Who Wants To Join Me In Cuba?

I did it. I booked my ticket to Cuba yesterday and I'll be leaving at the end of April for a week! I'm not going with the family, this is a recharge-mom's-battery kinda trip. Not that my battery is at a critically low point, but that's precisely what I'm preventing by taking some time off like this. After all, as a Health and Wellness Coach who constantly praises the benefits of self-care, I have to practice what I preach! Lol. Nothing relaxes and grounds me more than the ocean. I plan on getting plenty of exercise, rest and fresh food. The kids and daddy will spend a week with their cousins, so they'll be breaking their routine and having a good time too!

To be honest, I actually find it quite difficult to be away from the kids. We spend so much quality time together homeschooling that I consider it painful to be away from those sweeties. It's a good spiritual practice for me to notice how much my monkey mind constantly obsesses about the kids. When I'm away from them, I realize how deeply attached I am. I'm also forced to temporarily let go of my identity as a mother. It feels wonderfully liberating to be able to go play and explore the world all on my own. Whenever I get a chance to do that, amazing synchronicities always seem to pop up.  This will be the perfect opportunity to let my intuition guide me towards experiences that raise my awareness. And when I come home, I'll have so much love to give it will be sickening!

Yup, the first step to feeling empowered and in control of our life is through daily self-care. This doesn't mean you have to go to Cuba, but it does mean you have to eat real food, get some exercise, sufficient rest, and do something you love on a daily basis. If you don't, you'll burn out and you won't be able to give to others. It all sounds obvious, yet how many of us actually give ourselves the minimal requirements of self-care? Just the food we put in our mouthes changes everything! That food becomes our cells, our brain, our thoughts, our emotions, our perceptions, our reactions! How much life force is present in what we are eating these days? I challenge you to take extra good care of yourself this week and see how that affects your energy level!

If you'd like some guidance on how to take great care of yourself in order to create the life you truly want, I have 2 remaining openings in my group coaching class that starts April 18th 2015 here in Edmonton. If Edmonton is not in your neck of the woods, that's ok, I've also designed an online self-care program that gives you simple, step-by-step guidelines each week. Don't hesitate to contact me for more information.

If you prefer, you can simply meet up with me in Cuba!:)

Warmly,

Lise
Health Coach and Reiki Master
www.lisevilleneuve.com

How To Create The Life You Truly Want

I finally get it. After years of soul searching, studying, and experimenting, I can now say that I understand how I've slowly been creating the life I truly want, and I also know how to help others get there. This has been my lifelong passion, and I have shifted from inspiring people through music and writing (as a touring singer-songwriter and author) to empowering individuals directly as a holistic therapist.

I love being able to make a difference in peoples' lives. There is so much unnecessary suffering in our hearts. When I meet someone who's at the end of their rope and I'm able to guide them towards a brighter perspective -and eventually, a happier, healthier life- I know that I'm doing the work I was really meant to do. Today I'd like to share some insights to help you understand how you can create the life you truly want.

The Biggest Illusion
Our senses deceive us. You may think that your computer is solid and static, but it's not! Quantum physicists tell us that everything in this universe is made up of vibrating energy fields, including you. That means that everything has its own frequency, or vibration. Even your thoughts are vibrating energy particles that have their own frequency.

You may wonder how any of this affects your life. Well, say you wanted to lose some weight. Most of us would approach the problem of being overweight like this : "I see some unwanted fat here, I can touch it, it's real, so what I need to do is find a solution on the physical level to remove the fat. I'll try dieting and exercising." Will this work? Sure, you can get results that way, but what are you going to do about the thoughts (conscious and subconscious) that caused you to make the wrong choices and created that fat in the first place? If you remain unaware of those thoughts, they will eventually sabotage your short-term success and you will gain weight again.

The biggest illusion is that we believe the best way to control our physical reality is through our physical senses. We look for solutions to most of our problems on a physical level : "If I work more hours, I'll experience more wealth; if I look better, I'll attract a partner; if I find the right doctor, I'll be able to heal from this illness". We are skipping an important step here. Everything that has manifested into your life is the direct result of a thought you believed, somewhere down the road. Your thoughts create your reality. If you don't like that reality, the fastest way to change it is by changing your thoughts! Remember, if everything is made of vibrating energy, it makes sense that thoughts are the precursor to physical matter.

