THE LIFE COACH DR.

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Welcome to The Life Coach Dr. Site!


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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For now, I invite you to take your time and look around.  I am pleased to offer you many valuable resources with the hope that you will use them to help make YOUR life better!

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Mindfulness: Meditation for Wellness & Health!

  Meditating under Tree

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? 

Emotional Eating … Does It Plague You?

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:

Overwhelmed and Hopeless1) 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!!

8 Keys to Effective Stress Management


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 »

Releasing Fear Now!


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 »

6 Goals for Weight Loss Success


Is weight loss important to you? If so, now is a GREAT time to get started! If you have desire to lose weight, doing so now is a natural step to take!

But let’s say that you have tried before with this goal and either not succeeded, or succeeded beautifully, but then gained weight back again. For many with weight-loss goals, it has seemed to be a venture of frustration and disappointment. Has this been your experience?

If so, it is time for a new outlook — a new approach. Here are 6 practical, effective steps for weight loss success:

1 – Be Positive:
Pay attention to your thoughts. Notice the types of messages that you are giving to yourself about you being a success — both as a person and in regard to weight loss. Notice specifically if you are being negative about this: Think — self-fulfilling prophecy. Respond to any negativity by re-wording the thought into a positive, success-generating affirmation: “I am a powerful, productive person!” “I enjoy success attaining my goals!” “I persevere with my resolution and lose the weight that I desire!”

2 – Be Realistic:
If your goal is to lose 50#, start with the awareness that you do not lose 50# all at once. In essence, you lose 1#, 50 times. So, start with that first pound. Give yourself realistic sub-goals. For example, you might choose the goal of 1# per week. Look where you will be by the end of this year!

3 – Know Yourself:
Are you someone who does better exercising with others? Then, by all means, do NOT assign yourself exercise by yourself on treadmill at home. Yes, it might be cheaper (if you already have the treadmill — you know, the one with all the clothes hanging from it in the family room?). Go to the gym — be around others — have a social outlet and exercise. Better yet, get an exercise buddy and meet each other at a specified time!

4 – Incorporate What You Know about Yourself:
If you feel pressured by others bringing up your efforts at weight loss, don’t announce your intentions to lose weight to the office. Keep it to yourself … and let them notice — and comment — on the results.

5 – Reward Your Success:
Be generous and kind to you. Choose non-food rewards and recognize you for your courage and your perseverance. Others may have NO idea what you have been going through … but YOU know! You are the person in the position to look out for you … to be kind to you … to recognize you as a success!

6 – Persevere:
Losing weight is a huge, important step toward better health. Being successful losing weight takes courage, motivation, diligence and persistence. Make your affirming cry: I Can Do It!

I urge you to use these six weight-loss ideas over and over to create success with your resolve to lose weight.  And I encourage you to learn more about creating effective weight loss success with our Weight Loss Hypnosis-Workbook Program.  To learn more, click here!

Keys to a Good Night’s Sleep


Refreshing sleep significantly affects the quality of your thinking, perceiving and experiencing. Research studies have repeatedly supported the far-reaching effects of solid, restful sleep.

Enjoying a good night’s sleep requires you to have — and use — the ability to direct your mind to work for you! After all, it is your mind. If you have not already been doing so, it is now time to treat this mind as yours!

The following steps are designed to help you create a good night’s sleep as your habit:

Step #1. If You Need to Spend Time Thinking, Do So … before going to your bedroom. Make a focused time for thinking a part of your pre-bedtime routine.

Step #2. Leave Any/All Cares in the Kitchen Freezer. Use your imagination for this one. Imagine that you take all cares, problems, worries, and concerns and deposit them for the night in the freezer. Then, firmly close the door … and leave them there.

Step #3. Establish a Bedtime Routine. Select the same time of night and the same relaxing tasks — e.g., take a hot bath, read a restful book, meditate. Make this bedtime routine a habit — each and every night, engage in relaxing in these routine ways.

Step #4. Turn Your Mind to Restful Thoughts. Fill your mind with the most-relaxing ideas, thoughts and memories that you can think of.

Step #5. Relax and Lie Down and Relax some More. Start with your feet and progressively relax every muscle of your body up to your head.

Step #6. Begin to Breathe Deeply and Slowly. As you do so, relax even more — from the inside, out.

Step #7. Imagine Yourself in a Relaxed, Repetitive Setting. Once you have yourself in a place of relaxation — e.g., on the beach, listening to the waves — count down slowly from 50.

I invite you to use these ideas over and over to create a good night’s sleep for yourself … night after night after night!

