Secrets to Changing Your Life

Hello my creative friends,

I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving and you are ready for the upcoming holiday season. I am really excited about it. I have had problems with overwhelm in years past that always started with Thanksgiving but I actively set my intention that this Thanksgiving would be the easiest, most fun and relaxing Thanksgiving ever and it was! I am doing the same with Christmas this year and I would like to invite you to do the same. 

How do you want to feel this holiday season? What are your big rocks and how are you going to let go of the sand to make room? How can you add in downtime to replenish yourself so that you can be your best for all of those around you? I would love to hear your secrets. I will post a thread on myFacebook page for you to tell me all about it.

Now, I promised you my new secrets for completely shifting my life in just about a month and I am here to deliver. 

1. Law of Attraction- I know I talked about it in the last email but I have to start here because this is really the basis of it all. I dove into Abraham Hicks teaching. I pulled out the two books I have by them, Law of Attraction and Power of Emotions. Both of those books came with audios too so I started playing them over and over again in the car. It took me time to wrap my brain around all of it so listening to it repeatedly really helped.
   
   I would also read a small section of a book each day sometimes just opening to a page and trusting that the message I most needed to hear would show itself.
   
   I found all kinds of YouTube videos that I watched. Whenever I had a question about how to apply the law I would Google it and find a video that was perfect. My favorite video that I watch every morning as soon as I wake up, most times before I even get out of bed  can be found here.  This was absolutely the best thing I have done for myself in…well…ever.
    
2. Meditation- For years I have been telling myself, “Girl, you need to meditate! Why aren’t you meditating? You know it is good for you. You know you like it. What is your problem?” No more! I have committed to meditating for just 15 minutes a day and I have been doing it faithfully.  Many days it ends up being longer but 15 minutes is a manageable amount of time for me to commit to.
   
   I downloaded the Insight Timer app that is completely free and loaded with amazing guided meditations. It has a timer with the most soothing bells so I can just sit in meditation too. I love that it tracks my progress and the time spent meditating. It is completely addictive and I love it.
   
   If you aren’t meditating, I would like to invite you to give it a try. There are so many health and wellness benefits for everyone and I have found that it allows you time to connect with your higher self...the part of you that makes your hair grow and your heart beat, the part that wants the best for you and supports you in everything you do and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need more of that in their life right? If you decide to use the Insight Timer (which I hope you do cuz it’s awesome!) be sure to find me and be my meditating friend. Just search for my email (mmmichelle2006@yahoo.com)
    
3. Vision Point Journal- This has been a game changer for me! If you are familiar with Bullet Journaling, this is what I started with. If you don’t know what I am talking about you can check it out here.
   
   I have had a bullet journal before where I would keep track of everything and I even wrote a post about it a couple of years ago but the problem was the momentum never stuck. I would start out gung ho and use it all of the time and slowly it would fizzle away and that would be the end of it.
   
   
   
   This time I decided to do something different and add my Freedom Art techniques to it. I sat down and wrote an intention for how I wanted to feel and I created a vision page right there in my journal. I did witness writing to further get the messages the creative exercise was sending. I used a cheapy glue stick and some magazines lying around and I loved it so much. It connected me to what my soul’s deepest longing was and the more I went into my journal to look at it, the more I was connected to that part of myself.
   
   It has been crazy good because the messages that come through are the things my soul wants me to do and I have so much energy around them because it feels good and I want to do it more than I ever wanted to do anything. What previously had seemed like a horrible chore suddenly became so exciting to accomplish and yes, that even means organizing my yarn stash!!!
   
   
   
   The great thing about it is the flexibility. You can make it entirely your own. You can do a monthly page or a weekly page like I do. I had started out with the monthly page but there just wasn’t enough juice to keep me in flow and connected to my higher self so I started doing it every week. Let me tell you, my Vision Point Journal day is my favorite day of the week. I get so excited because I get to play with my art materials and connect with what I want and it feels so good and that energy keeps me going through the whole week.
   
   
   
   Every morning I get up and look at my Vision page and I read my intention and some days I read my witness writing because there is a lot of juicy stuff in there too. It is such a great way to start my day. As the day goes on I am constantly in there checking my to do’s, making lists, keeping track of what I am doing and each time I open it I am connected with something greater than myself. I love that!

