How to Use Enrichment Meditations – Video

This video discusses How to Use Enrichment Meditations for Your Growth, Healing, and Transformation. The Enrichment Meditations themselves are also posted on this blog.


 

Share
Posted in Community, Enrichments, Meditations, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The First International Neuro-Semantic Conference – Wow!

The First International Neuro-Semantic Conference was truly a special event! It brought together people from around the world who have the vision of making the world a better place by offering skills that help people become their best.

The conference was held in Grand Junction, Colorado (the home of L. Michael Hall, an originator of Neuro-Semantics) July 1 through July 3, 2011. Representatives from 14 countries attended: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong-China, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States. Seventeen presenters delivered 20 workshops on the themes of Business, Coaching, and Personal Development along with 3 keynote presentations.

Dr. Hall commented that “…the passion and energy at the Conference was incredible! It was exciting. It often felt like a burning fire of passion and care for what we have and what it can do in the world…” I agree wholeheartedly Michael! The conference was lively, inspirational, and practical. The collective wisdom, optimism, and hope expressed by the presenters and participants was amazing. This gathering of diverse people, a global community, with the common mission of promoting excellence and self-actualization to change the world for the better – one person at a time – was something to behold!

My contribution was a workshop entitled “How to Make Meta-States Stick.” Meta-States in Neuro-Semantics are the frames we create, the meanings we create, about ourselves, our possibilities and potentials. Our frames limit us or they can unleash us toward growth and transformation. While it can be relatively easy to visit useful frames, the challenge is making them home, making them stick, for lasting change.

I presented a framework for understanding what makes changes become integrated into who we are for lasting and robust change.

The audience offered a lot from their own extensive experiences helping people sustain positive frames to improve their lives. This all made for a lively, stimulating, and thought provoking 75 minutes! As I had hoped, participants left with new ideas, practical strategies, and inspiration regarding how to make changes that last – and how to assist others to achieve their goals.

For me a successful workshop is one where I have the opportunity to teach and share useful ideas AND where I learn from the knowledge and creativity of the participants! This workshop met both criteria.

Indeed the whole conference was characterized by learning, sharing, and exploring possibilities.

 

The next International Neuro-Semantics conference will be help in Malaysia is 2013. To learn more about Neuro-Semantics you can visit http://www.neurosemantics.com ; and look for more articles here, coming soon.

Share
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Enriching Abundance: An Enrichment meditation

This was previously only available on the Enrichment Meditation I DVD, but I decided it should be shared for all to see. This is one my favorites of those I have produced so far. Enjoy the photography and the message!

Through appreciating, reflecting, and doing you are creating your life; awakening possibilities and inviting opportunities for abundance. This theme is explored featuring beautiful Adirondack images in this Enrichment Meditation. Quiet your mind, open your heart and focus lightly on what follows. Use this video to reduce stress, encourage relaxation, spark your inner wisdom, and to feel the spirit of abundance and possibility.

Narrative transcript for Enriching Abundance:
©2010 Rich Liotta, Ph.D.

-I invite you to breathe deeply and to open your mind gently. Allow the energy within you to greet the energy that surrounds you, creating your abundance and enriching you inside as you focus lightly on what follows.

Know that appreciation is the doorway to more than you can imagine and to more that you can dream. Be curious, because with childlike eyes again you will see more, see color and details with fresh eyes and feel possibility.

Appreciate the wonder nature offers every day. Now enjoy the serenity of a woodland stream. (video interlude)

-See the beauty in flowers and in the eyes of animals. Feel the vibrations of life. Reflect on what is and on what can be because reflection is an art that serves your purpose. If appreciation sets the stage, reflection can suggest your next adventure on your journey.

You may find that you are reflecting on many levels as you notice the sights and sounds by this lake, now. (video interlude)

-Your scope will expand and the universe will look back at you as you look upward and beyond limiting beliefs and toward what you feel in your heart. You know more now than you did once, so take action toward what your generative wisdom offers along your path.

