Reprogram Your Mind for a Change by Sunny Massad, Ph.D.

Studies show that we have about 50,000 thoughts per day, and 90% of them are repetitive. Other research indicates that 77% of everything that most people think about is negative, self-damaging, and counterproductive. It’s challenging to stay optimistic and enthusiastic when the mind keeps repeating the same fear based thoughts over and over again.

The first step to break this cycle of destructive thinking is to become more aware of what thoughts are running through your mind. Witnessing your thoughts requires stepping back and listening to what you are telling yourself. This can take vigilance because the ego identifies with those thoughts. The most obvious time to practice is when you feel off center. Notice how your thoughts affect your feelings. Even if your thoughts are accurate, they may not be in your best interest in the long term. Generally, the mind will sacrifice quality of life for the smaller joys of immediate gratification unless it is programmed otherwise.

You can also challenge your own thinking. For example, let's say that last night you got motivated start a new exercise routine but now that it's time to begin, you feel apathetic. You notice that you are telling yourself that you “don’t have time, it’s too hot, you’re not in the mood.” Try asking yourself: "Is this thought true?" It may be true that it's hot and that you're not in the mood but you have already committed to MAKE the time and you know that to create a new routine requires doing things based on your higher values rather than on immediate gratification. You can also try asking yourself: "Is this thought helpful?" There will always be a million and one excuses. The excuses are not helpful. You can acknowledge that they are all good points, and stay focused on the task at hand. Taking ACTION will quiet the thoughts and create a new momentum. How many times have you finally gotten to the beach only to ask yourself, "why did I resist coming? This is so good for my soul!" At that moments, nothing on your "to do" list seems to have much importance at all.

To motivate yourself to make the changes that you want to make in your life requires a positive coach inside your head that replies to the excuses “it’s true that time is tight, but I’ve set aside this hour to exercise and although it’s hot and I’m not in the mood, I’m going to follow through on my commitment to myself because I know how great I’ll feel while I’m exercising and when I’m finished.” Borrow Nike’s slogan and “Just do it!” despite the whining voices in your head.
If you’d like to learn how to master your mind instead of allowing your mind being the master of your life, consider taking the morning sessions of the Wellness Counselor Career Training & Certification Course. Or, if you would like to earn a living by assisting others in their personal transformations join us for the full 8-hour days and become a life coach and counselor. For more information, register for the introductory course:

LEARN TO COUNSEL YOURSELF AND OTHERS IN THESE TRYING TIMES
with Sunny Massad, Ph.D.
If you are interested in learning how to reframe the negative in yourself, your children, your friends, or, if you are a manager, and would like to learn how to help someone in a manner that is appropriate for use in the work environment, reserve a seat at this workshop. You will experience a demonstration of a wellness counseling session with a volunteer from the audience and then have an opportunity to counsel yourself using the technique. For those interested in the more in-depth Counselor Training or personal transformation track of that program, you will learn how this program has changed lives, have an opportunity to see the workbook, and hear about the business opportunities available to coaches during this crucial time of change.

Saturday, June 27, 2009 1:00 – 4:00pm Hawaii Wellness Retreat HouseTuition: $45
Pre-registration Required at least ten days in advance: Register Online or call 848-5544


For more information, visit us online at: http://hawaiiwellnessinstitute.org/Progs_for_ind_home.html

The dates and costs of the upcoming trainings are:

UnTherapy: The Conscious Alternative (the morning sessions)with Sunny Massad, Ph.D.
8 Saturdays, August 8 - October 3, 2009 10:00 AM to 1 :00 PM
Hawaii Wellness Retreat House Tuition: $699
This course provides the structure necessary to re-script your inner and outer life. You will learn where and how you sabotage your dreams and learn how to eradicate old patterns that keep you stuck. If you are ready to crystallize your most heartfelt dreams, fuel your self-confidence, and renew your vitality and enthusiasm, this may very well be the next step for you. This training provides a rare opportunity to work with Sunny Massad in an intimate, small-group setting. This class is the morning session of the upcoming Wellness Counselor Certification Training, and is ideal for anyone who is not particularly interested in learning skills to coach, counsel or mentor others. It is a 24-hour transformational experience that is presented over the course of eight Saturdays or Sundays. Pre-registration Required at least ten days in advance: Register Online or call 848-5544

