Barbara Berger's Blog

Healthy Self Talk About the Body

Do you spend a lot of time worrying about your body? Do you spend a lot of time (and mental energy) noticing it, watching it, monitoring it – afraid something’s going to go wrong with it, afraid something’s going to happen to it, worried that it isn’t operating at optimal efficiency or that it doesn’t look and feel like you think it should?

Well if you do, you’re no different than the rest of us. And especially in these challenging times where the media and news are filled with scary stories about people who are not doing so well. And where masks and social distancing are now a part of our everyday lives.

So it’s no wonder most of us run around thinking God forbid something should go “wrong”, God forbid I should get sick, God forbid if something happens… That’s the mantra inside so many people’s heads at the moment. And when you start to notice this, you begin to realize just how much mental energy you may be using on your body…

Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take all necessary precautions and I’m not saying we should not be eating well and staying fit and just generally taking good care of our bodies because we love and appreciate them – what I am talking about is the obsessive worry factor…

So let’s try to put this all into perspective, let’s take a look at the reality of having a body. The reality is that for most of us sometimes the body does not feel so great or even hurts. Sometimes we do have aches and pains. It goes with the turf of having a body. But usually, in most cases, it’s not half as bad as we think it is. But unfortunately, when we think it’s “bad” or when we think there must be something seriously “wrong” with us – we become afraid and tense up. And when we are afraid and tense up, we make it more difficult for our bodies to do their natural work, which is to recreate equilibrium and heal themselves. And this is very important to understand – the cells of our bodies are intelligent. That is to say, every cell in our body is  created by and connected to the Great Universal Intelligence that created all of Life including us, so therefore every cell in our bodies is designed to take care of itself and constantly recreate balance and harmony in our bodies – especially if we don’t get in the way with our negative thinking and our negative self-talk.

Because this is what bodies are designed to do – they are designed to recreate balance and heal themselves. Improvement is natural for our bodies. That’s simply the way bodies are built. They are intelligent! So we could make it a lot easier for our bodies to do their wonderful job if we could just get ourselves out of the way. And by getting ourselves out of the way I mean by not indulging in so many “catastrophic” thoughts about every ache and pain we experience. I mean by not using the power of our minds to interfere with the body’s healing intelligence.

It’s also important to understand that when we worry and think catastrophic thoughts, we trigger the “fight or flight” mechanism in our bodies. And when the “fight or flight” mechanism is triggered, the body then secretes adrenaline and other hormones which are counterproductive to the deep relaxation and trust (love = endorphins) which allow our immune systems to function at optimal efficiency. In fact, studies have proven that positive thinking and happy, optimistic thoughts not only raise our energy, they also strengthen our immune systems and promote healing and health.

So what can we do? When we understand this mechanism – and understand how our thinking influences our bodies – we can actively support our bodies’ natural ability to heal in every circumstance instead of hindering our body’s healing ability - by saying things to ourselves like:

• My body is an amazing self-healing organism – it knows exactly what to do.
• My body is always recreating equilibrium – that’s its job and natural inclination.
• Sometimes I feel good and sometimes I feel less good. It’s always changing but when I stop and notice what’s going on, I find I’m still here.
• This too will pass.
• I am going to focus on all the things I love about Life and leave my body to do its wonderful healing work.
• I’m sure I’ll get better. I always do.
• Healing is natural.

This is healthy self talk when it comes to our bodies.

In this connection, it’s also a wonderful practice to appreciate your body and remind yourself of all the wonderful things your body does for you instead of focusing on every little ache and pain you have. 

You can say to yourself or out loud:  I’m so grateful because:

• I can walk.
• I can talk.
• I can see.
• I can hear.
• I can breathe.
• I can move and take care of myself
• I can ride my bike.
• I can use my computer.
• I can go to work (even here at home).
• I can run, dance, sing, hop and play.
• I can exercise.
• I can meditate.
• I can read (I have so many wonderful books).
• I can walk in my yard or garden or through the woods.
• I can watch movies and listen to music.
• I can eat and drink.
• I can make love.
• I can be creative.
• I can relax.
• I can sleep.

