The Essential Guide to Happiness (but with a twist…)

I recall a day close to my fortieth birthday where I was scrolling Facebook and came across a blog for “Women Over 40.” I rolled my eyes and thought; “Oh good grief I am now in that category.” I spent my birthday at a fake 80’s big hair band concert wishing I was sixteen again.

Forty came and went and at forty-one I found myself divorced with three and twelve-year- old daughters. I had packed and left in a day only a few months before…Several months after I turned forty- two I noticed my body was changing, I received a break up text from someone I loved, and my thoughts and ideas on life and people were shifting. I was no longer so disconnected from myself or my feelings. This was both painful and empowering.

The following is something I found during those years and saved as I feel it still relevant to living happily.

” It has been one the greatest and most difficult years of my life. I have learned everything is temporary. Moments. Feelings. People. Flowers. I learned love is about giving-everything-and letting it hurt. I learned vulnerability is always the right choice because it is easy to be cold in a world that makes it so very difficult to remain soft. I learned all things come in twos “life and death, pain and joy, sugar and salt, me and you. It is the balance of the Universe. It has been the year of hurting so bad but living so good, making friends out of strangers, making strangers out of friends… We must learn to focus on warm energy, always. Soak our limbs in it and become better lovers to the world, for if we can’t learn to be kinder to each other how we will we ever learn to be kinder to the most desperate parts of ourselves. (Rupi Kaur)

As I approach 45 I realize I could write you 351 articles and guides to happiness, however…

The truth is your guide is simply to love. To love yourself, love others, and love your experiences. To love your so called mistakes and all your beautiful imperfections. To love those who hurt you. To love the ground below your feet, the stars in the sky, the bed that you sleep in…

Allow yourself to just BE.

The path to love is TO BE in this moment. Embrace it. Every. Moment. Allow love to flow from you. Hold the child, hug the friend, kiss your spouse, paint the picture, create the pottery, write the poetry, build the software, design the program, lead the organization, feed your body good food, move your body, use your skills for good, laugh, cry, be vulnerable, give compliments, plant the garden, see greatness in others, be kind, play.

Sending you all the joy, peace, and LOVE you can imagine and more,

Amy McCae

Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher

SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY. COMPLEMENTARY PHONE CONSULThttps://amymccae.as.me/

www.amymccae.com

www.creativewellnessomaha.com  

Amy specializes in helping leaders overcome self-doubt and overwhelm so they can have clarity, confidence, and peace of mind for better health, relationships, and success. She offers Mindfulness Matters an accredited online course with or without Life Coaching to individuals and corporations. Amy also offers Life Coaching packages, classes, presentations, and seminars as well as several types of energetic healing.

Mindfulness Matters is an accredited, neuroscience based, emotional intelligence program created for developing visionary and conscious leaders. Many leaders struggle with self-doubt and overwhelm. This course insures you gain clarity, confidence, success, and will even help improve your relationships and health!!

Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her mother die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.

One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.

Through that experience Amy rediscovered a passion for helping others. She is committed to excellence and to making a difference in the world.

Contact Amy today!!! creativewellness@cox.net

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Too Busy to Pay Attention?

“Practice the Pause” is a common phrase in practicing mindfulness. This quiet moment is space of empowerment. It is where your ego and its incessant desire to control can take a back seat AND instead you are blessed with being gracefully and intuitively guided. The answers you seek are there if you simply become quiet and listen. BUT… odds are you avoid this, correct?

As I was “trying” to figure out what would be a good topic. I began to consciously set intentions in my mind to know what to write about. I asked for the ideas to be inline with my purpose of helping people to live healthier and happier lives, and to raise consciousness to create a better world.

FOR A MOMENT I PAUSED… and in that moment of silence realized all morning the same lyrics were running through my mind. So… I “Googled” the words to learn that the song was “What About Us?” by Pink. Being the curious person that I am I then read through the lyrics. Being the passionate person that I am I tried to research the song’s meaning. As it turns out the meaning, intention, or purpose of the song will not be revealed by the internet. The interpretation is entirely up to you.

The song asks a number of questions which inspire awareness. Awareness is key to absolutely everything. If you don’t know what you love you won’t make decisions that lead to happiness. If you don’t know what you are good at you will never be successful in business. If you don’t know what the problems are in a situation finding resolutions is going to be challenging. If you don’t have emotional intelligence your relationships will always suffer, including the one with yourself. If you don’t know what you are thinking you will act unconsciously falling victim to your own mind and the reality you create.

“Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our freedom.” Viktor Frankl

You develop awareness and lead an empowered life by asking questions and becoming still…

We live in a society where doing matters more than being. Your boss will reward you for your hard work that helped the company but not for you needing to take care of yourself. Women are admired for working full time and raising kids full time and doing them both well but all the while feeling exhausted and like a failure. Your health, the things you love, connecting to people, your dreams, and anything related to balance have been thrown out the window in exchange for being TOO BUSY TO PAY ATTENTION.

How much simpler would your life be if you didn’t work so hard to figure things out? How much easier would your life be if you just trusted that the answers are already there? How much happier would you be if you let you ego rest and instead followed your gut instinct and your intuition? How much better would life be if you knew what you wanted and how to get it easily?

Today take 5 minutes to check in with yourself. Yes, there may be voices in your head, but they calm down with acknowledgement and practice just like anything else. Make friends with the thoughts, make friends with yourself. Explore what your body is saying. Be curious about your feelings and desires. Develop awareness.

LEARN MORE by working with me or enrolling in my online course Mindfulness Matters!

I will write more on the neuroscience and biology of stress, relaxation, and intuition soon.

Sending you much peace, love, and joy!

Amy McCae

Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and MORE

http://www.amymccae.com

http://www.creativewellnessomaha.com

Amy specializes in helping leaders overcome self-doubt and overwhelm so they can have clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. She offers Mindfulness Matters an accredited online course with or without Life Coaching to individuals and corporations. Amy also as offers classes, presentations, and seminars and several types of energetic healing work.

COMPLEMENTARY PHONE CONSULThttps://amymccae.as.me/

Mindfulness Matters is an accredited, neuroscience based, emotional intelligence program created for developing visionary and conscious leaders. Many leaders struggle with self-doubt and overwhelm. This course insures you gain clarity, confidence, success, and will even help improve your relationships and health!!

Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her mother die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.

One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.

Through that experience Amy rediscovered a passion for helping others. She is committed to excellence and to making a difference in the world.

Contact Amy today!!! creativewellness@cox.net

Authenticity, Vulnerability, and Emotional Intelligence

A favorite quote of mine that screams emotional intelligence and hints at what it means to be mindful…Even as simple as writing this blog I have had to pause and reconnect with my heart to remember my purpose and revise in order to stay true to myself and my intentions of doing good and helping people.

So often I see clients that are exited to take skills assessments and personality tests. While these are fantastic and I encourage them, seldom is anyone thrilled to dig deep into their emotional processes nor are they initially exited to quiet their minds and listen. In fact they often resist or avoid both because they feel vulnerable.

Emotional intelligence will lead you to being authentic but it will require you be vulnerable.

Authenticity requires knowing yourself to such a degree that it no longer shakes you to admit your flaws, your mistakes, your feelings, or any of your imperfections. You can stand in your truth with equanimity. This also means admitting and accepting the deep and dark aspects of you that you have denied exist.

Vulnerability is the much feared “dirty” word in the world of power and success. It requires a strength that few will be willing to master. However, the reality is that being vulnerable is a profound and beautiful experience that will lead you to everything you seek.

How would it feel to be passionate about your daily life, to do things you love and are naturally good at? How would it feel to have meaningful relationships and heart felt connections with people that genuinely care about you flaws and all? How would it feel to make a difference in someone’s life or in the world? Can you imagine these?

What are you doing that prevents you from these experiences?

Below are three practices that if you do them consistently have the potential to transform your life.

*Meditate!!! There is no wrong way to do this besides not doing it. The silence you will discover will lead you to answers. EVEN JUST paying attention to your breath. Your breath is wired to your nervous system!

*Practice a body scan. Sit quietly and slowly sense from the top of your head to your feet. Ask questions, be curious. your body speaks. Don’t try to fix it or judge it. Just listen.

*Get in the habit of naming the emotion you are feeling. This actually rewires your brain!

Let me know how it goes!

Sending many blessings to you,

Amy McCae

Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher AND MORE!

http://www.amymccae.com

http://www.creativewellnessomaha.com

Amy offers Mindfulness Matters an accredited online course with or without Life Coaching to individual and corporations. She specializes in helping leaders overcome self-doubt and overwhelm so they can have clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. Amy also as offers classes and seminars and even energy work.

COMPLEMENTARY PHONE CONSULT https://amymmcae.as.me/

Amy McCae is a Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in Omaha, Nebraska. She is passionate about healing and helping others. Amy holds numerous certifications allowing her to support individuals and organizations.

Mindfulness Matters is an accredited, neuroscience based, emotional intelligence program created for developing visionary and conscious leaders. Many leaders struggle with self-doubt and overwhelm. This course insures you gain clarity, confidence, success, and will even help improve your relationships and health!!

Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her mother die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.

One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.

