Category Archives: A Happier Life

My Santa Picture :-)

I have a Santa Picture! Yes, I had my photo taken with Santa Claus today! How cool is that!

You may think, snooze, what’s the big deal. But that’s because your parents took you to have your picture taken when you were a kid. Maybe year after year. Maybe they even had to bribe you to sit on Santa’s lap.

Not so in my case.

I grew up in Germany, and we didn’t have many Santas, if any. I remember them more from hear-say and Santa pictures than from actually encountering one.

And the Santa from Willow Lawn Mall near where I live is just too cool! And so, today, finally, I had my photo taken with him.

And here it is:

My Santa Picture

Santa’s helper has been offering to take my photo on Santa’s lap for years, but I thought it was silly, and now — I realize it was me who was being silly, especially when I discovered that I didn’t have to have my picture taken sitting on Santa’s lap. He was perfectly happy to get up for the photo shoot!

I think I will treasure that photo forever!

And so I’m posting it in a few places… I put it on Facebook, and I also have it on my Christmas Present Ideas Blog.

And now here…

It’s really a Christmas Present to myself. And it occurred to me how much it is a great example for a Christmas Portrait, period. I have never done that before, but this year, guess who’s all going to get a photo postcard or something from me? 😉

So if you’re stuck for ideas… Try having your photo taken with Santa too, or…

CLICK HERE for Christmas Potrait Ideas

And if you miss the kinds of Christmas traditions you enjoyed when you were a kid, or at least much younger, here’s a handy guide to making the holidays truly memorable once again, like in the old days…

CLICK HERE for Family Holiday Memories

Personally, as long as there’s Santa, I’m happy. Especially if he has presents too…
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What’s this doing on a self help blog? Easy. I think there’s something magical about Santa. And very comforting, especially in the kind of stressful lives we’re all living these days.

Not having grown up with Santa, I am coming to this kind of late, but this particular Santa, who returns to our Mall year after year, has made a believer out of me.

It feels like I’ve been touched by some kind of magic: having told Santa my wishes, I really expect to get what I’ve asked for.

Even if I end up having to by things myself (I don’t think Santa seriously fits through the chimney, and besides, I don’t have a fireplace.

Here’s the thing… whatever we believe, we get. Pretty much anyway. So why not believe good things. It’s the Law of Attraction, and it works with Santa too.

So here’s to you, Santa! I’ll stop by for another visit or three before the season is over.
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christmas internet marketing

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Bill Burns’ Mirror Technique

I have learned this technique from psychic Bill Burns (and from Barbara Rose, who also learned it from Bill and explains it particularly well). It’s designed to increase a sense of self-appreciation and self-love, an essential ingredient to feeling good about oneself and to making life work well.

Here’s how it works:

Stand in front of the mirror and discuss with yourself what you did that day that pleased you. Then tell yourself what about those things pleased you and what about who you are made that possible.

I realize that this may feel awkward at first. Do it anyway.

I find it easier, and for me at least, more effective than Louise Hay’s technique of just telling yourself “I love you.”

You may want to take notes about the things you wish to discuss (see the feel-good list above) before you actually do the mirror exercise. But feel free to adlib as you come up with more things.

Here’s an example of how this might work:

I went for a walk in the park today. This pleases me because I’m taking care of myself and it made me feel good. It also helped me relax and it will contribute to keeping my body healthy and my emotions on the positive side. The quality in me that made this possible is the fact that I’m in touch with how I feel, I pay attention to it, and I take care of myself, as I must because this body is all I have, and I appreciate it and make an effort to treat it well.

Do this regularly every evening and you will notice a big shift in how you feel.

And if you’re ready to let go of all that extra stress, you’re invited to download my FREE Easy Intro to EFT and get started right away. Why EFT? It’s an extremely powerful tool for stress relief!

Self Appreciation Lists for Encouragement & Stress Relief

Self-Appreciation lists and Bill Burns’ Mirror Technique are powerful techniques to regain self confidence and feel better about self and life. Read on about how they work.

A) Write a Self-Appreciation List

List as many things as possible that you’re proud of: go back to childhood, though that’s optional. Just keep writing. Include anything big you did. Graduated from school and from college for example. Or kindergarten. Got a good grade in some class. An award for bowling or a project.

Remember to include even the less obvious things. Papers you wrote, fish you caught, things you fixed, friends you made, places you’ve been. It all counts.