Breathe in expanding vistas and allow their sacred power to grow inside of you as you continue to create your life. (video/music interlude)

-Yes there are patterns of a grand design in motion out there that you are connecting with as you are appreciating, reflecting, and creating your personal form of abundance. Take action inside yourself and in the world and your path will lead to bright and wonderful places.

Now is a new dawn, appreciate what is and choose what will be. Move forward with peace, hope, and passion.

Share
Posted in Enrichments, Meditations, Mind | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Want to Succeed? Then take the 7 Steps to Greater Authenticity!

Want to Succeed? Then take the 7 Steps to Greater Authenticity!
By: Rich Liotta, Ph.D.

Sometimes goals and resolutions are empty and disembodied from our spirit and soul. No wonder they fail! Often they are not authentic; they are not true to who we are. If a goal is not something you fundamentally want, if it is not a decision made by your authentic self, you will be fighting yourself every step of the way; perhaps not consciously, but certainly on the levels of your deeper and higher self!

Goals and resolutions per se are not my topic to bring in 2011. Rather this article is about 7 steps to greater authenticity. I am proposing that authenticity is a prerequisite to setting your goals and making resolutions that you will actually accomplish. When you are authentic you open the door to “passionately riding the wave of who you are,” which will make your pursuits more effortless and obstacles more surmountable. Personal authenticity and self awareness are not discussed often enough in relation to designing your goals, resolutions and choosing our life path. My experience has taught me that if you get authentic first, the rest falls more naturally into place. So greater authenticity will help you succeed at whatever you choose to pursue!

Here are the 7 steps:

1. Grateful Awareness: The first step is entering a calm and relaxed state of mind. Choose the method that works best for you, options include relaxation or visualization processes, self-hypnosis, or meditation. What is important is that you do this with the intention of clearing your mind, centering yourself, and connecting with your awareness in the present moment.

Then reflect on where you have been during your life journey so far and on where you are right now. Encourage and allow grateful awareness and appreciation for all you have learned and for all that is. Invite grateful awareness and accept and appreciate deeply where you are right now. Reflect with lightness, noticing your thoughts but letting them pass by rather than dwelling on them. What I am recommending in this first step is essentially a mindfulness state (as in mindfulness meditation) with the addition of some directed reflection; inviting grateful awareness, appreciation, and self-acceptance.

2. Reflecting on your beliefs: From the state of grateful awareness, reflect on the beliefs and values that direct your life. We all have beliefs and assumptions about who we are, what is possible, and the nature of reality. Often we do not take time to reflect on these beliefs or meanings, instead we take them for granted and don’t question them. Our beliefs and meanings influence what we see, what we choose, what we know, and ultimately what we do. In this step simply notice what your beliefs and values are and appreciate the feeling of what is important to you, as this will help you make authentic choices.

3. Evaluating whether your beliefs serve you: In steps 1 & 2 you observed where you are now with grateful awareness and reflected on your current beliefs and values. In this step you evaluate whether or not your beliefs serve you. This step is often challenging! For many it is a new idea that they can choose their beliefs and that they can create meaning. Ask yourself whether or not your beliefs serve you. Are your beliefs helpful to you? What are you limiting beliefs? Do your beliefs hold you back or do they prime you for action? Evaluate where you are at right now. Don’t just evaluate intellectually, also evaluate intuitively and notice what your gut is telling you.

Once you have done some work with these first three steps you will be more self aware and authentically centered. You will be more prepared to start thinking towards what is next and what you need to adjust to make the changes that you want in your life. Part of these first three steps is assessing whether you are ready for change. Are you centered enough? Can you feel some grateful awareness? Are your meanings positive enough? Do they serve you? Also how does it resonate with you? Is your spirit ready for change? When your spirit is ready for change, change becomes much easier, growth becomes easier, and achieving your goals becomes easier.

4. Appreciate possibility: Appreciate the possibility that the beliefs you have, if they do hold you back, can be different. Imagine what beliefs would serve you better in your life and what beliefs would direct you toward a more authentic future. Appreciate that you can change your beliefs! Appreciate the possibility that some of your values are really not so important compared to your higher values. Consider what ifs. What if I believed in myself? What if I believed that I was capable of anything? What if I believed that I know what to do to take the next step? What if I confidently believed that I have talents to offer to help people and make the world a better place? Appreciate possibility and embrace the options that emerge. Do you have beliefs that allow you to boldly pursue what you really want, among the possibilities you are imagining?

