by Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos | Nov 9, 2016 | Access Your Inner Guide, Uncategorized
Are you making New Year Resolutions that take too big a bite out of life to chew?
As we prepare to celebrate the holidays by giving thanks for past successes while facing the changes we plan to make for the New Year in the form of resolutions, stress levels often rise. Especially, when we realize we did not meet our goals from last year. Such is life in the fast lane. Welcome to the real world. The good news is you are not alone.
By focusing on a New Year resolution that is realistic you have a better chance for success. Success reduces stress. Choose to set yourself up for success rather than failure which add to stress.
According to statistics, one of the most frequently implemented New Year’s Resolution deals with diet and weight. Diet and weight are an important part of our physical and mental health. It is as simple as realizing that when we look good we feel good. When our favorite jeans fit, we are happy.
Resolving to make that dream a reality is great. Let’s start by taking small bites, no pun intended.
Rather than saying you are going to lose a large amount of weight by this time next year, break the resolution down into workable parts. Choose a realistic amount of weight loss, or gain, that you will chart weekly. Now you are working with yourself rather than against yourself by implementing a realistic and achievable goal that will display positive results on a chart.
Evaluation and accountability are very important in the success of a New Year Resolution.
Often the most difficult parts of a New Year Resolution is stating it in a way that is precise, measurable and can focus on success. This is called a behavioral objective which is a defined description of an expected experience.
Behavioral objectives that are people oriented place the emphasis upon what the person is expected to do within a designated time period with testable measurements for evaluation, and accountability for optimum success. One of the biggest problems with New Year resolutions is accountability and evaluation.
The key to solving the accountability and evaluation issues is to develop a clear, concise objective.
Below is an example of a very simple precise and measurable New Year resolution that focuses on weight loss. The behavioral objective below has five parts; 1.) The defined time and weight, 2.) What amount of weight that will be lost, 3.) How it will be measured, 4.) How the weight loss will be obtained, 5.) The end result and time.
Starting today, November 20th, 2015, over the next 12 months, I will lose 30 pounds of weight. My weight loss will be measured weekly on every Monday using a scale and will display a 1/2 pound loss which will create a 2 1/2 pound loss per month for 12 months, resulting in a total 30 pound loss by November 2016. This weight loss will be charted and achieved by reducing the consumption of deserts and alcohol to only one serving per weekend and increasing twice the current amount of leafy greens consumed during at least one meal per day.
Here is a behavioral objective pattern for success that you can use for anything you wish to change in your life. Although it is taken from the one above that focuses on weight, health and wellness, tweak it to meet your needs, time period, and objectives. Fill in the blanks so it becomes your successful Behavioral Objective New Year Resolution.
As seen today (date)_________by this time next year, (date)___________, I (your name)_________ will have (state your desired behavior) _________________. This behavior will be measured (how often) _____________by (device)____________, and will display (desired results)_____________ which will create (amount)_________ per (time period)__________. This will be charted by ______________ and success will be seen as (state new behavior)____________________________________.
Set up your chart. As you review your success on the chart you will be rewarded by accountability and evaluate. Now you are working with yourself for success.
Use your dreams as a GPS to keep you on the right road.
If you miss a self-evaluation measurement see if you are reminded of it in a dream. Your dream may be validation that your inner-guidance is now part of your success team.
Turn your stress into a game. See how often you hit your mark on your daily or weekly objective.
Reward yourself with a pat on the back when you fill in your chart. Now, you have bragging rights. Share your New Year Resolution Behavioral Objectives with your friends. Perhaps they would like to join you in this healthy game.
It is human to be stressed. Suffering through it alone is a choice.
Choose to control your stress through dreams, prayers and meditations rather than allowing it to control you. Make resolutions you can keep. And, enjoy your Happy Holidays.
By: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos, TV/Radio Show Host/Producer, International Bestselling award winning author of Surviving Cancerland: Intuitive Aspects of Healing. Kat taught special education and psychology for ten years. She frequently taught and created Behavioral Objectives on Individual Educational Plans for students. Kat believes dreams can diagnose our life. Learn more @ http://www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com
by Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos | Nov 9, 2016 | Access Your Inner Guide, Uncategorized
Quote: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”~
William James
Are you stressed beyond belief but cannot pinpoint exactly where it is coming from or which challenge is the most annoying? Perhaps viewing stress from a different perspective-that of a game- will help find positive solutions.
Once again, the holidays are upon us.
As we prepare to celebrate them by giving thanks for past successes while facing the changes we plan to make for the New Year in the form of resolutions, stress levels often rise. Especially, when we realize we did not meet our goals from last year. Such is life in the fast lane. Welcome to the real world. The good news is you are not alone.
