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February 2012 Newsletter

Heart Connections

This is a month when the heart is front and center. After all, February is Heart Month and the home of Valentine's Day. Besides being a symbol for love, the heart is a perfect mascot for the mind-body-spirit connection.

Here's an activity that will support your physical heart, your emotional heart and the spiritual heart of you - all without fueling the hype that seems to accompany any and all special days in our highly consumer-driven society. My suggestion involves a bit of quiet, uninterrupted time, a piece of paper (plain or pretty is fine as long as it's unlined) and a writing instrument that feels good in your hand, won't leave blobs of ink as unintentional illustrations, and is not a pencil. Turquoise ink will take this exercise to a whole new level.

Start by bringing into your mind someone you love: a significant other, a child, a parent, a cherished animal - or, if none of these inspires you for whatever reason - bring yourself into your mind. Next, involve your heart by thinking about the things you are most grateful for about that person, animal or your own sweet, shining self. Just open up to a sense of gratitude and let the thoughts flow freely. It might be huge things you are grateful for, or tiny blessings that often go overlooked or ignored. You may find that what begins as a challenge (especially when you are the subject) becomes easier and easier as you focus your thoughts - and heart - in a grateful direction.

Once your pump of grateful thoughts and feelings is primed, take the writing instrument in your hand and move it across the paper in such a way that your hand records those thoughts and feelings. This process of putting pen to paper to record thoughts and feelings is called handwriting. Perhaps you've heard of it? Perhaps you even used to do it, long ago, in a simpler, less hurried century? Seriously, there are too many positive benefits of handwriting to let it disappear from our lives.

Consider that when you record your grateful thoughts about another, or yourself, you are utilizing an essential mind-body-spirit tool for wholeness. Conversely, when we never use our handwriting to express our thoughts and feelings, we are cut off from that wonderful avenue of wholeness. And when you give that handwritten note to someone else, you are literally giving them a piece of your mind and heart because their subconscious mind will pick up all the nuances of your personality in your handwriting. Really!

To take your handwriting to a new and astonishing level of purpose, check out The Vimala Alphabet (www.alphabeticalblessings.com). The Vimala Alphabet and The Vimala System of Handwriting are the creations of Dr. Vimala Rodgers, a true visionary of our times. You will find this technology mentioned again and again by self-help luminary Louise Hay, who adopted the Vimala Alphabet years ago and recommends it highly. It's a rare endorsement. When you log onto the Hay House website, Louise's autograph is clearly in Vimala script.

Your handwriting is especially important to consider if you're in a relationship or thinking about being in one, even if it's with yourself. You'd be amazed at how effective a daily handwriting practice can be in re-wiring one's subconscious for excellence in all areas of one's life. If self-sabotage is one of your mind's default settings, see Announcements below for details for a great new workshop next month on ending self-sabotage via The Vimala System.

If unresolved baggage from old relationships are spinning you into sadness or fear this month, get over it! To "Go see Lucy" call (925-820-1949) or email me.

May the promise of 2012 unfold calmly and joyfully for you and yours. Call or email me if you'd like some help making it so.

Until next month, remember: All is moving toward the good. Let is be so.

Blessings,
Lucy Grace Yaldezian, CHT, CHC

February Inspiration

"If your heart is a volcano,
how shall you expect flowers to bloom?"

--Kahlil Gibran

Announcements

Get Out of Your Way!
Ending Self-sabotage with The Vimala System

Tuesday, March 20, 2012
6:45 registration; 7-9pm workshop
Space is limited. Please call 925-820-1949 or email me.
$50

If you struggle with self-sabotaging patterns in your life, this brand new workshop based on the work of Dr. Vimala Rodgers (Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life, Transform Your Life Through Handwriting) is a great way to welcome spring.

In this experiential, eye-opening workshop, we will explore:
*Why handwriting is such an important mind-body-spirit connection.
*How and where self-sabotage shows up in your handwriting (and therefore, your life).
*Specific letter formations and general handwriting techniques that transform self-sabotage into confidence and success.