UNTHERAPY FOR CHANGE (OR PROFIT): THE WELLNESS COUNSELOR CAREER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAM with Sunny Massad, Ph.D.
8 Saturdays, August 8 - October 3, 2009 10:00am-6:00pm
Hawaii Wellness Retreat House Tuition: $1,650 plus $100 Application Fee
Applications due at least 10 days in advance
This professional training is designed for anyone interested in gathering counseling skills to enhance their resume, beef up managerial skills, or create a private practice. This 64-hour counselor training prepares you to counsel others as a life coach, personal development consultant, and peer mentor. If you want to create or realize an important personal or professional dream or to help others empower themselves, this class may be for you. You will cultivate the focus necessary to routinely care for your own physical well-being, nourish your own emotional needs, and insure your own financial security, so you can become a living example of a wellness lifestyle. For more information about the training, click on this link: http://hawaiiwellnessinstitute.org/b_wellness_01values.html

Essays and applications will be accepted for this training until 10 days before class begins. There is a $100 application fee. This course is conducted as a teleconferencing experience, so distance learning opportunities are available. Call 848-5544 for further details.
Pre-registration Required at least ten days in advance: Register Online or call 848-5544


HOW TO START AND MARKET YOUR NEW BUSINESS AS A WELLNESS PRACTITIONER: A TRAINING FOR UNCONVENTIONAL ENTREPRENEURSwith Sunny Massad, Ph.D.
If you need to become clear about what you want to create in your personal and professional life and then be personally mentored about how to launch yourself, this is a 21-hour training for anyone in the wellness profession who is just starting a business, hasn't started one yet but needs to build some momentum, or anyone who has attempted their own business but has given up and wants to give it another try. It is also designed for people who don't have a clue about how to venture out on their own and don't know whether their idea will result in full time or part time income.

This course is a customized mentoring program that focuses on how to create or expand a client base on a shoestring budget. It is designed to give you a boost in confidence by placing a foundation under your dreams. You will end up with a strategic business and marketing plan that is grounded in reality, yet remains in alignment with your own values, passions, and creativity. If you are curious about whether this training might be helpful to you, call a free phone consultation.
Applications will be accepted until 10 days before the class begins. This class is conducted as a teleconferencing experience, so distance learning opportunities are available. Call 848-5544 for further details.
7 Wednesdays August 12 - September 23, 2009 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Hawaii Wellness Institute Tuition: $899
Accepting applications until 10 days before the start of class
Pre-registration Required at least ten days in advance: Register Online or call 848-5544

Being Present, Being Mindful by Roshani Shay, Ph.D.

Being fully present to any single moment, truly being here now, is as easy as being aware of the next breath, and as difficult. Try a small experiment. While you are reading this paragraph, watch your breath coming into and going out of your body for several minutes. You may want to focus on the air as it passes through your nostrils, or on the rise and fall of your chest, or on the expansion and contraction of your belly—whichever feels most natural. Be fully present to and aware of your breath in any moment. Start now.

How long before your attention is distracted by a sound, a sight, a memory, a body sensation, a thought? Now imagine (or perhaps it is your experience) that you are also in pain—physical, emotional, and/or mental. This really challenges your ability to be present to the totality of each moment. It may seem that all that exists is the pain and that it will last forever. I know this from my own experience with bodily ailments and mental/emotional anguish. Such maladies can feel all-consuming and they don’t seem to allow for much peace.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “What you resist persists?” That seems to be particularly true of pain—it won’t be suppressed or ignored without intensifying or maybe popping up at some other time or in some other place in the body. The next time you are in pain in some way, try another experiment. Instead of focusing on the breath, focus on the unpleasant sensation, whatever it may be. As you breathe your way through it one moment to the next, you may notice that the sensation changes. You may realize that it rises and subsides, appears and disappears, just like the breath. And you may notice that it is not the totality of what is present. A moment of experiencing pain can also be a moment in which there is much else to enjoy—the breeze on your skin, the warmth of the sun, the smell of a flower, the song of a bird, the companionship of a loved one.

