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5 Ways to a Healthy and Happy Heart, Simple Tips You can Follow Daily

For most women, February means three things: red or pink hearts, chocolates and all things related to Valentine’s Day. Yes, it is celebration time again…sweet delights! Did you know that 58 million pounds of chocolate is sold during this time of the year?

It is a pure delight to celebrate love and friendship in February.

On another note, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls it the American Heart Month. This is what Kathleen Sebelius of Department of Health and Human Services said:

“Heart disease takes the lives of far too many people in this country, depriving their families and communities of someone they love and care for—a father, a mother, a wife, a friend, a neighbor, a spouse. With more than 2 million heart attacks and strokes a year, and 800,000 deaths, just about all of us have been touched by someone who has had heart disease, heart attack, or a stroke.”

Sounds discouraging?

To bring awareness, here is a video by Elizabeth Banks for goredforwomen.org about the number one killer disease:

At the Total Wellness Doc, we take our Total Wellness very seriously. Let’s look at 5 ways to a healthy and happy heart for men or women of any age.

Simple tips you can follow daily for a healthy and happy heart:

#1 Love and gratitude- there is power in love and gratitude. The greatest success book says perfect love casts out all fears. The act of love and words of gratitude can bring healing or enrich relationships. It brings harmony and respect for families and friends. It has the power to heal our body, mind and soul. The opposite of love could be hate or criticism that will result in fear and doubt. Guard your heart today.

A spirit of gratitude can truly change your heart. Mommies and Daddies, if you have ever seen the Veggie Tales episode’s Madame Blueberry, you can see how gratitude can change a heart. Check it out on Netflix or buy it on Amazon, it’s a great reminder.

Action for today: Show your love and gratitude to your loved ones. It will bring you joy and change the atmosphere of your home.

#2 Physical Activities- much has been said about physical activities and many of us try hard to schedule them in our daily lives. There are many activities that do not require expensive equipment or club memberships. For example, we can start walking, jogging, swimming, tennis and/or stretching. According to CDC, physical activities can help

• Control weight
• Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease
• Reduce risk for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
• Improve mental health and mood
• Increase chances of living longer

Action for today: Take a walk around your neighborhood for 15 minutes.

#3 Lifestyle and habits- Eating out and fast food are convenient but if we eat out and have fast food on a regular basis, the habit might ‘kill’ us. A habit that is sure to increase blood pressure, increase risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and rapid aging is smoking. (Please read my article on smoking). Another dangerous habit is excessive alcohol intake.

Studies show that people who have excessive alcohol drinking habits are more likely to have high blood pressure and risk damaging their organs like the liver, brain and heart.

A quote to encourage you if you have been struggling with these habits:

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage – pleasantly, smilingly, non apologetically – to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’ ~Stephen Covey

Action for today: Seek help or join a support group if you have addictions.

#4 Stress- Stress is normal but too much stress will be harmful to our health. A physical or emotional change could cause stress. Do you know your ‘stressors’? Some emotional warning signs of stress are depression, anxiety, crying, mood swings, nervousness and irritability.

Action for today: Try Aromatherapy. Young Living Essential oils has some of the most pure and exotic blends of aromas that can help you DE-STRESS. Try our branded StressAway, Peace and Calming and of course our Valentine’s FAVORITE Joy Essential oils. Joy is an uplifting blend of pure essential oils that creates magnetic energy and may bring happiness to your heart.

#5 Food- American Heart Association wrote about the dangers of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Their recommendation is less than 7% of total daily calories on saturated fat, less than 1% of total daily calories of trans fat and less than 300 mg a day of cholesterol for healthy adults. Do you know what you are eating today?

Action for today: Please read our article on Top 10 Tips to Keeping a Food and Nutritional Journal for Total Wellness. Keep a food journal and track your progress.

A nutritional supplement to get your hands on is Ningxia Red. NingXia Red is known to promote stamina, gives more energy and reduces stress.

Every February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day with those we love and cherish. Would you like to do that for many more years to come? Let’s make some simple changes and follow these simple tips to a healthy and happy heart.