And I encourage you to learn more about how to re-balance your life by visiting our blog at http://www.mentalhealth-online.com/mentalhealth or Click Here. Join our list by entering your name and email address, or click on “RSS” to add yourself to our the RSS-feed — you will be informed right away about new additions and information that can benefit your life! Get Practical Ideas & Tips that You can Use to CHANGE your Life … for Good!

Affirmations for Success



Affirmations are positive statements with a goal-oriented focus. They are statements that you repeat so often that the ideas are able to penetrate your subconscious mind.

The following 5 tips are designed to help you to formulate your affirmations and goals most beneficially. Doing so allows you to increase the probability of activating them quickly in your life:

TIP #1 — State the Idea Positively:

Your subconscious mind will create whatever you are thinking. Fashioning your thought positively allows the creative power of your subconscious mind to have a direct line-of-sight to your desired outcome. So, if you want is to be more self-confident, you might word your affirmation as, “I am confident and self-assured in my words and actions!”

TIP #2 — Word the Statement in Terms of Yourself:

Rather than referring to yourself in
the second person, “you”, which keeps the idea more impersonal, you would use the first person, singular, to word your suggestions — “I” or “my” or “me” — thus, personalizing your affirmative statement.

TIP #3 — State in Short, Simple Phrases:

Your subconscious mind can more easily create
simple directives. Hence, by wording your affirmations as simple statements, you are helping your subconscious mind to more-easily affect its creation.

TIP #4 — Use the Present Tense:

Wording your statement in the here and now creates an
immediacy in your command to your subconscious mind. Hence, by using the present tense, you support your subconscious mind in initiating its creation at the soonest possible time.

TIP #5 — Focus on the Outcome You Wish to Create:

When you concentrate on the goal you desire to have in your life, you give your subconscious mind clear direction of your desired outcome. When you focus on what you want to overcome, you indirectly suggest that outcome as being what you want to have in your life. This is counterproductive. For example, if you want to feel safe and secure, you might affirm, “I am secure and safe being alive in the world!” rather than affirming, “I am not fearful and anxious!” While the latter may have an a positive intent, even though it says “not”, it actually suggests to your subconscious mind that it make you “fearful and anxious”.

As a counter example of this, have you ever spent any time not thinking about elephants? Go ahead — take 15″ and focus on not thinking of elephants. … What happened?

Do you see how, even though I suggested that you NOT think about elephants, I actually — by the very mention of “elephants” — brought the idea of elephants to your mind? That’s the power of suggestion. If you suggest NOT thinking about something to yourself, you, too, will actually be introducing the idea that you should think about that very thing! I encourage you to experiment to clarify this concept for yourself.

I invite you to use these tips over and over to create and use affirmations to direct your subconscious mind to create goal success!  And I encourage you to learn more about how to use Affirmations to create successful effects in your life.  You can access our Automatic Affirmation System, a practical way to use affirmations frequently and effectively in your everyday life.

The Benefits of Life Coaching



Life Coaching has been gaining increased popularity.  The reasons for this lie in its many benefits.  Here are a few key benefits of Life Coaching::

To see if Life Coaching might be for you, can you imagine yourself enjoying these benefits?:

If you answered, “yes” to any of these, Life Coaching just might be for you!  To find out for yourself, contact Dr. Shiple at (602) 266 -6662 or with a brief email to mshiple@thelifecoachdr dot com (that domain is “thelifecoachdr.com”).

How to Choose a Life Coach


Once you have decided that life coaching would benefit you, it is time to research a coach. You are looking for a “fit” a connection between you and the Life Coach whom you select.

If you know someone who is seeing, or has seen, a Life Coach and was pleased with the results and the assistance provided, you can ask him/her for a referral. If this is not available to you — or if it is not a direction you wish to pursue — other avenues exist.

1. In the Yellow Pages (physical phone book or online), find the heading that addresses the type of treatment you desire e.g., “stress management” to learn to coping skills to deal with stress; “hypnotherapy” to change destructive habits; “pain management” for handling pain-complex distress.

2. Look at the credentials of the Life Coach

If necessary, call to get this information.

3. Consider random factors, variable among different coaches; e.g., location, convenience of appointments scheduling, cost.

4.  Taking into account #1 through #3 (above), make a list of 3-5 possible treatment professionals.

5. Talk with each Life Coach on your list. Ask about his/her treatment style. For example, does he/she mostly listen while you talk? Does he/she offer practical suggestions for change? Is homework given?

Now, for THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of your selection process, consider the following:

a. How do these responses match what you think would work best for you?

b. Pay attention to your intuition while talking with the Life Coach

Listen to your “gut feeling” and make an appointment with the Life Coach whom you feel most strongly could assist you.

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