My own goal is to be as mindful as I possibly can of the totality of what every moment of my life offers. I may not be able to get rid of my pain, but I can work with it, accept it, become friends with it, know that it is only a small part of my life experience.

Being Present, Being Mindful

Being fully present to any single moment, truly being here now, is as easy as being aware of the next breath, and as difficult. Try a small experiment. While you are reading this paragraph, watch your breath coming into and going out of your body for several minutes. You may want to focus on the air as it passes through your nostrils, or on the rise and fall of your chest, or on the expansion and contraction of your belly—whichever feels most natural. Be fully present to and aware of your breath in any moment. Start now.

How long before your attention is distracted by a sound, a sight, a memory, a body sensation, a thought? Now imagine (or perhaps it is your experience) that you are also in pain—physical, emotional, and/or mental. This really challenges your ability to be present to the totality of each moment. It may seem that all that exists is the pain and that it will last forever. I know this from my own experience with bodily ailments and mental/emotional anguish. Such maladies can feel all-consuming and they don’t seem to allow for much peace.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “What you resist persists?” That seems to be particularly true of pain—it won’t be suppressed or ignored without intensifying or maybe popping up at some other time or in some other place in the body. The next time you are in pain in some way, try another experiment. Instead of focusing on the breath, focus on the unpleasant sensation, whatever it may be. As you breathe your way through it one moment to the next, you may notice that the sensation changes. You may realize that it rises and subsides, appears and disappears, just like the breath. And you may notice that it is not the totality of what is present. A moment of experiencing pain can also be a moment in which there is much else to enjoy—the breeze on your skin, the warmth of the sun, the smell of a flower, the song of a bird, the companionship of a loved one.

My own goal is to be as mindful as I possibly can of the totality of what every moment of my life offers. I may not be able to get rid of my pain, but I can work with it, accept it, become friends with it, know that it is only a small part of my life experience. If you would like to experiment with this process of mindfulness as it can relate to stress, anxiety, emotions, relationships or pain itself and see what changes it might bring in your life, I invite you to consider attending the following day long experience.

Vipassana Hawaii announces=======================================================
A Day of Mindfulness
Led by Thanh Huynh
Place: Palolo Zen Center, 2747 Waiomao Road Honolulu
Date: Saturday , May 16th, 2009
Time: 8:30AM-4PM
Cost: $20 (for both full time or part time)
Please bring your own lunch.
For further information, please call 737-5169.

Spend the day learning/practicing the art of mindful living in a quiet setting.
There will be alternating sessions of guided sitting and walking meditation, mindful eating and sharing/discussion at the end. Beginners are welcome .

Mindfulness is a relaxed non-judging awareness of things as they really are. Its practice leads to insights into the true nature of things and allows one to be at peace with the ups and downs of life.

Schedule
8:30 AM Registration-Orientation for new people
9:00 Introduction- Guided sitting
10:00 Walking
10:30 Sitting
11:15 Walking
11:45 Eating instruction
12:00 Lunch/rest or walking
1:30 PM Sitting
2:15 Walking
2:45 Sitting
3:00 Walking
3:15 Sitting/ sharing/closing
4:00 End of retreat

Practical Suggestions: The center is located in beautiful and serene Palolo Valley. However, the weather can fluctuate throughout the day so we suggest you bring extra clothing to stay warm. Also, the practice session brings together a diverse community, and so as a courtesy please refrain from use of strong perfumes and essential oils as some may be more sensitive than others. Mahalo for the consideration

Parking: Parking is at the far end of the center grounds in the gravel area, but please ensure a clear path for an ambulance to the wheelchair ramp of the residence at the inner end of the parking area. The central grassy areas are not suitable for parking due to muddy conditions when wet.


Roshani Shay, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Hawaii Wellness Institute
3670 Kalihi Street
Honolulu HI 96819
808-848-5544
hwi@earthlink.net
www.hawaiiwellnessinstitute.org

When Your Happily Ever After Just Isn't by Dr. Sunny Massad

Because childhood fairy tales can often result in unrealistic hope and anticipation about living happily ever after with one mate for an entire lifetime, both men and women harbor unconscious expectations about getting all of their needs met by one person. Sometimes, that actually works out. But when it doesn't, I've discovered a remedy: BECOME the partner you always wanted to marry. Whether you are a man or a woman, becoming your own ideal mate will both bring you home to yourself and make you a better partner to others because all of your relationships will emerge from love rather than neediness.

