6 Simple Tips To Increase Your Happiness

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The ultimate questions ...

What is happiness? How can I be happy? Can we really control our own happiness?

Well, my answer is yes, we can control our own happiness and we can be happy, but happiness means so many different things to many different people.

My friends idea of creating her own happiness is a shopping trip to buy new clothes, shoe's, handbags etc where as that is my idea of pure hell.

I have studied positive psychology and the art of happiness for quite some time now and I truly believe we are the master of our own happiness.

Sadly it is so easy for us to get lost in the bullshit and find our minds flooded with the negativity which is around us. The more we think of negative things the more negativity washes over our lives. It's the Law Of Attraction. What energies you put out in the world is what you attract back to yourself. And this is why a positive mental attitude is key .... its time to get your happy back!

Here are my 6 simple tips on how to get happy!

1. Find Your Happy Song

Ok so we all have that 1 song that just brings us joy and fills us with happy vibes. You know, the one's you can't hear without a smiling coming across your face and needing to bust a few moves there and then. My happy song is Pharrell Williams - Happy. It just gets me every single time, no matter what my current mood is. 

Once you know your happy tune get it on your phone and set it as your alarm clock to wake you in the mornings. Let it play as you get yourself out of bed. I can guarantee this simple thing we set you up for a positive happy day.

2. Learn Mindfulness

Being mindful is simply taking notice of your present situation. You are living in the moment and not worrying or thinking about your past or future. The only time that you are giving your attention to is now. By practicing mindfulness, you are teaching your brain to focus on what is going on around you at the present time so that it is not focused on other things which may take away your happy vibe. Appreciate all that you have in that given moment. One of the ways I use mindfulness to my advantage is when I'm washing the dishes - I do not like doing this chore but when I get in a mindful state I end up finding it quite pleasant.

3. Random Act's of Kindness

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Do more for other people. Be generous with your time, energy and love and this will have a positive effect on your happiness levels. Our brains are wired to respond positively to rewards which we get from doing things for people. So try to do a random act of kindness every day and this will boost your own happiness levels.

4. Know Your Tribe

Your tribe are the people you choose to surround yourself with, your friends. Choose them wisely. Do your tribe life you up? Do they inspire and encourage everything you do? Or are they sucking the positivity right from you? You can't live a happy life if you surround yourself with negative people. Know your tribe.

come on ... this made you smile right?

5. Smile

Smiling is contagious, the more you smile the more other people around you will smile too. The act of smiling activates neural messaging that benefits your health and happiness. Those messages release dopamine, endorphins and serotonin (the happy juice)  into your body and increases your happiness levels.

6. Do More Of What You Love

Do more of what makes you happy! If you have a hobby or something that just makes you feel good and happy inside ... do more of it! Follow your passion. No matter how big or small this is, if it makes you feel joy then do it as often as you can.

These are very simple tips which you should be able to incorporate into your daily routine pretty easy, but they will have a very positive effect on you and your happiness levels :)

Love & Light

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What Limiting Beliefs Are Holding You Back?

What limiting beliefs are holding you back?

Life Coaching can help you get rid of your limiting beliefs

We all inherit limiting beliefs, we have a parents, teachers and other influential people to thank for that one.  

But are you even aware of your own limiting beliefs? Are you aware of other peoples limiting beliefs which may be influencing you? Are you aware that you may be passing on your own limiting beliefs onto someone else?

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about my business and my own personal and spiritual growth. He mentioned that he and a mutual friends were also recently talking about me and what I'm doing (always nice to hear you are the topic of other peoples conversations). 

Something he said suck in my head, our other friends had said something along the lines of:

"To give Lisa credit, she is pretty much self taught in her field and is extremely knowledgeable, IF she was to apply that much effort into doing something with useful which would actually benefit her she would be able to achieve something with real meaning, such as become a doctor or lawyer".

follow your passion

This has to be one of the most pretentious comment I have heard in a long time, but I can completely understand why this was said and what was actually meant by it.

The guy who said it doesn't understand my passion for spiritual growth, law of attraction, holistic living, tarot reading, energy healing or even why anyone would hire their own life coach or counsellor. So to him, the time I have spend studying all these skills is time wasted. If I had put this much effort into a degree then I would now be a "successful doctor or lawyer or something."

To some people these types of comments could cut deep and had a negative effect on their emotions and ability to reach their full potential. This is a prime example of someone passing on their own limiting belief to someone else.

This guys belief is that a 'good job' and level of success would be such things as a doctor, lawyer etc. This would be a belief he inherited from his parents, teacher etc as a child. He was most likely told at some point that these types of jobs are what people should aim for to be successful and happy within their lives, and this was probably done with the up most kindness and hope to encourage him to aim for 'higher' things.

