The Art of Surrender

The art of surrender

I’ve been trying to write this article for weeks. I try to write every article for weeks. According to my (self-imposed) deadline, it should have been proof read and sent to you two weeks ago. I’ve never made my article writing deadline yet.

Alright, so it’s a self imposed deadline, and being self-employed I can do what I want, when I want (almost) but I just know that if I really tried my hardest to write this, what comes out won’t be any good. I’ll send it out and when I read it once it’s arrived in my inbox (so I know it’s arrived in yours), I won’t like what I’ve written. I’ll have gotten on my high horse and gone completely off topic. The tone won’t be right, I’ll have missed vitally important information or it’s just plain boring/unreadable.

So what do I do? I bow down to the universal wisdom, my hormones, my tiredness levels and surrender. I give up basically. I can’t do something when I can’t do something. There’s just no point trying.

So how did this article get written? When I surrendered, I trusted that there would be a time at some point this month that I would have the inspiration and energy to write it. And here it is, you’re reading the proof, it worked.

It's the same when I get a cold, or am tired, or just feeling a bit below par. I’ll go and have a lie down, or a walk, or do the minimum I can to get through the afternoon until I can go for a walk or get into bed extra early. If I’m lacking in energy that day, I don’t see the point in wasting any more of my resources trying so hard to do something that really, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that important and can wait (just a bit longer). 15 minutes to half an hour spent recuperating means that I can function far better afterwards than I did before. If I were Prime Minister (Leader of the Universal Peace Party), my wining policy would be to make every work-place in the UK have a Rest & Relaxation Room.

Anyway, I digress. The art of surrender involves:

1. Listening to your body when it tells you it’s time to stop
2. Trusting that you will feel better for taking time out to have a power nap, listen to a relaxing piece of music or go for a refreshing walk in the park
3. Taking action and actually doing whatever it is your body is crying out for
4. Knowing that the time will come for the job to be done and when that time comes, the job will be done with joy, ease and grace.
5. Enjoying the moment and the beauty of life – seek and ye shall find…

Wishing you peace and good health,

Bess

Feeling lost and lacking focus? Stuck on the hamster wheel and don’t know how to get off?

Sharper Life coaching can help you focus your energy and create your plan of action for a better life. In just a few sessions you'll get help with:

• Combating stress
• Boosting self esteem
• Increasing your confidence
• Overcoming depression
• Beating phobias
• Reducing panic attacks
• Achieving personal challenges
• Realistic goal setting
• Inspiring motivation

or just generally improving your work life balance, well being, or any other area that's important to you.

Sharper life has helped hundreds of people near you across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Through small steps, which are practical and do-able, you can quickly find new solutions to move forward with the life you want.

Using a variety of practical life-coaching techniques including hypnotherapy and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), enables you to achieve your dreams. With time and support to achieve your goals you can learn how to repeat your success again and again, with new perspectives for your whole life. All sessions are held in a relaxing, supportive space where there's time to focus on you.

Sharper Life has moved into a new area as well, with sessions now running at Peak Wellbeing on the first Thursday of every month (Next time Hannah's here is Thursday 6th May). Hannah is offering a special initial 70-minute session for just £50. In that time you can really begin to make a difference to an area in your life, whether it’s personal, professional or financial.

To learn more or book a session please call Hannah on 07939 460 812 and she'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about the process and how she can help you. You can also visit her website at www.sharperlife.com.


About Sharper Life
Sharper Life is the company of Hannah Sharples who has successfully been helping individuals and groups grow their confidence, communication skills, achieve their goals and overcome personal challenges for over 5 years. Prior to that Hannah worked as a trainer and coach within the financial industry. The client base and coaching team of Sharper Life are growing due to huge demand across the Midlands.

About Hannah Sharples
In 2005 after achieving everything I set out to within the financial sector, I qualified as an NLP Practitioner and secured funding to set up Sharper Life. I trained with NLP School Europe, Paris and London, with whom I am currently studying for the NLP Master Practitioner qualification. I have had many private clients and created numerous courses, enabling me to put into practice the NLP techniques as well as incorporating other skills that are based in psychotherapy, EFT, (Emotional Freedom Technique) and counselling, to allow a holistic approach to suit each individual client.

Case Study of Mr R
Having suffered panic attacks for several years Mr R came for NLP coaching as the situation was now seriously affecting his work. Through a mixture of coaching and specialised techniques, including one just for panic attacks, the attacks reduced significantly after one session. With 4 more session we were able to work at continuing to eliminate the panic attacks completely and build-in feelings of calm for every day and for those situations that would have previously been overwhelming.

