Have you ever done something you wish you could hide from? I think we all have. A recent client told me the biggest obstacle that prevented her from being okay with herself was embarrassment in a past she felt she couldn’t escape.

The emotion of embarrassment along with guilt, shame, and fear all cause us to contract, to pull inward, crouch, curl up, or cover our faces. Our mental victim often shows up to amplify the feelings of self-consciousness. The other side of the ego may also step in, compensating with rationalizations, excuses, comparisons or possibly a taunt of superiority.  But this pendulum swing between shame and pride is a very poor solution, contrived by the ego to keep itself alive.

There is another option, which is choosing to open ourselves to a greater Source of Consciousness – diametrically opposed to small-self-consciousness.

I supported my client to recognize the folly of her self-recrimination and the truth of her divine nature using Guided Imagery. This technique bypasses the critical mind and gets us in touch with our creativity – even our Creator. By the end of the session, she felt a true sense of security, confidence and validation, which came from her connection to a wise and loving essence, something outside of herself, but very much within her. It arose from her own creativity.

A few hours after the session I felt myself cringing at my own pendulum enacted a few days before. I had spoken to a sensitive family member with a boldness that wasn’t called for and then felt horrible about myself and damage I had done. I wanted to hide, to shrink myself, to take the experience away. Instead, I tapped into my creativity. And I wrote this:

“Embarrassment comes from looking back on ourselves when we operated from our ego, realizing how small we really were. Or how inadequate. Or how defensive. Or how clueless, whatever the case may be. 
However, it’s only the ego that can be embarrassed. So it’s like the nothing side of the quantum equation. Nothing recognizing it’s nothingness. 
On the other hand Consciousness is ‘all that is’ recognizing it is ALL there is.”

I owe my awareness, my consciousness to three things.

1. I am Christ-centered and I recognize the Atonement as the solution. This is portrayed for me in A Course in Miracles. I am so grateful for the book and like-minded souls who study it with me.
2. Real-life guides in the form of earth angels and teachers. One such teacher is Barbara DeAngelis. Her book Soul Shift and her course with the Shift Network came along at the perfect time for me.
3. Being certified in Guided Imagery has changed my life and the lives of many others. My own subconscious seems to know what I need, especially as I tap into All that Is. Yours does too.

As I enter the research phase of my doctoral program with Quantum University I am attempting to explain how this Consciousness changes us, emotionally, mentally and even spiritually. No small feat.

Please connect with me if you have questions, comments or interest in what I am doing.

Cristine Price, CMHC ~ Integrative Mental Health Counselor

Check out my new Website at  HHWholeness.com 

I often reflect back on a time in my life when I was teaching classes at the Brigham City jail where they housed inmates for the state prison. I got to know a lot of those inmates quite well as they were there for at least a year. I was inspired by them. I was connected to something greater as I joined them in their search for what was real. We explored what would truly keep them in recovery and the contrast between the symbolism of prison and freedom. 

At the same time in my life I was teaching a church class of sixteen to eighteen-year old young women. I would come away from those lessons feeling completely inadequate, not knowing how to reach them, not knowing what was going on within them and not having any idea how to engage them in the discussion.

Last week I came out of my private practice and there was a biker smoking a cigarette on the curb. He was right across the street from the store where I bought my cigarettes until I quit at age 19. (Once they were legal there wasn’t as much fun in in it.) In that moment I felt safe. I felt safer there with that biker than I did going to a gathering of family and church members; People I had known for years that I had no idea how to reach, no idea how to engage, and no idea of what was really going on inside of them.

I realized where the security came from. There is something safer about a person who shows up with their shadow first…than someone who keeps it hidden where they think no one can or should see it. 

What does that mean about how we should be showing up for each other? 

I guess what I love about therapy and twelve-step groups is that people show up with their shadows. 