The Rules of the Game
Energetic vibrations are not just random and chaotic, they follow a universal law. Energetic vibrations that match are attracted to each other, and vibrations that don't match are pushed away from each other. You may have guessed that this is called the Law of Attaction. Again, how does this affect your life? Well, you have your very own energetic vibration. It changes from day to day, depending on how you feel and how well you take care of yourself. So, imagine that today you feel great and you have a very high vibration. Following the law of attraction, what do you think you are going to attract in your life today? Like attracts like, so get ready to be a magnet for other high frequency (or positive) circumstances, people and events. The same goes that if you feel down, you will unfortunately attract what you are emitting. Your life today is a perfect reflection of your most frequent thoughts. The good news is that you can learn to control your thoughts, as opposed to letting them control you.

The Key
You hold the key to transforming your life once you develop true awareness. Becoming aware is waking up from the reality you have been creating "by default". You then realize you had the power to shape your reality all along (by becoming aware of your thoughts).That can be scary for some. Now that you know YOU are the ultimate creator of your life, what are you going to create? What do you want? There are no more excuses to play small. It's time to raise your vibration and start attracting all the good stuff!

How to Change Your Reality
You may be thinking, "Ok, I understand all of this, but how can I control my thoughts and raise my vibration? Or, you may be saying "I've tried, and this law of attraction stuff doesn't work". Well, it's not enough to simply understand the concept and think good thoughts. It's all about practice, practice, practice, each and every day. This is actually what I specialize in. I provide tools and techniques to raise your awareness and increase your vibration on an energetic level over a period of 6 months. I teach you how to:

• Become more aware of core limiting beliefs and negative thoughts, and then change them
• Tune in to your emotions and higher self
• Take great care of your body / mind / spirit (nutrition, exercise, meditation, self-expression)
• Use consistent, regular, positive focus to reach your goals / intentions
• Learn to gravitate towards what brings you joy and peace

The Life You Truly Want is Built From the Inside Out
Once you understand that your life today is a direct reflection of your most practised thoughts, you can confidently decide where you want to go from here. The sky is the limit! The life you truly want is within your reach. You just need to plant those "dream seedlings" inside you and create an environment that will allow them to grow and manifest in your outer reality.

Are you ready to get to work?
It's time to walk the talk! Contact me today to set up a free consultation. Please visit my website for more information.

Warmly,

Lise
Holistic Therapist / Reiki Master
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Oh-Oh, I Had Another Idea...

Oh-oh, I had another idea! 

As I've been doing more and more free health consultations with individuals wanting to improve their health, I've been able to get a clearer sense of what people really want and need. Would you agree that this is what most of us want:

-a simple roadmap to better health that doesn't require too much effort
-a nudge that will keep us motivated and prevent us from giving up

I also know what people don't want. They don't want to be told to drop all those habits that provide comfort. They don't want to put effort into something, only to fail...again. They don't want to spend a fortune. Fair enough.

The truth is, getting healthy and happy can be done faster than we think simply by taking a few ridiculously simple steps each day. For example, doing a single one of these actions can dramatically improve the quality of your day:

-drink a large glass of water before breakfast
-chew your food 20 times per bite
-do a 5 minute breathing exercise
-be thankful for the food in front of you

When it comes to improving the quality of your life, the most important determinants of success are your beliefs, your attitude and your intentions. Do you want to get healthy and happy? Do you feel like you deserve it? Do you believe it's possible? If the answer is yes, yes, yes... then what you need is a roadmap. That's where my new idea comes in!

My education in psychology, energy healing (Reiki) and holistic nutrition has given me plenty of tools to build an awesome, dynamic, 24 week roadmap to health and wellness. Basically I've put together a simple, motivating, inspiring roadmap that you can follow online for 6 months. It will teach you what you need to know about eating and preparing healthy, delicious meals; it will give you weekly tips; it will encourage you to try a different exercise video each week; it will teach you basic breathing and meditation techniques and it will even possibly open your mind to the idea of truly healing yourself. I've even included a blog page for everyone that signs up so that they can share their health journey with friends and family, and in return, friends and family can give them that little nudge to keep them on track.

Sounds good? And how much does it cost? Don't worry...not a fortune! This complete 6 month self-directed program is only $90. That's $15/month. Check it out, you can see the complete table of contents and even sample a weekly page.

But there's more good news! I will be offering this 6 month self-directed program for FREE to 2 lucky individuals who arrange a free consultation with me (can be done in person or on the phone). I will offer the free trial to the two people who can demonstrate that they want it the most and will get maximum results from doing it. When you email me back your health form, write "Free trial please" in your subject.

Good luck, and THANK YOU so much for your attention.

Warmest wishes,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com
Facebook: Conscious Living Solutions

Time To Upgrade My Deodorant...