I hope those three tips will be helpful for you to try out and see if they resonate with you. I have seriously been feeling so good these days that I just had to share them with all of you and invite you into my happy little creation. 

I am definitely going to be creating some offerings in the new year online and in my home studio around the Vision Point Journal that I think you are going to love. I also want to start off the year with a Vision Board workshop. It's a great time of year to jump start. We can use the Vision Boards as our north star for our Vision Point Journals.

I am so excited and want to be sure that I give you everything you need so please send me an email and let me know about your experience with Vision Boards, Bullet Journals, or Vision Pages. Tell me what you want to learn, what you want to experience and how I can help make that a reality for you. If you have any questions I would love to be able to answer them as well. As I said, I really want to create a community that will embrace you all and I am inviting you to be a part of that creation. 

xo Michelle xo

Insidious Stress Pt. 2

Doodle created on a Panera Gift card holder

Yesterday we talked a little about the effects of stress and today I want to share some tips for dealing with stress that I've incorporated into my life and have shared with my clients with really good results.

1. Breathe- I know it is simple and seems like a no brainer but I'm telling you it is powerful. Breathing really can change everything. It can affect you on physical, mental and emotional levels. By simply taking a moment to close your eyes and take a deep breath you are consciously making a choice to slow down. If you really want to calm your nervous system try practicing belly breathing for just a few minutes. On the inhale, allow your belly to rise and on the exhale allow it fall. It might help to practice it lying on your back the first few times to get a feel for it.

2. Prepare- Sometimes stressful times can be unpredictable but more often than not I've found that women have predictable cycles in their days or years. I personally am approaching my most stressful season...baseball season. For other women it is summer or holidays or perhaps it is the morning rush or before dinner that stresses you out. Prepare for these stressful times when things are going smooth. Have meals ready to go in the freezer, take really good care of yourself when things are running at a slow pace so you are better able to handle stress. Schedule down time for yourself, pamper yourself. Begin to think about filling the well so that in times of drought you will have enough to sustain you.

3. Creative Outlet- The act of tapping in to your creativity can really melt away stress. It takes you out of your thinking mind and connects you to the creative flow. Doodle, create a collage, cook a new meal, rearrange your furniture, try a new hairstyle, take up a new hobby, or go on a walk and take a photo safari. Come up with simple creative tasks you can incorporate into your life.

4. Journal- Oftentimes our stress can be compounded by the thoughts in our heads. Let them out and set yourself free. Allow your thoughts to pour themselves out on a page without thinking about them or censoring them. Let the swear words fly! Be bold with your punctuation!!! Set every emotion free. When you're done you can even burn it and watch that negativity go up in smoke. It feels so good.

5. Rewrite Your Story- We all have our stories of lack, frustration, limitations, etc. Try an experiment where you literally rewrite those stories. Pretend you're writing a fairy tale and make it dreamy. Give it a happy ending and you might even try giving yourself the role of Prince Charming. Who needs anyone else to save us right?

6. Consult Your Future Self- Take a moment to connect with the future you who has already experienced what you are going through right now. Be sure you connect with the future you who has conquered the situation, who is thriving, happy, successful and living her dream life. Ask her for advice and support.

7. Use your calendar- This technique has helped so many of the women I 've worked with including myself when it comes to dealing with stressful times. If you have found that you have a recurring stressful time of the year like my stressful baseball season, go forward into your calendar and write yourself a note that will pop up prior to the start of that season. For me it usually pops up in March and baseball goes into full swing in April. I make notes about what made me crazy the year before and what worked. I make notes about ideas that I can try the next year and things to steer clear of. I know you think you will remember from year to year but the truth is we tend to forget but the calendar never forgets.

8. Experiment With Soothing Music- I'm a rocker. I love my rock music. I also love pop music and oldies, and blues, and well, I think you get the idea. I have a eclectic taste in music. I find music can really affect mood and I try experimenting with different styles of music. When you are stressed go for soothing music, classical, spiritual, inspirational. I've been known to put on chanting, meditations, and Gregorian chants to soothe myself. Explore and find some music that soothes your soul.