#RealHealing #EmoAnon

Gratitude can literally decrease depression! In an article in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine research found that gratitude along with other positive psychology interventions made a significant difference for Depressive Disorders [JACM; 2011; 17 (8)].  The editor of the scientific journal referred to it as “ground-breaking work of global significance…especially in our pharmaceutically dominated culture of dependence. (Practicing gratitude is a)… low cost highly effective means to help people submerged in the sea of depression.” (Jobst)

I found this research literally to be true in my own life, enough so to write an e-book entitled “The Gift of Gratitude.” It tells the story of how I accessed gratitude consistently using it as a tool and daily structure. This workbook encourages you to incorporate gratitude into your life in ways you may have never imagined.

On the anniversary of the “gratitude challenge” I will be speaking in a brand new forum; BrighterLife.net is a webinar library full of meaningful resources and practical tools designed to address life’s challenges in an empowering way. I’m honored to be selected as a presenter. I’ll be sharing new content and making connections between “Gratitude, Mindfulness and Meditation,” but more importantly, I’ll be addressing the challenge that comes when you just don’t feel grateful.

Blocks to gratitude occur for various reasons. We may know intellectually that gratitude is the solution, but sometimes it just eludes us, overshadowed by a mental state, emotional heaviness, a chemical imbalance or a spiritual dilemma. I’ll share solutions for each of these challenges on Friday along with  a link to access the free gift. Please join the free webinar by registering here.

Wishing You Wellness,
Cristine Price, M.S.
Mental Health Therapist/Author

Have you ever had a desire or wish that you hoped would come true? Most of us are familiar with the terms, “Wishing on a star”, “The sky is the limit”, or “Be careful what you wish for.”  What if you knew you really could wish on a star and it could come true, or that there really is no limit to the sky?  What if I were to tell you the problem may be what you don’t wish for?

It is possible to receive whatever you wish for if:

1. You truly desire it,
2. It is in your highest good, and
3. You believe you can receive it.

But maybe this is not how your life has worked in the past and you are questioning if it really works to wish.

Take a journey to the stars with me to test out intentional wishing.

Think about something you’ve really, really desired, but maybe didn’t believe you actually deserved or that you could have.

The seed of creation is an intention, which is planted and then nourished so it can grow into a beautiful outcome.

First, we need to make it clear there is a difference between wanting and desiring.  The definition of desire is to wish for or expect something, whereas the definition of want means deficit or scarcity.  Wanting something can have a negative effect on ones wellbeing or outlook, causing a sense of lack and even symptoms of depression or victimization.

The way to bring your desires to fruition is done through positive affirmations.  

Intentions are powerful and flow through us and into the universe like a radio wave. If we “unintentionally” send out complaints, worries or regrets, the universe still responds to the signal. Those negative vibes can expand and return back to us.

A positive affirmation works with this universal signal and amplifies our intention.  It is a phrase that we repeat, drawing attention to what we hope for or describing the met desire. The key is that we focus on what we want to have growing in our minds and in our lives. So we plant those seeds only. And then we allow them to grow.

Nourish your thoughts or desires and see where they take you.

When you first start saying your positive affirmations they may not be true, but with repetition they sink into your subconscious mind. You will start to believe them, and eventually they will become your reality. The seeds you have sewn and grown will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The ways to nourish the seeds through positive affirmations:

• Write them down and re-read them
• Record them and listen to them
• Repeatedly state them out loud
• Visualize yourself experiencing your wishes in “real time”
• Then all that is left is “waiting on the stars” to bring to you your new destiny.

The results of the journey speak for themselves

Amanda P. from Bear Lake, Utah, has taken this journey to the stars with me. She states that “By regularly using the affirmation exercises I have been able to create a more positive and healthy environment for myself and those who are a part of my life. My new-found belief in abundance provides a positive mentality in order feel good about myself and others.  It allows me to prosper and attract even more abundance into my life.”

Using positive affirmations gives you back control of your mind and the information it receives. It puts you in the driver’s seat of intention and takes you on a road which will change you for the better!

Get your roadmap to the wishing stars

My book includes a step-by-step process “Creating Abundance through Affirmations.” I have outlined the journey to switch from scarcity to abundance, and all you need to do is literally fill in the blanks, and then start counting on the stars.

Cristine Price, MS has supported over a thousand clients in transforming their lives. She operates a thriving private practice in Northern Utah and is the author of 10 Ways to Balance Your Brain Chemistry.