This is Marlene Shiple, Ph.D., the Life Coach Dr., and I am glad that you came by today to visit!  I’m pleased that you found your way to this page!

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Meditating under Tree

Have you felt extremely frazzled lately? Have you told yourself, “This HAS TO stop!”

What happened?

Did you notice that your frustrated exclamation in and of itself did nothing? That’s right! After being that exasperatingly clear with yourself, still nothing changed!

Why do you think that is?

In order for something to change, you have to DO something!  In order for change to occur, you have to act in exactly those specific ways aimed at creating the change! If you do not act in these proactive directions, you just keep creating more of the same!  In other words, what had been going on in the past just continues!

On the other hand, when you ACT, something entirely different occurs.  When you act, you begin to direct yourself in more peaceful directions and stop the stress! How does that sound to you?

So, how might you do this? you ask.

Mindfulness Meditation is one of the most powerful actions to relieve stress and build peace.  Meditation allows the body to relax.  It encourages the state of mindfulness. Mindfulness Meditation helps you to learn to focus intently with an attitude that is singularly nonreactive and nonjudgmental.

When you are engaged in Mindfulness Meditation, you notice what is going on inside you and around you without judging or reacting to it. In addition, you pay attention to focus on the flow of your breath — deeply and slowly, in and out of your body.

Research has proven that Mindfulness Meditation creates lasting improvements in the brain.  This occurs as a result of the Meditation creating actual changes in the brain structure. Using MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), researchers have studied the brains of people who practiced Mindfulness Meditation. These researchers found that there was growth in the areas of the brain responsible for memory, mood regulation, regulation of bodily functions and flexibility.

Frequent, consistent meditators report that meditation helps them to respond to previously-upsetting events more peacefully and experience the world more clearly.  This can be attributed to the physical brain-changes  that result from Mindfulness Meditation!

Is it time for you to start the habit of Mindfulness Meditation?

Could you commit today?

If not, what more do you need to convince you to be ready? 

There is an exciting, new way to look at your senior years! At the core of this outlook is the concept of you continuing to lead a meaningful life. For many years, I’ve had people come to me wanting to know their life’s purpose. These people were seeking to understand why they were alive. They desired to better comprehend the meaning of their lives — why they were here, how they could leave the world a better place, etc.

Each of these folks were in their 60′s. To a person, they expressed that they were looking at the waning years of their lives. Each was concerned about having his/her life matter, to have it mean something.

In the past, the idea was common that one’s senior years — those years after one left behind their first professional career — was a time of “retirement”. The concept Read the rest of this entry »

Emotional eating is the act of eating not for energy or in response to feelings of hunger, but as a response to emotional feelings. The foods of choice for emotional eating tend to be junk foods or traditional “comfort foods”.

Feelings that are often responded to with emotional eating include the following:

1) Depression: Often, anger that is held inside is experienced as feeling down and depressed. Often, this goes along with the thought, “What’s the use? Who cares?” In an attempt to feel better, the person does NOT address and release the anger, rather s/he uses food as a temporary way to feel better.

2) Anger: Often, when angry at oneself or at someone else, one tends to “stuff” the anger. Rather than assertively addressing the situation and getting it handled, one uses food instead.

3) Boredom: One thinks that there is nothing worthwhile to do and nowhere interesting to go. To fill in the void, the person fills his/her time and consciousness with acts of eating.

4) Lack of Appreciation: Food can be the outlet to the disappointed feelings that result from the experience that no one notices when one excels. The tendency is to “treat” oneself with food in an effort at congratulations, even when one is not hungry.

5) Lack of Control: This feeling is the result of thinking, “Everything in my life is out of control. I feel overwhelmed! The only thing I CAN control is what and when I eat!”

If you are looking for ongoing support to get your weight under control, we can help!  We have e-classes going on RIGHT NOW to help you.  Check out our healthy weight loss program today!

Or, if you prefer a self-guided approach, we can help!  Hypnosis is a technique to get your subconscious mind working WITH YOU to successfully accomplish your goals.  We provide audio-hypnosis plus a complete workbook designed to support your weight-loss success.  Hypnosis for weight loss can end your weight struggles FOR GOOD!!

ScienceDaily (Mar. 4, 2010) — According to research from Purdue University, the saying “You’re only as old as you feel” seems to resonate especially with older adults. According to the study’s lead investigator, “How old you are matters, but beyond that it’s your interpretation that has far-reaching implications for the process of aging.”

Doctoral student in sociology and gerontology, Markus H. Schafer continues to explain, “If you feel old beyond your own chronological years, you are probably going to experience a lot of the downsides that we associate with aging. But if you are older and maintain a sense of being younger, then that gives you an edge in maintaining a lot of the abilities you prize.”

Schafer and co-author Tetyana P. Shippee, a Purdue graduate who is a research associate at Purdue’s Center on Aging and the Life Course, compared people’s chronological age and their subjective age to determine which one has a greater influence on cognitive abilities during older adulthood. Nearly 500 people ages 55-74 were surveyed about aging in 1995 and in 2005 as part of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States.