5. Trust yourself: Without some degree of authentic self-awareness you cannot truly trust yourself. You need to trust yourself and have some faith in yourself to let go of old patterns, habits, and beliefs. Because many do not trust themselves they choose the status quo rather than possibility. The unfortunate fact is that many people are comfortable with the way things are even if they are miserable! The hell they live is not as bad as the hell they fear. Since they do not trust themselves fear wins and they never change paths or progress toward their dreams. To authentically make changes, follow through with resolution, and pursue goals you need to trust yourself. (The exceptions to this include changes made out of desperation and the drive to survive physically or psychologically.) You need to trust your capabilities and your ability to make good decisions. You need to trust your purposes and intentions enough that they compel you! Your purpose and intention need to resonate with your spirit, with who you are-trust that! But aren’t there degrees of trusting yourself? Absolutely, and that’s okay! Sometimes trusting yourself enough is a leap of faith; jump!

6. Energy focusing: Focusing your energy is the next step. Once you centered yourself with beliefs and values that serve you, have begun to appreciate your possibilities, and have increased your trust in yourself you are ready to direct your energies. Through this process your energy has been shifting already. Your energy is stronger because your beliefs and values are clear, you know they serve you, and the possibilities you can imagine are compelling now. It is time to direct your energy congruently with your intentions. Decide how to utilize your energy toward the steps you want to make to move you toward your goals and your dreams.

7. Resource appreciation and development: We all need resources to achieve what we aspire for. These include your life experience, strengths, talents, personal qualities, and the support of others. Notice and appreciate who you genuinely are and what you have to offer! If you don’t have all the resources that would help you yet direct your energy toward developing, enhancing and enriching your resources. Trust your instincts. If you need knowledge, learn more. If you need a coach, find a coach. If you need a healer, find a healer. Determine your action steps and trust yourself to know where best to put your energies. Realize that resource development is a step by step process and that every step is movement toward your future!

Practicing these seven steps to greater authenticity prepares you for setting your goals and making resolutions that you will actually accomplish. After you have explored all them genuinely at least once, appreciate what have discovered. You will likely feel more balance and strength. You are now ready to resolve to change and choose to move forward with your life with clarity! Often an unrecognized part of going for goals and making changes is preparation. When preparation is in place, things fall into place. You need the pieces of the puzzle in order to complete the puzzle. As your authentic self you can have all the pieces!

When you are aligned you are also more apt to do what will move you forward and attract the support that you need from other people and from the universe. With greater authenticity you have much more potency and direction. This will also open doors to creativity and the capacity to make substantial changes and to really be successful in your life!

In summary, GREATER is an acronym for the seven steps to authenticity. I like acronyms; I find them fun, useful, and easy to remember.

G = Grateful awareness.
R = Reflecting on your beliefs.
E = Evaluating whether your beliefs serve you.
A = Appreciating possibility.
T = Trusting yourself.
E = Energy focusing.
R = Resource appreciation and development.

I hope you embrace your authentic self, make aligned resolutions, design effective goals, and have a fulfilling and abundant New Year!

Share
Posted in Enrichments, Mind, Mind-Body | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Just Released: Enrichment Meditations Volume 1

We are excited to announce the release of Enrichment Meditations Volume 1!

Find out more about this DVD by FOLLOWING THIS LINK.

Enrichment Meditations are a synergy of majestic nature photography, music, and words crafted to inspire reflection, discovery, and the freedom to feel your highest potentials. I invite you to experience them with an open heart.

Enjoy fully the themes visited here. Notice how it is drinking in abundance and appreciation. See what resonates as you align with nature’s energy. Touch the seeds of transformation and watch them grow! Relax and unwind while simultaneously energizing mind and spirit.

Enjoy!

Rich

Find out more about this DVD-CLICK HERE!.

Share
Posted in Enrichments, News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes We Run…Part 2: A smart strategy to achieve your goals!

