My Favorite Self-Help Stuff

Happy New Year, Dearest Reader!

You probably have no idea how much I appreciate you.

This blog has been an exciting journey since I started it just a few months ago, and it promises to get more exciting yet.
I thank you for being part of it. For reading my sometimes quirky and definitely quite meandering musings, resources, and recommendations, and for signing up for my newsletter.

I appreciate you for coming along for the ride as I ricochet back and forth between the Abraham, the Law of Attraction, and stress management, between resources for learning how to set up own websites and blogs and even for developing your own product (all in the service of prosperity of course) and a handy quick recipe for impressive chocolate-covered miniature cream puffs (yum!).

The danger with the latter is that now that I know how to make them, I’m constantly tempted to whip up another batch, even when there’s no party in sight that might require their presence. Hmmm. I could make some for my students

You probably know that on the internet, “niche” is king, and, well, this blog is anything but niche. It’s a veritable anti-niche blog, but then, I’m very much an anti-niche person.

When I first came to the United States to go to graduate school, I was absolutely amazed at the range of opportunities in this land of the free. I loved it! This is why I’m still here. This was a land where I did not have to choose either/or but where it was possible to do both/AND, plus then some more. I’ve always enjoyed doing several different things, and so I figurfe why stop now.

So I thank you for reading this and for being part of my blog. Do let me know if there’s something you particularly enjoy, or something you’d like to read (more) about. You can always send me an email at “supportATmyfavoriteselfhelpstuff.com”

If you’re getting my emails, you can also just hit “reply” and I will get your message.

Meanwhile, I wish you (and all of us) much happiness, excellent health, and fabulous success.

Elisabeth

P.S.: And here’s a great big thank you to Erik Stafford, the Faster Webmaster, for teaching me how to build my very first website, without which none of this would have been possible:

I wish you all very happy holidays and many blessings.

I was going to post a happy-making YouTube Video, but unfortunately, it caused problems with the formatting of my blog and completely ruined the lay-out.

So here’s what I will do: I’ll post it on a Squidoo lens!

Specifics TBA. For now, check out my primary Squidoo lens. I’ll post an update once I have the video up.

Well, I put it up, but on a new lens secret2happiness because I just couldn’t part with the video I have on my primary selfhelpstuff Squidoo lens (Esther on a rampage on going with the flow).

Well, gosh, while I’m plugging my new lenses, check out my Abraham lens as well. Another great video! Won’t tell you what’s on it. You gotta look!

Meanwhile, I hope your holidays are filled with bliss and love!

Elisabeth

I just found a couple of directories for self-help blogs… after all, you may want to read other people’s blogs too. Here’s where you can check some of them out

• Self Help Blog Directory

• Blog Directory

• Blog Listings

And here are a few other directories for websites (not blogs):

• all Directory

• International Web Directory

And here is something a little different: If you’re a writer and would like the world to know about you and your articles, here’s what you can do:

Send Your Articles to Hundreds of Sites With Just One Click of a Button!

The ultimate stress reduction tool is free time! Who knew! In fact, why do I find this surprising? If I’m honest, I have to admit that I automatically gravitate towards this when I get very stressed.

And, just in case you wonder, that’s not free time spent in front of the TV, but free time spent puttering. Free time spent in utterly unstructured activity.

One of my friends has figured it out. He goes sailing, and if you think about it, sailing is about as unstructured as you can get, unless you’re in a race, which obviously doesn’t count for this purpose. Sailing for fun is relaxing and absorbing at the same time, a perfect combination.

I remember being quite surprised to discover that. I got on the boat worried about falling in and getting seasick. Instead, I found myself feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time.

I like to think that I’m pretty good at spending unstructured time myself, but I do have this little hang-up. I bet you do too.

Here it is: I feel guilty — I feel like I SHOULD be doing something a bit more productive, for example grade student papers, do research, whatever. Never mind that my mind is fried from reading too many of those papers already. Or that my research will go much better and faster when I feel relaxed and rested.

So why am I writing this now?

Because of this: I was puttering around yesterday, enjoying some unstructured activity, and came across an old book. I was about to put into a bag for my favorite book-recirculating store, when I opened it…

And saw some seriously cool info about coping with too much stress. The book is Robert Bramson’s “Coping with the Fast Track Blues.” It’s actually almost 18 years old!

But clearly not much has changed (unfortunately). If anything, things have gotten worse. A lot worse.

And this book has some seriously good advice. Here are some of the chapter titles: “Slowing down the Squirrel Cage: Getting Control of Overload.” “Keeping Your Distance from Unhealthy Organizational Practices.” And then there’s that section about creating free time and the benefits of said practice, which is what got my attention.

Of course, I know from experience that it works. That’s why sometimes I carve out entire days with absolutely no agenda, especially when I’m exhausted and stressed. They always feel kind of wasteful, but now I’m going to stop that self-bashing and appreciate that this is the most perfect thing I can do to rejuvenate my body, mind, and spirit.

