The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming!

Love the holiday season or hate it; whether you have a big family or a smal one; whether you're traveling or staying home; this time of the year is the most difficult time to stay focused and on track. That's why so many people give up on their goals and say, "I'll start again in January." It just seems like it's too dificult to keep moving forward. This year, you can make it different. You can actually enter January feeling like you're on track and moving forward.

Make fourth quarter 2014 your best ever by attending this exciting end-of-year event!

Based on "The Big 5 of Habit Change," by Scott "Q" Marcus, this is the fourth - and possibly most important so far - in a series of uplifting, educational, playful seminars to help you get past what holds you back. In a safe, playful, creative environment with other like-minded folks, you will develop simple tools to help identify the barriers you face and then develop easy steps to allow them to overcome those obstacles so that when fall and the following holidays come barreling through, you'll be happier, healthier, and more successful.

Even if you don't celebrate the holidays, this program is essential for your own mental health.

What will we do at the session?

We will line out which days (and weeks) will be most problematic
Using the support of the group, we will come up with solutions to your most vexing problems
We'll use a four-question technique to make sure your objectives can actually get done
We'll set out a stategy to do it
You'll work out a agreement with yourself and with someone else to support you
You'll have fun and feel encouraged and motivated

You will also have the option to continue to be supported for the entire year.

To see a more complete agenda and all the FAQs, scroll down.

Why should you attend? Summed up: If you feel overwhelmed or overloaded - especially at this time of year - this seminar will send you on your way focused and enthused. You will have:

More self-confidence, leading to the ability to do what you normally would not do
Improved attitude, making you happier so you enjoy your life more. It will also help you have better relationships with the people you care about
Better understanding of yourself, causing you to not feel like a victim but to feel empowered. It will also give you the ability to block future problems earlier, before they grown to be unmanageable.
Better health so you can live a happier, longer, less-stressed life

Who would most benefit from this session? In a nutshell: if you have ever been frustrated with yourself, this is for you!

Baby boomers, especially women, who are concerned that poor habit choices are lowering their quality of life
Anyone wanting to lose weight or change other bad habits
People who are interested in or appreciate self-improvement seminars
"Graduates" of previous sessions

The Details:

Coffee/tea will be served
Dress is casual; the more casual the better
100% satisfaction no-hassle guarantee: If you attend and you don’t think it’s worth it, you get your money back. No questions. No arguments.

To see a more complete agenda and all the FAQs, scroll down.

To see all the FAQs, scroll down.

A Testimonial from a Past Client

(Who continues to attend)

Where will it take place?

Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center (next to the Adorni Center) 921 Waterford Drive Eureka, CA 95501

October 25, 2014 10AM-1PM

Event Registration Online for This Time I Mean It! Staying on Task & Focused During the Busiest Time of the Year powered by Eventbrite

FAQ:

Will this be a repeat of previous sessions?

No.

Although the theme, "5 Habits," remains in place and we'll do a recap and an overview in each session, each session is a stand-alone seminar.

You say it's "interactive." What happens if I don't want to get involved?

You don't have to. You can just sit and observe. The number rule of the session is that it's a "safe place to be." Be as involved as you feel like.

Can I register at the door?

It depends on how many people pre-register. The room has limited space. (Plus you save money if you register in advance.)

What happens if I'm not happy with what I got?

There is a 100% satisfaction no-hassle guarantee: If you attend and you don’t think it’s worth it, you get your money back. No questions. No arguments.

How do I dress?

Casual; anything but naked. (But, if you really want too...)

Will food be served?

No. However, there will be coffee, tea, and water.

Will there be breaks?

Yes, at least one.

What is the cancellation policy?

If you cancel 96 hours (4 days) or earlier, you will get a full refund, but it will take up to 14 days to credit you (although it might be quicker). If it's less than 96 hours or less, we'll give you full credit for future presentations or towards coaching. It will be valid for one year.

I'm still unsure. What else can I do?

Call Scott at 707.442.6243 or contact him via the on-line form.

