Week 2 of my fruit and vegetable cleansing and loving it

Fresh food for the hot summer - free report at http://bit.ly/cJVm1N

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Your Say?

I am hearing a few recurring them these past weeks from my online survey and I am wondering if it is worth getting more information so we can address these issues together.

I have some straightforward questions here that will help me understand the situation better. If you can take a moment to do this I will have a better idea of where to concentrate the solution on. And if you participate in this set of questions you will be receiving a gift from me - just make sure you leave your email address so I can send it to you.

Thanks once again for your valuable input. If you have a particular area you want information on, feel free to input that on the survey form.  Once I have a good enough sample size and some conclusive findings, I will be sharing this with you in a public tele class. Stay tuned. 

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Your Perception Can Be Deceiving

Since posting the invisible gorilla video last week I chanced upon an upgraded version of the experiment - how co-incidental is that? If you have not done the other experiment, that's ok, just do this now and I will give you the link to the original experiment at the end of this post.

This video shows how oblivious we are to things around us when we are focused on a task. Even if we think we know what to look out for in this video, there is a chance that you will miss out some very obvious things happening right in front of your eyes.  Try this experiment and then ponder on what lessons we can draw from this ...

Our brains play tricks on us all the time and will continue to trick us to see things they way we want to see them. This is a good illustration and reminder that we need to re-examine the way we think before we over-estimate our ability to perceive things.

What we "see" may not be the entire picture and it certainly does not represent the entire "truth". That leaves lots of room for openness and compassion. And our first impressions are sometimes inaccurate. Do you see a circle or a spiral?

There are many facets to the same things happening in time and space and we may only hold one such view.

Hang on to this thought for a moment and let it soak in. Where can you apply this in your daily life?

As the New York Times review says "The Invisible Gorilla* may just teach us to be more humble, understanding and forgiving."

We see what we are intend on seeing. As Cheri Huber says "What you focus on expands". If you focus on difficulties and challenges on a daily basis that will be all you can see. You will miss out the opportunities right in front of your eyes. Conversely, if you focus on the task at hand, a King Kong gorilla appearing will not distract you - you will not even notice it. And that is how you will compete your project and move on to the next.

There are many rich lessons in this video. Here, I would just like to invite you to re-examine your thoughts. Are there incidents where you are certain that you are right (and others wrong)?  Could there be another way of seeing or interpreting incidences that had taken place? Could you have missed some facts?

Now is a good time to take out a piece of paper and jot down 3 things that you are open to re-examine. What 3 things (or relationship issues) can you think of that where you can apply what you learn here today? 

Tension and pressures in relationships build up when we insist that our views are accurate and complete. You can release that tension in your relationships or in your perception by just re-looking and re-examining your own "assumption". Look again, you may see something new. And we are glad there is still time to make rectifications.  

It is time to be open, compassion and flexible. We want to learn to see from different angles and to see with not just with our eyes but with our hearts. 

An earlier version of the invisible gorilla video can be viewed here. 

*The Invisible Gorilla is written by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simon. More about the invisible gorilla here.

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Letting Go To Manage Stress

Feeling stressed and a little anxious? Take time out and soak in these tips on managing stress and fear. Let go of you thoughts just for 6 minutes and then form new thoughts. Go ...

How does it feel now? Did you manage to  let the music and the images refresh you? A little "detaching" or zooming out and re-perspectiving goes a long way!

Much of the stress of people doesn't come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing off what they have started" David Allen. This is a big one.

"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another" William James. Simplify.

"If you feel all tangled up, hang loose for a while; let go and float and things will become clearer and you will know what choices to make and what actions to take. Trust and know that all will be well."  Louisa Chan.

 

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Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Awareness Or Auto Pilot?

Watch this video and do a little experiment ...

Not surprising that we miss out quite a bit about our environment and ourselves everyday. If you are like most people, you would be doing almost the same thing everyday on auto pilot as a habit - without much consciousness.

Are you missing out on some obvious stuff in your life?
Time for some"re-perspectiving" or zooming out?

Awareness or consciousness is precious.

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Awareness is a precious gift which we seem 2 have little of.

 Do this test http://bit.ly/9vUUzr  pass this on ...

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Conquering What?

I was discussing the next phase of my project with my coach this morning when the conversation touched on my scaling Mt Kinabalu this time last year. I remember seeing the biggest, brightest moon as we scaled up from Laban Rata to the summit in the wee hours of the morning and finally reaching the summit to catch sunrise.

As I look at the metaphorical mountain in front of (more likely inside of) me, my coach skilfully brought me back to the preparation program I put in place for scaling Mt Kinabalu.  It was not a difficult mountain to climb, however, given the sedentary lifestyle and my chronic knee problem that was a challenge.

I knew that if I want to conquer Mt Kinabalu, I had to put together a program that involves changing my lifestyle.  I practise self care mentally, physically and spiritually. It was easy for me to put in consistent effort and commit to the training program; it was however frustrating that my body was not responding to the program in the way I had wanted it to. 

Progress was not nearly as fast for the effort put in.  I increased the frequency and the duration of the training sessions and I pushed harder for progress, until one day my Instructor took me aside and asked if I could accept and respect my body’s progress and let nature takes its course in due time.

That insight struck me like lightning.  I was lacking acceptance of myself?  I was lacking acceptance of the situation and events around me?  We so want to be in control!  The lesson was to accept that result was not entirely in my control.   What an insight!   In our relationships, our family, our profession, our health, isn’t it true that there are things which are out of our control that we need to accept?  Why then do we fret and stress over those?   The harder we push there, the harder the resistance.

I have mails that I have not caught up with from my dear single mom friends.   I feel what you are writing and although I cannot fully understand what each one of you are going through right now, I can appreciate the frustration, disappointment and pain.   I see mixtures of emotions in your writing, I see turmoil and I can see that you have put in much effort and heart yet the results are not matching your expectations.

What is the mountain in front/inside of you? Then decide if you want to conquer this mountain. And if you do, what program do you need to have in place?   Next design and find your support structure.  And remember to note the things that are outside of your control which you need to accept.

You can and will change those things that are within your control; yet how do you make it alright for you not to be affected by the things you cannot control?  I can change my sleeping habits, my eating habits, and I can follow an exercise program AND I need to accept that I cannot control how my body will respond to the altitude or the slopes.  

There is no point in me being frustrated with my body for that reality.   And to make this alright for me, I may need to take a gentler route or go slower.  There are many routes to the same destination, each with different scenery, why insist on the one?  Accept, and be compassionate on yourselves.

You need awareness of the mountain you are trying to conquer.  Do whatever it takes to change what is in your control to conquer that mountain and accept that which are outside of your control.   Be compassionate on yourself, learn to live with reality and move forward.  

A mountain is not conquered in one day, we have to start somewhere and beginner's class is as good a place to start.  If you like to have some self awareness, structures and support, I invite you to come join us on the weekly calls.  You can find clarity, support and we will practise our training program together.

Regular teleseminars are held for you and registration is simple and straight forward. Click here and follow the instructions and I look forward to talking to you on the next call. 

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

Tips on building bonding relationships

with Dr Sheck ...http://aweber.com/b/22no0

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

What if you have some tips for raising your teen?

Come join us & ask your questions toohttp://ping.fm/nurX9

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan

eMail Management Solutions For Your Daily Work

Are you receiving so many emails that you are getting a sense of email phobia or email overwhelm? The emails will only increase. But no worries, here's a simple way to stay on top of things - you can manage your emails and stay stress-free.

Let me know if this is helpful! Look out for more tips coming 

Posted via email from AbundantLivesCoaching.com | Louisa Chan