Your comments are important to us. Please leave yours below.

Dr. Mary Starr Carter is known as the Total Wellness Doc. She has been training individuals about Natural Health Solutions for over 18 years. She is trained as a Chiropractor and has studied under the world’s foremost leaders in natural medicine. She is a mother and a wife and helps thousands use simple wholistic approaches to health and wellness.

The ABCs of Getting Out Of The Rut, Tips and Lessons Learned From Names of Young Living Essential Oils

by Claudi 11 Comments

It’s been over five years since Pam’s husband left her. She started out working a 9-5 job and doing whatever she could to make extra money for herself and her two children.

It had been a struggle, looking at co-workers being promoted and not her. A good friend told her about getting new skills, taking care of her appearance, getting a new haircut and buying new sets of clothes.

Pam told herself over and over again…tomorrow… but tomorrow never came.

She is still struggling to love herself or to get a date. She was only 32 but felt like 49. Looking at her friends from a distance…getting all that they wanted…she felt, she was in a rut and not going anywhere…not living the life she once dreamt.

Why did she not want to change and take on a new way of living? Maybe get a new skill, learn a language, dye her hair and embrace the new?
Is she succumbing to doing the same things over and over again…hoping for something different to happen?

Some of us may relate to Pam’s story and feelings. Hoping for a change. It may never happen because being stuck in the same old ways of doing things and not rising above obstacles and challenges…will not create a different result.

Are you tired of doing the same things over and over again?

Are you expecting something different to happen in your life?

The first month of 2012 is over but we still have 11 more.

It has been a privilege to work with Young Living Essential Oils and many hard working, determined, focused and ambitious mompreneurs who stay at home, work part-time and some full-time.

Along the way, we meet some people like Pam that makes us ponder and evaluate on our own lives and feeling sad at the same time. We are definitely not perfect.

We do know what works…

Here are our ABCs tips and lessons of getting out of the rut and living a life that is different each year…to fulfill our dreams and our mission in life. We derived these lessons from Young Living Essential Oil’s names.

A: Acceptance, Awaken and Abundance

Though these are names of Young Living Essential Oils, we can draw tips and lessons from them… to get out of the rut and create a different life this year.

Acceptance:

Most of us either have been given or have heard of Serenity Prayer. It says God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.

Some things in life cannot be changed like our height. But there are many that can be changed. Whatever can’t be changed, we must learn to accept.

The great success book called the Bible in James 1:5 said if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Question to ask: What can’t I change and what can I change? Write it down and appreciate them.

Awaken:

Some people are just not aware of the need to change and do things differently. We are sleep walking in our daily lives…we sleep walk to work, play and eat. Our potential is not awaken and our dreams may have been tucked away in one corner of our brain because of fears.

In order to live out of the rut, there needs to be an awakening. Recognize there may be a sleep walking lifestyle in us.

Question to ask: Am I a sleepwalking zombie? Do I lead my life daily without directions and a plan?

Abundance:

Marie, a user of Abundance oil shared this upon her return to the United States after living in France for a few years:

I love Young Living Essential Oils. I first learned about using oils for cures when I lived in France and a Doctor treated my neck pain with oils. Upon my return to the U.S., I learned about Young Living and ever since, I have used these oils every day!

I am especially fond of Abundance, particularly in this time when the news tells us such bad news about lack. When I use the oils, I set my intention, which is easy to do with Abundance. I ask that abundance be provided to me in all areas of my life. When I smell this fabulous oil, I feel abundant and special.

Are we looking at half empty or half full glasses in our lives? There is a great difference how we view life. If we believe there is a lack, we will not attract abundance or fulfillment. Gratitude, purpose and hard work will promote abundance.

Question to ask: How healthy is my mind?

B: Believe, Brainpower

Believe:

Eleanor Roosevelt said the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Even the Little Engine That Could had to remind himself, “I think I can, I think I can” as he climbed up the hill. We read the book when we were younger and believed everything was possible.

Question to ask: What happened to our belief?

Has negative people and circumstances led us to where we are today with unbelief?