We can't run away from stress. It's a natural part of our lives. What we can do is to find techniques to reduce it and allow us to function holisticall and at our best. I hope there is a nugget here for you today!

Bring on Baseball Season! :o)

Insidious Stress Pt. 1



Ok, so I've had  bit of stress going on in my life lately. I used to be a complete stress addict and always felt like I was rushing around on high speed. It was so bad that I ended up with adrenal fatigue and had to make some changes in my life.

As a Holistic Health Coach I have worked with many women and mothers who need help dealing with stress and as I sat down at Panera the other day for a little stress break I started thinking about all the great advice I've given out and the advice I follow in my old life and thought I would share it with you.

We've all heard the reports on how stress is bad for our health. It raises cortisol, can contribute to high blood pressure, can lead to adrenal fatigue, etc. But there is another side effect to stress that I want to talk about today and that is how being under stress effects our behavior. When we are stressed out we suddenly begin making choices that we wouldn't normally make.

Food Choices- When we are stressed and under time constraints we typically don't have the time or the desire to prepare healthful meals that feed our bodies. We will just grab whatever is available and that tends to be processed food loaded with sugar, chemicals, and caffeine. These choices only add to the stress on our bodies.

Relationship Choices- Under stress we either don't have the time or energy to spend the quality time with our loved ones. This might mean brushing off our children or collapsing in the bed at the end of the night unable to be intimate with our partners.

Choosing our Words- When stressed out it is so easy to find ourselves snapping at the people we care about or even to the girl checking us out at the grocery store. Our filter can become defective and we could find ourselves saying things we wouldn't normally say.

Not Choosing Self Care- When time is tight and things have to be done yesterday self care can often be the first thing to throw out the window. We don't have time to take a walk. We're just too tired for that bath. Book? Are you kidding? As women we are really good at putting everyone and everything before our needs.

Can you relate to any of this? I know I sure can! I've been there and done that many times. I have to say that I get better and better at dealing with it every day and tomorrow I'm going to share my top tips for dealing with stress.

Pretty Pink Cranberry Oatmeal

I posted about this delicious breakfast I made for myself on Facebook but I wanted to share the recipe because it has become one of my favorites. I don't always eat oatmeal for breakfast. Usually I have something a little more substantial like eggs with veggies but the day I came up with this I was out of eggs and super hungry so I hit the pantry and found some oatmeal.

I have done a lot of experimenting over the years to find out what foods work for me and what foods don't. I have found breakfast makes a huge impact on my day. I need a heavy dose of protein and fat to keep my blood sugar stable so I add nuts and a little butter to my oatmeal. Cinnamon is good for stabilizing blood sugar as well so I add it. It tastes great too.

It's the perfect time of year for this warm, satisfying bowl of breakfast love. I hope you enjoy it!

Pretty Pink Cranberry Oatmeal

1/2 cup regular oats
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup milk* (I use milk substitute)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
pat of butter
chopped almonds (or nut of your choice)
brown sugar or stevia to sweeten

Put the oats, water, milk, and cranberries into a pot over med-high heat. Heat to boiling and turn down the heat to medium. Stir constantly to whip the oatmeal and break up the cranberries until the desired consistency is reached, about 5 minutes. You will see the cranberries begin to burst and then turn the oatmeal pink.

Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and butter. If you are using stevia, add it now.

Pour into the bowl and top with chopped nuts and a sprinkle of brown sugar if not using stevia.

*This may seem like a lot of liquid but I have found the cranberries thicken the oatmeal substantially.

Choose My Plate

After 19 years of the USDA pyramid, they have just replaced it with a much better colorful 4-part plate.

Read more about it on the IIN blog. Head over to choosemyplate.gov to get even more information and if you would like to print out the cute graphic above to hang on your refrigerator or share with your children you can find that at WebMD.

Melted Apricots

When I went to IIN I met a lot of awesome women (and some awesome men). One of those women also happens to share my name...Michelle. She has a fantastic website and she shared this recipe for Melted Apricots that sounds divine. I haven't tried it yet but I thought it would be a great thing to share with all of you. Click the link and head over to her website to get her recipe. Enjoy and be sure to let me know how it tastes.

