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Quick Link
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Upcoming Events
DBT/ACT at HopeAllianz
Interpersonal Effectiveness:
Winning at Relationships
Monday, January 4
4 to 6 PM for 10 weeks
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Distress Tolerance
and Clutter Clearing
Tuesday, January 5
6 to 8 PM for 10 weeks
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Intrapersonal
Effectiveness:
Learning to Love Yourself
Thursday, January 7
10 AM to Noon
for 10 weeks
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Call for more info
952 545 6966
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or e-mail
Jody L Friesen Grande PhD
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Affirmation/Visualize
To move forward
action occurs in
the present.
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LifeSkills Defined
Mastering a skill
that is essential for a healthy participation in
attending to the challenges and opportunities of daily living -- a connection of mind, body, and spirit.
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2010
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself!
~Neil Gailman
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Happy New Year!
Dr Jody L Friesen Grande
HopeAllianz Inc
11900 Wayzata Blvd
Suite 216G
Minnetonka MN 55305
952 545 6966
952 545 6969 fax
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LifeSkills™ is a life enhancement program focused on developing motivational thoughts and action plans. To help you build lifeskills and mastery in attending to the challenges and opportunities of daily living ~ a connection of mind, body, and spirit.
The crisis/the danger is past, and the lingering illness, is over at last, and the ever called "living' is conquered at last. ~ Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
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Mindfulness for Everyday Living
 In the beginning ... learning mindfulness helps us to slow down and stop and smell the roses. Mindfulness is simply the conscious awareness of what we are feeling, the emotional and physical responses of our body, and the environment that surrounds us.
Jon Kabat-Zinn the founder of the Mindfulness-Based Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center states, "mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally."
Begin today by watching what your morning thoughts are as you rise. What is your primary focus for the day? What actions occur throughout the day that you are helping others? What got you out of the house? At the end of the day, what are you grateful for and what are you learning?
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Getting Stuck
Essential for Authentic Wholeness
PAST: It is so easy for us to naturally "get stuck" in the past. There is so much there for us to think about. All the loses, hurts, pains ... the shoulds or should not haves ... stuck in our heads --- ruminating over and over again. Or, what about all the accomplishments, the trophies, certificates and the "if only" thoughts that lead to regrets.
Most of us at one time or another are going to feel as if our wheels are spinning, unable to move forward ... stuck! Believe it or not ... this is part of life and essential ... yes, it will feel uncomfortable but can lead to personal growth and authentic wholeness. Dr Timothy Butler, Senior Fellow and Director of Career Development Programs at Harvard Business School states, "Without it we cannot grow, change, and -- eventually -- live more fully in a larger world ... Each impasse is an opportunity to look a little deeper and understand better what works for us." Our past is important ... it is part of whom we have become. It is what we chose to do with it that is relevant to the present.  : If we are not in the past, we may find ourselves focused on the future ... all the what ifs, the worries, the fears ... the unknowns. We can become overwhelmed and feel lost and hopeless. However, there is a choice in our perceptions of future thoughts ... Bridget Grenville-Cleave, MAPP student at the University of London wrote an article on Mental Time Travel (MTT) or sometimes called "future thinking." This research study showed that participants who carried out positive future MTT were significantly more happier than two weeks earlier. Additionally, in this study, negative future thoughts did not increase levels of anxiety, and positive future thoughts did not reduce them. Surprisingly those that engaged in "neutral thinking" processes which focused on one's daily routine (such as driving or eating, or planning events such as buying groceries or connections with friends or family) did show a significant reduction in their anxiety levels. Affirming and visualizing the future is essential for a healthy balanced lifestyle. Affirmations are statements that assert the existence or truth of something positive--they can also be considered a form of auto-suggestion or self-hypnosis. Shakti Gawain states "an affirmation is a strong, positive statement that something is already so." Visualizing is like a mental rehearsal of what you want to happen. When you visualize, you rehearse how a problem can be solved, how a new idea could be implemented, or how a connection with others in a healthy way may look like. You mentally practice achieving and living your goal, which leads to the real thing. |
To Move Forward
Action Occurs in the Present
Our minds are marvelous and definitely keeping us going ... depending on our reactions to what is going on in our lives we either will find ourselves getting stuck or moving forward. There is a choice ... what is yours?
Each place that we may find ourselves there is always lessons for learning ... in the past we can find ourselves stuck in the negativity of our losses and pains or we can use these as life lessons that have strengthened us to move forward. Or, are we stuck in the future -- worrying about all the unknowns that may not even happen or can we learn to affirm and visualize what we do want in our lives.
Can you see where you have choices? I know that it is not easy to develop different and healthier ways of thinking ... afterall, we have become masters of where we find ourselves in this present moment.
The developing of your mind takes place in the PRESENT ... we simply bring the past and future to present thoughts and we will find that the action begins. From my personal life, let me explain: from the past -- the loss of educational opportunities from my teenage years brought me to move forward in my 30s for my PhD; from the future -- when I need to confront something or someone I have learned to do it right away (no need to hold on to it) and this helps me move forward to more important matters.
What one thing do you want to move forward with today? Affirm and visualize your goal and then take that step (no matter how small it may be) ...
Anything is possible ...  |
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Enjoy your journey and remember to stop along the way to embrace the day's gifts of love, happiness, harmony, surprise, laughter, energy, strength, and peace.
Jody L Friesen Grande PhD LICSW BCD
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