Brain Power:

To give our brain a boost would require us to feed it with powerful words, lessons and experiences. Most of us only use less than 10% of our brain and leave 90% in idleness.

Many successful people and those who are going places and achieving their dreams know the importance of reading inspirational books and listening to motivational MP3s. Learn from someone who already succeeded in what you are trying to achieve.

Success breeds success…that is the only way to increase our brainpower!

Reading junk or not reading at all will not feed our brain, thus a powerless brain.

Question to ask: What am I feeding my brain daily?

C: Clarity, Common Sense

Clarity:

To get to our destination while driving, we need to have clarity of where we are going and the road system should not be blocked by traffic or constructions.
If there are roadblocks…we need alternative routes to get to the destination.

Imagine what would happen to your trip if the roads you needed to take were experiencing a heavy rainstorm and visibility was zero. You either get to your destination later or may have to reroute because of no clarity.

Or there is no clear direction to follow…no MapQuest, no proper road signs. Could we arrive at our destination?

Likewise in the journey of life, we need clarity…clarity of goals and purpose. Possibly a detour or alternative route.

Question to ask: Do you know what you want in life? Or are you living somebody else’s life?

Common Sense:

The Common Sense Essential Oil is known to enhance individual’s reasonable and rational decision-making abilities.

To get out of the rut we need to take steps to make it happen…it is common sense…we heard it before, use your common sense.

What happened to our common sense? Dwell in disbelief, lack of motivation, and no urgency and be complacent and settle.

Question to ask: Do you know your enemies? Those that are trying to hold you back and leave you in the rut?

Are you tired of doing the same old and expecting different results? Nothing will change if we don’t take the steps to make a change.

We would like to hear from you. Please join us in our Facebook community where we answer your questions everyday. Leave your comment below and let us know how we can further serve you.

Dr. Mary Starr Carter is known as the Total Wellness Doc. She has been training individuals about Natural Health Solutions for over 13 years. She is trained as a Chiropractor and has studied under the world’s foremost leaders in natural medicine. She is a mother and a wife and has created a balanced and total wellness life for herself and thousands of her clients using her simple wholistic approach to health and wellness. Her coaching, classes and ebooks help clients with Fibromyalgia, Hormone and Adrenal issues, Asthma, Diabetes, Weight problems, Thyroid and Chronic pain find resources and solutions to better health.

We publish newsletters and blogposts twice a week for our readers for general education purposes only. We cover topics that are related to achieving and maintaining total wellness which includes our emotional, physical, spiritual and financial health.

Lessons and Blessings of Another Miscarriage

by Claudi 12 Comments

We all have highs and lows in our life. It is inevitable and it is life. The lows of life are sad, tragic, depressing, and awful, right? What if the lows of your life were actually blessings in disguise or experiences to help you grow?

My 2011 Christmas Holiday was spent in one of those blessings and lessons. On December 25th 2011 while everyone else was celebrating Christmas, I was learning that I needed immediate surgery.

The Highs
It all started with our 5-day vacation to Austin, Texas. I was 12 weeks pregnant and besides a lot of fatigue, nothing was abnormal. It was an awesome vacation and Saturday December 17th was one of the top 12 days of my life. Starting with a morning walk to a delicious Mexican Diner, followed by a trip to Zilker Park and a ride on the Zilker train, then off to the Austin Nature Center. Austin was beautiful, but it was the family time that made it so special.

Then that afternoon my husband and I set out on a 90 minute journey in the Hill Country of Texas where we saw hundreds of little deer and spent quality time talking. We arrived at the beautiful Meyer Bed and Breakfast, got ready and headed to one of the most special and beautiful weddings I had ever been too. A day of family, fun, friends, and romance who could ask for more?

The Lows
The next morning, I had breakfast with some of my favorite people including my spiritual mentors Dr. Jack and Lavonne Atnip. We laughed and joked and shared stories of how much our lives have been blessed by this couple. But somewhere, something inside of me wasn’t feeling right. I was really tired and thought maybe I just ate too much cake. As I kissed Dr. Lavonne goodbye she said, “you take care of yourself and get some rest.” A normal, typical thing that someone would say to a pregnant woman, but something inside of me just didn’t feel right.