The Perfect Prescription

I don’t like going to the doctor.

It’s not that I don’t like my doctor; he’s great. It’s that it puts my impermanence on full display, stripping away the denial of immortality; even when it’s simply a routine checkup. Something about being in a medical office raises my blood pressure as well as fear level.

“How are you feeling?”
“You’re the doctor; wouldn’t it be up to you to tell me?”

He chuckled an inner warmth that blended well with his extensive knowledge. As I said, I like my doctor. In a time where the medical providers are overworked and under-appreciated, rushing here to there to accomplish everything required of them, he always appeared totally attentive during the short time we spent together once a year.

“Are you exercising?”
“Yes, I walk about 30 minutes at least five times a week – plus I take my dog out each day. That’s not really exercise because we have to stop and pee at every bush we pass.” I paused, then corrected, “Well, it’s not WE to have to stop and pee; it’s him. Just clarifying…”

He smiled again.

“Your blood tests all show that everything is as it’s supposed to be. You’re a healthy man.” He paused. “So, how’s your life?”

The question knocked me on my heels for a brief flash; not a query I expected from an MD, but, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. One cannot heal the body while ignoring the mind and spirit. As I took a mental inventory of “how is my life,” I opened up about the waning days of my career, my aspiring spirituality, family drama, life goals, and the passing of years in general.

Says singer/songwriter John Mellencamp in The Real Life:Read More

Celebrating Values

Sometimes, I have a clear and direct idea of where I’m going before I start these columns.

I can see the way visibly laid out in front of me. Alas, those days are rare. Mostly, I stare at a blank screen until my muse makes herself known. Sadly, she might not stay. Other times, the column takes on a mind of its own. I start out going one way but end up somewhere else. Today is one of those days. We will commence in one direction, but — fair warning — will take a sharp turn. Fret not, however, I will bring you home.

That said when did answering the phone become an invitation for someone to sell you a car warranty, lie about an arrest warrant out for you, or threaten you because your computer was “messing up the internet”? We don’t pick up anymore unless it’s a number we sure-fire recognize.

Not paying attention, I made the mistake of sliding “accept the call.”

“How are you?” asked a heavily-accented man.

Yanked back into awareness, irritated by what I judged was going to be a scam, I indignantly replied. “I died last night.”

Waited long enough to hear his reply before hanging up; I heard him say, flummoxed. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

I find the delivered-without-thought question, “How are you?” to be disingenuous. Don’t get me wrong; when asked by someone who knows and cares about your actual well-being, it’s a sincere, kind query. Yet typically, we say it because, well, I’m not sure. I guess we don’t want to appear rude. However, asking a personal question when, in reality, you don’t want to take the time to hear the honest answer is indeed rude. Just sayin’…

Oft times, I’ll respond with an expression I learned from talk show host Thom Hartmann, “I’m great – but I’ll get better.” Some laugh, finding the retort clever, shattering the mold of what they expected to hear. Others have said, “Oh no! I hope you get better soon,” obviously not listening to the reply, but wanting to move on to their real agenda and avoid the unpleasantness of listening to someone’s ailments.

Yep, you guessed it; I’m a little cranky today. Shields up.

Seeing Clearly

I am nearsighted.

Not your everyday, run-of-the-mill, I-can’t-see-the-bottom-line-on-the-eye-chart nearsighted; I instead am referring to objects further than six inches away appearing as a blurry mass. From the moment I rise until the last second before I go to bed, I must wear glasses. Should they fall and I can’t immediately find them, panic crushes me until I recover them. Without them, I am virtually blind. They feel as much a part of me as — quite literally — the nose on my face. I am fortunate however that my prescription allows correction to near perfection.

So, I became concerned when, of late, looking at light on dark, I have been experiencing “halos.”

Two examples: When the subtitles on the movie are white against black, the text is blurry. More problematic, when driving at night, although I can see clearly cars, roads, and signs; taillights and street lights lack the same crispness. It’s unnerving enough that I stopped going out after dark.

