Meditation and mindfulness can be powerful tools for releasing trapped or difficult emotions. They help create space for self-awareness, allowing us to process feelings in a non-judgmental and compassionate way. Here are some effective techniques to try: 1. Body Scan Meditation - Purpose: To bring awareness to physical sensations and detect where emotions are held in the body. - How to practice: - Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. - Start by focusing on your toes and gradually move your attention upwards through the body, scanning for tension, discomfort, or sensations. - As you notice areas of tension, breathe into them and gently allow the tension to soften. - If emotions arise, acknowledge them without judgment and observe how they feel in the body. - Continue the scan until you've reached the top of your head. 2. Mindful Breathing - Purpose: To calm the mind and connect with emotions. - How to practice: - Sit in a quiet space, with your back straight and eyes closed. - Focus your attention on your breath. Notice the sensation of air moving in and out of your nostrils or the rise and fall of your chest. - As emotions arise, direct your attention to them while continuing to breathe deeply. - Rather than resisting the emotion, stay present with it and observe how it evolves. You can label the emotions in your mind (e.g., "anger," "sadness") and then let them pass without clinging to or suppressing them. 3. Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta) - Purpose: To foster compassion for yourself and others, which can help release negative emotions. - How to practice: - Sit comfortably and close your eyes. - Start by silently repeating kind, loving phrases towards yourself, such as "May I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be safe, may I live with ease." - Once you feel comfortable, extend these wishes to others, starting with loved ones, then neutral people, and finally, even to those you have conflicts with. - Allow any feelings of resentment, anger, or sadness to soften as you cultivate kindness and compassion.

Did you know that showing gratitude can actually change your brain 🧠? Here are some pretty amazing facts about gratitude: - Releasing neurotransmitters - dopamine and serotonin the "feel good" chemicals are released when we express gratitude. And if you have a habit of being grateful, you can improve your longterm mood over time. - Activating the prefrontal cortex - this part of the brain controls decision making and emotional regulation! When you express gratitude it helps you develop Emotional Intelligence over time, and make better decisions. - Regulating cortisol - the stress hormone! Gratitude has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety by regulating your cortisol levels - Improving sleep - gratitude helps you sleep better because it reduces how much you worry and ruminate. - Modifying neural pathways - regular gratitude can actually CHANGE your NEURAL PATHWAYS!! This will give you a pattern of emotional stability! - Activating the limbic system - this system is responsible for your emotional experiences, and when you practice gratitude, you activate the hippocampus and amygdala which are two main parts of your limbic system As you can see, Gratitude packs a powerful punch 💥 Make a habit of expressing gratitude through prayer, journaling, or just saying it out loud! Pro Tip: When you are with family, express to them what you love about them and why you are grateful for them, not only will this give you all the benefits from above, but it will help strengthen your relationships too! I am so grateful for this beautiful world God created for us all to live on! I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the redemption He offers me, and the love and guidance He gives me daily. I am grateful for my husband who loves and supports me in all of my crazy ideas 🤪 (like homeschooling our 8 kids and starting my coaching business)! I am so grateful that I get to be a mother to all the beautiful spirits God entrusted to me. I am grateful for the country I live in!

Lately, My youngest daughter has become quite the lover of stories. Every night, it’s the same routine... 1 or 2 stories, brush teeth, and off to bed. Now, she enjoys story time so much that we constantly find her going to her bookshelf, grabbing a book, and plopping down in our laps for a read. The other day, I even caught her flipping through a book all by herself! It amazes me how, even at such a young age, she’s so FASCINATED by stories. And as I think about it, stories follow us throughout life. The POWERFUL ones... they stay with us… shape us… and can either lift us up or break us down. This got me thinking about how storytelling has shaped my own life… Years ago, I learned the true power of storytelling when I applied for a scholarship to study abroad in Italy. All they asked for was a story about how attending ACC had impacted my life. Easy, right? Except... I’ve ALWAYS been terrible at writing! I mean, English was my WORST subject, and every paper I turned in came back with a Big Red “F”. I was used to getting Cs and Ds on my papers, and now, here I was, needing to tell a story. Not knowing where to start, I just told MY story. I wrote about my life, how I got into the fire service, and my journey toward becoming the best version of myself. The story was long, 6 or 7 pages, but I felt GOOD about it. Weeks later, I got an email that changed everything: “Congratulations! You’ve been selected to receive the scholarship award!” Out of hundreds of students, my story had stood out, and I learned a valuable lesson... It didn’t matter that my grammar wasn’t perfect or that I had spelling mistakes—it was the story that made an impact. Stories matter. Here is How You Can Apply This: We all have stories. Whether you're writing an email, a sales page, or even sharing with your audience—your stories matter. Here's how to apply the power of storytelling in YOUR life: Speak from the heart: People connect with authenticity. When you tell your story, it doesn’t have to be perfect—just real.

Elsie Lincoln Benedict teaches us that we have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind. The conscious mind is the thoughts that we have, and the subconscious mind runs our PREDOMINANT MOODS. The Subconscious mind is like a cannon. Whatever our predominant mood is, will direct where this cannon is pointed. And the ammunition that we load this cannon with is our conscious thoughts. If your predominant mood is pessimistic in nature you may be shooting thoughts like this out of your cannon: - I'm never going to make it - I'm too fat - I'm not good enough - Everybody is out to get me - I can't afford that - I always fail, so why try? - I can't trust anyone - Why me? - Things will never get better - I don't deserve happiness - It's too late to change When you have a cannon pointing in this direction and thoughts like these blasting out of it and then wonder why you aren't happier, healthier, wealthier, successful, etc. you need to change the trajectory of your cannon. You cannot have what you are not building and creating in your mind first. As you start to get control over your subconscious mind, with some intentional training, you can change your PREDOMINANT MOOD to one of positivity and optimism. You will notice your thought will start to shift into thoughts like these: - I can learn from this - Things will get better - I control my attitude - There’s always something to be grateful for. - I’ve overcome challenges before, I can do it again. - Every day is a new chance - I trust that things will work out - Other people have good intentions. - I can make a difference. If you would like to learn to shift your PREDOMINANT MOOD, your thoughts, and therefore the results you get, I have created a PDF with some steps on how to do this. *This is a free tool I am offering to you guys, please don't share it with others, as it is my work that I have put into creating it. Thank you! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p5-Z4zaKnAuAQULg3HEeAocaFlaYcaJyL8u8GwKHWOk/edit?usp=sharing

Dry run of the workshop that I created after going through the 3 day event last month. So excited about next week and how I can learn something else to improve it before I run it on October 3rd for my community. @Kathy Bates @Samantha Amaya @Jade Reese @Haysing Han