Once you get started, the list is amazingly long and the body always feels better when you actually take the time to notice how wonderful it is and what an amazing gift you’ve been given.

By focusing on all the good your body is constantly doing for you, you are using the power of your mind wisely because whatever you focus your attention on grows in your experience. Thus the more you focus on the strength and health you do have, the more you will experience strength and health. This is not just wishful thinking. Countless studies demonstrate that what we hold in mind tends to manifest in our bodies. For more about this mechanism and how the focus of your attention affects your health, see my books, “The Awakening Human Being – A Guide to the Power of Mind” and “The Road to Power – Fast Food for the Soul”.

 

Understanding the way the mind works is the key to freedom and self-empowerment! Get your free e-book now!

Everything I do is about self-empowerment!

How can we understand this life experience and become Masters of our own Destiny? How can we be present in this now moment and live happily right now? Understanding the way our minds work is the key to answering these important questions.

Why? Because when we are able to observe and understand the nature of mind – the nature of our own minds – then we can understand and learn to use the incredible power of our minds to become the Masters of our Fate and shape our own Destiny.

And this is why I say - understanding the way our minds work is the key to self-empowerment and freedom!

I’ve mapped out the way the mind works in my short e-book “The Mental Laws – Understanding the Way the Mind Works”. Each Mental Law describes an impersonal, universal mechanism of mind which you can use to become the master of your own fate.

At the moment we are giving the e-book “The Mental Laws – Understanding the Way the Mind Works” away for free. Just go to our Web site – www.beamteam.com to get your free e-book. (The free e-book is available in English, Danish and Russian.)

 

 

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You have an Inner Compass

How can I know what's best for me?

"How can I know what's best for me? How can I know what to do in this situation?" I hear questions like this almost every day in my work as a coach and therapist. Everyone wants to know how they can figure out what they "should" and "shouldn't" do in relation to their issues or in their relationships with friends and family. Should they say yes or no? Should they go left or right? Should they take the job or not? Get married or wait? Go to that party or stay home? Is there a simple and reliable way to do this? To know what's best for me?

And the answer is – yes, there is! Because everyone has what I call an "Inner Compass". Everyone has an internal guidance system which in every moment and in every situation, is giving us precise and reliable information about what is the best way forward for each of us.

How does the Inner Compass do this? It does this through our emotions. The Inner Compass gives us this information by means of our feelings of comfort and discomfort. So the better we feel, the more ease and flow we are experiencing in our life, the more in alignment we are with who we truly are and what's best for us. And the more discomfort we are feeling, the more it is a signal from our Inner Compass that we are out of alignment with who we truly are and what's best for us.

For more about your Inner Compass and how to use this mechanism to live a happier life, read my new book "Find and Follow Your Inner Compass" which was released in the US and UK today! http://www.beamteam.com/en/barbara/compass.html

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You have an Inner Compass

If you want to change your life, you have to change your focus

When we understand the power of the mind, it makes sense to focus on all the Good in our lives. Because we know that whatever we focus our attention on, grows in our experience. When we understand the mechanism, we also understand that our belief in sickness and difficulties brings more sickness and difficulties. And when we see this, we probably also wonder why anyone would choose consciously to focus on sickness and difficulties? Of course the truth is, no one consciously chooses illness or difficulties, but many of us tend to focus on difficulties when they arise, which can be problematic. This is not to say we don’t have to deal with what happening in our lives. Of course we do. But that’s not the same as dwelling on problems and giving them more power by focusing on them. I notice when working with people, that many people are much more willing to focus on all the difficulties in their lives rather than be thankful for all the Good in this now moment. If you want to change your life, you have to change your focus and focus on the Good! What are you grateful for right now?

Blessings to you! Barbara Berger

On the Bernie Siegel show

I just had the great honor of being on Bernie Siegel's talk show. Bernie Siegel is the world renowned author of the life-changing book "Love, Medicine and Miracles". You can listen in here:

http://www.healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveBS.htm

Blessings to you! Barbara Berger

 

Understanding the Law of Cause and Effect can set you free!