A powerful motivational strategy.By: Rich Liotta ©2010

In Sometimes We Run… Part 1 two of the primary ways that we run in relationship to our goals were addressed, running away from and running towards our goals (See that article here). There are several more dynamics of our relationship to our goals. This article is about one of the most powerful and effective ways to achieve your goals!

Sometimes we run toward our goals while at the same time running away from something else…

Sometimes we run toward what we want while simultaneously running away something we do not want. It is critical to have some positive future that we are running towards, but we are propelled even more powerfully if there is also something that we are running away from! When what you want to achieve is intensely compelling and when you want to get away from a negative reality, history, or possibility that scares you; you have a formula that produces accomplishment! This is like having a powerful storm behind you blowing hard on your back while you are running towards something you want with all your heart.

Some say that simply having a compelling direction and a goal that pulls you toward it is enough. Some say only think positive, avoid all negativity, only focus on the goal and believe you can achieve it. There is nothing wrong with that if, and this a big if, you can sustain that energy. Possibilities and goals are great, but the here and now is inevitably the reference point from which you move. If that is not defined as something you want to move away from than complacency can creep in and dampen your fire, at least slowing your stride or even worse by placing your butt firmly down in an easy chair.

So develop a clear vision of what you want and what is worth running toward. At the same time know fully all the things that make you unhappy, are dangerous, or that are just not fully satisfying about the status quo. Then the clarity of what you want to run from combines with the clear vision of the somewhere else you want to be. It is the presence of both pictures in your mind’s eye and the contrast between your moving-toward-goals and your away-from-goals that generates powerful incentive and keeps you moving. Also the combination of both keeps your commitment to goal directed behavior more fully in awareness and your motivation strong.

There is also substantial research support for this approach to successful goal setting and achievement of our goals. Gabriele Oettingen and colleagues have been researching what she calls “mental contrasting” in relation to goal directed behavior for over a decade. Much of her work is discussed in the book Psychology of Goals (2009), chapter 6 was authored by Oettingen & Stephens. She notes that the effects of mental contrasting are dependent upon the perception of the present standing in the way of the future. She notes that when engaging in mental contrasting it is first important to imagine a desired future. Only after that should you elaborately consider the present reality and its negative aspects, particularly perceiving the obstacles which interfere with moving towards that future. She has also found that the direction of the thought processes matters. First, perceive the positive possibilities, what you want to go towards. Then elaborate on what interferes with reaching the desired future. The combination is what develops a compelling desire to move forward.

The finding that the direction of our thoughts matter makes perfect sense! If we only focus on what we don’t want and are only in runaway mode we are less likely to progress. When the only goal is avoidance without hopes for the future to embrace you are stuck. But when you can see possibility you know there is a way out, a direction forward, a reason to run toward the better life that you can imagine! With this full context in mind, what you want and what you don’t want, more of your mental and emotional energies are engaged in the process of creating change and transformation. Indeed Oettingen & Stephens cite physiological research that indicates that when both sides of the equation are fully elaborated more of the brain is active; more brain power is engaged!

So in sum, one of the most compelling and powerful ways to achieve your goals is when you have what you are running towards clearly and vividly in mind and at the same time are aware of what you are running away from. This is not focusing on the negative; it is focusing on what you really want and running toward that with intention and resolve! But do that while being aware of what you’re moving away from; not obsessed with it, not giving it loads of energy, just aware. In this manner your levels of intention become aligned and balanced. This is a very smart strategy to achieve your goals! Use it and it will give your stride power and certainty as you go for your dreams!

In forthcoming articles in the series other ways that we run in our attempts to achieve our goals will be addressed. Some of these styles can enhance your effectiveness in achieving what you want, while others may sabotage your efforts.

Share
Posted in Enrichments, Mind | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sometimes we run…Part 1: Your Relationship with your goals

Everything we do is goal directed, whether we are pursuing success, accomplishment, satisfaction, service, love, acceptance, or simply comfort and the absence of pain. Goals are always with us, whether consciously acknowledged or not. We seek them, achieve them, fail at them, savor victory, suffer disappointment, or retool to pursue a new choice. We each have a relationship with, or a wayActive women sport athletics running silhouettes illustration ab of relating to, our goals. Indeed our relationship to any particular goal we have may be different at different times. Some of the possible dynamics of our relationship with our goals will be explored here. Sometimes we run… is a metaphor that illustrates some of the ways we relate to our goals. What is your relationship like with your goals?