This year resolve to be successful in your resolutions by turning stress into a positive game.
Dreams, Prayers, and Meditations are three under-utilized innate gifts perfect for stress-reduction and resolution creation. Your dreams are Sacred Doorways to Universal Wisdom that contains answers to all your daily challenges. Daydreams solve nagging problems. Your answers to prayers often come in the form of dreams or nightmares. Simple Meditations that focus on Breath and Gratitude can be done anywhere anytime and have been proved to:
- increase focus and productivity
Here is a very short meditation to help you through the holiday season. Don’t wait.
You can start right now. Use it anywhere and anytime to de-stress.
1.) Focus on your breath flowing into your nostrils.
2.) Breathe in. Breathe out…
3.) Count five breaths.
4.) End with one deep breath.
5.) Repeat until your tension melts away.
6.) Give thanks for all you have including the Breath of Life.
You can do this simple meditation as often as necessary; in your work place, at home, or while stuck in traffic, with your eyes open, of course. No one will know you are de-stressing. Your secret will be safe.
Join me for Part 2 of this article which will focus on New Year Resolutions.
By: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos, TV/Radio Show Host/Producer, International Bestselling award winning author of Surviving Cancerland: Intuitive Aspects of Healing. Kat taught special education and psychology for ten years. She frequently taught and created Behavioral Objectives on Individual Educational Plans for students. Kat believes dreams can diagnose our life. Learn more @ http://www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com
by Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos | Nov 6, 2016 | Access Your Inner Guide, Uncategorized
“I will always place the mission first. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade.”~ Army Ethos/Soldiers Creed
Who does the last soldier standing in the fox-hole talk to when everyone else is dead or gone? What keeps soldiers confident and courageous when the enemy attacks? And, for whom do they truly fight and die? A constant thread is weaved throughout the founding fabric of the American Military. It begins with the Minutemen of 1776 and continues today. It is Red, White and Blue Spirituality. One of the 100 most influential people on the matters of defense, retired four-star General Gordon R. Sullivan, and author of Hope is not a Method, shares thoughts on this subject with us and says, “No man left behind has biblical overtones. Sacrificing yourself for your country is a spirituality in itself.”
We’ve all heard of Military blood and guts, but what about love, and angels? Is the concept of spirituality and army an oxymoron, or a God-given-gift of a different kind wrapped in honor and love? The answer may lie in how Guardian angels and soldiers seem to have a secret Morse code of numbers celebrated by privates and four-star generals every Veteran’s Day, November 11th; 11/11.
In this extremely rare video interview, General Sullivan, a tireless advocate for soldiers and their families, former Chief of Staff of the Army (the highest ranking army officer) from 1991-1995, and recipient of numerous awards and medals including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and recently the George Cattlett Marshall Medal shares insights and memories of heroic war stories and Native American Ceremonies on the battlefield concerning the seldom discussed topic of Spirituality in the Military.
1111 are special numbers in mathematics, spirituality, numerology, and the Armed Forces.
The ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras was first to establish that numbers hold vibrational properties and taught his students, known as Pythagoreans, how the entire universe is mathematically precise. The number 1111 is a sign of perfection.
According to New Age and Angel Experts like Doreen Virtue 1111 is the twin-flame angel-number used by angels to speak to us. Numerologists consider 1111 to be the master number of synchronicities.
Is it by coincidence that 1111 is also the date that signifies Veteran’s Day, originally called “Armistice Day,” which commemorates the signing of the armistice with Germany that ended World War I?
Veteran’s Day celebrates the life and death of every soldier which reflects the Army Ethos known as the Soldiers Creed, a promise to every warrior that they will not be left behind, dead or alive.
The heroic war stories shared by Gen. Gordon, including one exemplifying the soldiers creed between Civil War Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant, are riveting, but a particularly moving one is about a 90-year-old Penobscot American Indian from the 1st infantry division who returned to foreign beaches to perform a ceremonial ritual over buddies who died in 1944. Using stones, tobacco, smoke, and an eagle feather he releases and blesses their spirits. “I just had to do this for them before I died,” he tells General Gordon. 
Military Spirituality is alive and well as told in morerecent war stories.
While under attack, Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti of the 10th Mountain Division was determined not to leave a soldier behind. Sgt. Monti was mortally wounded crossing an open terrain through intense enemy fire during the third rescue attempt. He sacrificed his life to save his fellow soldiers.
Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis of C Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, was conducting combat control operations with his platoon. While manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a grenade landed in the vehicle. Private McGinnis yelled, “Grenade!” alerting the four crew members. Then, rather than leaping to safety, he pinned the live grenade between his body and the vehicle, absorbing most of the explosion. Private McGinnis sacrificed his life to save his crew.