Instead of projecting your needs outward in the hope that someone else will finally save you by giving you what you have always wanted and needed, identify what it is that you want and create it for yourself. If what you want is to be taken care of emotionally and financially, start taking care of yourself emotionally and financially. Once you are intact in those ways, you will be more inclined to attract someone into your life who is also intact in those ways.

Once you can begin to see just how deeply your memories and emotions can have a hold on the way you act and react, it is then that you will stop perceiving yourself and the world through filters of your unresolved past. Unresolved issues can create pain filters in the mind that sabotage clarity.

Healing the wounds of the past is an inside job. If you continue to hurt yourself in ways that others hurt you, if you ignore your own needs, it is almost as though a neon light scrolls across your forehead: “I have needs but I just ignore them and you can too. Although it is uncomfortable, I have become accustomed to being unloved and unlovable. This is who I am.”

When you identify with your wounds, not only do you filter your perceptions through a lens of pain, but you are prone to attract more pain to you. So identify instead with the light of love and joy within yourself. The quality of your relationship with yourself will improve and whether you are with or without a mate, the quality of your life will be enhanced.

If your personal life story is summed up by the song, “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places,” consider joining me for an upcoming workshop.

When Your Happily Ever After, Just Isn't with Sunny Massad, Ph.D.

Whether you are with someone or alone, employed or working for yourself, confused about how to move forward or clear about your next move, if you are ready to commit to a plan to take you to the next phase of your life, this workshop is for you. This workshop will help you to identify how your personal history shaped the course of your life and then provide the tools to re-script your future. By identifying what happily ever after meant to you when you were younger, remembering the values you held as a teenager and how you imagined your life would be in the future, you will be able to investigate the personal patterns that got established over time, so that you can establish empowering ways to meet your needs.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 5:30 - 8:00 PM ING Direct Cafe at 1958 Kalakaua Avenue
Tuition: $60 ($90 for couples)

Pre-registration Required at least four days in advance: Register Online or call 848-5544

How to Motivate Yourself by Sunny Massad, Ph.D.

I just read an article that compared going to see a counselor with the eating of good chocolate. Both experiences can be rich and make you feel good. But only an elite few actually know the value of looking within to overcome internal obstacles and sculpt their own lives. Many people actually don't know HOW to chisel away old attitudes or behaviors that no longer serve them. It's not a skill we were taught in the 5th grade, although it would have been a useful one to learn around that age!

Just a small percentage of people know how to motivate themselves to reverse poor choices or turn their fantasies into goals and even fewer actually take advantage of the skills that a good coach or counselor can provide. But self-reflection is the first step necessary to sculpt a life. Taking just a little time to determine how you want to evolve creates a foundation for beginning to clear away the fears and stories that you've been telling yourself and others about why you can't do what you actually would rather be doing.

Most people focus on what they don't want and that keeps them spiraling away from what they actually would prefer to have. If you long to change but have been unable to take the necessary actions to insure you get what you want, begin by identifying an action you need to take but haven't been able to get yourself to do. Now ask yourself some essential questions:

What is it that that action could give you?
How will your life be different if you put the effort it takes into taking that action?
What needs to happen in your attitudes and behaviors in order for you to get moving toward your goal?
What needs to happen within yourself for you to turn your desire into a commitment that you would follow through on?

If you have a history of being unable to succeed on your own but you feel that it's time to turn your hopes and dreams into choices that are finally followed by actions, I invite you to register for UnTherapy for Change, the morning session of the Wellness Counselor Certification Training. Whether you have an interest in counseling others or not, you will learn how to deprogram your early life conditioning, cultivate more effective strategies, and consciously sculpt your future. If you would also like to learn how to coach others to do the same, you would stay for the afternoon sessions, as well. To learn more, consider taking the introductory class:

LEARN TO COUNSEL YOURSELF AND OTHERS IN THESE TRYING TIMES
with Sunny Massad, Ph.D.

