Category Archives: Member Blog

What is your personal margin of error? Is a drip on the carpet the end of the known universe as you know it? Or do you run wild and throw those black work out pants into a washing machine full of fuzz spewing sweaters and towels?

Each of us has an operating system that we let gauge our choices. What we are currently having to adapt to as a worldwide phenomenon is the unknown. When I was growing up what was unknown became more and more clarified through my knowing. If I knew one particular law of reality and lived within it, I was more likely to understand the unknown.

Babies drop a toy off of the high chair tray repeatedly engaging in a physics experiment. Will the object once released from the hand always fall to the floor? The only way to know is to conduct the experiment until you are satisfied.

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Though living in Kelowna has many opportunities to connect and enjoy outdoor activities it also has many people who are feeling distressed and disconnected. Being distressed and not coping with life?s challenges can lead to addiction. People are trying to soothe their uneasiness and feel better. One of the biggest reasons people are prone to addiction is the presence of childhood trauma. It is great to have a few drinks by the lake or at an event in the Okanagan, but what if this leads to too many drinks, a disconnect in my relationship or consequences that I don?t feel great about afterwards.

There are 7 main addictions which are food, sex, drugs, alcohol, technology, money and unhealthy relationship patterns but for today we will focus on alcohol. When someone struggles with an addiction, they need to learn more about coping strategies and skills to help them. I also talk about recovery meaning recovering the parts of myself that were missing from my childhood. In my practice I talk about being ?addicted to turning away? from myself and things that are important in my life.

I describe addiction like someone else is driving my car and I am in the back seat saying I don?t think this is a good idea but I continue to do this behavior with negative consequences. If you are ready to make some changes or you just want to gain more knowledge to get to your next better step, contact Annette Adkin. She has over 25 yrs of experience in helping people grow and develop successful practices.

250-878-7035

https://pureinsights.ca

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Children and teens are experts at pressing their parents’ buttons. Most of them have honed their button pressing skills over the span of their lifetime – for some of them it may be their greatest and most cherished accomplishment! And if you’re like most parents, including myself, you probably “lose it” on occasion. And you probably feel guilty later… and then lose it again, and so on. It becomes an established pattern and guilt-tripping ourselves about it is not helpful. In fact, guilt keeps the pattern going because it makes us feel bad and stresses us out even more, and so we blow again.

So how does one break this pattern? First, stop and really recognize the toll it takes on you and your children. During one of our 9 Ways to Bring out the Best in You and Your Child Leadership Training sessions, two facilitators were exploring the concept of punishment verses effective discipline. In a staged demonstration, suddenly one of the facilitators blew up at a participant. “Sherry! How many times have I told you to quit talking! Now you get to your room, right now! I’m tired of these interruptions,” she bellowed and hauled Sherry up off the couch and down the hall to her room.

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May on the acreage can be a little overwhelming because there’s a lot of grass to cut, planting, weeding, watering, etc. I love being outside and doing all those things. However, keeping up with the spring growth takes extra time, and in the past, it would trigger guilt for me.

Guilt.

Before I discovered EFT tapping, we moved to the acreage, and I felt so guilty because I didn’t feel worthy of having such a beautiful piece of property. I didn’t really feel deserving of much, actually, and I had no idea how much my low-self worth negatively impacted me and my life.

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When you’re hanging out with friends and sharing a few Corona’s the conversation can lead to some interesting wildlife stories.

Often we are too busy to consider how our health is ranking or how we can make a simple change to improve our energy, immunity and general vitality.  It begins with taking a look at your daily habitual choices and discovering areas you can make improvements.

It’s not about guilting yourself for making bad choices, but it’s about being open to new options…

A daily self-care practice that’s actually a part of your “to do” list on your calendar is a great way to stay committed and set yourself up for success!

Some easy places to begin:

Are you eating a good protein packed breakfast? If not, try incorporating a quick energizing protein smoothie packed with veggies, fruit & a good quality protein powder. 

How are often are you eating throughout the day? Focus on eating something with protein every 3 hours so your blood sugar stays regulated which can help reduce cravings for caffeine, sugar or white flour/gluten laden foods that are high in calorie.

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I am grounded in a way that I have never been before.  I have learned to recognize my body’s signals and to embrace the lessons she is asking me to learn.  I can stand in a place of clarity and neutrality that allows me to be the observer and no longer the reactor, but it wasn’t always that way.

When I was in my late 20’s, my world was quickly unraveling.  On the outside, I presented well, but on the inside, my life had reached a crossroads of epic proportions – my marriage was dissolving, my first business was failing because the market changed and I failed to adapt and bankruptcy was imminent because of crushing debt.  I desperately tried to cling to what I knew, but every joint in my body was screaming out for change – literally, I was in unbelievable pain that kept me awake at night – endlessly allowing me to mull over my many failures.

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Life can be challenging, especially during these uncertain times. In the year since the pandemic began, I have noticed the number of referrals grow exponentially in my clinical counselling practice. It appears that isolation, uncertainty, fear, and frustration have brought up many people’s issues and past traumas to the surface.

How are you coping right now? 

People tend to cope with stressful situations in a variety of ways. Some people become angry and bitter, pointing fingers, and wanting to blame others. Other people try their best to ignore their issues and just hope it goes away. Then there are those who seem to rise to the occasion with focus and clarity and try to learn from the situation and grow.

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Yoga Nidra is an ancient practice, full of wisdom that applies now to the modern world more than ever. Translated into ‘yogic sleep’, it is a restorative practice that allows the participant to disengage from the mind’s busyness of thought and come to a place of observation. With ongoing practice, one learns to be the observer of the thoughts as opposed to the believer of the thoughts. Over time, it cultivates a state of equanimity. Sometimes this practice is described as ‘active rest’ or ‘mindful rest’, as it teaches the participant to be aware while at rest. Yoga Nidra is not a religion.

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