Sometimes we run away…

This is typically true when your goal is avoidance of pain, failure, or discomfort. Scurrying away from danger, real or imagined, is like chipmunks fleeing from the birdfeeder when the cat walks through the yard. Running away is certainly necessary sometimes, but when it is because of fear and anxiety the best you can expect to achieve is safety and comfort. At its extreme the only goal here is avoidance without hopes for the future to embrace. Most aspire for more than that, but many live in run away mode.

There is another run away mode. You know you want something, but you run away as you get close or when you make progress. This is most frustrating because you feel like you have two minds, one that approaches and one that is afraid or uncertain. In a way this is true, we often have two minds. Competing goals are a major challenge to change and growth. For instance, when you go for something your life inevitably changes and your comfort zone is disrupted. Your goal for comfort or safety may feel threatened; so you run away to the familiar. This pattern can be unconscious and messed up if another part of you really wants something! Being aware of this, knowing yourself, can help you choose and not just behave automatically. Consider why you run away sometimes.

Sometimes we run toward our goals…

This is the other side of the equation. To achieve, accomplish, or change you need to be running toward something! You may run toward your goals with determination, though you may have fear and doubt, you’re going for it anyway. You find the resources within to proceed with uncertainty. You find the courage and strength to not run away-back into your old shell. You are not behaving automatically, at least not yet, but consciously and with resolve. There are many ways to run toward your goals and the effort will pay off.

The magic comes when you run toward effortlessly. It can happen. Believe it! This may be with eagerness and fervor, doing everything you can to close that gap between where you are now and your goal. Perhaps for you the goal is always in sight, it is a part of you, and calls to you like a soul mate you are destined to meet. Or you may run with cool confidence and a steady stride conscious of challenges, believing that success is ahead!

Yes, sometimes we run…

Running away and running toward are the most basic types of relationships we have with our goals. How you relate to your goals determines, to a large extent, whether you will achieve them or not. There are more dynamics of our relationship with our goals that will be addressed is posts coming soon. Next time one of the most powerful and compelling ways to run will be presented.

By: Rich Liotta ©2009 This article was previously posted last year on this site.

Share
Posted in Achieving Goals, Enrichments, Mind | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Secrets of personal transformation: What’s missing from the mind-as-onion metaphor?

By: Rich Liotta ©2010

The onion metaphor has often been used to describe the process of delving into a person’s psyche. Layers are removed to reveal what is beneath, toward the core. The metaphor reflects the many layers that we have inside us. Most who use this metaphor suggest that peeling away the layers of the onion is the complete story. The assumption seems to be that the awareness that happens as the layers of the onion are   peeled away changes people. Is it the tears? Is it some magical healing factor that happens by exposing what was hidden to the light of day? Is it revealing the possibilities waiting for expression in the undamaged inner core? Certainly knowing what is within is useful, but usually insight alone is not enough to make real change and to sustain it.

Something critical is missing from the mind-as-onion metaphor. What supposedly happens when these layers are removed? Some unknown aspect of ourselves is revealed; okay then what?

It seems to me that the onion needs to be reconstructed and put back together, layer by layer, to be whole again. Putting the pieces together again, that is what’s missing! If we want to make it into something else entirely, such as salad, slices and layers scattered randomly around may be fine. But to be whole, the layers need to be re-placed or re-formed to complete what has essentially become a three dimensional puzzle. Have you ever tried to put a real onion back together? Not likely, but if so, how did that go for you? There is something about taking it apart that changes it. Perhaps that is the sometimes curative element of peeling away the layers of the onion; yet pieces themselves are not a whole.