On the drive back to Austin, this once beautiful terrain made me nauseous and irritable. We arrived home and I laid down to rest for a while, but I just couldn’t get comfortable. My back ached, my legs felt weird, and then all of sudden I felt something coming out of me. I rushed to the bathroom to see bright red blood. OH NO not again. Am I having a miscarriage?

My first trip to the Emergency since a car accident in 1997, confirmed that the baby inside of me had no fetal heartbeat and was only the size of a 6-week fetus even though now I was about 13 weeks pregnant. They said you are having a miscarriage. Then they sent me home to mis-carry my baby.

My husband and I were heart broken as we had gone through this in June of 2011 as well. Our baby Rachel would have been born January 2012 and now our baby Jesse who would have been born June 30th 2012 was going to heaven too.

But as I said before, I trusted God completely and knew He had His reasons. So although sad, I started to see the blessings in it.

The Blessings

God had given me one of the most amazing days of my life.

He gave our family time to be “on vacation” for 3 weeks.

He ordained 2 weeks with my aunt and uncle who cared and nurtured me, my husband and our 22 month old son Joshua in a wonderful and loving way.

God blessed us with 3 weeks of sun and springtime weather.

I got to go heal for a week at Jones Health Essentials in Florida where I got to spend quality time with our in-laws, nieces and nephews.

We had excellent health insurance for the first time in 15 years.

We were 5 minutes away from one of the best hospitals I had ever been to.

I spent several days in the bathroom bleeding and what I thought was miscarrying my baby. Me, being a strong willed and natural Doctor, I sometimes think I know everything. I thought I was fine… but I wasn’t. It’s not that I didn’t listen to my body which I am known to do… but I didn’t follow the doctor’s directions… right away… and had I waited much longer, I might have lost my life.

The Lessons and more Blessings:

My Ego for natural medicine was so big, I would brag all the time that I haven’t needed to take any drug or even an aspirin in 11 years. A part of me thought “I will never need medical care”, “I will never need drugs.” “essential oils can take care of everything”.

Well I sure learned my lesson.

A second emergency room visit on Christmas day showed that I would need immediate surgery or I would risk never having babies again or worse.

I would need anesthesia for this surgery and the thought of surgery and drugs scared me a lot at first. I was very frightened and then like a blanket of snow, this PEACE fell over me like you can’t imagine. (more on that in another blog)

The Blessings and Lessons of St. David’s South Austin Medical Center

For more than 13 years I have interned, taught and/or assisted clients at more than 17 hospitals all over the United States, including top ranked hospitals like Stanford. Out of 17 hospitals, I have never seen the excellent care and outstanding service that St. David’s South Austin Medical Center had. In all areas, they were excellent from registration to wheeling you out the door.

Have you ever been to an ER that was beautiful and clean, quick, comfortable, and had courteous staff? St. David’s did.

But it was my experience with the Doctors and Nurses who blessed me the most.

Dr. Glen, the ER doc, was compassionate and kind.

Joyce, my hospital room nurse was attentive, listened, and even let me put some essential oils on to relax.

Nancy, my OR nurse, talked with me while I had a 20 minute wait before being wheeled into surgery.

I was blessed with one of the best anesthesiologist in the state who listened to me and respected my wishes.

But the most outstanding doctor I have had the privilege to work with was Dr. Hemkumar, a female OBGYN who performed the surgery. She spent time talking with us, explaining the procedure, answering our questions. She had been a doctor in India delivering hundreds of babies and then went back to school here in the US for medicine again. She had 2 of her own children and really understood motherhood. She was compassionate, personable and really connected with her patients. I was blessed by her skill and person and St. David’s is highly blessed to have her on staff.

The Lesson I Learned Through the Blessing of St David’s Hospital is that we all are needed. Nature’s medicine as well as traditional medical intervention. Had I not had my medical intervention on December 25th 2011 and the excellent care of St. David’s Hospital, I may not be here to talk to you now.

