Growing Forward Personal Growth Services

Amy McNaughton

This morning reading Louise’s blog under “Emerging Futures,” I found myself understanding what has been rumbling around in my body.  There have been no words to describe it except that there’s an intensity there and it’s not one which I would associate as something unpleasant and yet – the intensity is there with no words.

 As I read on, Louise makes reference to the volcano which is attracting many people to the island of Hawaii.  I’ll be in Hawaii myself next week and this was something that I decided back in June 2007. 

I’m not big on flying, I’ve really never travelled, I hadn’t a clue how I was going to pay for it and yet I knew that I was going.

When Louise shares her experience – she says, “The ‘pull’ was not one of the intellect but one of the body.”  And that is how it I would best describe my experience when I received the email about the Mauna Lani Experience.  There was no hesitation and definitely no ‘thinking’ involved.  The body felt the pull – ‘the call’ and I engaged.

So now here I am, a week before I leave for Hawaii with my husband and my daughter.

Although I’ve never been to Hawaii, I know already that when the plane lands, ”I will have arrived.”  And I’m not talking about reaching my destination geographically rather the experience which has been building in my body.  This is not a trip that I’m taking, this is an experience I know that I need to have in the body.

Louise also says, “I am mindful of my desire to be on the Big Island to ‘know’ this expression of intensity as one of my own.”  Yes all elements will be there waiting for my arrival.  As I think about the experience, I have water in my eyes.  This has to do with the rumble in my body.  I have no idea what it is and I do know that once I’m in Kona I will truly arrive.

My life is no longer about the things I do to fill my time or trips that I take, My Life is about the experiences that take place in the body. 

I’m on a vacation of the mind – never to return.  Oh how I wish it were that simple for me all of the time - however it isn’t.  Every now and then the intellect slips in and takes over.  Thankfully it isn’t for too long.

After years of living the “out of body experience” I realize that it was an empty experience.  Staying in the now and moving through my world is such a pleasure now, where it most certainly wasn’t before.

So for Louise, she is clear that she is ‘Going Home.’  For me, I’ll be arriving.  And that is an experience that I’m looking very forward to. 

Letting Go Of The Past AND…Growing Forward.

Amy

Amy McNaughton

     Last weekend was Easter weekend.  An opportunity to gather with family and friends whether you celebrate the long weekend in that aspect or not. 

On Friday something came up with me regarding how my husband “knows” me more than anyone else.  Then on Sunday someone else makes a statement that I’m a certain way just because they too…”know” who I am.

Both times I became very curious as to why they see me the way that they do when I know that I have clearly changed over the past year and bit.  Friends of mine and people that I haven’t seen for months and some for years, clearly remark how I’ve changed and yet some people choose to see me as having not changed at all.  Hmmm! 

If I were to take a step back to a year ago, I may have been offended by the fact that they don’t see me differently.  I would have even did my damnedest to prove to them and show them how I have changed and maybe would have even given them examples for proof that I’ve changed.  And yet, all I did was become curious and wonder what is the intelligence for them to still want to see me as I used to be.  I could make up all kinds of stories about it and yet that would be useless because I’m not them and their opinion of me is clearly none of my business…(Thank-you Louise).

Maybe it’s just simply easier for them to see me as I was and then they don’t have to change a thing in their world and everything will be as it was and possibly still is?

Well maybe that is fine for them but it’s not for me.  I don’t have to defend myself by the fact that I have changed rather I need to remember who I am now and not who I was and again…get lost in their reality.

My life is of my choosing and their life is of their choosing.  AND…that’s o.k.!

So the weekend goes by and Sunday night I do my usual routine of getting ready for bed and the whole day keeps on playing through my mind.  Not that it was annoying me but how clear I was in my body that I am happy to be the person that I am now and how unhappy I was when I was the person that some still remember me by.  CLEARLY…that is about them and not me. 

I washed my face and put my face cream on and even though I’ve used  the same face cream for years, tonight it seems to sting.  Hmmmmm!

I get up Monday morning and my whole forehead is broken out in a rash.  It’s obvious to me that there’s something wrong with the cream.  I even called the store where I bought it and returned it to them cause there had to be something wrong with this batch.