Case Study of Ms C
Having initially come for help with feelings of jealously we were able to quickly get to the cause of the problem and work at self esteem and confidence, as well as communication skills to enable a more successful relationship. After just 3 sessions Ms C agreed to become Mrs D and they have had a much more harmonious relationship!

Testimonials
“ I took the time today to really take a look at myself and start to effect change with the help of Sharper Life” T.Bacon, Derby

“During the coaching sessions I've been able to deal with issues I would never have thought I'd be able to look at in my lifetime, let alone accept and move forward from, with tools to deal with these deep problems, I'm amazed” A.D Derby

“After having my first child I felt a bit lost, like ‘me’ was a lifetime ago. Having fortnightly coaching sessions meant there was time for me, to focus on what I wanted for me as well as my family. I was able to reconnect with my old dreams, and plan how to pursue them around my family, making the most of each separately. Now I am able to enjoy my children and have a career – something I just couldn’t get my head round before, let alone organise! Thank you so much” S.P Belper

Are pesticides poisoning you?

Are pesticides poisoning you?
Ok, so I know I was going to write about taking 15 minutes out each day, but my 15 minutes this morning was taken up by watching the shocking films below, and I just had to share them with you all.

Poisoned - New 60 Minutes Report On Pesticides - Part 1

Poisoned - New 60 Minutes Report On Pesticides - Part 2

The videos above focus on two pesticides, carbendazim and endosulfan. The good news is, endosulfan is banned in 62 countries, including the European Union. The first bit of bad news is, it’s still in use in India, Brazil & Australia (don’t eat any conventionally grown foods from these countries!). The second bit of bad news is that carbendazim is still widely used (although it has been in decline of late).
These chemicals can be fatal, and other hazards of these toxins include:

• Hyperactivity
• Tremors
• Convulsions
• Lack of coordination
• Difficulty breathing
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• And in severe cases, unconsciousness.
• Many cases of sub-lethal poisoning have resulted in permanent brain damage from endosulfan.
• Suspected hormone disruption effects which can lead to foetal defects.

So what is being done about the use of these poisons?
The European Parliament approved pesticide legislation last year, which states:

• “Certain highly toxic chemicals will be banned [Good] unless exposure to them would in practice be negligible [define negligible], namely those which are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction, those which are endocrine-disrupting, and those which are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB).
• For developmental neurotoxic and immunotoxic substances, higher safety standards may be imposed. [Surely these should be outright banned too?]
• If a substance is needed to combat a serious danger to plant health, it may be approved for up to five years even if it does not meet the above safety criteria. [What about our health? What about the long-term effects of these chemicals on the plants, not to mention the delicate ecosystems (insects, rivers & streams, birds) that play an essential role?]
• Substances likely to be harmful to honeybees will be outlawed." [Thank goodness!]

For me, although this legislation is a step in the right direction, it just doesn’t go far enough. I have this vision of the super-powerful chemical companies lobbying governments to approve all manner of poisons that haven’t been properly trialled or their long-term effects taken into consideration. I am clearly biased on these matters, and would prefer for no hazardous chemicals to be used ever, but I understand this is simply not possible at the present time.

So what can we do about it?
I like to use the ‘Peaceful World’ analogy here, as when we have a world full of peaceful people, we have a peaceful world. This means that action needs to be taken on an individual basis, which is then spread to more individuals, until we get to a point of critical mass and the minority becomes the majority.
So my advice is to buy organic. (Bet you didn’t see that coming!) I know it can be expensive, but when you use every part of every item of food you buy (broccoli stalks to make soup, chicken bones to make stock*), not only does it make it more cost effective but also more eco-friendly.
If you wish to avoid the supermarkets and their expensive, ‘freshly flown in from Kenya’ approach to organic food, there are plenty of veg-box schemes around. I personally use Trinity Farm in Cossall. They’re great value, local, organic & biodynamic, and lovely people to boot.
If you’re at all green fingered, you’re probably already growing your own. I’ve had my very first foray into growing my own salad this year. Everyday I watch with delight as the pots on my windowsill start sprouting, and I know that in a few weeks I’ll be enjoying super-fresh, organic salad that cost just a few pennies and only minutes of my time.

*Be Your Own Butcher! To get organic chicken breasts at the same price as non-organic, buy a whole organic bird and cut the breasts, wings and legs off yourself. You can boil up what’s left to make a delicious stock for gravy, soup, risotto…

Wishing you peace and good health,

Bess

P.S. In last month’s health-e-newsletter, I ended it by saying that the obesity epidemic is all down to sugar. Which of course isn’t true! There are many complex factors, including lack of physical activity and fast food. If you want an in-depth explanation about how sugar affects your health, I recommend the following video - Sugar: The Bitter Truth. I get so swept up and passionate about these things that I get a bit carried away at times. Forgive me!