Understanding the law of cause and effect can set us free. When we understand that thought is cause and our experience is the effect of our thinking, we have the key to changing our life if we want to. So it's a good idea to think deeply about this mechanism....

Our thinking—the thoughts that we entertain—determine our experience of life. This is the great law of life on this plane. In brief, this means that our experience of reality (or this thing called life) is the result of our thoughts about life or reality—and not the result of experiencing reality itself directly.

And again, this is an impersonal, universal law. It has nothing to do with who you are or what you do. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are or if you are rich or poor. This law applies to everyone—without exception—which is why it is a law. This law means: Whatever you think, you get to experience. Whatever I think, I get to experience.   When you think something is great, you getto experience that. When you think something is terrible, you get to experience that.  Nothing else is going on. Reality is what it is. It’s our interpretation we get to live. But again, don’t believe me. Read on and then test this for yourself.

 Your first reaction to the above might be “Oh but this is not true. Everyone can see that ‘such-and-such’ is a terrible thing. It has nothing to do with my thinking!” But you have to look more closely and ask yourself if this is really true. Because you will discover when you look closely, that everything under the sun is interpreted in a multitude of different ways by a multitude of different people. The exact same event is experienced in very different ways by different people. And this applies to our health, finances, relationships, you name it. What is excellent health for one person is a poor condition for the next. A lot of money to one person is almost not enough for the next. A big issue in one person’s relationship doesn’t matter at all to another. What seems politically correct to one person is completely wrong to another. And it’s the same at the workplace. One person experiences working on a certain project with a tight deadline as highly stressful, while another thinks it’s just an exciting challenge. One person hates working late and just wants to get home to the family while another person loves working late because he/she doesn’t especially want to go home to the family! So our experience is always entirely subjective—always—and always based on who we are and what we believe is good or bad for us. There is no neutral, objective definition of a “good” or “bad”event. It all depends on the point of view and the belief systems of the person (people) involved. And our points of view depend on a multitude of things including how we were programmed, our culture, our religion, our background, our sex, our age, and so on.

 So please consider this carefully and honestly. If you do, I can assure you that you will discover that all our reactions (yours and mine and everyone else’s) in any and every situation are based on the thoughts
and beliefs we have about life and our beliefs as to the meaning of these situations and events. And so we find that in all situations, the basic mechanism is thought is cause and experience is effect. This is what is going on—at all times for everyone.

So take a look again and you will see that when something happens, if we think it’s good, we feel good about it and we experience it as good. And when something happens and we think it’s bad, we then feel bad about it and experience it as bad. And this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the event itself. The event is just the event. And we discover that in truth, there is no connection whatsoever between an event and our reactions to it. The way we experience events is completely determined by our thoughts about the events.

So we discover that everything we experience is the effect of our thinking. And this is the law of cause and effect in action. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of this process because they don’t know the law of cause and effect. And as a result, they don’t see it happening. They don’t see that an event takes place (something happens) and then they immediately click into their interpretations of the event. It happens so fast that most people don’t notice the process. Instead they just think “oh this is bad” and put the so-called blame on the outside event. They don’t see the middle step—the way in which our thinking,
our interpretation of the event triggers our reaction and our experience.

But the fact is—reality is what it is and the rest is just thoughts in our minds. And our thoughts are not
the direct experience itself, but only our interpretation of events. So it’s our interpretation we get to live. We tell ourselves stories about events, people, and things and what they mean—and then we get to live it. This is our only experience.

For more about the way the mind works, you can download my book "The Mental Laws" for free on our Web site. www.beamteam.com

May this information set you free! Barbara Berger

The best healing affirmation

Here’s my all-time favorite healing mantra/affirmation:

“EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY

I AM GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!”