Free time — this, by the way, does not mean vegging out in front of the TV, but truly free time. Just hanging out, alone or with friends. Bramson mentions floating down a slow-moving stream (this is what reminded me of sailing, which works much the same way and for the same reason).

Needless to say, this book isn’t going to the bookstore but on my “current reading” stack. And I’m going to give myself some more “nothing” time, this time with a clean conscience. I hope you’ll consider doing the same.

Home

I bet you think I’ve morphed my blog into an internet marketing blog. Not quite, though I have to admit, the temptation is great. Especially now that Marlon’s Info Product Dashboard is available and being hawked all over the internet. If you want one, please click this link right here please for a look at what the fuss is all about.

I’m still waiting for my copy — which no doubt will appear in my mailbox very soon. Remember, I won it in the contest (see entry below). And I will definitely put it to use and will let you know what I think.

I’ll also start a spin-off blog soon, where I put all the internet marketing stuff. www.myfavoritewebstuff.com will be its name. Don’t go there now — there’s nothing there yet. Just stay tuned.

Now about today’s topic:

Stress is NOT good. Especially if there’s too much of it. And stress and overwhelm result especially from looking at to-do lists that have way, WAY more on them than we could possibly accomplish in a week, or a month. Unfortunately, that doesn’t keep us from thinking that we need to do all of it yesterday, or today at the latest. Ouch!

What to do?

Abraham-Hicks has a wonderful process for just that kind of situation: the placemat process.

You take a big sheet of paper and your to-do list. Now you draw a line down the middle and write on the left side: “Things I will do today.” Abraham suggests that we add “and I mean it!” for good measure. On the right side we write “Things I want the Universe to do.”

On the left side, we now add the things (just a few, easily accomplishable in one day) we REALLY need to do TODAY. Everything else, and I mean EVERYTHING else, goes on the right hand side. Let the Universe deal with it.

Now go and do the things on your side of the sheet. Stop worrying about those on the left side. More than you might believe will be taken care of by the Universe, or so they say (and, oddly enough, I’ve found that to be true in a lot of situations).

Repeat the next day, and on any day thereafter when it seems like there’s just too much to do.

That’s it!

This technique or process, along with many more, is described in more detail in “Ask and It Is Given.” (see below)

Of all the Abraham books, this one is my all-time favorite! It lays it out how it all works, and the processes just rock! I’ll write about another one of those processes soon, either here or in my newsletter or maybe I should call them news emails since they tend to be pretty informal most of the time. If you want in on that AND get a freebie ebook with hundreds of self-help tips, you can subscribe right here:

Meanwhile, have a fantastic day!

Elisabeth, the self-help guru

P.S.: Here’s another recommendation: A VERY cool poetry book. Check it out:

Home

I just finished reading the newest book by Abraham-Hicks, i.e., Abraham channelled by Esther Hicks, and it’s a real winner!

I’ve been to a couple of their live events, and always feel like I can’t take notes fast enough — plus the note-taking distracts from the experience. Of course, I can also get the CDs, which I do, but still — it takes weeks for them to arrive.

So it’s wonderful that this new book actually provides an excellent written-down version of Abraham’s current teachings — about the amazing power our emotions have about what is going on in our lives — and how to best manage that power to make our lives work well. If you prefer audio, the book is also available on CD, of course.

As in the previous books, Abraham provides a series of step-by-step processes. Here they all deal with various emotional states, selected to cover issues very close to most people’s hearts.

Whether it’s quarrelling children, too many bills, frustration about too much weight or too much stuff, Abraham has a section that helps us improve our emotional state — which brings us that much closer to the desired outcome.

After all, so much depends on the statements (and ensuing emotions) we create about the issue at hand. A particularly intriguing (and amusing) example is a sequence featuring a “chat” with a cookie in the weightloss section.

I love that book! And I’m sure you will too. You can get additional information about it right here:

And, by the way, if you haven’t signed up for my email list yet, you can still get in on my freebie thank-you deal by simply going to my special freebie offer website.

Have an amazing day!

Elisabeth, the self-help guru

P.S.: Here are a few more Abraham-Hicks resources you might enjoy:

Home

Would you like more money? Prosperity? All the abundance you can handle?

What’s the block that keeps you from getting there? Most people have the same ones, I discovered when listening to Carol Look’s programs… It wasn’t just me. It’s not just you.

Carol is an expert in EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique, a technique that helps overcome just such blocks. And she’s phenomenal.

I’ll write more about her in an upcoming post, but right now, I just want to point you to her site. She has an amazing newsletter, with a new set of very apropos tapping series to help with prosperity issues. I just got the new one today (a few minutes ago) and wanted to share it with you. It’s working too!

You can find Carol at EFT for Prosperity and sign up for her newsletter and check out her other information. I know you’ll be glad you did.

More later, including some more detail about EFT, one of my favorite self-help tools!

Home

I’m so excited! I just interviewed not just one but TWO experts on more prosperous living, and I’ll tell you more about each of them within the next few days.

They’re both really cool and they both help their clients to achieve happy and prosperous lives. And you’ll be able to find out just how they do it.

