Jack Canfield’s Advice on Manifesting

Posted on by Tammy

In a recent teleseminar held by Steve Harrison of Reporter Connection, Jack Canfield spoke about how he managed to make a household name of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of books after he was rejected by 144 publishers. And even when he did convince someone to publish it, it still took 18 months before it hit the best-sellers list!

He shared his mission statement, “To inspire and empower people to live their highest vision in a context of love and joy,” and spoke about how often we hold ourselves back because we don’t think its “spiritual” to sell our product, service, etc., or to market ourselves with the intention of selling.

“You have to believe in the work your doing and believe what you have is extremely valuable, and that you are depriving them by not letting them know about it,” Canfield explained, advising we come from the approach of “I have a solution to the problem you have,” even if it’s just an entertaining book that will take their mind of off things for a while.

Here are some of his tips for getting ourselves into the mindset of success, and helping to remove some of the resistance that may be holding us back:

1. He took the New York Bestseller’s List and put white out on the name of the No. 1 book. In a similar font, he typed in “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” to remind him and his co-author to close their eyes throughout the day and visualize themselves as No. 1. “I visualized us a No. 1 and having sold 150,000 books. I saw the store window filed with our books, and would spend eight or nine minutes a day, every morning visualizing at least 10 different images like that,” he said.

2. When he was writing the book, he always referred to it as “best-selling,” and actually told people he was in the middle of writing a best-selling book.

3. Dream big. Canfield said it doesn’t take any more time to dream a big dream than to dream a small one, so aim high.

4. Canfield currently uses a vision board as his screen saver, and has images running by to represent all of his current goals.

5. “If you are going to be successful, you have to be a giver,” he said, explaining he often designates a charity to receive a portion of his book sales.

Canfield’s newest book is being released this Friday called “The Golden Motorcycle Gang,” based on a vision he had early in his career on why he is a teacher in this lifetime.

RECIPE: Good-for-You Morning Muffins

Posted on by Tammy

We came across this recipe in the 2011 edition of Taste of Home Baking, and wanted to pass it along. It’s packed with healthy ingredients, and is one woman’s healthier version of Morning Glory Muffins.

Flaxseed is one of the most heart-healthy ingredients around – with Omega-3 essential fatty acids; Lignans, with antioxidant and plant estrogen qualities and both soluble and insoluble fiber. And that is only one ingredient found in this recipe!

It also features cinnamon, which is known to regulate blood sugar, and is a good source of manganese, fiber, iron and calcium; carrots, full of the antioxidant beta-carotene; pecans, shown to lower LDL or bad cholesterol; apples, which also lower cholesterol; and raisins, which can aid in digestion, protect against cavities and tooth decay, and aid in calcium absorption and bone formation.

Enjoy!!

Good-for-You Morning Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup ground flaxseed
¾ cup sugar
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
4 egg whites
1 egg
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup orange juice
¼ cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup grated carrots
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup raisins
1 medium tart apple, peeled and shredded

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg whites, egg, applesauce, orange juice, oil and vanilla. Stir into flour mixture until just moistened. Fold into remaining ingredients.

Coat muffin cups with cooking spray or use foil liners. Fill three-fourths full. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks.

Yoga Proven to Reduce Low Back Pain

Posted on by Tammy

Weekly yoga and regular stretching classes have been shown to ease pain and improve functioning in people with chronic low back ailments, according to a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

A total of 228 adults with lower back pain participated in the study, and either attended 12 weekly yoga classes, did stretching exercises or read a book that provided information on exercise and other ways to relieve back pain, according to Reuters report.

The results showed participants in both classes reported more improvement in symptoms after three months, including pain that interferes with their daily activities, than patients who were only given the book.

The questionnaire filled out by participants rated daily “disability” level on a scale of zero to 23, with 23 being the most severe, and the exercise groups dropped from an initial average score of 10 in the yoga group or nine in the stretching group to between four and five in both groups, Reuters reported.

The people who received the book started with an average score of nine and at 12 weeks had dropped to about a seven.

“Here is an option that is worth trying,” Karen Sherman from the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, who led the study told Reuters.com.

Additionally, 60 percent of those in the yoga group reported improvements in pain compared to 46 percent in the stretching classes and only 16 percent for those with the books. Three months after the end of classes, symptom improvements were similar in people who had done either stretching or yoga, and were better than in the non-exercise group.