Now I know from my personal experience with children that this is something many parents, teachers, family members say to children, it's a common thing to try to 'encourage' children to strive for these types of things in life. We have just been conditioned over the years to believe these type of careers will bring us happiness. 

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But we know this is not true, what brings us true happiness is doing something we LOVE, following our passion, having a vision and making that vision a reality. No matter what your passion is, weather its being a childminder, being a spiritual teacher, or even being a doctor. If you are following your TRUE passion, you ARE doing something useful that has real meaning.

People create their own realities based on their life experiences, beliefs, values and memories. Beliefs are assumption that may or may not be true, however we act as if they are true.

Now this guy has a belief that a worthwhile and meaningful job is something like a lawyer, and yes this is a very worthwhile job to do for some people, but not all people. With this limiting belief stuck firmly in his head he could be potentially holding himself back. These limiting beliefs may very well cause him to not try to follow his own passion or calling as it is not in line with what he has been lead to believe is a worthwhile thing to do with his life.

Many of us hold onto these limiting beliefs that we have picked up throughout our lives. One of my own limiting beliefs was I would never pass an exam in my life so not to bother. This was due to just one teacher making a comment to me in high school,

"You will never pass your exams if you don't pay attention in class Lisajane".

Now I only heard was "You will never pass your exams" and it stuck with me for a very long time. I would actively avoid any form of test or exam as I honestly believed I would fail. If I couldn't avoid them, then I would convince myself I would fail .... and yes ... I fail .... every single bloody exam I took from the age of 16-30 and this of cause reaffirmed my limiting belief making me believe it even more. The loop of doom! lol

But due to my own spiritual studying and personal growth throughout the years I was soon able to recognise this as a limiting belief and I got rid of that sucker quick time. I then enrolled in as many courses as I possible could and Iv been passing every single test and exam since.

Can you think of any limiting beliefs that are holding you back right now?
Can you think of a limiting belief someone else has passed on to you?
Can you think of any limiting beliefs you have passed onto others?

Limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs keeps you stuck in the patterns that limit your experience of life. Once you become more aware of a negative thought, belief or pattern, you have the option to change it and make more positive and empowering choices. 

Do This NOW!

Make a list of any limiting beliefs you think you have that may be holding you back from fulfilling your true potential. Take time to really think about these and how they may be impacting your life.

Now make a new list of positive beliefs which can move you forward and closer to your better self. These will help you form new positive beliefs. Read out loud your new list of positive beliefs every day. This will enable your brain to form new positive neuro pathways which will soon become part of your subconscious ... forming new positive beliefs :)

Examples of limiting and positive beliefs

Hope you have found this blog helpful, if so, pleas leave a comment below and share it with others so they can also start to get rid of those pesky limiting beliefs.

Have a blessed day

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Physical Effects Of Stress & How to Cure With Mindfulness

Physical Effects Of Stress & How to Cure With Mindfulness

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The Physical Effects Of Stress

We all get stressed, some more then others and some even find themselves constantly feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Stress can be extremely harmful to our body and mind if it is mismanaged, so it is vital we learn how to better manage our stress levels to ensure optimum overall health. Between 60-90% of all doctor visits are stress related in forms of illness, physical problems and mental issues, so being able to manage our stress will inevitably increase our overall wellness. 

I want to first briefly go into the physical effects that stress causes in our bodies to better understand the negative effects and why it is so important to manage.

When we are feeling stressed it triggers what is called our 'Autonomic Nervous System' to go into imbalance. Our Autonomic Nervous System controls our Sympathetic Nervous System (deal with fight or flight and stress response) and our Parasympathetic Nervous System (deals with relaxation and rest response)

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Stress makes our Sympathetic Nervous System kick into action releasing stress hormones into our bodies. We are not able to cope with long term fight or flight conditions. Our flight or flight and stress response is only meant to serve us for very short periods of time. Continued time spent in this state will have a dramatic negative effect on our bodies, such as, but not limited to, the following:

• Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome
• Thyroid production difficulty
• Reproductions hormones issues such as menopause and low sperm count 
• Inability to regulate inflammation
• Immune system breakdown
• Digestive issues, such as regulation of blood sugar
• Muscular pain and injury

How Mindfulness Can Cure Stress

When mindfulness is used regularly it soothes our Autonomic Nervous System and increases our Parasympathetic Nervous System which deal with our relaxation and rest response and decreases our Sympathetic Nervous System, thus creating a perfect balance for overall wellness. Relaxation creates effectiveness within our bodies, it allows our bodies to work in harmony and provides the best environment for us to thrive and live healthier well balanced lives.

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When you are fully engaged in your present moment you are not bringing any regrets or worries from your past or future which makes your present moment free of resistance. When you are free of resistance, you are no longer triggering your stress response and when you are no longer triggering your stress response your Autonomic Nervous System is in balance.

