestation of Spirit, or as just an extremely caring and compassionate being.

* Spend a few minutes communing with this loving being. Converse with it if you like, silently or aloud... or just commune in silence.

* Then offer your negative emotions up to this loving being for healing. Just turn them over to be healed and transformed.

* When you are ready, slowly come out of your meditation.

As you continue to grow spiritually from your meditation practice, you begin to realize that you don't have to be a victim of the ever-changing winds and waves of emotion... you become empowered and more in control of your life. That doesn't mean that you cease to feel things. Rather, you may experience the entire spectrum of feelings, but you are no longer at the mercy of the more turbulent emotional weather as it moves through your life.

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Part 2 - Loving Your Self

2010-12-05T11:27:00.000+02:00

Cultivating Self Love. LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Up until now we have been exploring all the different issues around self-love. How can you start to love yourself?

You can start to practice Forgiveness! Let go of your resentments and work through your anger. Let go of accusations and blame. Work through all the blocks that prevent you from forgiving e.g. ‘what they did to me is unforgivable’.

Realise that forgiveness is not about the other person; it’s all about YOU setting yourself free to be present in the moment-of-now and to create the future you desire.

Unlock the door to your self-imposed prison – start to forgive yourself and every person you hold in a space of unforgiveness. And then…………

o Start to live your life in gratitude. Life is a gift and you are a gift to life. Gift = present. We can only be truly grateful if we live in the present moment – live in the gift! Could be great fun!

o Choose to be generous and treat yourself to something you have been longing for. Meet some friends and go to a movie. Buy yourself that outfit! Take a vacation.

o Eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. You may want to "treat" yourself to things like a massage, a facial, a pedicure, or a gym membership.

o Cultivate a willingness to re-examine and release old beliefs, and create new ways of thinking and believing. This is usually sufficient for your subconscious mind. However, your subconscious mind - which stores information much like a computer - may need a bit of ‘re-programming’. The daily repetition of positive affirmations - such as ‘I love and accept myself exactly as I am’ is one of the most commonly used methods for change. Affirmations can be written, spoken aloud, or repeated mentally.

o Make a list of all your positive qualities. Even though you are cultivating "unconditional" self-acceptance, this helps create a shift toward thinking of yourself in a more positive light.

o Focus on one aspect of yourself that you love e.g. you are hardworking, or you are very sensitive or you have beautiful eyes, and start to really appreciate that part of you. Keep looking for more things and more things – they are there! Keep going until you start to fall in love with yourself. Yes! It’s ok to do that. No, you are not being vain.

o Be kind, compassionate, patient and loving towards yourself. Now start to give this gift to others. Share your smile and patience, kind words, friendship and love to others. Imagine your energy start to ripple out like a pebble you threw into a pond…wider and wider, until it ripples out around the world and comes straight back to you. Whao!

o You are a very unique and special child of the universe. You are a gift to the world. Who you are and what you do matters. You do count, and what you contribute does count. Keep affirming that everyday.

o Treat yourself to a bubble bath, eat dinner at home by candlelight, take a walk on the beach, swim in the ocean (those waters are very healing), or watch a sunset.

o Taking time to enjoy your hobby. What’s that? I hear you say. Maybe you enjoyed painting or writing or horseriding. These are just a few ideas... You can put your own imagination to work...

o Deepen your awareness. Do some honest soul-searching... ask yourself: Is there a shortage of self-love in my life? And if so, why? What are the underlying dynamics? There are a number of ways to find some answers…. quiet reflection, talking it out with a trusted friend or therapist, or writing in a journal are all good approaches. Find out what works best for you.

o Become passionate about being alive. Close your eyes and acknowledge yourself for the things you have achieved in your life in spite of difficulties growing up.

o Choose one aspect of yourself that you are not particularly fond of – that you don’t really want to look at or care to remember, and embrace it. That ‘shadow’ part of you carry with it loads of precious gifts.

o Let go of abusive relationships. LEAVE! Walk away! Quit your need to be physically and emotionally abused and broken. It breaks down your spirit. Get help. NOW!

o Choose to be happy and joyful. How you feel is entirely up to you. Choose victory over victim hood.

o Commit to being an extraordinary human being on an extraordinary path of making major mind shifts to create a reality of winning this time around.

o Become your own best friend. Get to know what makes you tick. What do you enjoy doing and what do you dislike doing. What are your values? What is important to you? What is your purpose? Why did you choose to be here? What are your strengths? Take time out for your self. Meditate. Dream. Visualize. Create. Manifest. LOVE LIFE and LOVE YOURSELF.

Next time I will give you some exercises you can do to support you on your journey.

END

The end is the beginning.

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Part 1 - Loving Your Self

2010-11-21T11:27:00.000+02:00

"A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings,
and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses."

-- Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC)

Clearly the most worthwhile journey you can ever pack your bags for is the journey of self-love and self-acceptance. Imagine what it would be like to embark on such a journey.

Once you begin to invest in self-love and self-acceptance, once you realize that you can love and accept yourself, your life will begin to change before your very own eyes. You will start to walk on clouds! Sounds good?

I can just hear what’s going on in your mind. All the excuses why you can’t love and accept yourself NOW. Check me! Is this what you are thinking?

· "I will love myself when I am thinner.