You will experience a demonstration of a wellness counseling session with a volunteer from the audience and then have an opportunity to counsel yourself using the technique. If you are interested in learning how to reframe the negative in yourself, your children, your friends, or, if you are a manager, and would like to learn how to help someone in a manner that is appropriate for use in the work environment, reserve a seat at this workshop. For those interested in our more in-depth 64-hour Counselor Training & Certification program, you will learn how this program has changed lives.


Saturday, April 11, 2009 Hawaii Wellness Retreat House
1:00 – 4:00pm
Tuition: $40

Pre-registration required at least four days in advance: Register Online
or call 848-5544

Self-Hypnosis and Meditation

Be Still and Know
by Sunny Massad, Ph.D.


Meditation gave me the faith that there were other techniques
of self-exploration than the analysis of my thinking mind.
Mark Epstein, M.D.


Contemplative practices have been recognized as an essential element of almost all religions and have been practiced for 5,000 years. The fundamental belief behind all meditative practices is that divinity can be experienced, or accessed by quieting the mind. Meditation promotes a state of profound peace that can be obtained by observing the traffic of the mind, and all of the sensory experiences of the present moment. With eyes open or closed, when the attention is focused on witnessing the activity within the mind, thoughts pass, desires arise and subside, memories surface and fade, and the activity within becomes an observable phenomenon. The method is not designed to provide freedom of the mind. It is designed to provide freedom FROM the mind.

Thoughts might be heard as internal dialogues, perceived as visualizations, or experienced as feeling impressions. The act of observing broadens one’s point of view by revealing character defenses, self-perceptions, ideologies, attachments, hopes and fears. The dedicated observer of the contents of the mind becomes dis-identified with the mind itself and ultimately realizes the presence of the awareness that is beyond the incessant internal chatter. Ultimately, a meditative mind begins to relate to reality as it is, rather than the way it “should be.” Meditation gives access to the consciousness that exists beyond one’s story, even as it includes that story.

Self-hypnosis, on the other hand, is a process that works to recondition early life conditionings or old programming that is no longer useful. Self-hypnosis allows a person to rescript beliefs that result in self-sabotaging behaviors. We hypnotize or program ourselves every day by thoughts that we have. Learning self-hypnosis provides a useful tool to become aware of your own programming so that you can determine whether or not your thoughts and behaviors align with your values.

If you would like to spend three hours learning about and experiencing meditation and self-hypnosis, consider joining me for the upcoming class:

Expanding Your Comfort Zone

Expanding Your Comfort Zone
by Sunny Massad


Regardless of tough economic times, there are as many reasons to feel good about the future as there are reasons to fear it. You have a choice about whether to use your imagination to worry and contract or to focus on creating an expansive future. I've often said that worry is a misuse of the imagination. The mind conjures up every possible negative outcome and obsesses endlessly about them. Worry and anticipation about the future, like nostalgia and regret about the past, keep the mind obsessing, which results in living a life from the neck up. If you live “in your head” you may have a tendency to get caught in the illusion of “someday I’ll.” “Someday I’ll finally be free. Someday I’ll be able to get my life in order. Someday, when things change, I’ll be able to relax and do what I like.” Granted there are some situations in life which cause you to have to put your dreams and aspirations on hold. If you are parenting young children or care-giving for a disabled or elderly person, it is all you can do to keep up with what the present situation demands. While these examples may not relate to you personally, some people actually sign on for more and more responsibility to insure that they don’t actually ever manage to have free time. There are many reasons for this. Staying busy can serve as a strategy to feel important, to avoid personal reflection, to prevent experiencing “negative” feelings, and to keep from having to tend to other responsibilities. On the other hand, some people keep themselves genuinely busy because they choose to be inordinately responsible for one big or many smaller areas of their lives.

Sometimes, when you are caught in a pattern, whether conditions change or not, you remain the same. Whether you are a depressant who can always find reasons to justify a negative outlook on life or a “doer” who can always find an excuse to stay in a manic lifestyle, obsessive thinking in one direction or the other is generally the cause. As long as the mind generates its ceaseless tirade of fearful opinions, judgments, and drives, you will miss the opportunity to take control of your life.

Managing Your Life Compassionately

Managing Your Life Compassionately
by Sunny Massad, Ph. D.