Defining Success

I was watching Oprah yesterday. It was the show with Ralph Lauren. What an interesting man with an interesting story. The thing about him that really struck me was how much of a family man he is. Here is a man that runs a billion dollar empire, who takes great pride in making the best and doing the best in his company yet he still managed to be home for dinner and play with his children on the weekends. You could feel the love and respect his family had for him.

In stark contrast one of my favorite blogging artists recently wrote a post about how difficult it is to be an artist and to be successful at it. The long hours 7 days a week with no vacations, the obligations, the deadlines, the rushing, and the pressure were all given as examples of this.

One of the things I believe in when it comes to being a holistic health coach is that food is important but oftentimes it becomes secondary and the other areas of life are the primary foods. We are fed by the quality of our lives. The relationships, the environment we live in, our careers, our spirituality, etc. When those things are going well food is of less importance.

When we are out of balance oftentimes we turn to food to fill us up. We reach for the sugary treats, caffeine, and salty treats. When our lives are filled with passion, excitement, and love we can forget to eat...that's secondary food.

When I work with my clients I don't just tell them how to eat (in fact, I don't tell them at all but that's a whole other post), I look deeper and help them to find balance, to find passion, to love themselves and to put themselves on their priority list. In the beginning they resist. "How will everything get done?" they ask or "I couldn't possible do that!" they tell me. I push them just a tiny bit out of their comfort zone and they begin to get it. They feel different, they're happier and more fulfilled.

When looking at your career, I guess the question you have to ask yourself is, "How do you define success?" Is success simply how much money you make, how much power you have, or how well known you are? Or is it that you are living a life that brings you joy, that fills you up, that is balanced with family, friends, career, health, AND financial security?

There will be people that say it can't be done. You can't have it all and I say don't listen! I know people who have done it. I've seen how they structure their lives, how they prioritize, how they stay connected to their spirit and still manage to be successful. Are they as successful as Ralph Lauren? No, but Ralph Lauren is and he seems to have it figured out.

So I ask you, what is your definition of success and where are you on your path to finding it?

Quesadilla Night

Spring=baseball in my home. I have 3 boys that play travel baseball and 1 in high school. Needless to say I watch baseball just about every night of the week.

The boys get off the bus around 4:00 and many days we have to be out the door by 4:30. That doesn't leave a lot of time for dinner!

Many of the parents say baseball season is fast food season but I can't quite seem to bring myself to do that so I have to come up with some quick ideas that the kids can eat in the car if need be.

The thing is, this isn't just good for moms with kids. I started thinking about one of the hardest things for artists to do is pull themselves away from their art when they are inspired. The body needs to eat but who wants to stop and make something?

I like to make large portions up ahead of time so meals can be quick and easy. It's saved me countless times at lunch time when I am cruising on a project and my tummy starts to rumble.

That's right! Quesadillas. Fun, easy, and yummy.

I make up a large amount of taco meat. You can use beef or turkey. I don't like to use the prepackaged spice mixes because they are heavy on salt and God knows what other chemicals so I just make my own. It's so easy. I'll put my recipe down at the bottom of the post.

I also will saute up some veggies. I might use onions, red peppers (I'm not a fan of green peppers but those work too), zucchini or squash.

With those things prepared it takes just minutes to spread some organic re-fried beans on a tortilla, top with taco meat, veggies and cheese and heat them up on the stove top. Viola dinner in minutes. You can even make them up and store them in the refrigerator for later. I do that with my teenager who never seems to be home at dinner time. I suggest warming them in a toaster oven so they aren't soggy.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
makes enough for 1 lb of meat

1 Tbl minced onion
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika ( I used smoked...it's divine)
1/2 tsp oregano

Mix it up and add it to your browned meat and you're ready to go.

Grass Fed Beef

I am an omnivore. I have tried to be vegetarian and vegan. I even was a raw vegan for a while. It didn't work for me. When I began eating meat with vegetables I felt so good for the first time. I felt stable and grounded and it was fantastic.