· I will love myself when I get that promotion.

· I will love myself when I stop feeling so insecure.

· I will accept myself when I find that new boyfriend/girlfriend, or

· I will accept myself when I am more positive and confident."
Right?

So you added a few more ‘obstacles’ on your journey… what else is racing through your mind?

· Love is something that has to be earned?

You know the song "Greatest Love of All"? Goes like this "The greatest love of all - Is easy to achieve - Learning to love yourself - It is the greatest love of all."

Does ‘learning to love yourself’ seem ‘easy to achieve’ for you? For some people, genuine self-love seems so difficult, so much harder to achieve than for others. And you know what? You can do it!

Stop and picture how not loving yourself is affecting your life. Take a few moments and really picture your life without love for your precious self.

What did you see? What would you say the major negative effects are? Let me help you out with a few suggestions:

· It makes it difficult to truly love others. You tend to judge others by the same conditions with which you judge yourself.

· It makes it difficult for you to accept love from another, because if you don't fit your conditions for self-love, you tend to feel that you are not lovable.

· A shortage of self-love tends to pose a major obstacle to creating the life you dream of.

· If you do not accept yourself, you will naturally assume that you don't deserve life's abundant gifts and the loving support of the Universe. This deep belief that you don’t deserve, unconsciously sends a negative message to the Universe – a command to the cosmic computer - which is essentially saying: ‘I'm not worthy’, so no matter how much I might ask, or pray, or whine, my hopes and dreams remain hopes and dreams.’ In this way, you punish yourself by sabotaging your own efforts.

· If you keep giving to others without giving to yourself, it is like pouring water from a vessel. If you pour and pour without ever refilling it, eventually, it will run dry. So, if you are like that vessel, you will also run dry. How will you refill, recharge, re-energize, and replenish yourself so that you have the energy and love to give to others? Naturally, by loving and giving to yourself, first.

· You create illness in your body through your negative self-talk such as arthritis, cancer, depression, fatigue, and all sorts of bodily aches and pains.

Somewhat depressing? On the other hand, what are the positive effects of loving yourself?

Stop and ask yourself where your life could be if you have a healthy sense of self-love.

The possibilities are endless:

· You find it much easier to love others, and much easier to accept the love of others.

· You feel deserving of the good things in life and the powerful support of the Universe.

· This naturally opens the door for your hopes and dreams to be fulfilled more easily and for your life to proceed with untold abundance.

· You are happy and successful

· You are beautiful and you will love your body.

· You are healthy and in balance

· You feel worthy of love

· You are powerful and self-confident

· You are aware of your self-talk (those things that you say to yourself inside your head).

· You speak to yourself in ways that are kind, and less mean or abusive.

· Your harsh inner critic changes to a gentle caring and supportive voice.

· When you make a mistake, this critical voice inside your head that used to beat
you up, saying things like, "That was such a stupid thing to do! ... I can never do anything
right! ... What a loser I am!" are now replaced with positive ones. For example, "I made a
mistake. That's okay: That is how I learn. I'll know better the next time. I can make a new
choice."

Imagine…. the more you love yourself the more you will "catch yourself" when your self-talk is negative, and the more you will change the message to something more positive, loving and nurturing. You will also "Catch yourself being right." In other words, you won’t just catch the voice of your inner critic, and stop it from beating you up, you will also catch yourself when you do something well, or when you find yourself saying the right things to yourself or to others, you will reward yourself by verbally acknowledging yourself, giving yourself a pat on the back, or treat yourself to something special.

STOP and listen to your own thoughts now. You want to do whatever it takes to change. You want to hear more and you want to know what options are open to you to create a life of abundance through loving yourself

In closing off today my message to you is ‘Leave no stone unturned’ pack your bags and get on the special journey of self-love. With this newly acquired knowledge, picture yourself cultivating self-love.

The universe is holding its breath waiting for you to show up. Look out for Part 2 in two weeks.

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Announcing an Exciting 4 part series on Loving Your Self

2010-11-07T10:27:00.002+02:00

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.

Oscar Wilde

As you read every word of this short newsletter series on SELF LOVE, you will certainly begin to discover breakthroughs in all aspects of your life. Imagine yourself experiencing great improvement in your communication with your children, your partner and your boss. Imagine attracting more loving relationships. Imagine greater job satisfaction and huge improvement in your health. Yes! You are feeling a deep sense of well-being and abundance in your life.

If I could give you the tools to understand the reasons for, and disadvantages of lack of SELF LOVE and then HOW TO embark on a wonderful healing journey to experience the power of loving yourself, would you be interested? Of course!

Apparently, one of our most challenging journeys is the journey of LOVING OURSELVES. Clearly, this appears to be one of the most difficult journeys of our lives and may certainly be the greatest and most important love some of us will ever experience in this lifetime.

Why is this so and what actually is self-love?

By the time you finish reading these newsletters, you will have learned the secret and the power of SELF LOVE.

It surprises me when I ask people if they love themselves, most of them would say yes. However, when I encourage them to explore this question at a deeper level and ‘go within’ to examine their real feelings about themselves, they are quite shocked when they discover what’s really going on. They often have this to say to me: ‘I am my own worst enemy’. ‘I don’t trust myself; I constantly judge and criticize myself and sometimes even punish myself. I have no compassion for myself, and I don’t take loving care of myself – my looks, the way I dress, my health’……….