Do you have a dream that you simply can't manifest? Are you unable to break out of your limiting beliefs and behaviors to actually start the journey to your ideal life? Do you spend more time and energy insuring that everyone else's needs are met and then discover that you consistently don't have enough time to take care of your own? Are you afraid to speak up for yourself for fear that someone else might feel badly? Such experiences can break a person's spirit.

A life of personal integrity is a life that reflects one's own personal values. If you say you value honesty but you are not honest with your own needs and desires or you break promises to yourself, you diminish your own self worth. If your life does not reflect your true priorities, if you spend your energy avoiding confrontation, and if you continue to do things for people that you don't want to do, you will feel more and more powerless.

Use these three steps to restore your integrity:

Step One: Identify your three highest personal values. Example: health, love, and freedom

Step Two: Write down all of the ways that you would like to spend your free time and energy every day to insure that your life reflects those values. Make the list as specific as possible. Example:

Health Love Freedom

walk at least 30 min day arrange family dinners schedule in beach
time
make a list of healthy meals schedule in date night spend an evening
at the library
create a shopping list organize a monthly save $ every
dinner group month for vacation
eat 8 organic fruits ask for support find a buddy to
and veggies daily with the kids kayak with

trade for regular massages reach out to old friends break ties with toxic
people

Obviously, you may not be able to relate to these particular lists because they may not reflect your particular values, but you get the idea. When you look at your list, it should make your heart sing. There may be items on the list that will be difficult to do at first, like asking others to accommodate YOUR needs for a change, but make 2009 the year that you show compassion for yourself by reclaiming your own lost dreams.

Step Three: Take out your calendar and commit your list to specific dates and times to insure that you will actually manage to do each of the items. Keep it accessible. Look at it often. Rearrange as needed. But commit to meeting your own deadlines. If you don't manage the first time, recommit! It takes practice to break old habits.

The more you practice being true to your own needs and desires, the easier it will be to say "No" to the things that don't reflect your values and the closer you will be to living with integrity.

Emotional Survival 101

Emotional Survival 101
by Sunny Massad

When I was young, like so many people, I developed strategies to emotionally survive. I conjured a tough persona so that no one would know how truly sensitive and vulnerable I really was. But I discovered that the very strategy that I developed to free me and to keep me safe, actually threw me into emotional bondage. While my intention was to protect my heart from pain, I ended up isolated and alone because I was unable and unwilling to let anyone in.

If you cannot express how you feel or what you believe to someone because you are afraid of their response, you are allowing yourself to be controlled by your own fear. If you have been swallowing your feelings to protect the feelings of others, ask yourself what are you really afraid of? You deserve to be respected for your opinions. But how will anyone ever know who you really are if you do not risk showing them?

If you want to live an authentic, soul-directed life, you will have to stop trying to manipulate others to like and approve of you. You will need to allow them to have their own feelings even if those feelings include disappointment, hurt or anger. When you relinquish control, you will be emotionally free, your heart will sing, and creativity will flow! If people in your life leave you because you are being authentic, they are not kindred spirits. In your authenticity, you will find others who vibrate at the same frequency as you and you will finally be able to experience authentic intimacy.

If you want to explore this subject more deeply, join me on Monday, February 2, for the first of the series of free workshops entitled Coping Skills for Trying Times, followed by a $25 support group for anyone who wants to work experientially. Mark your calendars and call the Hawaii Wellness Institute for reservations at 848-5544. Space is limited, advance registration is recommended.

The location of the following FREE lectures and experiential workshops is the ING Direct Cafe building at 1958 Kalakaua Avenue. If the ING parking lot is full, there is inexpensive paid parking across the street in the old Jack in the Box lot.

Week 1
Emotional Survival 101: Monday, February 2 , 5:30 - 6:15 pm FREE
Learn how to calm your mind, change your feelings, and take charge of your emotional state.
Emotional Survival 101 Motivational Support Group: Monday, February 2, 6:30 - 8:00pm $25
Put what you learned in the free lecture into practice with self-reflection exercises and
experiential learning opportunities.