A couple of days go by and I notice that the rash is still there.   Hmmm, now I start to ponder.  (A little slow on the uptake I was).

Why is it that if there was something wrong with the cream, why didn’t my whole face break out?  What was the message that the body was sending me.  So I started to run it through the CODE Model ™ and what I discovered was, it was still bothering me that the people that should truly know me and who I’ve become…have chosen not to see it.

Within a short period of time, my forehead started to clear.  Later on Thursday, I’m having a conversation with someone that believes in all the weird and wonderful diseases that we’ve created for ourselves.  I no longer believe in them the same way rather I see it as the body sending a message to us and if we “decode” it, the symptoms (dis-ease, dis-comfort) will clear up.  Well I did make an attempt at sharing my view point and the person listened and yet didn’t fully hear what I was saying.  All I know was I needed to leave this conversation and head back to my office.

When I got back to my office and sat at my desk, I put my hand on my neck and realized that the rash that was on my forehead was now on a small part on the front, right side of my neck. Man was it every itchy.  And at first, I didn’t run it through the CODE Model™ until I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone (someone who truly does know who I am…thanks Marie) and she made mention of a professional in allopathic medicine and all of a sudden the “click” happened.  My body was reacting to what I was listening to earlier in the afternoon.

Within five minutes of realizing what the rash was about, it was gone.

On Friday, I took part in a conference call (and yes I still had a rash on my forehead) and a lot came up for me about who I am in the world and how the future looks for me from where I’m standing now.  Well interesting enough as I was listening to another person talking who took part in the conference call, I experienced that same “click” that I had the day before.  AND…guess what?  My forehead was clear in about a two hour period once I fully claimed what was going on.

So how many things go on in our daily lives and we think that it’s about something else.  Is a cold a cold?  Is the flu the flu?  Or are these labels that have been made up for us so that we don’t have to deal with our lives?  We can say that our body isn’t sending us messages at all, and we can continue to look to “professionals” to fix what is happening inside of us.  We’ve all heard that expression, Being on the outside looking in.  I also know that most people don’t like to be in that position however for some reason, we put ourselves in that very situation every time our body responds to something that it DOES – NOT- LIKE.

Take a look at your health issues and really ponder over whether you need them there or not?  It’s truly your decision.  (read my previous blog.  Living is a choice).

AND ya know what?  If I’ve rattled your cage or yanked your chain…oh well!  If that’s what it takes for you to claim what is going on in your body, then so be it.  And by all means, email me – call me…if you’re interested in choosing to live.

Letting Go Of  The Past AND…Growing Forward.

Amy

Amy McNaughton

     I was watching a movie the other night and there were people talking about their “Near Death Experiences” and how it had changed their lives.  Some talked about how they knew that they were out of their bodies and watching how things were unfolding.  The insights that they had were amazing and they knew that they weren’t ready to leave.  “I had to come back because I had so much more to experience in this life,” was one of the comments along with other comments which were  quite similar.

As I listened to the way they were saying things it was clear that these people’s lives had changed and nothing would ever be the same for them again.  Some talked of how they no longer judge people or see things the same way.  I also realized that they were speaking and using so many of the same words that I use and how similar our lives were and…I didn’t go through a Near Death Experience to experience a different way of living.  Something else that I found very interesting was how they knew that it was their choice to either continue living or to die.  These people chose to live and so have I.

What I find sad is the fact that we seem to have to step out of our bodies to actually notice things and to realize that the way we live really doesn’t work. 

There is so much more that I could say and yet I’m not sure where I’m going with this except to say that I plan to live and consciously make choices that my life does change.

It has been just over three months since a very close friend of mine passed over.  I was at the funeral and I can still hear the words that the minister spoke.  He was provided with information from Robyn’s family, the people who you would think know her best…and they didn’t.

Robyn didn’t have a Near Death Experience.  She chose to leave this experience that we call life and chose something different.  She was not the first person in my life that I held as very meaningful to me in my life who chose to leave this experience.  And in fact, I believe living is an experience and I also believe that if we feel that we cannot ’live’ it to the fullest, that we are left with a choice to make.