Let me ask you. What is coming up for you right now? Do you experience a huge amount of SELF LOVE? Or do some of or similar thoughts come up for you such as below.

Allow yourself to be open… Do you hear yourself saying ‘I could lose some weight, have a smaller nose, drive a better car, and have a more exciting life’? Are you often angry with yourself and do you judge and criticize everything you do? Are you a perfectionist? Do you abuse yourself and does your life ever work?

Do you struggle with the concept of loving yourself?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could just simply fall in love with yourself? You know what I mean, don’t you? Just imagine what it would be like if you did…Clearly! You would experience some magic starting to happen in your life. Yes? Wouldn’t that be just plain awesome?

Ask yourself this question: ‘What do I believe about myself’? You might be surprised when you discover how many times you hear yourself say all or some of the beliefs below.

· I am not good enough,

· I don’t deserve,

· I don’t matter,

· Nobody likes me,

· I’m unwanted – my mother never wanted me,

· I’m a mistake,

· I’m useless,

· Nobody cares about me,

· I should have been a boy/girl

· I’m too fat

· I’m too thin

· I’m unlovable

Any connection? (These thoughts are all lies created by the mind to maintain our artificial sense of limitation. All feeling states are generated from within. More about this later.) And you begin to notice that there are very few people who do not verbalise these thoughts/beliefs at least once a day.

There’s never been a better time for me to share with you what self-love is all about.

It’s so simple…. Self-love is simply and largely a matter of unconditional self-acceptance and self-approval with self-appreciation and compassion for oneself thrown in.

Stop and ask yourself this key question: Why do we have this difficulty with loving ourselves? Listen to your own thoughts. You want answers and you want it now. Ask yourself where you will be 6 weeks from now if you start to love yourself. Amazing hey?

It’s important to understand that when you were growing up you were constantly bombarded by the well-meaning comments and points of view of the people around you, especially your parents. You had to listen to their attitudes and belief systems and obey what they were saying to you. Here are a few examples. Let’s examine if you resonate with any of them. Do they remind you of other statements you heard?

Just let yourself drift back in time and re experience your feelings when you heard them say:

· Children should be seen and not heard,

· You will never amount to anything

· Shame on you

· I am just not going to put up with you anymore

· I have told you a thousand times

· After all I have done for you

· I have worked two jobs just to support you

· You embarrassed us today

· Big boys don’t cry

· A woman’s work is never done.

· Hard work never hurt anyone

· Money does not grow on trees

· Why can’t you be like your brother?

· There isn’t money for that

· As long as you are under my roof, you will obey the rules!

· I brought you into this life, and I can take you out! And on and on and on!

The most important thing you need to realize is that you made some powerful decisions about yourself and about life as a result of the above messages, and these decisions became your beliefs and these beliefs are controlling your life today! The good news is that once we become aware of why we behave in the way we do and why we treat ourselves in the way we do, we can change it.

Imagine what it would be like if you could discover what it would feel like if you could transform all these old habitual negative thoughts that’s keeping you stuck and unable to walk on clouds.

Till next time...

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

What I learned from Eckhart Tolle today......

2010-10-24T11:27:00.001+02:00

There is a difference between ‘my life situation’ and ‘my life’.

And the difference is so simple yet so profound. When I talk about my stuff - I usually refer to ‘my life’ e.g. I have a wonderful life or my life is full of problems or my life is very unhappy, etc. This is all mind-stuff – what I’m actually talking about is ‘my life situation’.

So when I can take away ‘my life situation’, what I’m left with is ‘my life’ – the only reality that exists – the moment of NOW. It is not possible to be unhappy and fully present in the moment of NOW at the same time.

Now see if you can narrow down your life to this very moment of NOW – and in this moment – do you have any problems? This NOW moment...

In Gratitude
Annette

www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Take the dive to ENLIGHTENMENT.

2010-10-16T11:27:00.001+02:00

Many delegates on the Heal and Love Your Love Workshop have the same longing – longing for ENLIGHTENMENT. The search includes practicing meditation, attending workshops, reading many books, practicing yoga and much more.

What I realized is that we are all on this roller coaster of seeking for ENLIGHTENMENT (which is nothing more than searching for INNER PEACE), outside of ourselves.

ENLIGHTENMENT - INNER PEACE can be achieved by surrendering to ‘what is’ – to stop resisting – accept the state you are in – accept your ‘life situation’ and forgive yourself for not being at peace. You will be neutralizing and transmuting your non-peace by offering an equal and opposite peaceful action. This is forgiveness and accepting ‘what is’.

Enlightenment = acceptance of ‘what is’ in the moment of NOW by practicing Non-resistance and going within.

When I go scuba diving, we often launch in very rough waves and huge breakers on the surface. Once we ascent and get down to deeper levels, a calmness and stillness exist that allows me to peacefully float along with the tides allowing me to enjoy the incredible beauty that surrounds me without any resistance.

Imagine being the ocean – the rough (and sometimes calm) surface as well as the calm, still and peaceful depth of the ocean of your inner being.