Specialist Ty M. Carter received a citation for gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a scout with Bravo Troop, 3d Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. On the morning of October 3, 2009, at Combat Outpost Keating, in Kamdesh District, Afghanistan, he woke under attack on all sides by the enemy. Carter ran through a gauntlet of fire to reinforce a battle position and remained there isolated. With complete disregard for his own safety and wounds, he again ran through a hail of enemy rocket propelled grenades and machine gun fire to rescue a critically wounded comrade. SPC. Carter gave the fallen soldier first aid, carried him to cover, and returned still dripping blood, through the barrage of bullets to recover the squad’s radio deemed critical for the outpost defense and coordination and evacuation of injured soldiers. Specialist Ty M. Carter’s actions prevented enemy capture of the outpost and saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.
At this point, you may be asking, “Why! What were they thinking?”
Perhaps they weren’t. Might they be reacting to the needs of the people for whom they were truly fighting, the soldier beside them? They responded as a parent would to a fallen child lying in the street because the military is a family filled with love, devotion, and spirituality.
This may be a family love of a different kind but it is wrapped in a “spirituality worth dying for.”
“You don’t join the military for the money. God, No!” General Gordon says. “My pay check was about $200.oo a month when I joined. It’s a higher calling, even if they don’t realize it when they first sign up.” This is never truer than in our armed forces today. There is no draft. Service is a choice.
Another higher calling has gone to the dogs; real CHAMPS in every way.
General Gordon is the Chairman and Founder of the Marshall Legacy Institute, (MLT) a nonprofit to extend the vision of Nobel Peace Laureate George C. Marshall. Its arms embrace the Children Against Mines Program (CHAMPS) which promotes global citizenship, and involves the American youth and Mine Detection Dog Partnership Program (MDDPP) in meaningful learning projects to help mine-injured children in war-torn countries. It is designed to teach schoolchildren about the human consequences of landmines and how people and dogs are working together to make a better and safer world. Students safely explore the global landmine problem, and become part of the solution; a cause close to the heart of the late Princess Diana of England.
At a recent birthday party for Gen. Gordon, Airforce Brigadier General (ret.) Tony Schiavi defined leadership and Spirituality in the Military as, “ So the general consensus (no pun intended) is Spirituality in the Military is alive and well.
Veteran’s Day; 11/11. The angels have spoken. Are you listening?
CLICK to WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46QmJXbpt5w
Picture credits-
with permission from The Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod show C3TV
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©KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com
by Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos | Oct 19, 2016 | Access Your Inner Guide, Uncategorized
Unfortunately, cancer and depression go together like peanut and butter. As a three-time cancer survivor, severe bouts of depression presented a choice: take pills to alleviate it, or face it and figure out what my body and psyche were saying.
Depression is often a symptom, not an illness.
Alleviating the symptom may not cure the disorder. I saw my depression as something that would diminish if I faced and cured the cause. This is easier said than done. I considered suicide as a means of escape rather than facing my “ghosts.” However, deciding to see what lessons could be learned from the ghosts of my life was the first step toward a cure.
Looking back on difficult times allows us the opportunity to ask questions previously avoided such as, “Why was I depressed? How did depression serve me and what did it teach me?” Our mind is incredibly powerful and will create or manifest situations to serve and save us.
Depression and illness can be a way of forcing us to slow down and “look within” at memories (old baggage), events (past and present cycles), people (relationships), and life- styles (habits) that are not to our benefit. Without depression, we may continue to accept whatever life throws at us—settling for less than we needed and/or deserved.
Just because something is thrown at us does not mean we have to catch it, hold, and keep it, including insults or negative relationships. We can choose to duck or move out of the way. And, if we do catch it, we can choose to drop it.Depression made me stop and reassess my life-choices.
I concluded that how people treat me is their Karma, how I respond is mine.
Not all relationships or situations should be avoided or dropped. And that may be our most important lesson—the quickest way to change someone’s behavior is to change ours first. They must respond differently to the new behavior.
Depression can help us stop and reassess our life-choices.
Illness and depression are the perfect opportunity to take time out for yourself. It can teach you how to respect, honor, and put yourself first, and to choose to change or walk away from bad habits, relationships, and situations.
Draw new boundaries with which you can live.
A friend once asked me, “How can I just quit my job or walk away from my relationship if that is what is depressing or killing me.”
Responding to her question with another question was the best answer. “Are you worried about letting down your job and relationship or yourself? Will they survive tomorrow if you are not around? Will you thrive if they are gone? You cannot hold a gift if your hands are full. Put something down.”
Whenever we feel overwhelmed taking a step back can help us reassess our life. One of the first things we can do is “check our inner baggage,” –the useless stuff we accumulated throughout life. You may be surprised that you are bogged down with stuff which is not even yours. Simply drop it. It’s not yours to keep.