And don’t forget to include anything you like about yourself: Your smile, your eyes, your hands, your ability to listen, your courage in the face of challenges, your capacity for empathy, your toes.

Writing a self appreciation list will go a long way towards helping you remember that you are really very much okay.

And in my next post, I’ll talk about Bill Burns’ Mirror Technique.

More Inspiration Quotes for Keeping the Faith

Note: I just submitted this article to Ezinearticles.com, but thought, why not post it on my blog first? In fact, I ought to be doing this more often.

And so that’s why there are so many posts appearing all at once right now — becauseI want them here before they get published at EZA.

Enjoy!

Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged. When there’s too much to do, or the situation seems challenging or even hopeless, you may want to give up. Yet there’s always hope. Read on for nine inspirational quotes that will help you keep the faith and put things in perspective.

“Chance is the pseudonym God uses when He does not want to sign His name.”

-Anatole France

Praying helps. And the help that then appears may often seem like a coincidence. But we know better…

And if we feel hopeless and envy everyone else for their easier lives, just take a look at those magazines at the checkout lines in the supermarket. The people in those magazines are millionaires, mega stars, and most of them are gorgeous too. Yet look at the kind of trauma many of them are dealing with. Their lives aren’t easier. Who would you really want to switch with? Are you sure? Do you know everything that’s going on in their lives?

Here’s a quote to put our sometimes less than perfect lives into perspective:

“No one has it ‘all together.’ That’s like trying to eat ‘once and for all.'”

–Marilyn Grey

And if we’re only too aware of our fears, here’s a cool quote for that:

“Our deepest fears are like dragons guarding our deepest treasure.”

–Rainer Maria Rilke

And here’s a quote that reminds you that fears are overrated:

“There are no wrong choices; there are only different choices.”

–Susan Jeffers

Of course, Susan Jeffers is the person who wrote Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway. That’s one of the most powerful books I’ve ever come across. If you haven’t read that, I highly recommend that you do. And yes, do it anyway.

And if you’re still afraid, take courage because…

“Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”

–Eddie Rickenbacker

If that sounds like taking medicine, so be it. Then again, maybe it’s also a way to make life more adventurous. Alan Cohen put it very nicely:

“The purpose of life is not to arrive safely at death.”

— Alan Cohen

We weren’t meant to play it safe, but to take chances, to face and overcome challenges. And yes, to follow our bliss, as Joseph Campbell said. And that’s definitely not playing it safe, not for most of us anyway. In fact…

“Leap, and the net will appear.”

— Julia Cameron

Or in a related image (there’s a theme here, isn’t there?):

“First you jump off the cliff and you build your wings on the way down.”

–Ray Bradbury

Will those wings grow fast enough? Surprisingly, they usually do. And as these inspirational quotes remind us, there’s treasure to be found in having courage because…

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”

–Anais Nin

Enjoy!

Elisabeth Kuhn

EFT World Summit 2 — FREE EFT Tappings & Info

The second EFT World Summit is happening right now.

UPDATE: It’s long gone, but if you subscribe to my Self Help & EFT newsletter, I’ll let you know about the next one.

So what IS EFT and why do I like it so much?

EFT is short for Emotional Freedom TEchnique. And it’s exactly what the name says. By basically tapping on certain parts of your body (mostly face and hands, collar bone, and, well, under your arm pit) you can tame and release emotional trauma and distressing feelings.

It’s absolutely incredible. When I first read about it, I immediately wanted access to it, but I thought I had to find a high-priced practitioner to benefit from it. Still, Emotional Freedom technique sounded really good to me.

Imagine my happy surprise when I discovered I could learn to do this myself. It has literally changed my life. In my stress relief manual, EFT is taking up more pages than any of the other techniques. It’s this important.

The key is to remember to do it. Sometimes I get stressed about something and it takes me a few hours until I remember that, hey, wait a minute, why not tap on it. And so I do, and I feel calmer within minutes.

So for anyone who isn’t familiar with it yet, just go to the EFT World Summit site and check it out. Or get my FREE Easy EFT report!

UPDATE: As for the EFT Summit… It’s come and gone, but there will be more. And once you’re subscribed to my newsletter I will let you know about the next one, so you won’t miss it!

Tap tap tap 😉

Elisabeth Kuhn