You need a strategy to accomplish your goals.

There is a step by step approach that will bring you to the achievements that you are haeding for: 1. Make a contract with yourself. Its OK to think: Ill do this and that. Its much better to write your goal on paper and define it clearly. Date this paper and sign it. Then place it where you can see it several times every day. and keep your contract! 2. Identify specific rewards for positive action. In this contract you can also enter the rewards youll give yourself for achieving certain landmarks on the way towards that goal. Treat yourself to things you really like when you manage to accomplish a specific step! 3. Establish certain penalties for procrastination. This might work for some, for others its not practical. If you are sure that you will also use this intrument when you dont go ahead and miss a landmark, then enter that into your contract as well. If you know that you will anyhow ignore the penalties, then just leave this part out. No use of stipulating something just for the paper 4. Break your goals down into small steps. OK, these small steps really are the key to your success! A large chunk might be just too much to get started at all. So break your plan into smaller mini-goals (the landmarks I refer to above) and make the steps manageable. Then its a lot easier to tackel one first step. 5. Schedule a time segment for each activity. Try to estimate how long it will take to achieve each of these smaller steps and wrtie down, by when you want to reach the intermediate goals. 6. ACTION! So, now you have a great plan and it looks all nicely organized. This is going to be useful only if you now take action. Do what you planned and enjoy the feeling of having reached each intermediate goal! Youll see that by following this simple step by step system, youll actually enjoy doing whats needed and the triumph of actually reaching a goal in the predetermined timespan is a feeling that youll start to love! Have fun reaching your goals! This positive energy and how to cultivate the right attitude is describen in The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Its a great audio book that you can listen to on the go. This book will change the way you look at your life and how youll be setting goals and achieving the results you want!

Supercharging Your Affirmations

In a recent article, I revealed a simple process for writing your own powerful affirmations. I discussed the importance of getting clear about your existing beliefs, writing affirmations to replace those old beliefs with new empowering ones, writing affirmations in the present tense, the importance of consistent repetition, and the necessity of believing in the words you're saying. Today I'd like to share a simple three-step process that can greatly increase the power and effectiveness of any affirmations you use (whether you've written them yourself or use someone else's). In the movie "The Secret" Cathy Goodman shares her personal experience in beating breast cancer without chemotherapy or radiation. She says, "I truly believed in my heart, with my strong faith, that I was already healed. Each day I would say, 'Thank you for my healing.' On and on and on I went, 'Thank you for my healing.' I believed in my heart that I was healed. I saw myself as if cancer was never in my body." Cathy's story is astounding to say the least, and her husband, Morris Goodman, has an amazing healing story of his own. (Learn more about them at www.themiracleman.org) However, for the purposes of this article, I would like to concentrate more on the phrase Cathy used to heal her body of cancer. "Thank you for my healing" is such a simple phrase, but it holds tremendous power! There are three key reasons why, and they are the same simple steps you can use to literally supercharge the effectiveness of any affirmation: 1) Gratitude. Giving thanks for something automatically puts us into a state of allowing and receiving. It puts us in a state of non-resistance with the Universe. This is powerful enough when we're giving thanks for something we already have (because it attracts more things to be grateful for), but when we do it with something we want, the power is magnified drastically! Why? Because we are putting our full faith into the belief that what we desire will come to be in the physical realm. As I've mentioned in previous articles, a strong belief that something is true will most definitely bring it forth into reality! Notice that Cathy didn't say, "Thank you for the healing that is on the way," or, "Thank you for my upcoming healing," or, "I know I will be healed, thank you." She said simply, "Thank you for my healing," with full faith

that she was ALREADY healed. Can you sense the power in that sentiment? 2) Affirming the process. Though Cathy affirmed she was already healed, notice that the language she used puts the emphasis on the process of healing. She didn't say, "I am healed," she used the form of the word that implies a transition in progress: healing. This may seem like a contradiction, but it's the perfect combination of focus to achieve the desired result. Though we put our full faith into believing our desire has already manifested, choosing words that support the PROCESS of manifestation can be easier for us to believe. Why? Sometimes the jump from our current reality to the new reality we desire can be too big of a leap to make and still be believable. Believing that something is in progress seems like a smaller mental leap than trying to force ourselves to believe it's already a done deal. To demonstrate this point, consider the difference in feeling you get from these two affirmations: - I am a perfect size 5. - My body is becoming slimmer and lighter every day.

If you don't wear a size 5, stating an affirmation that you do is largely ineffective, simply because you know it's not true. With enough forceful repetition you might be able to convince yourself and bring forth such a reality, but you would have to overcome plenty of inner resistance first. The second affirmation is much more believable, isn't it? It causes feelings of excitement and pleasure because you can visualize your body shrinking in size, clothing becoming baggy, and smaller sizes looming in the near future. The mental state this affirmation activates is perfect for attracting the desired result. 3) Focus ONLY on what you WANT. Finally, the phrase, "thank you for my healing" is powerful because of the absence of something. Notice that cancer isn't mentioned anywhere in this affirmation. Though breast cancer was certainly Cathy's reality at that moment in time, she didn't emphasize or reinforce it. She didn't say, "Thank you for healing my cancer." Because that would have been affirming that cancer existed in the first place! With affirmations, it is crucial to focus ONLY on what you want, not what you DON'T want. Likewise, with the two example affirmations above, notice I didn't mention "losing weight" or "burning fat". Fat doesn't exist in the mind of someone who is thinking slender thoughts.

Can you see how these three simple steps will add power to your affirmations? If you're skeptical, try it yourself and see! Just to get you started, here are some more examples: "Thank you for my growing abundance."