Bring a notebook and pen.

One of a select group of instructors certified by Dr. Vimala Rodgers and the International Institute of Handwriting Studies (www.iihs.com), I have been studying this material since 1994 and love to share it. Come discover why hundreds of people all over the world - including Louise Hay - use this incredible avenue for cortical remapping every day.

Calling All Smokers... Did You Know?

When the Contra Costa Times ran a series on different ways to stop smoking, one of my very satisfied clients was interviewed. Click here for the article. My unique smoking cessation protocol combines The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) with hypnotherapy for a 70% success rate. The two-hour smoking cessation session (including your custom hypnotherapy CD) is $350. If you are serious about welcoming 2012 as a non-smoker, call or email me.

Get A Higher Perspective on Your Company's Bottom Line

Mind-body-spirit technology is just as valuable in the workplace as it is at home and at school. Please call (925-820-1949) or email me to find out about the corporate programs I have available and what might serve your company's needs. Most popular is my Body-Mind-Spirit Toolbox at Work series of one-hour trainings:

*Stress Management 101
*It's All About Energy
*An Introduction to The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
*Success at Your Fingertip: Handwriting in the Workplace

Like A Higher Perspective on Facebook Write a Review on Yelp

I may not twitter, tweet or hang out much on social networking sites, but I do have a blog. I'd love your comments on what's already there, and subjects you might like me to address. I think of it as an opportunity to have conversations with you. Check it out! Lucy's Blog

Mind-Body-Spirit Tools for Success

I love working with teens, and teens love the results they get from my work. Help your teen to get a great start on this school year. Hypnotherapy and EFT for stress management and improve test taking can make all the difference between burned-out and successful.

Other areas of interest to teens are sports performance, habit control, self-esteem, confidence and goal-setting.

A reminder for adults: my areas of specialty are panic, anxiety, phobias and fertility.

If you're curious about how my work can be of service to your or your teen, call (925-820-1949) or email me.

Announcing the Publication of Willingness to Change by Robin Tanguay, CHC

Certified Handwriting Consultant Robin Tanguay has broken new ground in her first book, Willingness to Change. Robin presents the relationship between The Vimala Alphabet and each of The Twelve Steps. Unique, thought-provoking and thoroughly practical, Willingness to Change is not a book to leave on your self-help shelf but to apply to your life - whether you are in recovery or simply seeking new avenues for personal and professional excellence. To order your autographed copy directly from the author, visit her website.

In the News - Positive Thinking Seems to Help the Heart

HARVARD HEALTH
Depression, anxiety, anger and other negative emotions have been linked to heart disease and heart attacks. But what about the flip side - are positive emotions connected to better heart health? Yes, say two reports that addressed this question from different directions.

At Duke University Medical Center, researchers asked 2,618 men and women scheduled to have a coronary angiogram (a special X-ray that shows blood flow through the arteries that nourish the heart) questions about what they expected their future cardiovascular health to be like. Fifteen years later, they found that those who'd had the highest expectations were 24 percent less likely to have died of heart disease than those with the lowest expectations. That study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The next study was long term and looked at Boston-area men. It took note of a marker of psychological and emotional health called self-regulation. It measures the ability to use and control both positive and negative emotions and responses to situations. High self-regulation reflects flexibility and resilience. In the group of men who scored highest on a test for self-regulation, 6 percent had a heart attack or died of cardiovascular disease over the following 12 years, compared with 14 percent in the group scoring lowest. The study was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

These findings add to the evidence that a positive outlook or positive emotions somehow contribute to a healthy heart and arteries. They may do it directly, in which case learning techniques to be more positive could be a prescription for better health. It's also possible that positive emotions could be working indirectly - people with positive attitudes or outlooks may exercise more, eat a more healthful diet or be better about taking necessary medications. Or maybe healthier lifestyles lead to a more positive outlook on life.

Distributed by Tribune Media Services
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

The Bond: Connecting Through the Space Between Us
Lynne McTaggart

Blessings,
Lucy Grace