What could possibly be worse for your health than smoking?

What could possibly be worse for your health than smoking?

Some experts suggest there is an everyday substance even worse for your health than tobacco. A substance that is far reaching, it can be hidden or the main ingredient in many foods. It is as pure and white as the driven snow, and sweeter than your sweetheart.

The substance is sugar. It comes in many different disguises and always tastes good. It’s not just found in the obviously sweet foods such as pop, cakes, biscuits and chocolate, but also in tomato ketchup, salad dressing, cereal, peanut butter, bread, pickle, baked beans, yoghurts and many, many, more everyday foods.

So how can you tell what to look for and what makes sugar so bad?
Check the ingredients of the foods you buy, you’ll be surprised at how many contain sugar and/or it’s disguised derivatives:Glucose/Dextrose (refined sugar)

• Glucose Syrup/Corn Syrup (processed from corn)
• Sucrose (white sugar)
• Invert Syrup/Treacle (found in golden syrup, toffee, black treacle)
• Lactose (milk sugar)
• Maltose (found in germinating seeds such as barley for beer)
• Hydrolysed Starch (just another description for sugar)
• Fructose (fruit sugar)
• Raw, Brown or Demerara Sugar

All the items in the above list are refined sugars, which are anti-nutrients. They deplete your body instead of nourishing it (giving ‘empty calories’), some would say in the same way a poison does. The raw plants are stripped of all their nutrients during the refining process.

Sugar is linked to all sorts of nasties, including -Immune system suppression

• Hyperactivity, anxiety and difficulty concentrating
• Premature aging
• Alcoholism
• Weakened eyesight
• Yeast imbalance leading to thrush
• Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity

It’s no coincidence that some sugar plantation owners during the slave era suffered type 2 diabetes (they were the only ones who could afford refined sugar), while the slaves themselves who chewed on the raw cane had no problems from it.

Glucose, lactose, maltose and fructose can all be found in nature. That doesn’t mean they’re ‘natural’ when refined and added to foods. They’re all found in whole foods, and when eaten as a whole food (a fresh, crisp apple), all the necessary fibre and enzymes are included for correct metabolism and absorption of all the goodness of that said food. That’s why whole foods don’t come with a list of ingredients.

Although no type of sugar is good for you, refined fructose has been implicated in some pretty serious crimes - obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, high blood pressure and lipid (cholesterol) problems. These diseases are collectively known as metabolic syndrome, and are the cause of the obesity epidemic we’re now facing.

Fructose is found in ice cream, fromage frais desserts, soya yogurts, cakes and ‘light’ foods. This refined sugar has the same long term effects on your body as alcoholism (alcohol is fermented sugar), only you don’t notice so much as you don’t get drunk. So next time you see someone with a beer belly (not just on men!), it means they’re likely to have a sweet tooth instead of/as well as high alcohol consumption.

What about brown sugar? Is that better for you than white sugar?
Sorry, but it’s bad news. Brown sugar has either been washed less than white sugar, or has had molasses added back into the white sugar to coat the crystals and give it a bit of a different flavour. So it’s still had all its nutrients stripped during the refining process and is no better for you than white sugar.

What about artificial sweeteners?
The news is even worse for artificial sweeteners. Aspartame, found in Canderel, diet colas, sugar-free fruit squashes etc, has had more reactions reported to the US Food & Drug Administration than every other food additive combined. Reactions included migraines, headaches, memory loss, hallucination, fatigue, nausea and vomiting to name just a few of the milder symptoms. Sucralose (E-number E955), found in Splenda, is linked with enlarged liver and kidneys, reduced growth rate, aborted pregnancy and diarrhoea.

So what can I use?
My personal approach is to avoid sugar all together. I’m not always successful at it, but once you cut it out, you realise how sickly doughnuts and chocolate are, and how sweet fruit and vegetables are. Suddenly I have a whole new appreciation for roast parsnips, sweet potato wedges and slow-cooked onions. Strawberries that have been warmed by the sun become like nectar, and pineapple is my version of a bag of penny chews.

If ever the mood takes me to do some baking, I’ll use xylitol to replace the sugar in the recipe. This is found in shops as Xylobrit, Xylosweet or Perfect Sweet. It’s not perfect, it has a laxative effect in high doses, but it has also been found to be good for your teeth (its used in sugar-free gum) amongst other benefits.

So now we’ve discovered the true source of the obesity epidemic and it’s nothing to do with fat. It’s all about the sugar. Phew, after all this technical stuff I need a break, and in the next article, we’ll discover the power of taking 15 minutes out everyday.