"Thank you for my considerate and romantic spouse." "Thank you for my successful business." "Thank you for healing my eyesight." "Thank you for returning me to a perfect state of health and vitality." "Thank you for the happiness and joy I experience every day." "Thank you for the many blessings I continuously receive." "Thank you for freeing me, mind body and spirit." (This one is especially good for addictions!)

As you recite your affirmations, allow yourself to really FEEL the immense gratitude your words convey. Conjure up an image in your mind of your desired circumstances already formed and actualized. See yourself in the midst of these new circumstances, shouting your joy and thanksgiving to the Universe. The more you can do this, the more power your affirmations will contain, and the more quickly your chosen outcome will manifest.

What Does Laughing for Do Your Body? Norman Cousins Knew.

Have you ever been in a bad mood? Have you ever been in a bad mood when someone got you to laugh? Have you ever been in a bad mood when someone got you to laugh and you stayed in a bad mood? No? Well join the world! Ok, so we know that laughing can change your mood. But what does it do for your body? Technically speaking laughter is a release of tension, much like sneezing or orgasm. Comics know this well. Watch a good one, no matter what the style you will see that he or she will build up tension and then give some form of punchline to release that tension. Laughter: Laughter Activates the Immune System Holistic Health "In Berk's study, the physiological response produced by belly laughter was opposite of what is seen in classical stress, supporting the conclusion that mirthful laughter is a eustress state -- a state that produces healthy or positive emotions. Research results indicate that, after exposure to humor, there is a general increase in activity within the immune system, including: * An increase in the number and activity level of natural killer cells that attack viral infected cells and

some types of cancer and tumor cells. * An increase in activated T cells (T lymphocytes). There are many T cells that await activation. Laughter appears to tell the immune system to "turn it up a notch." bullet An increase in the antibody IgA (immunoglobulin A), which fights upper respiratory tract insults and infections. bullet An increase in gamma interferon, which tells various components of the immune system to "turn on." * An increase in IgB, the immunoglobulin produced in the greatest quantity in body, as well as an increase in Complement 3, which helps antibodies to pierce dysfunctional or infected cells. The increase in both substances was not only present while subjects watched a humor video; there also was a lingering effect that continued to show increased levels the next day."

Norman Cousins Laughed His Way Back to Health and Life

Norman Cousins was given a few months to live in 1964. He had Ankylosing Spondylitis, a rare disease of the connective tissues. He was told my a doctor who was his friend that he had a 1 in 500 chance of survival. He was told to 'get his affairs in order'. But Cousins would have none of it. A journalist, he was used to research and set himself to find a solution. He read and discovered that both his disease and the medicines were depleting his body of vitamin 'C', among other things. He did three things that would be usual today and were unheard of then. 1. He fired his doctor and left the hospital to check into a hotel. He ascertained that the cultural of defeat and over medication in the hospital was not going to be good for his health. He found a doctor

who would work with him as a team member as opposed to insisting on being in charge. 2. He began to get injections of massive doses of vitamin 'C'. 3. He obtained a movie projector, no small feat in those days, and a pile of funny movies inclusing the Marx Brothers and 'Candid Camera' shows. He spent a great deal of time watching these films and laughing. And he didn't just laugh. In spite of being in a lot of constant pain, he made a point of laughing until his very stomach hurt from it. Did it work? Who knows. You should know that Cousins finally died November 30, 1990 in Los Angeles, California, having survived years longer than his doctors predicted: 10 years after his first heart attack, 16 years after his collagen illness, and 26 years after his doctors first diagnosed his heart disease. Can it be proved that laughing added 26 years to Norman Cousins' life? Not really, but we see above that it strengthens the immune system that fights disease. There can be no double blind tests for this. They can't take two groups of dying people and have one laugh and the other cry and see who lived. The ethical restraints would be enormous and there would be too many variables. We will just have to take his word. Perhaps a version of Pascal's Wager. If laughing doesn't extend life, wouldn't it be better to laugh anyway to make your last more pleasant?

Even More Physical Benefits of Laughter

The results of the study also supported research indicating a general decrease in stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity. These were shown to decrease in the study group exposed to humor. For example, levels of epinephrine were lower in the group both in anticipation of humor and after exposure to humor. Epinephrine levels remained down throughout the experiment.

In addition, dopamine levels (as measured by dopac) were also decreased. Dopamine is involved in the "fight or flight response" and is associated with elevated blood pressure. Laughing is aerobic, providing a workout for the diaphragm and increasing the body's ability to use oxygen. Laughter brings in positive emotions that can enhance - not replace -- conventional treatments. Hence it is another tool available to help fight the disease. Experts believe that, when used as an adjunct to conventional care, laughter can reduce pain and aid the healing process. For one thing, laughter offers a powerful distraction from pain. In a study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, patients were told one-liners after surgery and before painful medication was administered. Those exposed to humor perceived less pain when compared to patients who didn't get a dose of humor as part of their therapy. Perhaps, the biggest benefit of laughter is that it is free and has no known negative side effects. So, here is a summary of how humor contributes to physical health. More details can be found in the article, Humor and Health contributed by Paul McGhee Wholistic Health

What Makes You Laugh Enough to Keep You Alive? DON'T FORGET TO VOTE FOR YOUR ADDITION!
Give us your best laughs. It could be movies, books, stories, or anything else. You may be saving someone by taking the time to do this.

1
Vote Up Vote Down Reminiscing with old friends either over lunch, dinner, or the phone. We laugh more...2 points

2
Vote Up Vote Down Some Friends and a Couple of Beers Not too many, just enough to make everything look more...1 point

3
Vote Up Vote Down Being Able to Laugh at Myself and still think I am great! 1 point

4
Vote Up Vote Down My grandchildren
1 point

5
Vote Up Vote Down A Steve Martin Movie
0 points