Search

 

 

Informative Articles

Bodybuilding Nutrition: Bulk Up Or Lean Down Diets, You Do The Math
Everybody knows that bodybuilding nutrition is a big part of this kind of sport. How else can you get all that bulk or all that toned down muscles? Going to the gym everyday is only one aspect. Bodybuilding nutrition is almost as important as...

Do You Have SAD?
If you find yoursef feeling SAD as the days grow shorter, you may have Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka Winter Depression). This medical condition is caused by insufficient exposure to sunlight resulting in low levels of melatonin and serotonin,...

Natural Pain Management: Exercise & Chronic Pain
When you find yourself living with pain every minute of every hour of every day, just getting up in the morning can seem like too much to ask. When you find it hard to remember the last time you weren’t in pain, it’s not unusual for fear and...

Ten Healthy Reasons to Procrastinate This Holiday Season
Many people procrastinate on their holiday shopping, which begs the question: are there good reasons to put it off? For a humorous break this season, let’s examine why we might actually want to wait until the last minute to shop! You’ll have to...

The Best Postpartum Exercise
Would you like to know the best exercises are after your delivery? When it comes to post pregnancy weight loss, no two exercises are alike! In the time frame immediately after pregnancy, you will probably want to stick with light activities such as...

When The Going Gets Tough -- The Tough Keep Going
If you've been in a job search for more than a few weeks you may be experiencing the feelings of defeat and despair, not to mention the urge to give up. It's been a tough year, and then some, for those who have lost jobs for whatever reason....

 
How to Have a Stress Free Holiday

Knowing exactly what you want in life is the key to getting it.

Treasure-mapping is simply the process of visualizing exactly what you want. The clearer you can see it as a reality, the sooner it manifests. The magical part about treasure-mapping is that you don't have to know where the desired object or opportunity will come from. Gifts, contest prizes, sudden opportunities are typical outcomes.



The actual process is simple: tear out color pictures in magazines or catalogs and rubber cement them to half a sheet of poster board.



Currently I use a sketch book that I constantly add to page after page. Sometimes I am not even sure what I am searching for, but in the process of looking, I get clearer when an image seems to call to me.



Here are some of the things I have successfully treasure-mapped:

New house (complete with gazebo)

New job, change in career, and career opportunities

Vacations (including white-water rafting and a hot air balloon ride

Clients and audiences

Lifestyle, romance, jewelry and clothes

Art, dishes, collectibles, cars, etc. (This is the easy stuff)

My husband!

Family relationships



Variations, tips, and ideas:



1) Each New Year, treasure-map what you want the year to look like. Focus on opportunities, desired lifestyle changes, etc.



This is a tradition for our whole family. I do the half page treasure-map at this time. I might add that children end up cutting out pictures of cute animals; they have a hard time with future goal setting. More on that later.



2) Relationships: To treasure map a spouse or special companion, concentrate on finding pictures that represent what you want the relationship to look like: how you want to be treated, what you will do together, what values you would share, etc. Avoid treasure-mapping a


specific physical body (after all, they are just models in the pictures and they spend incredible amounts of time in the gym.)



3) Physical changes: If you want to treasure-map an ideal body for yourself, concentrate on the active, healthy lifestyle that your body would need to have. I've even pasted my own face on the body of a woman doing aerobics. It was so believable to me that it melted the resistance I was feeling at the time.



4) Words: Include your own name, cut out of type, and a phrase or two also in type, that motivate you. Beware of too many words, however, as it is the visual image that your mind finds so powerful.



5) When the treasure map is finished, bless it. Some people like to add a picture that represents God as their source for everything. I write a little prayer on the back: "Thanks you, God, for this or something better for my highest good."



6) Invite friends to bring their scissors, glue, and magazines for a treasure map party! Treasure-map with your spouse, and your children.



Children age 10 and up can treasure-map their short term goals. You can make suggestions, such as cutting out pictures of Scout badges they would like to earn, or a place for a family vacation that summer, or a pet they would like to take care of, or a specific item for Christmas. (Caution: a kid with a toy catalog goes beserk!)



Challenge a teenager to treasure map his or her in life in ten years. That gives them a grounded sense of thinking strategies toward preparation (what courses to take, etc.)



About the author:

Ana Tampanna, "The Alligator Queen," is author or the "The Womanly Art of Alligator Wrestling." To learn more about her books in addition to her speaking and coaching services, visit her site at http://www.alligatorcoach.com/index.html. Please email Ana@alligatorcoach.com if you are going to use this article. Thanks.