Wishing you peace and good health,

Bess

Uncover the truth about fats - the good, the bad and the ugly.

It’s now becoming widely known that not all fats are bad, but do you know which to avoid and which are important to include in your diet?

The idea of a low-fat diet spread from America in the early 80s. Studies found that the less fat you ate, the lower your cholesterol levels and the lower your risk of heart disease. It was also assumed that a high fat diet lead to being overweight. Were those studies correct or flawed? Do we even need to revisit the studies when you just have to look around you to see the evidence?

So which fats are good fats, and which are the bad guys? And are there ugly ones too? Yes, and it gets even more confusing as good fats turn ugly, and the bad ones aren’t so bad after all…

Unsaturated fats, found in vegetable oils are widely considered as the good guys. Which is correct, to a point, but there are some issues. Here’s why:

There are two types of unsaturated fat. On an atomic level, it’s all to do with how many double bonds there are in the fatty acid chain, mono (meaning one) and poly (meaning many).

Poly-unsaturated fats are unstable and go rancid easily. Free radicals in the rancid oils have been shown to contribute towards premature aging, increase of heart disease and cancer and damage of organs.

Poly-unsats can be further divided into omega 6 and omega 3 oils, again classified according to how many double bonds there are. Most commercial vegetable oils contain high levels of omega 6 compared to omega 3, which is unfavourable (it should be equal, and poly-unsats should make up no more than 4% of your total calorie intake). High levels of omega 6 in the diet have been linked to increased tendency to form blood clots, high blood pressure, weight gain, inflammation and more.



Mono-unsaturated fats, such as olive and avocado are more stable and don’t go rancid as quickly. Extra virgin oils are pressed at low temperatures without exposure to damaging oxygen and light.

And then, in the making of margarine and spreads, when unsaturated fats are super-heated and hydrogenised, they turn into trans-fats. These are the ugly fats, which are toxic and to be avoided at all costs.

What about saturated fats, aren’t they the bad guys?
Nope, saturated fats, such as those found in lard, dripping, goose fat and butter aren’t the cause of many of our modern diseases. They play a vital role in bone health, protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins, enhance the immune system, lower Lp(a), which is a substance found in the blood that indicates the likelihood of heart disease, and are needed to help retain the benefits of omega 3s, amongst other virtues.




So what fats should I use in my cooking?
Butter is actually less likely to cause weight gain than olive oil or other commercial vegetable oils as it is directly absorbed for quick energy. This is due to its’ short-chain fatty acids, which are antimicrobial (helping maintain good bacteria in the digestive system), antitumoral and supportive to the immune system.

Extra virgin olive oil is great for pouring over salads, making up dressings, and cooking at moderate temperatures. It is rich in antioxidants, but don’t overdo it, as it’s longer chain fatty acids are more likely to contribute to fat build up.

Animal fats such as lard, beef dripping and goose fat are stable, useful for frying and bring lots of flavour. If you haven’t tried roasting potatoes in goose fat, I highly recommend it, they’re delicious! Some researchers suggest pork products may contribute towards cancer, others say that it is only the meat that does this, not the fat. Pork is a good source of vitamin D however, so I’ll leave that decision to you.

According to Dr Mercola (www.mercola.com), where I did most of my research about this article, all the following oils should be avoided; safflower (borage), corn, sunflower, soybean and rapeseed, as they contain too much omega 6 compared to omega 3. You are much better off eating the raw, fresh seeds, such as sunflower seeds, than using the commercially produced oils.

Flax seed oil has a much better omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, so is valuable when poured over salads but should never be heated.

Coconut oil has strong antifungal and antimicrobial properties and doesn’t contribute towards heart disease. It is very stable and can be used in baking.

We did as we were told, we reduced our fat intake, but obesity has increased and continues to do so. Why? Find out in the next article, when I’ll explain about the different types of sugar.

Besslow's Hierarchy of Universal Needs

The idea for this came from a client of my clinic, who I was talking to about the ANH group I run. She thought that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was relevant, and worth discussing. So I thought about it, and decided to turn the pyramid on it’s head, start at the bottom, and reach to infinity. It’s all a process (See Deepak Chopra’s thread “Insights on Healing…” on the ANH forum), and as it only took about an hour from conception to upload, it will evolve as I get your feedback on it.
It was originally just going to be my pyramid on it’s head, but when I looked further into Maslow’s process, I discovered that later models include transcendence, which overlap with the universal process of increasing the peace. So then I decided to add Maslow’s pyramid to the bottom of mine, so that it became an integrated part, rather than a separate entity.

I'd love you to share your experience of this.

Peace

Bess