Imagine being free from depending on the outer world for your enlightenment – your happiness. Sure you can enjoy and appreciate the beauty of it all, however, you’ll find when you dive down into the depths of your inner ocean, all the beauty, love, ease, grace, peace and lightness which you are searching for is there – you can now relax – no more workshops and books - you have come home to yourself, to your life – you have found true ENLIGHTENMENT.

Take the dive!

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Talk to your Body

2010-10-10T11:27:00.000+02:00

I never cease to be amazed at how easy it is to ‘Talk to our Bodies’ or a specific Body Part. One of the processes on the Heal and Love Your Life Workshop is ‘The Body-Mind Connection’. Often people attending the workshop do Visualization and Meditation for the first time when I take them on an inner journey to find a place in their body that is in pain or is experiencing discomfort and needs healing. During the meditation/visualization I suggest they ask this troubled body part to talk to them and tell them what the emotion being held there is and what the discomfort is all about and what they can do to change the condition.

At the end of the meditation the responses are amazing! The surprised looks on their faces are priceless. I just love hearing their feedback on what their bodies told them. It confirms my words to them that our bodies knows it all, knows the truth about them and that our bodies never lie!

Anything you want to know your body will tell you – you just need to ask and listen! Your body is constantly giving you little- and sometimes big signs or wake-up calls. How aware are you of these signals? Or are you in constant denial of your emotions? Are you making yourself believe that you are not mad, angry or sad? When you do that you are simply pushing your emotions down into your body where it will find a place to lodge – either in your joints, liver, heart, head, etc – it will find a place and create havoc and disruption within the cells of that part of your body – and then you run off to the doctor to get medication which only treats the symptoms (and not the cause) - rather to tune into the great wisdom of your body to tell you what you need to do to heal.

Just become aware of your body right now.....any aches or a pain somewhere in your neck or your back or a discomfort/knot in your stomach, a sore throat, a tight chest....Just know that your body has important information for you to heal either an emotional issue or a physical issue.

You may want to close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths and then allow your attention to go to that part of your body and start a dialogue with that part as if you are talking to a good friend. If you have lost touch with your body/gone into denial of any feeling and can’t find a place of discomfort or pain, simply ask your body to guide you to that place in your body that needs your attention. Trust your body and trust the process. Something will ‘pop into your mind’ which, in this moment might not make any sense – the uneasiness might be in your left foot! Just trust your inner wisdom – just go with it. Notice this part of your body and get an image or a feeling-sense of what it looks like – just be easy about it – there is no right or wrong about how you need to experience this – go with whatever comes up for you. You might even see it as a large, black rock sitting on your chest or a jelly mass or red liquid.....just feel that part of your body.....it wants to tell you something.

Ask that part of your body the following questions or any other questions you might find more appropriate:

What is the emotion being held there?
What is the discomfort or the pain all about?
Anything else it wants to tell you?
What does it need?
What can you do to change/heal the condition?

Allow yourself to listen to whatever pops into your head. It may be completely off the wall or come as a huge surprise to you. Remember: Your body knows it all and it knows what is important for you to deal with right now. It might tell you that it is tired, feels unappreciated, need healing energy, need forgiveness, etc. Place your hand on this part of your body and then imagine tapping into the infinite source of love in your own heart and send that love from your heart into your arm and into your hand and into that part of your body that needs healing. Keep sending the healing until you feel an easing of the discomfort or a shift or healing.

There is also the possibility that you might not get any clear answers. That’s okay. The answers may come in another way or form. You might see a picture or remember something from your past you had forgotten about or a dream you had. This may bring up old emotions that need healing. And if nothing comes up for you simply keep asking. Ask your body what is it wanting to tell you. You need answers. Keep on asking and listen! Really listen – the answers are being given. Trust your body’s wisdom.

Thank your body for its infinite wisdom and giving you the answers and for allowing and accepting your healing energy.

Well done!

Bring yourself out of the meditation and follow the ‘advice’ your body gave you of what you need to do to change/heal the condition.

Go within.... or..... go without!!

In Gratitude
Annette

www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Does your fear of change override your good intentions to achieving your goals?

2010-08-20T19:02:00.000+02:00

Fear and Resistance to change is normal and even beneficial. It must be expected and acknowledged.

Taking that leap of faith is risky, and you will only take active steps toward the unknown if you genuinely believe – and perhaps more importantly, feel – that the risks of standing still are greater than those of moving forward in a new direction.

"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom". - Anais Nin

Change is all about taking a risk. We become and like to remain connected to what we know and are familiar with – even at times to our own detriment. For most people, seeing is believing. I’d like you to change your mind set to’ Believing is Seeing’. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you are right.”

Changing your mindset/beliefs from the ‘I can’t do it!’ – to ’How can I do it?’ - can go a long way toward overcoming your fears and resistance to change. You might feel that you won’t be able to make the transition because you don’t think you can. You may also feel overloaded, overwhelmed and fatigued by the stresses of daily life.

Fatigue can really block your change effort, for example, you believe you should quit drinking alcohol, but you’ve got a challenging career going, you are a single mom with two teenagers to keep up with and therefore can easily put off your personal health improvement (until your first heart attack or cancer scare, when suddenly the risks of standing still seem greater than the risks of change!).

Are you one of the people with a healthy scepticism who want to be sure that new ideas are sound?