“I think it adds another piece of evidence that exercise is valuable for people with chronic back problems,” Dr. Richard Deyo, a study co-author and professor of family medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland said in an ABC News report. “It suggests yoga is a good option, but not necessarily the only one.”

The ABC News report also cited a 2009 study in the journal Spine that found benefits associated with yoga in people with chronic low back pain. In this case, participants took six months of classes in Iyengar yoga, which uses belts and blocks to place the body in proper alignment, and “experienced significantly less pain, fewer depressive symptoms and less functional disability compared to study participants who used other types of therapies,” the report stated. Also, those who took yoga classes used less medication.

As long as yoga classes are geared toward this type of stretching and strengthening and the exercises can be modified if people experience pain, Deyo said in the report.

Deepak Chopra Radio Launches on BlogTalkRadio.com

Posted on by Tammy

Deepak Chopra launched a new online radio show called Deepak Chopra Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com in partnership with Cinchcast, an audio publishing and management platform. He will offer conversations on success, love, sexuality and relationships, well-being and spirituality.

“Cinchcast’s technology and the BlogTalkRadio network are enabling me to create my own media platform,” said Deepak Chopra. “The simplicity of broadcasting using only a phone enables me to bring together thought leaders from across the globe from the worlds of spirituality, science and politics to create and share a dialogue on today’s most important topics.”

Deepak Chopra Radio is available online now at BlogTalkRadio.com, DeepakChopra.com and on iTunes.

Lucy Liu Creates Book of Art & Meditation

Posted on by Tammy

Actress Lucy Liu is well-known for her television and movie roles, including Charlie’s Angels, and Chicago, but she is also an artist who recently showed 72 of her ink and acrylic paintings on paper at Salon Vert Gallery in London.

“The paintings are inspired by the 72 Names of God – esoteric sequences of Hebrew letters – that some believe can help in the journey to find enlightenment for mind, body and spirit,” according to the Salon Vert Web site.

Liu also has a new book featuring the paintings called “Lucy Liu: Seventy Two,” and she explained to CNN.com that she was “inspired by a chart containing a graph of Aramaic letters and her fascination with how the energy of those letters could create something.”

“Each square of the chart has a significance which relates to the meditation of prosperity, healing, unity, things like that,” she said in the report. “As an art book you can flip through it and then if you want to go deeper, you can go in the back and for each painting there’s a meditation and you can read that as well.”

Liu wrote the meditations herself, which she said was challenging because she didn’t want to come off “didactic or someone who knows it all,” she told CNN.com. “There is actually something quite incredible about someone who believes something and can actually manifest that in their lives.”

The Secret Behind Many Law of Attraction Experts – The Master Key System

Posted on by Tammy

It’s been rumored that Microsoft’s Bill Gates read this book while attending Harvard University, and that it inspired him to drop out of school to start his own business. Many people who have used the law of attraction successfully, and have even gone on to write books about it themselves, including Napoleon Hill, started here. It is also the book that prompted the popular movie and book “The Secret.”

So what is it? “The Master Key System” by Charles F. Haanel, a man known by many as “The Father of Personal Development.”

Originally published around 1912, the book was first offered as a correspondence course of 24 lessons. Students would be delivered a new lesson each week for 24 weeks. Although it is available in one book today, it is still recommended that students take each lesson and master it before moving on to the next, spending at least a week reading and re-reading it.

“Every thought is said to become a material thing. Our desires are seed thoughts that have a tendency to sprout and grow and blossom and bear fruit. We are sowing these seeds every day. What shall the harvest be? Each of us today is the result of his past thinking. Later we shall be the result of what we are now thinking. We create our character, personality and environment by the thought which we originate, or entertain,” Haanel said in the book’s original introduction.

“Mental currents are as real as electric, magnetic or heat currents. We attract the currents with which we are in harmony – are we selecting those with which will be conductive to our success? This is the important question,” he said.

Whether you have been curious about the law of attraction, have read about it and are still struggling to understand how to use it, or have already mastered it – this book is a must read!

And the best part is, it’s available for FREE as a PDF download at http://www.thefreemasterkey.com/. If you prefer hardcopy, it is also available for purchase at the site.