After spending a day and a half at St. David’s hospital, I checked out okay to go back to my aunt’s to rest and heal. But before we left, a wonderful volunteer named Francesca came to wheel me downstairs. She was an elderly woman who had lost her husband and daughter, yet was one of the most pleasant person you have ever met. I realized then that life would be filled with highs and lows. But even with hurting hearts, we can choose happy.

How to Raise Responsible Children with Clear Boundaries in an Entitlement Era

by Claudi 5 Comments

Can indulging too much and giving too much spoil our children? We know there is not a complete parenting manual out there in the marketplace today. Sometimes parents follow the steps in a parenting book and still find it frustrating to have failed in some areas. Me too.

With modern conveniences, busy lifestyles, overscheduled children and demands from every area…are we aware of what is important? How can we cut through the noise and distractions and focus on raising responsible children who know their boundaries? Establishing boundaries that encourage and promote freedom to be who they are designed to be?

When my daughter was four, I brought her to a dance studio against her will. Then she turned five, I sent her for piano lessons because almost everyone was doing that. When she was seven, it was time for violin. The ‘well-intended’ activities turn into family feuds when the ‘good daughter’ would not practice or hated piano and violin.

In frustration I yelled across the soccer field to my husband, “Look, she is just standing at the soccer field, not kicking the ball!” We have come a long way, in fact seven years of ‘remodeling our parenting skills’. Through mistakes and many frustrations, we have enforced certain rules upon ourselves (the parents) and now the children are less scheduled and are very much growing in the way they should go….

Realize parenting is about our own personal growth, boundaries and our own lifestyle. After all, children look up to us and are modeling what we are doing. Now, we believe in parenting like a mentor, a coach who does the very things expected from the children. Now we have authority, as we model and live life with honesty and boundaries…raw in front of our children.

These are seven ways we are teaching responsibilities and boundaries:

1.   Learn to do things on your own. We can show you once or twice. Then you have to take over and do it yourself. There is a difference between a close relationship with my children and dependency. They are to do assigned housework and clean their bathrooms. “Live with your own trash if you want to” philosophy. I don’t want an adult child that depends on me to provide or do certain things for them.
2.   Learn that life is not a bed of roses. Life can be difficult and has obstacles. I share with them the obstacles I’m facing and how certain things that were expected did not turn out the way I wanted.
3.   Learn to cope with disappointment, struggles and unhappy situation. Life is not always a happy time and easy time. However, we can command our soul to be happy and cope with the disappointment.
4.   Learn to work and move forward. We are made to work, for nothing will drop from the sky. Nice things cost money to buy. You need to make the money to support the lifestyle you want. There is a big difference between a Bugatti and a Toyota made car.
5.   Know there are consequences to everything. There is no bailing out in our family when enough warnings are given about the consequences of certain actions or behavior.
6.   Curb the need for immediate gratification. With lots of conveniences it is easy to feed ourselves and get immediate gratification for almost anything. They are told the difference between convenient food and food made from scratch.
7.   Our children want to be treated well and respected. They are watching us. Do we respect spouse, friends, co-workers, and ourselves and ultimately do we respect them?

I believe the English idiom the apple never falls far from the tree says a lot about parenting responsible children. The bible says train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

This year, what words are you speaking over yourselves and your children? Questions to help us move forward:

1.   Do we have an entitlement mentality? For example, I deserve to have a healthy body without putting some work in getting nutritional food into my body.
2.   Do you procrastinate on projects? For example, are you still waiting for the right time to get a home business going. There is no perfect or right time. The time is now.
3.   Are you waiting for the government to make your life better? For example, you are waiting for a pay raise and you have not increased your skills for the last 20 years. You are using the same skill 19 times over without new skills.

If the answers are yes, we need a change. Do you have children that have similar traits as the three illustrations above? I am still learning and growing in these areas and making sure I follow through. To raise responsible kids, I have to be a responsible adult.

To have a healthy body, I put clear boundaries to differentiate between the good nutritional food and supplements and the bad. Please leave us a comment below. We would like to hear from you.