As a caring and loving person, it is so easy to take on other people’s emotional leftovers rather than respecting their right to carry it. By taking on the baggage of others we unintentionally take their learning experience and right to emotional growth away from them.
Old habits are hard to break. Keep working on them.
We often think if we carried someone else’s heavy troubles for them it would lighten their load. It doesn’t. It just makes ours heavier. That realization teaches a very difficult lesson—We cannot carry other people’s baggage or walk their path for them. We have to respect their life-lessons… to be learned by them… and our lesson may be to respect and love them enough to let them learn from their mistakes. We can offer them our shoulder but not our back. Let me explain.
There is a big difference between being supportive and being a mule. A supportive person lends a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on. A mule carries the weight of the world on their back while refusing to focus on their own life—this is avoidance. It only takes another challenge to be the straw that breaks their back and sends them spiraling into depression.
Our mind is a beautiful thing.
Experience has taught that we manifest not only what we want but also what we need. Sometimes we need to slow down and reassess our lives.
Depression served me in this capacity.
I didn’t enjoy it and would not choose to go through it again. However, by facing depression rather than suppressing it, I learned from it, used it to change my life, and ultimately survived life-threatening adversity and illness.
Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos-three time cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness, TV/Radio Host/Producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod™ , Kat KanavosShow , Patheos, Quora, Medium, Internationally Syndicated Columnist, Nautilus Award-winning Author/Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and inner guidance. Contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul. www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com
by Kathleen O'Keefe-Kanavos | Sep 30, 2016 | Access Your Inner Guide, Uncategorized
The Kat & Shiela Show (8/26/’16)
CLICK TO WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9DerXsspdI
The weirdest things have happened during the retrograde that should have ended on September 22nd. Lights continue to flicker on and off, and anything that is mechanical or electronic is out of sync, like The Kat Kanavos Show, and the Kat and Sheila Shows.
Everyone looks like they are in a translated Japanese movie where actors lips move five seconds after you hear their words. But, scientists claim it is difficult to prove retrograde really affects electronics unless you are the recipient of the electronic scramble. There are other things in this world that are difficult to prove, yet many of us know they exist like Bigfoot.
Is Sasquatch real, folklore or mythology? This giant, elusive, bipedal humanoid and extremely hairy creature, roughly 2-3 meters or 6 foot 7 to 9 foot 10 inches in height, goes by many names depending on the part of the world in which it was seen. Have you seen a Wild Man? No, not the drunk one dancing beside you at the bar. The giant one in the forest.
The term sasquatch is an anglicized derivative of the Halkomelem word sásq’ets from the language of the various First Nations peoples in British Columbia. The Native American coast tribe known as Lhaq’temish,that means the People of the Sea, and governed by the Lummi Nation in western Washington State in the United States, refer to Sasquatch as Seatco, or the Ancient Ones.In Florida Big Foot is called Skunk Ape, and in Eastern Canada it is called Misaabe, in other forested areas of the United States it is called Hairy Man or Wild Man. And,all the descriptions of Sasquatch are surprisingly similar. Individuals who claim to have seen Bigfoot describe its “large eyes.”
Each language from a different area of the world had its own name for this allusive creature featured in the local legends. Many names described common actions it is said to perform like“Eats Clams.” Could this be similar to the description often used by us to describe someone from the Northeast as “Meat and Potatoes” or someone from Wisconsin as a “Cheese Head?”
If scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot due to a lack of evidence, how can something with so many names, stretching back so many centuries, on so many continents except Antarctica, and in different places throughout the world be a fairytale, myth or imagination? And, where is the scientific evidence for angels or life after death?
During the Kat and Sheila Show, Sheila Sistar shares her personal experiences this past weekend at the International Psych and Spiritual Sasquatch Conference in North East Washington. This conference is home to real-life Bigfoot experiencers.During the show Sheila shares her amazing description of seeing an “Ancient One” as it cloaked and uncloaked in front of her.
What did she notice that most caught her attention? The eyes!And, the fog.
After listening to the show you decide if Bigfoot is a myth, imagination, or perhaps aMulti-dimensional Extraterrestrial, as some psychics have suggested. It might explain the lack of scientific evidence while begging more questions like, how does this ET phone home?
Picture credit- permission by Kat Kanavos from the Kat and Sheila Show
Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos-three-time cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness, TV/Radio Host/Producer of Wicked Housewives On Cape Cod™ , Kat Kanavos Show , Patheos, Quora, Medium, Internationally Syndicated Columnist, Nautilus Award-winning Author/Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and inner guidance, and contributing author to Chicken Soup for the Soul. www.KathleenOkeefeKanavos.com