One of the things I learned while studying to become a health coach is that no one diet works for everyone and I work with people to figure out what diet works for them. Some of my clients have been vegan, vegetarian, or paleo. The important thing is that they feel good.

As a meat eater I try to buy organic meat whenever possible. When I go to Costco I get the organic ground beef instead of the conventional and I look for the organic chickens for making my chicken stock. My eggs are always organic and free range.

With such a large family it can be costly to make these purchases and there are times when I just can't do it. I've been trying to get my husband to agree to making the big purchase of a half of a cow so we will have access to healthy, grass fed beef with no hormones or steroids.

The problem has been that we need to buy a freezer to store it and it is a large expense all at once so I have been slow to convince him.


Well no more my friends! My aunt gave us some of her beef that she gets from a local farm in Indiana. She has been to the farm and says it is immaculate and the farmer shares in her philosophy on pasture feeding and humane treatment of the animals.

I have to tell you that this beef was DELICIOUS! It tasted infinitely better than any beef I have purchased at any store, organic or not. My husband agreed. He started asking questions about it to figure out how we could do it.

The way it works is you purchase it in a large quantity i.e. a half a cow. It goes to the butcher and they package it up into various steaks, chops, roasts, and ground beef. The best part is that it ends up costing just under $3 a pound! How can we go wrong?

I think this is a great way to source healthy meat at an affordable price. You might not have access to an aunt that knows a farmer so check out Local Harvest. You can search farms in your area and it's a great resource for farmers markets and CSAs.

If buying such a large amount of meat is the issue, see if you can split it up with family or neighbors. My aunts splits it with her daughter and we might be splitting it with my mom. My husband also thought about getting a group of friends together to split it up. The options are endless.

Introducing The Healthy Artist

I used to have a blog that was an extension of my Holistic Health Coaching. I would share recipes and discuss a myriad of topics relating to physical, emotional, and spiritual health. I've been missing this part of my life and have decided to introduce it to The Creative Healing Studio in this Healthy Artist series.

I am excited about this and I look forward to sharing this part of my life with all of my artist friends. I have added the Healthy Artist button to my sidebar to allow you easy access to these posts.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to know more about please feel free to let me know.

Month of Hearts Day 20

I LOVE roasted broccoli! It is so yummy and so easy. I swear I could eat it all day long. All you do is toss your broccoli with some olive oil and a little sea salt, spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake it at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. You will probably want to stir it up halfway through. It will get nice and brown and delicious. Enjoy!

Balancing Creativity With a Healthy Life

I don't know about you but sometimes when I am in the throws of creative energy I tend to forget about everything else, especially all that I know about healthy living.

• I skip meals
• I forget to drink water
• I grab something quick even though I know it might not be the best choice
• I work into the wee hours and sacrifice my sleep
• I lose track of all ideas of balance in my life
• Exercise? What's that?
  

I've been working on some skills to incorporate my creativity and my passion for art into my life in a healthy and whole way. It's always interesting how simple things can result in big changes.

What are some of the ways you struggle to balance your creativity with your life? Do you struggle with meals, drinks, organizing, time management, sleep, or all of the above. wink wink ;o)

Holiday Eating Gone Wrong!

Raise your hand if you ate more than you wanted to over the holiday season.

How about sweets? Did you eat a few too many?

Alcohol anyone?

I totally know how you feel. I seemed to eat my way through the last two weeks and I'm feeling it. I'm almost sick to death of food. I don't want to see another cookie or brownie or dip.

The thing is I feel like that now, but I know that sometime around 3:00 my cravings are going to begin. By the evening I will probably be pacing around the kitchen looking...wanting...longing...for something sweet.

Ah but the good thing is I know how to deal with it now in a better way. You see a couple of years ago I was a total sugar addict! I ate sugar everyday to excess. My health suffered and I had to make changes. I learned so much while attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and experimenting with my diet and learning to listen to my body.

So even though I spent a couple of weeks splurging I am listening to what my body has to say and I am going to give it what it wants even if that means riding out some physical cravings. I know it will only last a few days and when it's done I will feel so much more centered and balanced. Oh I can't wait.

So how did you fare over the holidays with your eating?

Is your body asking you for anything?

If there is just one small thing you could do today for your body what would it be?