Fears and doubts can also block your change effort because they are part & parcel of the negative beliefs you hold about yourself -- that you don't deserve love or success and a wonderful future, that you are not good enough, that you are powerless -- or beliefs about life -- that life really is about effort and struggle.

Fears, doubts and resistance to change is a scary place to be – What lengths will you go to to cover them up, banish or escape them? Over indulgence in alcohol, cigarette smoking, food, drugs, overwork?

What is the message you are giving your children?

Consider healing your life as the biggest gift you can give anyone, most of all yourself.

In Gratitude
Annette

www.paradigmshifttraining.com

How come TIME hasn’t healed your PAIN?

2010-08-20T18:58:00.000+02:00

How come your body is able to regrow new skin and new tissue or repair broken bones after an accident, attack or as a result of physical abuse and you are still carrying the painful thoughts and memories? What is it that has not healed in spite of the TIME factor? Why is it still raw and sore as if it happened yesterday - what is it that causes the continuation of the pain and makes forgiveness virtually impossible?

The answer lies in the fact that we have two bodies – we have a physical body as well as an energy body.

The physical body grows and lives in the mechanical universe and the energy body lives in a timeless quantum space where now and yesterday are no different to 10 or 20 years ago.

What happens during the injury/abuse is that the energy body also sustains injuries the same as the physical body. The physical body is able to regrow new skin and new tissue and completely heal its wounds over time leaving only a faint scar, whereas time does not heal the energy body and neither does the medicine that was used. The energy body remains unhealed, leaves invisible scars and continuously sends out messages and reminders of pain via feelings and emotions that seem to come from nowhere, and is often misunderstood. The message the energy body is conveying is that it wants those injuries healed.

How do you heal your energy body - the emotional wounds of your past?

All the energy body needs is simply healing energy and intention to repair those wounds, restore equilibrium and peace of mind - and because it isn't bound by time - it can and does respond virtually immediately to any healing energies being given. Energy healing such as Reiki, Touch for Health, EFT – Emotional Freedom Techniques and Body Talk are all powerful healing modalities that can be applied – all making forgiveness very possible.

So when you were injured it’s possible that there was no-one to heal your energy body. The focus and intention of the healing at the time was on the physical body alone - understandably.

Think of all the injuries in your life and that of your family and children – have you taken care of healing the energy bodies of each and every one?

It's really not that difficult, we can give you the tools to heal yourself.

In gratitude
Annette
www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Thoughts on Parenting

2010-08-20T18:47:00.000+02:00

The way you ‘parent’ your child determines not only the child’s future but also that of society. Many parents and teachers are experiencing children or learners as uncooperative, irresponsible, disconnected, unassertive and therefore victims of child abuse, bullying, peer pressure (to take drugs), doing things to please others, etc.

You have a choice.

You can change the way you raise your child. You can raise your child to be cooperative, you can teach him or her how to ‘take responsibility’ for their actions, behaviour and experiences, to be ‘at cause’ in their lives instead of ‘in effect’ of situations and be ‘the victim’ as they blame and/or please everyone for fear of rejection.

When a child grows up with constant criticism, being threatened, put on guilt trips, punishment, withholding love and affection – fear is created in the child. Most children react to fear by fleeing, fighting or freezing. Fleeing behaviours include blaming others, lying, running away, being defensive, argumentative, refusing to do things, talking back or simply giving up. They give up who they are in order to avoid rejection and as a way to protect themselves. Fear destroys their spirit and robs them of their courage, spontaneity, joy and loving themselves.

In order to ‘fit in’ with their families and be ‘a good child’, they start to ignore their own needs, keep quiet and give away their power. As adults they will be unable to ask for what they want and need and thereby violate their own integrity and do whatever it takes to ‘fit in’, belong and secure their status as a ’good person’. They will feel desperate and powerless and will become the proverbial doormat in order to avoid confrontation and the possibility of rejection.

In their desperation to be liked, they become this ‘nice person’ constantly seeking acceptance and approval, sacrificing themselves to please everyone as their way to feel accepted, wanted and worthy. When they do this, they make other’s needs more important than their own and in the process they forsake their power and joy and start to build resentment towards the very people they try to please all the time.

I invite you to reflect on your child’s upbringing. Breathe deeply and go within and ask yourself these important questions:
· In raising my child - is my child growing up as an empowered human being who is able to take responsibility for his/her life, can stand up for themselves, love themselves, believe in themselves, honour themselves, their needs and desires, trust themselves enough to follow their hearts and to do what they know is in their own best interest?
· How was I raised?
· Am I ‘cause’ in my life or am I ‘in effect’ (victim) of what life dishes up for me?

You do have the power; possibly you just need the skills? Contact me if you need support.

In Gratitude
Annette
www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Your Universe is Talking to You

2010-07-26T11:02:00.001+02:00

When all falls apart around you…….YOUR UNIVERSE IS TALKING TO YOU. Do you listen?

We have been given free will and then there comes a time when you just simply have to be willing to step aside, get out of your own way and let the universe have its way. You need to STOP, LOOK & LISTEN, CORRECT and TAKE ACTION - NEW and INSPIRED ACTION. Of course I’m talking to myself here.