This world-famous mantra was created by the French physician Emile Coué (1857-1926) to help people heal themselves of all kinds of illnesses and psychological problems. Coué, who was a medical doctor in France and a pioneer in the power of the mind, successfully treated thousands of patients with this mantra. All you have to do is repeat this mantra aloud – with feeling – 15 times in a row, three times a day, each and every day. It’s good to do it first thing in the morning, then in the middle of the day, and then at night right before you go to bed. And expect magic to happen!

Barbara Berger is the author of “The Road to Power – Fast Food for the Soul” (published in 30 languages), “Are You Happy Now?” (published in 13 languages) and her latest book “The Awakening Human Being – A Guide to the Power of Mind” which was recently released in the US and the UK.
The books can be ordered on Amazon.com. For more about Barbara Berger see www.beamteam.com

A little sane self talk about the body

We live in a body-obsessed culture, in a society where almost everyone is so freaked out about their body and so identified with it. God forbid if something should go “wrong”, God forbid if you should get sick, God forbid if something happens… That’s the mantra inside most of our heads.
   The reality for most of us is that sometimes the body does hurt. Sometimes we do have aches and pains. It goes with the turf of having a body. But usually, in most cases, it’s not half as bad as we think it is. But unfortunately, when we think it’s “bad” or think there must be something seriously “wrong” with us when we experience these aches and pains – we become afraid and tense up. And when we are afraid and tense up, we make it more difficult for our bodies to do their natural work, which is to recreate equilibrium and heal themselves. This is unfortunate because that’s what bodies are designed to do – to heal themselves. Improvement is natural for our bodies. That’s simply the way bodies are built. And we can make it a lot easier for our bodies to do their wonderful job if we could just get ourselves out of the way. And by getting ourselves out of the way I mean by not thinking “catastrophic” thoughts about every ache and pain we experience.
   When we think catastrophic thoughts, we trigger the “fight or flight” mechanism in our bodies. (For more about this mechanism see the section called “Understanding and dealing with nervousness and anxiety” on page xx.) When the “fight or flight” mechanism is triggered, the body then secretes adrenaline and other hormones which are counterproductive to the deep relaxation and trust (love = endorphins) that studies demonstrate strengthen the immune system and promote healing.
   So what can we do?
   When we understand this mechanism, we can actively support our bodies’ natural ability to heal in every circumstance instead of hindering our body’s healing ability - by saying things to ourselves like:
- It’s probably not as bad as I think.
- This too will pass.
- My body is an amazing self-healing organism – it knows exactly what to do.
- My body is always recreating equilibrium – that’s its job and natural urge/impulse/inclination.
- Sometimes I feel good and sometimes I feel less good. It’s always changing but when I stop up and notice what’s going on, I find that I’m still here.
- Even if this is uncomfortable, I am just going to allow and accept and let my body do its wonderful healing work.
- I’m sure I’ll get better. I usually do.
- Healing is natural.
   This is sane self talk when it comes to the body.
   In this connection, it’s also a wonderful practice to appreciate your body and remind yourself of all the wonderful things your body does for you instead of focusing on every little ache and pain.  You can say I’m so grateful because:
- I can walk.
- I can talk.
- I can see.
- I can breathe.
- I can ride my bike.
- I can use my computer.
- I can go to work.
- I can run, dance, sing, hop and play.
- I can walk through the woods.
- I can go to the movies.
- I can watch TV.
- I can eat and drink.
- I can make love.
- I can sleep.
- Etc. 
   Once you get started, the list is amazingly long and the body always feels better when you actually take the time to notice how wonderful it is and what an amazing gift you’ve been given.
   By focusing on all the good your body is constantly doing for you, you are using the power of your mind wisely because whatever you focus your attention on grows in your experience. Thus the more you focus on what strength and health you do have, the more you will experience strength and health. This is not just wishful thinking. Countless studies demonstrate that what we hold in mind tends to manifest in our bodies. See my books, “The Awakening Human Being – A Guide to the Power of Mind” and “The Road to Power – Fast Food for the Soul” for more about this mechanism and how the focus of your attention affects your health.