In 1995, when people were asked what age do you feel most of the time, the majority identified with being 12 years younger than they actually were. The researchers found that those who felt young for their age also experienced greater confidence about their cognitive abilities a decade after.

“We are not sure about what comes first,” Schafer explained. “Does a person’s wellness and happiness affect their cognitive abilities or does a person’s cognitive ability contribute to their sense of wellness.” This will be addressed in future research.

Schafer points out both positive and negative implications of this study’s findings. “There is a tremendous emphasis on being youthful in our society and that can have a negative effect for people,” Schafer said. “People want to feel younger, and so when they do inevitably age they can lose a lot of confidence in their cognitive abilities.”

“But on the other hand, because there is such a desire in America to stay young, there may be benefits of trying to maintain a sense of youthfulness by keeping up with new trends and activities that feel invigorating. Learning new technologies is one way people can continue to improve their cognitive abilities. It will be interesting to see how, or if, these cultural norms shift as the Baby Boomer generation ages.”

“There is a slight difference between men and women, but it’s not as pronounced as we expected,” Schafer said. “This was surprising because of the emphasis on physical attractiveness and youth that is often disproportionately placed on women.”

These findings were published in January’s Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, and the study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The following are Eight Keys to Manage Stress in your life.  Using these keys in your life will unlock your inner doors to more peace, relaxation, and longevity for you–

1.  LEARN TO RELAX:   While this may sound almost too simple for  belief, go ahead and give it careful practice.  Relaxation benefits not only your physical condition, but your mental and emotional states as well.  Experiment to discover the ways of relaxation that work best for you.

2.  BREATHE DEEPLY & RHYTHMICALLY:  Breathing … now how tough is that?  You may find it surprising that many people do not breathe in a relaxing, stress-reducing way.  Stress-reduction breathing is deep and regular, with the inhale and exhale approximately the same length.  Often people breathe shallowly, or unevenly, or they hold their breath.  If you start to pay attention to others’ breathing patterns, you can easily see this.  If you start to pay attention to YOUR OWN breathing patterns, you can easily become aware of this, too.  Breath draws in vital oxygen, which is required by each cell to stay strong and healthy.  It strengthens your physical, mental and emotion energy.  It allows you to “let go” of tension and pressure.  Your breathing is a physiological function that is with you each and every moment … and breathing deeply, in an unstressed fashion, costs you nothing — it is free!

3.  FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE:  When a situation occurs, concentrate on all of the positive interpretations Read the rest of this entry »

Fear is an amazing feeling! It has significant power over our thoughts, feelings and actions. It takes on a “life of its own” and makes it appear as though we have lost the discerning power of choice in a situation. Fear can completely rule a person’s life.

So … why is it so amazing, you might be asking?

It has been said that, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This is quite true, for fear is of our own making. Then, it spreads like wildfire!

How does fear really work? First of all, each of us creates a thought. At this juncture, it is a neutral thought. After creating this thought, we then determine that we are afraid about this thought. So, now the emotion of fear is linked to the idea/thought that we created. Read the rest of this entry »

Abundance … does it seem like it’s far, far away? Have you become panicked at all of the Gloom and Doom on the news wires lately? Do you want to keep your attitude positive … and yet find yourself slipping into negative thinking? … and not know how to extricate yourself?

What can you do …

… to focus your life in directions that serve you?

… to surround yourself with confidence and a sense of safety?

… to move your own experience to one of kindness and manifestation?

You can start NOW and take control of your own experience! You can stop listening to predictions of perdition and begin to create your own prosperity. And you can do so Right Now!

You already have the mechanism for doing this. It rests in the capability and creative power of your subconscious mind. The power of the subconscious mind creates what you are thinking. This is called “self-fulfilling prophecy”. Every moment of every day, your subconscious mind creates according to the thoughts you hold in mind.

If you believe that everything is doomed, it is. Not because — objectively — it has to be … but, once you’ve verbalized to yourself with intention, “Everything is doomed”, it has to be because you believe it so! AND you get to be right .. every time! That is the nature of your subconscious-mind creation.

Conversely, if you believe that there is abundance in the Universe … and if you believe that you share in this abundance, you do. Not because it has to be … but it has to be because you believe it so! AND you get to be right … every time! That IS the nature of our subconscious-mind creation.

Here’s what to do … Follow these 5 Steps to Abundance:

STEP #1: Experiment over and over with your thoughts.

STEP #2: Challenge your subconscious mind to create the MOST positive ideas you can imagine!

STEP #3: Let your imagination run wild!

STEP #4: Put those ideas into thought and command your subconscious mind to bring them into your life … starting this very minute!

STEP #5: Keep watch — notice the bounty that comes your way!

I invite you to use these steps over and over to create prosperity and abundance in your life.