"Mindfulness and meditations is better then any drug for lowering your stress levels and balancing your Autonomic Nervous System"

Keith Holden, M.D. Physician

So what is Mindfulness

Mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment without judgement. Watching, witnesses and allow things to unfold, releasing resistance to the present moment. Calmly engaging in the present moment as often as you can. When we resists against things, this is what can cause the stress response in our bodies.

Using mindfulness to trigger your relaxation response will create relaxation in the body/mind and reduce stress and limit illness and physical pains caused by stress.

Mindful Techniques To Try

Undertaking mindful techniques on a daily basis will soon become a habit, second nature to you. You can practise mindfulness anywhere and at any time. Here are a few easy to follow tips on becoming more mindful.

Focus on your breath

Sit quite and start taking deep slow breaths and be totally focused just on your breathing. Start doing this for about 5 minutes at a time and slowly increase the time as you get better at it. If you start notice the chatter of your mind coming into your thoughts, just acknowledge them and then brush them away. I literally visualise a broom sweeping them from my mind. Then refocus on your breath again.

The best way to breath during mindfulness meditations is to belly breathe. This is also called Diaphragmatic breathing because you are engaging your diaphragm fully to pull in a deep breath to the bottom of your lungs. You will know you are engaging your diaphragm when you see your tunny extending outwards with each breath. The below video will help you get more comfortable with belly breathing. 

Mindful Observations

When carrying out certain tasks during your day you can turn these into mindfulness practise. I personally do this when washing the dishes as I usually find this chore a really drag. So when carrying out this task I become fully present in the moment. I start to notice such things as the temperature of the water on my hands, the smell of the washing up liquid, the formation of the bubbles on top of the water, the sensation of the wet cloth on my hands and so forth. I am completely present in the moment and on the task at hand. this works in most situations from doing any household chores to engaging in your favourite hobby.

Mindful Eating

This one is fantastic and has been used successfully by many to help loose unwanted weight as well as living in the present moment. 

Understanding that the act of eating is to nourish and replenish your body. It is not to be used as method of comfort or to soothe unwanted negative emotions.  Start your mindfulness when preparing your food. Be mindful of what it is you are adding to your dishes. Are the ingredients going to nourish and replenish your body? Are they a healthy choice?

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Going into a state of gratitude or grace before you start eating and this will calm your Autonomic Nervous System which will in turn optimise your digesting and absorption of the nutrients of your food. 

While eating, chew your food slowly and be mindful of each mouthful. Savor the flavor, the smell and the texture of each mouthful. Notice what your tummy feels likes as it starts to get full up with food and know when you have had enough. The slower we eat, the less we consume. Research has shown that those who rush their food and eat very quickly will consume almost double that of a person who eats slowly and mindfully.

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Grounding

I love grounding, or as I call it, bare foot walking. Whenever you get the chance, while walking outside, remove your shoes and socks and walk bear foot. It works even better if walking along grass or a sandy beach. Imagine being connected to the ground via energy and feel it raising up through the souls of your feet through your body. Start to notice each step you take, every time your foot connects to the ground you notice the sensation. This usually happens automatically as walking bear foot is such a different sensation to us.

Nature Cues

Use nature as a reminder to practise being mindful. Every time to go outside into nature take time to notice the smells, the sensation of the wind or sun on your skin. Notice the green-ness of the grass and trees and the vibrant colours of the flowers. Notice the sounds of the birds or a near by road of busy traffic. Take it all in. Research has show just being in a natural environment has an positive effect on our Autonomic Nervous Systems and makes us feel calm and rested.

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Until you are able to practice mindfulness intuitively you can set yourself reminders. You could set an alarm on your smart phone to go off at certain time and then do your chosen mindful practice. Or you can leave post it notes around your home in certain places, such as by the sink, which will help you to remember to do some mindfulness mediation's while you wash your dishes. You will soon start to notice that you begin carrying out certain task's in a mindful way without the need of a reminder.

By living a more mindful life you WILL reduce your stress levels which in turn will cure all your stress related illnesses and physical symptoms.

If you are still struggling with mindfulness and your stress levels, then my holistic Life Coaching sessions may be of assistance. We can explore together the issues which are standing in your way and causing your stress. We will work together to remove and reduce these issues and find new ways to become more mindful, which will in turn make your life more balanced and enhance your overall wellness. I offer FREE consultation to everyone to see if Coaching can help you, feel free to get in touch to book a consultation. 

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Love & Light, 

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Lisajane Jones (IPHM) (DIP) of Holistic Honnies is registered as a fully accredited & qualified member of the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine.

Ref: IHMNM00179