In my typical Taurean way I have been doing everything I can to avoid doing what scares me (I am someone who believes that I cannot write well (see my belief system? I wonder who told me this when I was growing up?) and that is … ‘blogging’

You might relate to this. What are the things in your life that you are avoiding?

So this is what I do to avoid what the universe is telling me to do. I spend hours reading other people’s (mostly my favourite author’s books and blogs) newsletters. I sign up for all the summits from The Healing Masters, EFT World Summit and goodness knows what all, and then to top it off I record hours and hours of interviews that I listen to at night when I don’t sleep.

All the above – I believe I need to gain more knowledge and learn more in order to be able to do what I do- in other words I need to qualify and re-qualify over and over again or so I thought...until my Universe made me STOP this craze by crashing my computer!

I lost a lot of my information - including interviews I saved on iTunes. No problem, I thought I still have the information on my iPod – until my iPod crashed and with that blow my energy hit the floor!! “Thank you Universe! Thank you so very much!” I mumbled under my breath as I started a mini-meltdown. Then I started to breathe and consider everything I know how to do.

So what now? How do I deal with this situation? How do I deal with this low energy vibration? Well, I start to put some of the knowledge and wisdom I have into practice and this is what I did.

Firstly I asked myself questions to find out what caused this all-fall-down scenario.

I tap into my own inner wisdom using a technique that I was introduced to in 1982 called Muscle Testing. In a nutshell, Muscle Testing provides you with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses when pressure is applied to a chosen muscle – usually the arm muscle – ‘yes’ is a strong muscle response and ‘no’ is a weak muscle response. You can ask questions about anything requiring a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.

Following are the questions I asked myself and the yes/no responses that followed after I Muscle Tested my questions.

· is there something I need to clear?......... Yes.

· what? is it an emotion?........ yes

· is it fear? ........no

· is it not feeling good enough? ........ no

· is it rejection? ........ no

· am I depressed? ........yes

· am I sad? ........yes

· am I angry? ........yes

· is unforgiveness an issue? ........yes

· am I incapable? ........ no

· am I insignificant? ........ no

· do I need to check for more issues? ........ no

· do I need to work on anger? ........ yes

· do I need to work on forgiveness? ........ yes

· do I need to work on sadness? ........ no

· will sadness be taken care of when I work on anger and forgiveness? ........ yes

· this anger – is it from my childhood? ........ no

· is it current stuff? ........ yes

· who am I angry with? my sister? ........ no. My mother? ........ no. any of my friends? ........ no. Myself? ........ yes. My x-partner? ........ yes. God? ........ yes

· how do I deal with it? do I meditate? ........ no

· do I go for therapy? ........ no

· do I do EFT? ........yes – ok

EFT is an acronym for Emotional Freedom Techniques a Meridian tapping process which gives you emotional freedom from unresolved emotions trapped in your body and energy system. EFT is:

· an Energy Healing technique and balances your body’s energy system

· is used to make dynamic and lasting change

· an emotional version of acupuncture

The tapping on the face and body is combined with verbalizing your identified issue that you want to resolve, change or heal. EFT is safe, easy to apply, and is non-invasive.

Tapping Points I used (refer tapping points picture above)

Points on the face

EB = eyebrow

SE = side of eye
UE = under eye
UN = under nose
CH = chin

Points on the body
CB = collar bone
UA = under arm

TH = top of head

Following is a shortened version of my EFT tapping session releasing my anger followed by a gratitude tapping session.

EFT statements:

KC= Karate chop - Even though there is a part of me that is sooo angry…... and it is so unfair and I am sooo angry at the world and myself......... I am willing to accept all this anger and accept that I am not the anger, and I choose to bring healing to this angry part of me.......

I am okay and I can accept myself and that part of me.

KC= Karate chop - Even though there is this angry part of me, it is not bigger than me......... It is not more powerful than me and..... I am willing to trust myself to feel it...... and I honour what my anger is telling me..... it’s unfair – I have been wronged

KC= Karate chop - Even though there is this part of me that experiences rage and toxic anger and I am not going to let them off the hook........... I am open to the possibility that I can fully love and accept that part of me sometime in the future.

EB = Eye Brow – I choose to believe that what I am sending out...

SE = Side of the Eye - is what I am getting back ... everything I do or think is contaminated with it even my relationships.... Causing more pain and anger

UE = Under the Eye - I choose to remember this ... I’m exactly where I’m meant to be

UN = Under the Nose - at least once in a while...

Ch = Chin - I choose to calm down and surrender to it ... what could be more normal?

CB = Collar Bone - to breathe deeply ... and relax a little.....realizing when there is no way out of this suffering, there is always a way through it....

UA = Under the arm - and imagine myself smiling ... in a good way...

TH = Top of Head - and people will smile back at me ...that make me feel good ... accepted ... and part of life out there...

