Positive Health Online

In today's busy world, many of us are all looking for quick fixes to stay healthy, fit and slim, to look younger, and have enough energy to attend to our family needs, while often working full time. Sounds like a 'mission impossible?' Let me share with you how you can do it all, feel happy, have more energy, live longer and pursue your dreams.

We all know that life brings many challenges. How we deal with them, to have the outcome that we desire, depends on our belief and our ability to use our mind power. Our mind is very powerful and often not used to help us achieve our goals and dreams or to solve a problem. In order to 'tap' into a mind power, it is crucial to believe that any kind of dream can be achieved. This belief and positive attitude can improve your health, energy levels and change your life permanently for the better.

Many people believe that life is black and white, with ups and downs and good and bad times, while some of us believe that life is just grey, with occasional 'sunshine'. In the past, when everything would go really well in my life, I used to think that I should try to enjoy it while it lasts and get myself ready for bad times, which have to come soon. It never occurred to me that I have the power to control my life and never should think that anything bad will ever happen to me. I heard just another day a phrase that 'pessimists misuse their imagination' and it made me think how true it is. In most circumstances, we attract the situations that we think about; this means that you should think only about good things happening in your life. Whatever your current beliefs may be, it is possible to change your life around, so every day is a good day, full of energy, sunshine, happiness and overall feelings of well being. We create our own reality, by creating images in our mind, so be careful what you think about and try to focus your thoughts on what you would like to happen in your life.

Setting a Goal and Believing that it is Achievable

So, how do you use your mind power? We have many thoughts going through our mind on a daily basis. We need to learn to stop negative thoughts, as soon as they come up and focus on the positive thoughts, which will help us use our imagination and see ourselves in a safe, happy and loving environment. You than can create a picture in your mind of what you want for yourself or your family. You may be picturing yourself in a new house or taking a special trip or changing job or losing weight or maybe you see yourself in a new relationship. Whatever your dream may be, you need to see yourself clearly, as if you already have accomplished your goal successfully, even if you do not have resources currently to fund it or if it appears impossible to change your personal situation. It is very important to realize that once you believe that your goal is achievable, situations and opportunities will come your way and will lead you to your goal.

Easy Steps to a Better Future Using Mind Power

You may say to yourself at this point: 'Sounds good, but how do I actually do this?' Here are simple steps you need to take:

1. Decide what you want to achieve, how you want to change your life.
Imagine that you have a magic wand and anything is possible. How would you want to change your life? Your thoughts need to be realistic, but not limited by your current beliefs. For example, you can not have a goal to be 20 years younger, but you can have a goal to feel like you are 21 again, be more active, have more energy, change your life style, lose weight, look and feel younger. You need to think about it in great detail. If your goal is to feel younger, it also helps to get an old picture of yourself, when you were young, happy, healthy and full of life. Look at this picture and remember how you felt at this point in your life and make it a goal to feel this way again.

2. Do seeding by visualizing the reality you want to achieve.
Spend 5 to 10 minutes a day visualizing the reality you want. It is best to do when you are relaxed, maybe first thing in the morning or before you are ready to fall a sleep. Live in your mind as if it is happening to you right now and enjoy this moment. Make it as real as possible in your mind and do it at least once a day, every day. It is more important to do this daily for short period of time vs doing this once a week for an hour. This is like planting in your garden, where conscious mind is the gardener. What you achieve in life depends on what you plant and how you help 'your seeds' grow.

3. Do affirmations, to positively influence your conscious mind.
Come up with a short positive phrase that you can repeat to yourself a few times a day. For example it may be "I am great at my job" or "I will eat healthy foods and lose weight" or "I will overcome a serious illness."

4. Love yourself
You need to see yourself beautiful inside and out, because we are all very special in our own way. Once you will be able to see your own beauty, you will realize that you deserve the best in this world and will fight for your goal. Every morning look in the mirror and tell yourself "I am wonderful and beautiful and I can do anything I set my mind to do!" Loving yourself does not mean that you are self-centred or arrogant. It means having respect for yourself and gratitude for your mind and body.

5. Celebrate your successes
In your mind celebrate your successes, as if your goal already has been accomplished and you are praising yourself for making it happen. Enjoy the moment!

6. Open your mind and use your creativity
Ask yourself 'Where have I restricted myself?' 'What talents have I been neglecting?' 'Why am I living like this?'. Once you truly look inside your soul, you maybe surprised to find out that new, more positive and creative you just waiting to come out.

Now let's take a look at some building blocks to your success.

Affirmation

You can influence your thoughts by doing affirmations in your mind. The key here is to always affirm positive messages and never repeat negative messages. You really need to pay attention to what words you are using for your affirmation and never use anything negative or use a phrase that has a negative statement. The mind will focus on the self-destructive images, if you are not careful and making negative statements. For example do not say, "I do not want to get sick", instead you should say "I want to be healthy".