 

I've been falling behind on my blog because I've been so busy lately. Doing what? Mostly forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone! Let me tell you, I've done a LOT of sweating in the past couple of weeks, so much that I'm going to have to upgrade my deodorant! It may be "strong enough for a man", but not strong enough for Lise stepping out of her comfort zone :)

It all started when my school - the Institute for Integrative Nutrition- gently let us know we had to start practising health consultations with classmates and friends. I overcame my initial resistance and practised with people I'm very comfortable with. That was relatively easy. Nevertheless, I felt like I needed to challenge myself a little more. I wondered what would be the hardest part about doing these consultations in real life? Well, because I'm a hyper-sensitive, intuitive introvert, being face to face with total strangers would obviously be very disorienting for me (at first, anyway).

So what did I do? I went and posted the following online ad: "Student Offering Free Health Consultation..." And yes, many people replied to it. Gulp. No backing out now, Lise! I decided to put my big girl pants on and meet these individuals in a little coffee shop in my neighbourhood. So far, I've done four consultations with very different people and I have four more lined up in the next couple of weeks. I'm doing two every Saturday, that's plenty for now.

And how is it going? Pretty good I think, except for the sweating! I'm learning SO much about energy and how I really need to ground myself before, after and during these consultations. I'm more aware than ever that the best thing I can do during these sessions is to be fully, completely, present. I'm reminding myself to breathe. I'm experiencing compassion and seeing the necessity for detachment at the same time. I'm discovering that my intuition is a reliable tool. I'm discovering that I CAN do this, I CAN overcome my fears and I even enjoy it in a sort of masochistic way.

Nowadays, everybody can benefit from a little guidance, encouragement and support. Everybody should have a chance to talk freely and be listened to without feeling judged. It feels fantastic and meaningful to be able to offer that to the individuals who will cross my path.

On top of doing consultations, studying, homeschooling my kids full-time and managing the household, I thought I'd also look for an office to start my practice. What do you think of the one in the picture? It's available... immediately. It even has a massage table where I could practice Reiki. Well, I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, I better do something about that deodorant!

Warmly,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com
Join me on Facebook: Conscious Living Solutions

My Obsessive-Compulsive Need For Menus...

My husband works out of town a lot, especially during the warmer months. Frequently, he leaves for weeks at a time, sometimes coming home on the weekend, sometimes not. When we first got married and he was a student, he did almost all the cooking at home. He's a phenomenal cook, able to whip up almost anything, including typical dishes from any country. How intimidating is that for someone like me who, for many years, specialized in Kraft Dinner and sandwiches? My non-existent cooking skills were not really an issue...until we had kids! I just couldn't feed my kids the crap I was eating. So, when Rob was home, he did the cooking and everyone was happy and healthy. But then he started going on more and more trips, for longer and longer periods, and I had to get my act together in the kitchen!

Needless to say, being in charge of all meals for several days or more was extremely challenging and stressful for me! The way I reduced my stress and gained control of the situation was by planning, planning, planning. I remember making menu plans for 14 days on large white pieces of paper I had taped to the walls in our apartment in Montreal! I had also added my obligations, activities, notes, projects...etc, to these wall posters, making them look like graffiti. Often, the items on the menu were "sushi from the grocery store", "smoked salmon, bagels and cream cheese with capers", "a roasted chicken" from the store. I certainly was no Martha Stewart! Anyway, this method allowed me to cope. 

At the time I thought this was the only way. Today I realize that although there is some merit in planning menus in an obsessive-compulsive kind of way (such as minimizing trips to the grocery store or sticking to a specific diet), it just feels HEAVY. Having to follow those "instructions" like a to-do list was no fun at all! And what about following the body's natural cravings on a certain day? Our body doesn't just crave random foods, it guides us towards the nutrients we actually need (however, this rule doesn't apply to cravings for chips and chocolate...)

When Rob leaves, I now leave the menus behind. I just play it by ear, go with the flow, and that feels much lighter. It leaves space for creativity and inspiration in the kitchen, and I like that! I must say I've improved tremendously dans la cuisine, too. It took some time to get there, but now I make almost everything from scratch, including milling the raw almonds to make flour! It's all about feeling confident that I CAN make some culinary magic happen and even have some fun doing it. Thinking of my family and the nutrition I am able to provide them really motivates me. Cooking doesn't, and shouldn't have to be complicated. If we make mistakes, oh well, there's always cereal as a back-up plan!

Warmly,

Lise

www.lisevilleneuve.com