My father was a hypochondriac’s hypochondriac; he would solicit a second medical opinion when the doctor told him he was healthy. I don’t mean to make light of it; I point it out to somewhat explain my resistance to going to doctors; an irrational backlash to not being my dad. Therefore, for me to visit an eye specialist over my symptoms will shed some light (um, no pun intended) on how seriously I took this change in my vision and resultant alteration to my lifestyle.

If this scenario sounds familiar, you know where I’m going. If not, the cause of my optical degradation is cataracts. According to the Mayo Clinic, “A cataract is a clouding of the normally clear lens of your eye. For people who have cataracts, seeing through cloudy lenses is a bit like looking through a frosty or fogged-up window. Clouded vision caused by cataracts can make it more difficult to read, drive a car (especially at night) or see the expression on a friend’s face.” Approximately 200,000 people per year in the U.S. suffer from them.

This week was my pre-op appointment.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Every column I’ve ever written lives on my hard drive.

(For those keeping track, this is number 596.)

As March was ending last year, I wrote, “the U.S. now has 7,668 cases with 117 deaths. The world count has risen to 212,799 with 8,787 people succumbing. It is recommended that those of us 65+ ‘self-isolate,’ a term utterly unknown but a few weeks past. Recommendations are that we limit crowds to fewer than ten. Pubs, restaurants, and eateries are shuttered. The markets are off approximately 35 percent from their highs, companies are failing, average people — like you and me — are without income. San Francisco is closed. Hospital ships are being sent to New York and the West Coast.”

The numbers are tragically quaint compared to where we now stand.

Last year at this time, we were barely scratching the surface of what the pandemic would entail. Streets were deserted; fear ran rampant; information was fluid. Grocery shopping was the most dangerous event of the week; we garbed up in masks and gloves and carried with us containers of disinfectants. We were told to bleach our food.

Times change.

Like characters in a horror movie resurfacing from being entombed, it certainly feels like we are pushing aside the soil, scratching our way above ground after being covered for over a year. Surviving underground because it was unsafe to come up again, we looked to the heavens, waiting for a signal that we can reclaim the world we were missing.

Little by little, it is returning.

We are unburying ourselves, beginning again to glance to the skies, not yet really even sure we can emerge. Some will not. Others are. Eyes blinking from the light, wiping the dirt from our faces, we are starting to stand unbowed again, a little shaky, a bit unsteady, but mostly optimistic.Read More

Expect Nothing

What would life be like if you released all expectations of how things should be, taking your day minute-by-minute, focused always on the present; letting events unfold as they will?

Imagine a day where you didn’t expect anything from anyone or anything.

I don’t mean – as Frank Sinatra sang, “Roll myself up in a big ball and die;” rather totally, unequivocally releasing all pre-suppositions and judgment – from the minute to the significant. You wouldn’t fret about the weather. No longer would anger be the default reaction when tailgated on the freeway. The cost of groceries or the number of your bills wouldn’t sway you. You would be a student of the news; not an angry viewer. If someone didn’t treat you in a manner you considered “fair,” you’d move on, not held in a prison of perturbation.

Nothing would get under your skin; you’d be in a sublime, ever-calm, state of peace and acceptance.

Gautama Buddha lived 2500 years ago. Born to a royal family, he held within a great desire to help his people, liberating them from physical and mental tribulations. Giving up his inheritance, and setting out in search of the truth which would bring peace to the world; after seven years, he recognized that all sorrow was caused by attachment to having things stay the same when in fact they are constantly changing. As stated else wise, it was the expectation of what we assumed, rather than the acceptance of what is, that caused the hurt.

Think about it.

Not only do the physical world and our relationships change, but so even does our very being. Although Gautama wouldn’t know it, our bodies replace themselves with a new set of cells every seven years to ten years; some of our most important parts are revamped even more rapidly [sources: Stanford University, Northrup]. Physically you are no longer who you were not too long ago.

That’s a striking concept by itself, but let’s take it deeper.Read More