Back to questions again: Have I released my anger........ Yes

· Have I completed my forgiveness? ........ yes

· Anymore work I need to do today? ........ no

My energy vibration on a 10 point scale: low energy 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 high energy vibration. (refer to intensity meter picture above)

· Is it a 10? ........ no

· Is it a 9? ........ no

· Is it a 8? ........ yes

· Do I need to do more tapping to bring my energy vibration up to a 10? ........ yes

· Will gratitude tapping do it? ........ yes

Tapping on all the tapping points

Yes! Thank you Universe for bringing me a solution to resolving my anger issues

Yes! Thank you Universe for relieving this tension and depression in my body

Yes! Thank you Universe for resolving the blocks to successfully achieving my goals

Yes! Thank you Universe for reminding me that I have huge wisdom inside of me

Yes! Thank you Universe for helping and transforming my anger and forgiving myself, others and God

Yes! Thank you Universe for making me tap into my magnificence

Yes! I am appreciating who I am

Yes! I am appreciating my abundant energy and passion

Yes! I am appreciating my loving friends and family

Yes! I am appreciating having released all my fears and doubts

Yes! I am appreciating and blessing my strong, healthy and fit body

Yes! I am appreciating and blessing all the wonderful people attending my workshops and reading my blogs

Yes! I am appreciating and blessing the courage I have

Yes! I am appreciating and I am thanking my universe for sending hundreds of people to participate on my workshops and trainings

Yes! I am appreciating and blessing the wonderful new business opportunities that are materializing in my life

Yes! I am appreciating and blessing all my wonderful friends for showering me with their love and support

Result of all this – I bust my fear and you have just read the result, my blog post!

PS: I also did a forgiveness tapping

The Heal and Love Your Life Workshop incorporates these techniques. This workshop is designed to support you to shift any and all your negative thoughts, habits and beliefs permanently.

In Gratitude,
Annette

Exciting news...Paradigm Shift Training has a FB space now!

2010-07-09T12:08:00.000+02:00

Hello and welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to find out what I needed to tell you.

Before I get into it, I want to thank you for being my Face Book friend. I wanted to give you some information and the only way to do it quickly and efficiently was to ask you to click through here.

As you probably already know, my name is Annette du Toit and I am the Master Trainer for Paradigm Shift Training.I am also very interested in complimentary therapies like EFT and Muscle Testing, as well as therapies like The Emotion Code and so forth. I didn’t want to overload you with information so ‘I’m keeping it short and if you want to know more about me please feel free to go to the website, or ask me right here.

Recently there have been huge changes in my life and I have “surfed” them gracefully. However, while surfing the waves of life, I realized that my business and personal lives are so intertwined I can’t tell the difference anymore. As we know this can be unhealthy and as a Trainer of Trainers I am consciously aware of these things. This has resulted in the decision to move all the Paradigm information to its own page on Face book.

Please, I value your friendship and ask you to click on this link and make sure you become a Page fan so that we can keep our relationship going, here it is http://shrvl.com/62eKh. By the way, I don’t mind if you want to stay connected to my personal Face Book page, I need you to know though that the special quotes and information that comes out of Paradigm Training won’t be happening in my personal space like it used to before.

The website address is www.paradigmshifttraining.com. Alternatively there is this space, my new blog, PST! It’s Annette that you can follow and post comments or ask questions that I promise to answer.

I thank you for understanding. Here is that link again, the one that will take you directly to the Paradigm Shift Training Face Book page: http://shrvl.com/62eKh.

In Gratitude
Annette

Your body is speaking to you... Listen!

2010-07-01T11:45:00.000+02:00

Hello L,

My understanding of your question is that you want to balance your endocrine system and get back into good health but you feel you are sabotaging yourself and want to know what is holding you back from achieving what you want to regarding your weight and health.

If my understanding of your question is correct, my first response to your question was that you have lost your best friend… then I consulted my trusted friend Louise Hay’s book Heal Your Body.

Your body is speaking its mind and wants you to know that –

1. Thyroid is about Humiliation and ‘I never get to do what I want to do’ and ‘when is it going to be my turn? Your Affirmation is: I move beyond old limitations and now allow myself to express freely and creatively.

2. Blood pressure – high: Long standing emotional problem not solved. Your Affirmation: I joyously release the past. I am at peace.

3. Overweight is about: Fear, need for protection. Running away from feelings. Insecurity, self-rejection. Seeking fulfilment. Your Affirmation is: I am at peace with my own feelings. I am safe where I am. I create my own security. I love and approve of myself.

4. Fat is about: Oversensitivity. Often represents fear and shows a need for protection. Fear may be a cover for hidden anger and resistance to forgive. Your Affirmation: I am protected by Divine Love. I am always safe and secure. I am willing to grow up and take responsibility for my life. I forgive others and I now create my own life the way I want it. I am safe.

L, starting now Love and accept yourself exactly as you are – be hugely grateful to your body for giving you this amazing feedback to heal your life. These are all precious gifts. They are also messages from the universe – wake up calls. Are you living your life purpose? Do you know what your life purpose is?

My intuition tells me that you are also telling yourself the following:

I am not being validated.
I am not supported.
I deserve exactly what I get.
I am not acknowledged.

Now there isn't a magic pill to solve all this mind stuff in a flash but there is a way to address these issues in gentle. self-loving way.

I invite you to attend a Heal and Love your Life Workshop where I will re-connect you with your best friend, teach you how to work with Affirmations that you ‘resonate’ with, show you how to test your inner truth, provide you with tools for life and much more. If you want more information on the workshop please go to our website www.paradigmshifttraining.com

I trust this information has been helpful to you and wish you well on your journey to health.

Namaste.

Two minds - which is the driver?

2010-07-01T11:02:00.000+02:00

Dear T

Your question:

‘I need a Mental Breakthrough Strategy that can be custom-fit per client, in cases like these where a Psychological Broaden and Build strategy doesn't have the desired effect. Please, could you possibly suggest some Right Brain Breakthrough stimulation exercises for these people that get so trapped in the analytical/logical/thinking trap that cause them to get in their own way and in the way of their own progress?’

First, thank you for your question.

I’ll jump right into the driver’s seat and share how I would deal with the scenario if I were in your position. This is my approach.

This particular client/learner has clearly got one foot on the break and another foot on the accelerator pedal – not just in the car learning to drive but also as she is driving down the road of life thinking ‘why haven’t I gotten to where I really want to go and gotten what I really want to achieve - like mastering my driving skills?’

I would explain some fundamental information to her; - if you can imagine an iceberg (see picture above) and imagine that the mind is actually two minds just like an ice berg with its smallest part - about 5% visible above the water and a vast part of ice - 95% invisible below the water. Imagine what’s above the water as your conscious mind and what is below the water as your subconscious mind.

As the saying goes - we only use 5% of our brain capacity – our conscious mind. Well, in reality, this is exactly what the situation is - the conscious mind – the tip of the iceberg only operatesabout 5% of its capacity in a day whereas the subconscious mind operates the other 95% of capacity a day.

The subconscious mind handles anything the conscious mind is not paying attention to – notice how you multi-task? You learn to drive a car, listen to the instructor and observe road signs, change gears, steer the car, etc?

What’s happening is that your subconscious mind is handling all the details while theconscious mind is busy thinking and making decisions about where to turn and how to change gears.

Now, if 95% of what is happening to you is coming from the programming of your subconscious mind - who or what is actually in the driver’s seat of your life?

While you think - (conscious mind – operating at 5%) – that you are the driving force in your life with your conscious wishes and desires and affirming that you are qualifying for your driver’s licence - in reality your subconscious mind is running the show and rules your life with self sabotaging beliefs blocking your success!

Your life is a blueprint of your subconscious mind. And your subconscious mind is a storehouse filled with programming from your childhood and compounded throughout your adulthood.

The Mission, before getting into the driver’s seat, is to discover your self-sabotaging beliefs about yourself as well as your fears that will stop you from obtaining your driver’s licence. We need to connect with ‘your truth’ the 95% programming of the sub-conscious mind.

Let’s have a quick look at what beliefs are:

Beliefs are thoughts you adopted as your truth as to ‘who you are’ - mostly negative. Negative beliefs are unhealthy to say the least. They create disharmony and stress in your body that lead to dis-ease and will sabotage your efforts to obtaining your driver’s licence.

Where and how did these limiting self-sabotaging beliefs originate?

The answer is simple. When you were growing up you received an incredible amount of ‘programming’ or ‘conditioning’ from the people around you such as your parents, authority figures, teachers, well-meaning religious instructors and the media.

So, when looking at your results, ask yourself these 2 questions:

1. ‘What would a person have to believe about themselves in order to create this result’? (Result = you not achieving your drivers’ licence.)

2. ‘What do I believe about myself to create this result’?

As Carl Jung said, ‘Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate’.

This is where I tell you that while no-one ever told you what or how you were programmed or how to access your programming - the good news is that you can re-program and re-establish a new blueprint, a different life script being driven by YOU.

It’s simple. Like all things you only need to know how to connect with your subconscious mind – your inner power - your truth. The great news is that it’s easy to learn how to access this part of you. Simply turn the key and open yourself up to new possibilities to knowing that you have unlimited potential locked up inside your subconscious mind.

I have combined two amazing techniques – Muscle Testing and Meridian/EFT Energy Healing Techniques with a specific way to ask for and establish your truth locked up in your subconscious mind and then apply EFT. EFT short for Emotional freedom Techniques, is a method of using light tapping of acupressure points on the body while repeating certain affirmations to effect rapid emotional and behavioural changes.

By applying these techniques you will be accessing universal knowledge and making quantum leaps into an exciting and inspiring inner and outer life - ‘living your TRUTH’.

The only requirement is that you be prepared to learn something new, trust the process and have fun doing it!

If you want to pursue this further, I invite you to contact me on 082 442 0008.

C's story

2010-06-29T14:30:00.000+02:00

When C arrived to attend the Love Your Self Heal Your Life Workshop, she was timid and shy and had never done anything without her husband at her side or without his permission.

C had experienced her marriage through her role of the dutiful wife and mother - the marriage clearly love-less.

After the workshop, I was surprised when C registered for the Teacher Training. This must have taken super courage because it meant she would have to leave her husband and children without her for 7 days and she had never done something like this!

Her main focus was to work on her self worth, loving herself, regain her confidence, learn to be independent and able to make a stand for herself.

She discovered during the training how much hatred she was carrying towards her mother who had chased away the boyfriend she was madly in love with as a teenager. She confronted her resentment and anger head on.

Forgiveness was the next emotion she tackled and by the end of the training she was clear what she had to do to continue her healing journey.

Today, after forgiving her mother, C is very happily married to her teenage sweetheart who had also attended the workshop.

She came"home" to herself, she re-ignited her dreams and set herself back on her path.

For more on the workshop that supported C to turn her life around, click here