Claudia Looi is a copywriter, travel and web content writer. She’s dedicated herself to helping entrepreneurs create their online presence with email campaign, sales page and web content. A writer and traveler who has lived and worked in Kuala Lumpur, Auckland and New York in the travel industry for over 12 years and has had the luxury of traveling to almost 30 countries. Currently, her works include writing for tour operators, hotels, real estate, wellness and immigration consulting industries. When not working, you will find her reading or planning her next family trip with her husband and two teens.

An Exercise to Help You Review Your Year

by Claudi 5 Comments

This is the last week of the year and it is a great time to reflect on 2011. This exercise might take a few hours, a few days, or even an entire week but it will be worth it. This exercise has helped me and many others move from just so so happy with our lives or marriages to creating lives we only dreamed of. So are you ready?

First thing:

Turn off the TV, get away from distractions and get out your calendar or planner and starting with January you write down some of the highlights, special events, things that you learned, ways you grew, life lessons etc. Go week by week, month by month moving closer to the end of the year.

Second Thing:
Now that you have everything written down go back and highlight the real important things of your year. The things that really stick out to you.

Third Thing:
Now it’s gratitude time. With another highlighter or you may even re-write them out highlight or mark everything you are grateful for. Remember even life’s hard lessons always have a purpose.

Now for some of us, we may really need to spend a lot of time in gratitude. Reviewing looking at our accomplishments, sharing them with others who are good listeners or friends and basking in this peaceful place for a few days or the rest of the week. When you feel really GRATEFUL for your year (not just part of it but ALL OF IT) then you can move forward.

After you have gone through your year, focused on what you are grateful for now it’s time to take a hard look at your development and growth. They say if you are not growing your rotting. I don’t know about you but I don’t like to rot.

Fourth Thing:
What new things did you try or skills did you develop with your parenting, marriage, job, or business? Did you give it your best shot? Are you still working on those things? Are you still doing the same techniques and tools you did 3 years ago or 2 relationships ago and they just aren’t working? I know change is difficult but right now you need to know if what you are doing has been productive, positive, or beneficial to you.

Remember sometimes change can be subtle. We all want instant gratification. We want to start a new way of eating, parenting, doing our business, or thinking and have instant results. Give yourself a break if you didn’t see dramatic results. Do you still feel you are moving forward? Most growth and change comes from consistent work, changing our thinking and speaking patterns, and getting to the roots of what caused our problems in the first place.

Okay that’s enough for this week. Next month we will have some more good content on techniques and tools to help you improve your health and happiness in all areas of your life.

Remember if you don’t take a good look at your year you may end up spending this next year learning the same lessons, not seeing the positive, not being grateful and worst of all being in a rut for 2012. I don’t want that for you or me.

I believe you can have the best year of your life. It will take some work but I am here for you and we can work together to bring Total Wellness to 2012 in all areas of your life! Please leave your comment below.

We publish newsletters and blogposts twice a week for our readers for general education purposes only. We cover topics that are related to achieving and maintaining total wellness which includes our emotional, physical, spiritual and financial health.

How To Achieve Total Wellness Through Simplicity

by Claudi 7 Comments

How To Achieve Total Wellness Through Simplicity

Sometimes it takes a catastrophic experience to make us realize what is important in life. Life is actually not so complicated if we see it with a different pair of eyes.

I was raised in simplicity. Our home was just the usual table, chairs and some necessities. There were no clutter and fancy things. But I changed.
Soon the house of simple became a house full of things to sell when it was time to move. The $15 Pooh bear was worth $1 in our moving sale, the $20 table lamp was on the curb to be picked up by a passerby or the garbage man. Some big items and random things were sent to Goodwill.

When I did the calculations, those knick knacks were worth thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours shopping and hunting. Most were worth close to nothing at the moving sale.

Did I learn after the move? Not really…

After moving to Florida, instead of accumulating knick knacks, I started accumulating real estate since the crowds were doing so. News of so-and-so just made $35,000 flipping a house without money down and another was making a ‘killer deal’ in Arizona. With a little coaching from a guru, I did my due diligence and went for the ‘killer deal’ as well.