Though that experience Amy rediscovered a passion for helping others. She is committed to excellence and to making a difference in the world.

Contact Amy today!!! creativewellness@cox.net

Wisdom or Perfection? Goal Setting Ideas for the Never Satisfied.

With the holiday season officially over and the New Year fast approaching goal setting is a hot topic. It is almost common knowledge that January is the busiest month of the year for gym owners. Many of those gym goers are no longer making it to workout by the time March rolls around. (5 Steps to goal setting success with peace of mind at the bottom).

If you have a Type A, driven personality the idea of setting new goals and planning can be an exiting time. However, if you never feel satisfied and expect or demand perfection from yourself or others you may be looking back wishing and wondering if you could have done more or tried harder.

” The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Carl Rogers

It makes zero difference what your goals are from fitness to business to relationships. If you do not accept yourself where you are as well as accept who you are you will be fighting an uphill battle to achieve what you seek. You may never feel peace and happiness on the journey or you may reach the goal and still seek more AND more…

Perfectionism is a way to protect yourself from actually looking deep into who you are. Perfectionism is a distraction that allows you to stay so busy that you never have to stop and pay attention to what you really need or want OR FEEL. Perfectionism is also in the eye of the beholder so if you are seeking to please others or working ridiculously hard to prove to others you are worthy you are never going to feel satisfied.

Wisdom is being mindful of who you are and making conscious choices in line with your values to achieve happiness and success in health, relationships, and business. It is knowing the difference between pleasing others and pleasing yourself. Wisdom is accepting yourself exactly as you are now. It is from this space that all goals and dreams become reality and do so with ease.

So… how do you accept yourself where you are and set goals that allow you to feel happy and satisfied?

1. Get a planner that you love. (I can’t have one with flowers or designs and it must have monthly and daily and the days must be across the page starting with Sunday) Who knew? But… this works for me.
2. Choose only 1 or 2 areas of life to work in. You can use a Wheel of Life worksheet to rate and to determine which is best. When you commit to change one the rest will follow, its natures law.
3. Evaluate your Core Values. Use worksheets to determine these if you are unsure. Choose your goals based off what you love and are passionate about. Journal about your childhood passions if you are struggling to remember. Setting a goal that doesn’t matter to you or is something you think you “should” do will never bring you true satisfaction.
4. THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT STEP! Practice finding joy. Practice being appreciative. Seriously revel in the moments that feel good. I am not a gambling woman, but I would bet that if you take the time to notice your thoughts you will find a pattern of regretting or rehearsing the past in your mind or fearing and wondering about the future. What if instead you thought about what was good right now? You can start this easily… right now… Each day find joy in where you are or what you are doing. Each day find moments, even if brief, that you feel satisfied. Sit in that satisfaction and soak it all in. Even if it seems silly or small. It is not…It is easiest to start this by practicing when you first wake up or when you go to bed. I don’t care if it is basking in the sunlight shining through the window for one minute when you wake or snuggling the softest pillow appreciating that you have a soft, warm bed when you go to sleep at night. You can try this out while driving, while cooking, while working. Just find moments to be happy, joyful, and satisfied and more will come.
5. THE OTHER SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT STEP! Be kind to yourself. Give to you. Take some time to meditate daily. You can not always be in state of “doing.” You must have quiet and space to be open to receiving. Even if it is as simple as two minutes of mindful breathing. The clarity, peace, and awareness this brings can alone can be transformational.

Wishing you a joyous and satisfying new year!

Amy McCae

Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher

www.amymccae.com

Free phone consultation https://amymccae.as.me/

Amy McCae is a Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in Omaha, Nebraska. She is passionate about healing and helping others and especially about mindfulness and emotional intelligence.

Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her other die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.

One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.

The experience allowed her to rediscover her passion for healing and helping others. Amy now holds numerous certifications allowing her to be of support to individuals and organizations. Mindfulness Matters is an accredited 8-week online course rooted in science and inspired by her desire to help others develop emotional intelligence (especially leaders and those struggling with self-doubt and overwhelm). Please contact Amy for more information and to sign up!

Creating Health and Happiness

There are only three things that can make your dreams a reality; your thoughts, your words, and your actions. If you desire healing in any form and want more joy in your daily life then you would be wise to consider changing your thinking, speaking kindly, and taking action steps to reach your goals.

Let’s consider the mind, my favorite subject, for a moment.  Deeply rooted in your subconscious are beliefs that help create your reality in the physical world. Some of this was learned, some of it decided before you came here, all of it accessible and able to be changed for your greater good if you choose to utilize certain practices such as meditation.