Week 2
Controlling Anxiety and Insomnia: Monday, February 9, 5:30 - 6:15pm FREE
Learn how to identify and reverse the thoughts that create anxiety and consider alternatives to prescription sleep aids, including self-hypnosis.
Controlling Anxiety and Insomnia Motivational Support Group: Monday, February 9, 6:30-8:00 $25
Take the opportunity to work with your specific issues in a group setting and learn effective strategies used by others.

Week 3
Managing Your Life Compassionately: Tuesday, February 17 , 5:30 - 6:15pm FREE
Learn how to reverse self-sabotaging behaviors by practicing self-care so that you can function more optimally to meet your responsibilities.
Managing Your Life Compassionately Motivational Support Group: Monday, February 16, 6:30-8:00 pm $25
If you don't take good care of your body, join us to get to the root of the self-neglect so that you can become motivated to be and do better.


Week 4
Expanding Your Comfort Zone: Monday, February 23 , 5:30-6:15pm FREE
Learn how to make difficult and scary behaviors safer and more comfortable so you can stretch yourself to do new things.
Expanding Your Comfort Zone Motivational Support Group: Monday, February 23, 6:30-8:00pm $25
You will work privately to identify and resolve the fears that keep you from "living bigger."


Week 5
Turning Apathy into Action: Monday, March 2, 5:30 - 6:15pm FREE
Learn how to lift depression, motivate yourself to get out of a rut, and restore your passion for life.
Turning Apathy into Action Motivational Support Group: Monday, March 2, 6:30 - 8:00pm $25
If you have a habit of procrastinating and you are ready to reverse the habit, this workshop will assist you in creating a plan that works for your own timeline.

Using Your Mind for a Change in 2009

Using Your Mind for a Change in 2009
by Sunny Massad

There may be many explanations for why you doubt or criticize yourself. You may feel as though you should be further along than you are in some area of your life or that you never quite measure up to your own standards. But if you can use your mind to demean yourself, you can also use it to uplift your spirit. Even if it is outside the realm of your personal experience, your mind is capable of being in service of your dreams and values. Once you learn how, the very act of changing your mind can immediately enhance the quality of your life experience.

The way you think determines how you feel; and how you feel determines how you behave. So if you do not like the course you are on, challenge your thoughts and beliefs; challenge what you tell yourself. But, as you know, making changes requires taking risks. If you want to grow, if you want to challenge yourself, you may have to risk the temporary loss of security, because as soon as you step out of your comfortable patterns, fears can arise. Support and encourage yourself to take risks by providing that extra nudge or kick in the pants to expand your comfort zone.

More often than not, fears relating to change are based on the fact that you don’t have enough information or you don’t have a clear step-by-step plan of how to even get the information necessary to begin. Whether boredom, dissatisfaction, desire for a new experience or crisis motivates you to do what you fear, the first step is mental preparation. Painful and stressful experiences, like the unexpected ending of a relationship or a career, can feel like a slap in the face. But such experiences can also serve as motivators to get you to make positive changes in your life.

If you feel panicky about a change you think you want to make, you might consider plotting out small but consistent steps to prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. Any time you come to a step that is beyond your own ability, you will have to add a step for learning. But even in the planning stages, you can step back to gain perspective. Ironically, despite the fears, you will become more comfortable and confident once you begin!

If you would find it helpful to challenge the beliefs that might sabotage your aspirations for 2009 and then to transform your vision into a plan, join me for my annual workshop to ring in the new year.


Using Your Mind for a Change in 2009
This is a roll-up-your-sleeves workshop where you will spend time in self-reflection and in plotting your vision for the future. You will identify doubts, fears, or other emotions that might arise as you plan, so that you can take steps to insure that those feelings do not prevent you from taking action. You will be given worksheets and exercises to help you to reframe self-sabotaging stories so that you can leave with step-by-step plans for the new year. Please bring a calendar or day planner to write on.

Sunday, January 4, 2009 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm - 1958 Kalakaua Avenue - Tuition: $50
Registration required three days in advance
Call 848-5544 or register online at: http://www.hawaiiwellnessinstitute.org/coursesandeventsregistration.html

Dr. Sunny Massad, a certified hypnotherapist specializing in motivation, utilizes simple NLP (neuro linguistic programming) and self-hypnosis techniques in this workshop. If you need to get motivated but find it difficult to organize yourself alone, this workshop is for you.