Mystery Expert One will tell you how to grow your own personal money tree.

Mystery Expert Two will tell you how to make “The Secret” REALLY work for you.

I also have a VERY special BIG project that I’m currently working on. I just know you’ll be as excited as I am once you find out about it within the next week or two.

I’ll tell you all about it just as soon as I’ve got all the details pinned down. It will be ALL about prosperity, one of my favorite subjects

Meanwhile, as a little thank-you gift for visiting my blog, I want you to have the same gift that I’m giving to people who are new to my blog, i.e., who are on their way to visit for their first time.

To get in on that limited time special freebie offer, just go to thank-you gift and sign up for my mailing list.

You’ll not only get a great big ebook with lots and lots of self-improvement tips (I found quite a few in there that even I didn’t know before). You’ll also get regular updates with more in-depth information, tips and recommendations.

Gotta run now, but I’ll be back very soon with more detail on all of the above and then some.

Have a fabulous day, and enjoy your thank-you gift.

Elisabeth, The Self-Help Guru

Home

Here’s the promised more elaborate technique:

This technique is from the Abraham-Hicks book, “The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent” by Jerry and Esther Hicks (see below). There, they provide several detailed examples. For the purpose of this blog, I was going to use their examples as models and make up a different series of statements to illustrate how the technique works.

The idea is that we can’t jump from misery to happiness in one fell swoop. But what we can do is move ourselves up that emotional guidance scale one or two steps at a time by creating statements that reflect the next-higher emotion, etc. We can even write several if possible, the more the better, to really let that next higher emotion sink in. And then move up to the next, etc.

Well, I changed my mind about posting the original scale I put together for posting purposes, but I will try to come up with a replacement one so you’ll have an example. Meanwhile, here’s the scale to get you started:

Abraham-Hicks emotional scale:

1. Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation
2. Passion
3. Enthusiasm/Eagerness/Happiness
4. Positive Expectation/Belief
5. Optimism
6. Hopefulness
7. Contentment
8. Boredom
9. Pessimism
10. Frustration/Irritation/Impatience
11. Overwhelment
12. Disappointment
13. Doubt
14. Worry
15. Blame
16. Discouragement
17. Anger
18. Revenge
19. Hatred/Rage
20. Jealousy
21. Insecurity/Guilt/Unworthiness
22. Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness

As you write statements to that elicit each emotion, pay attention to how the feelings have been gradually getting better.It’s just a matter of finding a true statement about (and aspect of) the situation that match each respective feeling level and elicit that. If you can make up more than one for each feeling, that will work even better. You can just wallow in the feelings.

Good luck.

Home

Hello everybody.

I can’t believe it’s been this long since I have last posted something. Been swamped at work, and by some other stuff. But…

This provided me with a great opportunity to test out a series of tools I’ve assembled to raise my spirits and my vibrations…

Ever since The Secret became part of popular culture and was featured on Oprah, we all know about the importance of keeping those vibes sky high. Like Abraham (see www.abraham-hicks.com) says, “Nothing is as important as that you feel good.”

Now that can make us a bit paranoid, can’t it? We don’t always feel good. So does that mean we draw bad stuff when we feel bad? Well, yes. That’s exactly what it means.

Ever had one of those days? You get up on the wrong side of the bed, and things go downhill from there. The reverse is also true. Some days you’re just thrilled to get out of bed and on with your day, and things just fall into place. People are nice to you, parking spaces open up right where you need them, and you find $20 bills all over the place (or at least pennies or quarters).

So there is a great deal of benefit to doing what it takes to make ourselves feel good. And it’s not nearly as hard as it might seem.

I’m talking about some of that in my new mini series on Roger’s Pie Theory of Energy (see below). But there are other techniques I’m using and I’ll be writing about those in more detail right here!

Meanwhile, here’s a quick one (from Abraham): whenever I find myself wallowing in self-pity or indulge my inner worrywart (say the challenges seem a bit too daunting, again) I stop myself and ask: What DO I want? And so instead of worrying about bills and other things I don’t want, I’m rejoicing in the additional income I would like and how happy I would be at the extra dollars and checks that flow into my life. Or something like that. And maybe I do little session of appreciating everything worth appreciating, starting with the balmy air (if applicable) or my friends or the smooth flavor and soothing warmth of my coffee etc.

Now when I say, whenever I feel bad, that’s an overstatement. I don’t always remember to do that immediately.

The key to the entire arsenal of techniques is this: to remember to use them. I’m working on that, and I’m happy to report that I’m getting better. I remember much more quickly, and my bouts of wallowing or worrying are already much shorter than they used to be.

Next time, I’ll write about the long version (more detailed, much more powerful) of my favorite thought management technique that I use to get those vibes way up.

Have a wonderful day!

Elisabeth, the self-help guru

P.S.: You can sign up for my occasional missives filled with great resources for growth and even get a free ebook by clicking this link right here.

P.P.S.: You can check out the resources mentioned in the article right here:

Home