As for speaking, your words also have creative energy. Speak kindly of yourself and others. Use words that feel good. My sense of humor tends to be on the side of sarcasm and I would do well to find a way to be more positive in cracking jokes about myself.

Action. Yes, you will have to actually do something to get something. Although, there is good in stopping and just being. You will need to have clarity on a goal as well as what steps you will need to do take to achieve success. The goal and the steps will need to be clearly defined and realistic.

I believe that the way to creating health and happiness begins with knowing yourself. You need to know what you are passionate about, you need find clarity on what you really want as well as what it looks like and feels like, you need support, encouragement and love, you need believe in yourself, and you need to trust that all is well.

There are five basic principles for creating a healthy and happy life; awareness (self-empowerment at its best), acceptance (somewhat more challenging), attitude (yes, you have a choice), action (do something), and acknowledgment (gratitude). Utilizing these five principles will change your life. Knowing how to use them is key.

I offer online, phone, and in person coaching sessions that can show you how to use these principles to change your life.  I am available to teach these to organizations and am teaching a class on November 6 on how to use these principles to manage stress. Please register online at http://www.intuitiveomaha.com for the November 6th class and please visit my website at http://www.creativewellnessomaha.com

Many Blessings

Amy S McCae

Wellness and Lifestyle Coach

http://www.creativewellnessomaha.com

Finding Your Gifts

I firmly believe that everyone of us came into this life with gifts.  I believe that when we use these gifts for good that we are at our best.  There are many things I thought I knew about myself and about how I was going to use these special talents yet some how I evolved and the picture I once thought my life was going to be is now much different, but yet has the same purpose.

When I was a child I knew I wanted to be a doctor. I was fascinated with the show “Emergency” and  I was only 3. When I was 5 I named my goldfish Johnny, Roy,and Captain after three of the paramedics. My parents were kind enough to send me birthday cards and stickers from my heros. I spent my entire childhood knowing that I wanted to help heal people.

As I grew up, life’s experiences changed me. After watching my mother die of cancer I no longer had an interest in anything that had to do with medicine. Then, after spending a decade sick myself and finally healing through natural methods, I was on a new mission.My new mission was to help other people learn all that I had learned through my own research. The idea of helping people heal was back on my agenda so I started Creative Wellness where I get to teach people many new ideas that can help them.

When I first started Creative Wellness I marketed myself as a Personal Trainer. I really wanted to be a true holistic personal trainer and do so much more than teach fitness, but separating myself in a sea of personal trainers was challenging. I also realized that as much as I love fitness, there was more I wanted to do. In my quest to meet people where they are at and help them take their wellness to a new level I incorporated other modalities such as nutrition and stress management. I have added so many possibilities to my list of credentials that I started to struggle to answer the all important question; “What do you do?”

Well, I help people lead healthier and happier lives. I am a Wellness and Lifestyle Coach that wants to empower you to change your life and inspire you to be the best you can be. If you believe it, you can achieve it. This is perhaps the most important phrase you will ever hear.

On this amazing journey I have learned so many things. The most important things being the power of the mind, the importance of perception, and the ultimate in self-empowering knowledge that at every moment you have a choice. I chose this path and I choose to believe that is perfect for me.

I am not a doctor. In fact, I don’t even want to be. I want to help people realize their full potential though the power of their own thoughts and through energy work. When I was 10  and all my girlfriends wanted to be models and teachers, I wanted to be a “brain surgeon.” When I was in college, I didn’t want to be just a doctor, I wanted to be an anesthesiologist. The mind had forever been my passion. The power to heal as forever been my passion.

I have spent the past few years trying desperately to find a way to do what I love. I have repeatedly struggled with marketing services such as “Energy” work and “Meditation.” I have redone, taken off, put on, redone, again and again in an attempt to “fit in.” I thought I was going to be able to bridge some gap between those who believe in spiritual and the power of thought and those who don’t. I no longer need to do that.

Recently, I had a conversation with a man who has some very special gifts. He said to me; “I have found that believers are believers and skeptics are skeptics and there is always going to be both.” For some reason this resonated deeply with me. Suddenly, I no longer felt like I needed to prove anything. I suddenly realized that no words were ever going to describe certain types of healing. I understood on a profound level that I don’t have twist things around to create believers. In fact, if I turn it into something else I have then lost the essesence of something very spiritual in nature. That defeats the entire purpose.

With all of this knowledge, I have now again, but in a new frame of mind, added meditation and energy work back onto my website. I HAVE FOUND MY GIFTS. I have been blessed with some amazing knowledge and blessed with nearly unbelievable talents. I am amazed at the things I have been able to do. I watch, much like a child, in awe. I am blessed and I am grateful.

Amy McCae

http://www.creativewellnessomaha.com