Let us consider what these layers are for the human mind-body system. These layers are meanings. They are meanings we make from our experiences, our thoughts, and our feelings. These layers are the emotions, possibilities, limitations, beliefs, and intentions that we developed and solidified inside ourselves through our experience. These layers are fundamentally meanings, often multifaceted meanings, which direct how we live our life and how we feel about our life. Just examining these does not necessarily enrich them, or us, in ways that are helpful or in ways that serve us. It is what we do with that information next that matters.

In order to reconstruct the onion, to make it whole, changing the meanings of each layer and how they are stacked together is needed. Sometimes through our life experience the onion grew with the layers it needed to survive to deal with a lack of sunshine or too much rain. The way the layers formed may have served us then, but not now. Now the layers seem misplaced, out of place, malformed or just unhelpful! To make matters worse, sometimes the wrong layer is on top of another layer. The order of these layers matters, as it affects how we feel, how we function, what we think, and what we believe.

In an onion the layers have a static relationship to each other, a specific layer belongs on top of or beneath another and that’s just the way it is. Fortunately our layers have more options! Our structure is not static. It is a malleable, and perhaps even magical, multidimensional puzzle of onion pieces that can be put together in a variety of ways. People have a natural tendency to feel that things are the way they are, often not realizing the strength and power they have to reconstruct the onion and become someone better and different, an enriched version of their former self. We are capable of true transformation!

Changing the meaning is changing the layers; first by examining them, noticing them, acknowledging them, and then by questioning whether those meanings serve us. Changing the meaning is reconstructing each layer. Reconstructing is also deciding which layers go where. It is choosing which layers to honor and which ones are best discarded. Redesigning and improving ourselves is changing the nature of the layers and transforming them into something different, transforming the meanings. Then we can put the layers back together and reconstruct and revise and remap the layers.

Through reflection you can see the layers of your deeper self and appreciate the possibilities of your higher self. Know that you are capable of choosing how to layer and organize all the pieces to create a whole that manifests your highest goals and best dreams!

Who knows what will be the result. Perhaps what you will have at the end is not an onion at all, but something else, something more wonderful, a self transformed!

Share
Posted in Enrichments, Mind, Mind-Body, Musings | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Loon Song: A Glorious Moment (video)

This is a 2-minute Enrichment Meditation starring a loon and its calls. Hiking in the Adirondack’s is wonderful and spiritual for me. You never know when a chance encounter will strike a chord of wonder and connection. For me loons and their songs are enchanting. Coming across this loon was a glorious moment! I hope this video will take you there.

Share
Posted in Enrichments, Local-interest | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Discovering Nature’s Energy

This post and video are intended to express one way in which nature is part of the broader “community” in which we all live.  All pictures except one were taken in my home territory, the Adirondack Park in northern New York.  

The theme of the Enrichment Meditation video is discovering nature’s energy by appreciating nature’s patterns and beauty.  You can connect with the energy that surrounds us and increase your energy to create what you want in your life.  This meditation combines images, text, and music to stimulate and inspire you in positive directions. To see it directly on YouTube go here, otherwise just click on the screen below.

The following is the text of the video’s message.

Discovering Nature’s Energy:

Nature Connects
Us to the Energy
that surrounds Us
and Is within You.

Energy Grows
within You as You
Are Appreciating
Nature’s Wonder.

Appreciation Is
not just thought,
It Is
Perception.

Notice the Wise
Energies that
Flow all around
Us.

In nature and in Us
there Is Chaos
and Complexity,
Yet…

There Is also
Elegance and
Beauty in
Nature’s Designs.

Look and Listen
for diversity,
Expect
Surprise,

Possibilities
Dwell in the
Variations
most don’t Notice.

Inspiration Grows
as You Sense Fully
what Is Alive and
Changing,

Let Your Thoughts
Blossom with the
Energy your
Senses Can Allow.

Allow into your
Heart the
Abundance that
Exists Out There.

Be curious and
Discover what Is
Now a part of
Your Space.

Appreciation of
Nature Connects
You with Wisdom
and Energy,

Empowering
You to Find or
Create All
that You Seek.

Appreciate all that
Energizes Life and
Enriches
Your Path
Now…

Copyright Richard F. Liotta, 2010

Share
Posted in Community, Enrichments, Local-interest, Mind, Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment