Sweet Dreams are Made of This

Christina Florence, , , , , , Leave a comment

I woke up in the middle of the night last night with the worst anxiety in the pit of my stomach. The space between my eyes wrinkled up so hard it felt like I had Sharpei there. “Why, why” I asked as I tossed and turned while my husband snoozed peacefully beside me.

“I’m usually so happy, what is going on?” I decided to ask the wrinkles between my eyes. “What is this frowning about? Don’t you know you are making me look old?” To my surprise my wrinkles talked back! This is what they said: “You are afraid of your future and you don’t know what to do” “Oh no, not you again” I thought. That voice in my head that is always the bearer of bad news.

For an hour or so I just lay there fretting about my future and accepting the fact that I was not going to get another wink of sleep that night. Then I remembered my happy arrows. “Oh, right” I said and shot myself through and through. Soon I was drifting off into a blissful sleep and my future seemed so bright I would have to wear shades. If it sounds like I was shooting drugs, I sort of was, if you call happiness a drug.

Here’s how it works.

Happy Arrows
Imagine that the negative feelings are dark clouds over head. Imagine that you have beside you a bow and a quiver of arrows. Take up your bow and pull out an arrow. Notice that the arrow is a bright shade of yellow (the color of sunshine). Now, shoot the arrow into the clouds. Notice what happens. Do the clouds give way to sunshine? Next, put a picture of yourself in front of you (in your mind) and start shooting the yellow happy arrows at the image of yourself. As the arrows hit see them melt and pour yellow softness down your entire body. Keep doing this until the image of you that you are shooting at begins to smile and you feel happy.

This is such a simple little trick to dispel anxiety any time of the day or night, so simple you wouldn’t think I would forget it. But there I was feeling needlessly miserable for over an hour when I could have just grabbed my arrows and been done with it and sleeping peacefully.

You, too, can have a peaceful night’s sleep. Next time anxiety wakes you in the night (or in the day) remember this little trick. Your happy arrows are always at your side.

©Christina Florence – February 2008

 

Do You Wake Up Happy?

Christina Florence, , , , , , , Leave a comment

I do. At least now I do.

For many years however I did not. I would open my eyes and before I was even aware of having a thought I would feel like I had a fist in my stomach. A feeling of dread, of fear and anxiety, and I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet. Yeah, nice way to start your day!

So what changed? What changed was I worked really hard to change it. I knew this feeling was literally ruining my day and my life. I would not let myself get out of bed until I had changed that horrible feeling of dread to a feeling of anticipation for what the day would bring. How?

Try this: When you first open your eyes focus on your solar plexus area. That is where your feelings are. If you notice even the slightest feeling of discomfort, you must distract yourself immediately. This whole thing sounds insane but trust me on this: sing a song in your head or sing it out loud. As I said this may seem REALLY silly, however it changes your focus and has been proven to work.

Tony Robbins, a well-known motivational speaker, says that in order to change a behavior you have to do the opposite even if it feels weird. So find a song that makes you smile and visualize yourself singing and dancing to it. My songs (and don’t laugh) are “My Favorite Things” and “Get This Party Started”!

Oops! I just Googled “happy songs” and guess what folks, I couldn’t find any recent ones. All of the ones I did find were from the fifties and earlier. Were people just happier then? Alright, back up here. Just think of a tune that makes you feel good and add your own words to it, words that have a positive, uplifting feeling to them. It is impossible to feel bad while you are singing a happy song because your mind is focused on the lyrics.

I dare you to try this for one week!

If you want other suggestions for starting the day off right, check out my book, “The Magic of Zero” at Amazon.com.

©Christina Florence – January 2008

Sunshine & Lollipops – The Freedom To Be Happy

Christina Florence, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Giving Yourself Permission to Be Happy.

What does this mean and why do we need permission? And who are we asking permission from, anyway?

Well, it seems that we in America (I can’t speak for other countries) have lost contact with the fundamentals of life here on earth. Our air and water are compromised as is our food. Our feet rarely touch the earth. We are plugged in yet disconnected. We are stressed and consumed by fear. Many of us are caught up in a daily existence that focuses on obtaining “happiness” from some place “out there”. Where, in reality, The Only Way Out Is In.

I had a client recently who said this to me:

“I feel lost in a sea of confusion. I want I want I want. It seems that all I want is to have “things”. I don’t seem happy just to be. That is what needs to change for me. I wish I could just wake up one day happy and never look back. Or never feel bad again. Instead I have a list of things I want.”

She continued, “I think ‘If I only had a bigger house I would be happy, if I only had a better car I would be happy”…but I got a beautiful car and felt happy for about a month. Then it was on to the next thing. I spend hours on the web trying to find something. What? WHAT? What am I looking for? It is like I need to always be in pursuit of something to be happy. If there is nothing to look for there is nothing to live for. This is a terrible dilemma and it is a trap. I also think that if I had more money I would be happy.”

MONEY!

Don’t you think my client might have it backwards? How about when she is happy, she will automatically generate more of everything she wants, including money!

How, then, do we feel grateful for what we have with out feeling that need for something more? Its not that we can’t want or have things. But, the pursuit of these things should not define our very existence.

Life is just a continual merry go round of “next” “next” “next” Until we stop wanting and start living we will never be happy! What we are doing is delaying gratification so that we will only be happy someplace out in the future. Fill in the blank; I will be happy when I am __________________________. Then, in a New York minute, you are 95 and that blank got really long.

Instead hop out of bed each day and remind yourself that the most important thing is to be joyful, happy and fulfilled PERIOD! From there everything, and I mean EVERYTHING else will take care of itself.

OK, I can hear you laughing now. So, all you skeptics out there, tune in next week for the next installment of Freedom to be Happy or How You Too can have Sunshine and Lollipops all day long.

©Christina Florence – January 2008

New Year’s Resolutions That Stick – Your Perfect Weight!

Christina Florence, , , , , , , 1 Comment

This year instead of telling yourself you should, need, have, or must resolve to change something, try one of my quick change exercises.

These are fun, easy exercises taken from my book “The Magic of Zero” and you can take them with you anywhere.

After a holiday season of the Christmas Cookie diet, let’s start with everyone’s favorite topic, weight loss.

The Magic Mirror:
Start by sitting comfortably where you won’t be disturbed, (yes, shut off the cell phone). Close your eyes. Take several deep, complete breaths and picture yourself going down a flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs picture a room with many doors. Each door has a sign above it. Go to the door with the sign that reads “My Perfect Weight”. Go through the door and find yourself in a beautiful room. In this room is a closet. In the closet you will find beautiful clothing that is exactly what you love and in the exact size you want to be. Take an outfit off the hangar and drape it over your arm. Turn around and see your reflection in the full length mirror. What do you see? Do you see your self the way you are? Do you see yourself at all? If you don’t like what you see, no matter, we are about to change it!

Along the bottom edge of this mirror are 4 knobs you can turn and one button that says “Save”. The first knob on your left will sharpen your image. Turn it and see your image become crystal clear. The next knob will make the colors brighter. The one in the middle will control the horizontal. Keep turning it until you see yourself at the size you want, then press the “Save” button.

The next 2 knobs control the background. Create a background the way you want it. Whatever makes you feel thin. Is it walking? Dancing? Eating well? Lets choose “Eating Well”. Turn the 4th knob and a table and chair appears in the background. The table is covered with luscious, vibrantly healthy foods. Vegetables, fish, grains, fruits.

Put on the clothes you have been holding and imagine yourself stepping into your new image in the mirror. Feel how it feels to be this thinner body. Take a seat at the table and begin eating. Savor the goodness of these healthy foods. Take your time. They really taste great. When you are finished eating stand up and go back through the mirror and into the room. Turn around and admire again the beautiful you you have created. Press “Save” one more time. Now leave the room, walk back up the stairs and into your life as the new thinner you.

Visualize yourself in the mirror everyday for 2 weeks. It takes to weeks to create a habit. Some people find that in 2 weeks they begin to associate themselves with eating better and being at the weight that they want. For people who have trouble visualizing a thinner self find a picture of the body you would like and paste a picture of your head on it. Place this picture where you can see it everyday.

For those who want other exercises, please see my book “The Magic of Zero” available at Amazon.

©Christina Florence – January 2008

Move Away Old Stuff and Have the Life You Really Want with NLP

Christina Florence, , , Leave a comment

I know, I know its been 5 months. I was out of the country but that is no excuse.

I’m done with my book, The Magic of Zero and on to it’s companion book. This one will have lots of exercise to help you move through any block that stops you from having the life you want and deserve.

Here’s an easy one that you can try right now!

Anchoring
It’s called “Anchoring” and basically it can change the way you feel about something in an instant, using NLP.

First: decide what feeling you want to get rid of.

Second: count backward from any number for about 3 seconds ( example: 78,77,76,75) This clears your mind.
Then think of something that gives you a clear contrasting positive feeling to the thing you want to change. For instance, say you have a fear of flying. You would think of a memory or an instance in which you feel extremely safe. Think on this safe feeling until you really have it fully in your body.

Now, create your anchor by putting the thumb and middle finger (of either hand) together while focusing on that safe (or what ever positive) feeling. Hold it for 20 seconds,

Lastly, Let go of the anchor and count backwards again for 3 seconds.

That’s it! Simple. You can test your anchor by thinking of the situation, wait till you feel the anxiety of it and then “fire” your anchor by putting the thumb and middle finger together and holding for 10 seconds. You should feel a wave of good feeling come through you taking away the negative feeling. If not, repeat the process above until it works. It will!

 

These anchors hold for about a week then you can do another one if you like. See more about anchoring in my book The Magic Of Zero.

©Christina Florence – November 2007

Welcome to The Magic of Zero!

Christina Florence, , , , , Leave a comment

I have always been fascinated with zero. So empty and so full.

Zero is a place of beginning and a place to end. The perfect place to start yourself on a daily practice of EFT. Practicing EFT every day can work miracles in your life.

For more information about how to use EFT please go to my EFT page.

Here are some of the successes I have had with EFT.

  • Food addictions
  • Money issues
  • Insomnia
  • Phobias
  • Fear and anxiety
  • And much, much, much more.

Ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst) how bad do you feel about a particular issue.

EFT is the best way to take yourself down to zero!

©Christina Florence – June 2007