2008 came…

I was sitting with a few hundred hungry men and women in Pittsburgh listening to a millionaire, who once was homeless and had $2.03 to her name. She said, “The majority is always wrong. Go the opposite direction… (Paraphrased)”.

Here is a millionaire, living a simple lifestyle, traded her big mansion for a cookie cutter home and discovered her destiny. She was on a quest to help set free those who were in debt and to live a life of freedom.

Something changed inside of me…
I was on a quest to simplify my life to achieve total wellness since that day.

Here are 5 tips to help simplify your life:
1.   Know who you are and your purpose in life. Once I discovered my purpose in life, things do not appeal to me any longer. I started journaling and discovering myself. I went deep into my inner core and faced myself. It is not pretty sometimes but if we want to know who we are and our purpose, we have to go to the secret places and deal with our feelings, insecurities and desires. I know God has a plan for me and I set out to discover and let him take control while I did the work.
2.   Write it down and set a budget. I’m sure you have heard that “B” word all the time in financial advisor books or websites. I used to hate that word when my husband mentioned it. It felt restrictive and overwhelming. But, I am a recovered shopaholic and know the freedom of setting a budget and tracking all expenditures. I keep a list of things to buy even for the grocery shopping. No more seven different breakfast items in my pantry and four different frozen breakfast items.
3.   Have your spouse and children on the same quest. Sometimes your spouse or children may not agree with your new way of living. I believe in living by example. If we show up with a great attitude and live the life we set out to live and do the things we said we are going to do…these are more powerful than words. Nothing is more fulfilling than having your family members agreeing with your quest to simplify your lifestyle and home.
4.   See the needs of others. We live in a blessed nation. Despite the news about the economy, we have plenty compared to some of our brothers and sisters across the globe. With a heart of gratitude and eyes that see beyond ourselves and giving to charitable organizations, we may gain different outlooks on our things. In my travels, I’ve seen and experienced lavish lifestyle and also seen the impoverished. With careful planning and giving, we can see the fruits of our giving and may be motivated to help the needy instead of buying stuff that don’t add value to us.
5.   Surround yourself with like-minded people. Keeping up with the Joneses will not bring fulfillment. This phrase never existed until the 70s. But that does not mean our grandparents or parents were any different when it came to wanting to be accepted by their peers or keeping up with their peers. If our peers are not supporting our new lifestyle, we need to hang-out with a different group. Read motivational books that can keep you on track with your chosen lifestyle.

The word ‘simplicity’ is defined as the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do…unpretentiousness and naturalness (Dictionary.com).
It encompasses our mind, body and soul, which is our whole being. I discovered once we took control of our spending and set boundaries with our money, it set me free to look deep into myself and take proper actions to improve my total being, thus total wellness.

As I am still learning the art of simplicity, I am selling my home, putting a lot of great ‘stuff’ on eBay for sale and cleaning up every room including the garage. My house is less cluttered and creativity flows.

The Chinese believes in Feng Shui….which to me means an uncluttered life and not too much ‘stuff’ which may bring obstructions to the flow of energies in our home.

Can you envision an uncluttered lifestyle….simplicity may not be for everyone. It does not mean not having stuff you like and enjoy. It means instead of having five, settle for one. That is my way of achieving total wellness, freedom and increasing creativity in my work and maintaining stronger mind, body and soul. To top it up, I am a user of Young Living Essential Oils and a Ningxia Red drinker. I believe in investing into my skills and journeying through life with a mentor in health, life and business.

I wish you well…Please leave your comment below. We love to hear from you.

Claudia Looi is a copywriter, travel, web content writer and manages blogs for several businesses. She has lived and worked in Kuala Lumpur, Auckland and New York in the travel industry for over 12 years and has had the luxury of traveling to almost 30 countries. Currently, her works include writing for tour operators, hotels, real estate, wellness and immigration consulting companies. When not working, you will find her reading or planning her next family trip with her husband and two teens. You can find her at Travel Writing Pro. Feel free to download her free report on How to Live Out of Your Suitcase for a WEEK!