Forgiveness and Emotional Hurt

You need to be aware that a major obstacle to being healthy, energized and to well being could be how you deal with emotional hurt. Most of us get mistreated at some point in our life and it is absolutely crucial for your health to be able to forgive the person who caused you pain. Regardless of the circumstances and no matter how wrong, cruel or unfair someone was, you only continue hurting yourself, if you repeatedly think about the wrong doing to you. It is like hurting yourself over and over again, by replaying the circumstances that caused you the pain in the first place. Don't hold a grudge against the person who hurt you, waste time wishing for an apology that will never be offered, or dwell on your victimization. Stopping negative thoughts in your mind will give you a major energy boost, because negative thinking drains you and prevents you from doing things that you enjoy and can cause depression. Forgiveness is 'giving up' the emotional energy required to not forgive. If you are struggling with self-forgiveness, than by forgiving yourself you can achieve an inner peace as well as peace with others. Forgiveness is the first stage of self-love and acceptance. It is also the basic building block of loving relationships with others. This can be the first major step on your way to happiness and getting control of your life. All you have to do is to say "I forgive you," and move on with your life.

The negative thoughts that we have in our mind lower our immune system and make us more susceptible to diseases. In fact, people who are emotionally hurt and unable to forgive, are more likely to develop cancer. If you are struggling with serious illness, this maybe a key to your speedy recovery. In many studies it was shown that people who are able to forgive are more likely to have better interpersonal functioning and a better support system. Social support has been shown to reduce cardiovascular risks, promote faster recovery and increase survival rates from several types of cancer. So if you are serious about your health and well being, do yourself a huge favour and forgive the person who hurt you or yourself.

Attitude

Positive attitude is another key factor to be able to successfully use mind power. Try to enjoy every day to the fullest, because life is very precious and none of us know how much time we have on this earth. I lost both of my parents at a very early age and never take life for granted. Every day is a special day, if you make it special. There is always something good to celebrate in our life. It can be falling in love, sharing a good laugh with your partner in life, making new friends, someone being kind and thoughtful to you or you being helpful and giving to others, our kids making first steps or bringing good grades from school or maybe watching our kids fall in love for the first time.

Remember to Smile

Did you know that a simple smile boosts your spirits and your health? Laughing, smiling and allowing yourself to get swept away with overall good humour is beneficial to the cardiovascular system, respiratory system, muscular system, central nervous system and endocrine system. Research also shows that laughing can boost the immune system, helping the body to stay disease free and even fight colds and the flu.

We watch a lot of terror, disasters and violence in the news. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day watching your favourite comedy show and laugh out loud. You will be amazed how much better and less stressed you will feel afterwards. A good comedy show or a movie can help you fall asleep faster and sleep better vs watching the news or drama before you fall asleep.

It is important to point out that the chemical reaction caused by smiling is truly amazing and very beneficial to our body. A smile increases the production of serotonin, known as 'the happy hormone'. Serotonin involves mood, anxiety, thinking abilities, arousal, aggression and impulse control. Research shows that a smile can offer real therapeutic benefits such as reduced stress levels, less pain and even a higher immunity. The release of serotonin in our bodies makes us glow. Your smile acts as a trigger that activates neurohormones and neurotransmitters that tell your body that you are happy. A smile also triggers a chain of reactions that ultimately cleanses your blood and lymphatic system resulting in clearer, firmer skin.

Another benefit of smiling is that it can increase the production of endorphins, which are your body's own 'feel-good', pain-reducing chemicals. We produce endorphins when we laugh, have fun, relax, breathe correctly and when we are feeling happy and positive. We can actively encourage the production of pain-relieving endorphins by smiling more and feeling more positive about ourselves. Doing yoga and relaxation exercises can also promote production of endorphins.

Enjoying Parenting

If you are blessed to be a parent, my advice is to pick your battles and try to enjoy your kids as much as possible, regardless of their age. We are all guilty of over-scheduling our children with too many activities and not having enough 'down time' with them. Try to hug your kids every day and do relaxing non-scheduled activities with them, like take a walk outside to get some ice cream or just cuddle together with a book, bake together for fun or go over a family photo album on a snowy or rainy day. As much as most children enjoy company of other kids, nothing compares to them as our undivided attention. When we use our mind power to have positive thoughts, we have more energy, we are more relaxed, feel happier, more content and as a result, become better parents and our children greatly benefit from this.

Empower Others

Once you learn how to use mind power to positively change your life, you will have more energy, a better attitude and you will feel that you can make this world a better place. You can then easily empower others, by touching one life at a time and seeing how it makes a huge difference. You can start with smiling more, being more attentive to others, being a better listener and being more giving and caring.

Books

If you would like to learn more about mind power, the following books are great reference material:
• Mind Power into the 21st Century: Techniques to Harness the Astounding Powers of Thought by John Kehoe. Zoetic Inc. 1997.
• The Power Is Within You by Louise L Hay. Hay House. 1991.
• You can Heal Your Life by Louise L Hay. Hay House. 1984.
• Climbing the Pyramid of Forgiveness by Everett L Worthington, Jr. Spirituality and Health. 1999.
• Laugh and Smile Your Way to Health by Dr Joseph Mercola. www.mercola.com/2003/oct/11/laugh_smile.htm

Summary

In conclusion, please remember that your mind and emotions have a major effect on your health. You can use the power of your mind to improve your health, overall well being and make any dream come true. When you are content with life, you look healthier, feel better, sleep better and live longer.

I have applied these principles to my own life and have seen the amazing results. My attitude greatly improved, my energy level drastically increased, I got more relaxed and more attentive to people around me.

So, have a goal in life, decide to be happy, focus on your positive thoughts, smile often, feel younger, full of energy and live your life to the fullest!