When my sister died, I remember wishing that I could have been there when it happened.  A thought- that I find to be quite bizarre now.  I didn’t realize what living and dying was about or how it truly felt in my body…  Until I heard Robyn’s mother tell three people in a row, “I was there when she died.”

What I realized at that point was that I was there when Robyn lived.  I was there when Anne (my sister) lived.  And that my friends is truly an incredible experience and one that I am so glad that I was part of.

While I’m in this body having a human experience I can tell you that I plan on living it to the fullest.  I can say that up until a little over a year ago that I was a walking zombie.  Living life in automatic-very repetitive.  I now know the difference between truly living and going through the motions.

I’m not planning on any Near Death Experience for me to choose living  life to the fullest for me to do it.  Rather I’ll make the changes now so that I can have the experience sooner rather than later or not at all.

I realize that there are many people in my life who should know who I am and what truly lights me up however after this movie and other things which  have taken place in my life, I know that some choose to see and remember me as the way I used to be instead of who I am now.  In so many ways it makes me sad but if I don’t stay present to myself and get caught up in their memories of who I was and not who I know myself to be, then I will be limiting myself and that my friend is not living.

Letting Go Of The Past AND…Growing Forward.

Amy

Amy McNaughton

      I just finished reading Louise’s blog (sorry but I don’t know how else to do this)     http://www.louiselebrun.com/WomenGathering/   and I must say that it truly resonated with me.

She talks about being honest…”There is life after truth.”  I do agree and she also makes mention that, “The people we love and who love us back are up to it.”   

My belief is that the people in our lives are up for it but the question for me would be, “Am I up for it?” 

I’ve changed the way that I move through the world.  I am honest and true to everyone (including myself which is the real challenge), and I speak to everyone the same way.  I’m not changing how I speak when I’m with my family.  I don’t have a different way of speaking when I’m with clients.  I even speak with my daughter and husband the same way as well with my friends.  However, it certainly was a challenge in the beginning.

I realize now that as I’ve started to make more changes in my life, that it can still be a bit scary. 

In my line of business I work with people with Health Issues and I have a quicker and much easier way of helping them…help themselves, and yet I was still referring to myself as a Registered Nutritionist.  Hmmm, I still am that AND….I’m much more.  I was looking at my website and realized that I’m proud that I’m a Certified CODE Model Coach™ and yet I haven’t done any writing as to what it is.  However, when clients call in I’m all to happy to share the information with them.

So it’s not about others being ready to hear the truth, it’s rather How Ready Am I To Be Seen For The Person That I’ve Become? – And without hiding?

I shake my head as I sit here writing when I think of a conversation that I had earlier today about the things that light me up.  No hesitation.  CODE Model Coaching™ and that was not something that I had to stop and think about.  And yet up until now I’d say that I’ve been playing it “safe.” (And didn’t realize it till just now as I wrote.  Blogging…a beautiful way to discover more).

I could be easily disgusted with myself for making the realization that it’s scary for me to step out and be seen or I can look at it and realize that with this realization  I can change it right now.

As a CODE Model Coach™  coupled with my background in Health Issues(dis-ease) and Nutrition, it makes what I have to offer unique and so beneficial to others and yet I haven’t been putting myself out there to be seen.  Well, obviously that is about to change cause I know some of the people that will be reading this and they’ll be checking out my website to see if there’s any description under “Health & Wellness Coaching.”  See…there is intelligence to everything that we do. :) I now longer can back down or pull away now.  (please do give me at least till Tuesday to make the change.  It is a long weekend after all.  Oh yes and ya know what????   That’s how easy it is to make up an excuse. ) 

I advertised in a local newspaper this week and it was the first time for me doing anything like that.  Funny though, as soon as I new that it had been put to bed and was going to be published, I immediately did my new one for the next issue and it is totally who I am in the world today.

A friend of mine said, “Be Bold – Be Controversial.”  Yep and he’s right.  I took a deep breath and the next advertisement clearly states that I am a CODE Model Coach™  and the heading is, “Health Issues ~ A Different Perspective.”

I know that if you want a different life or improved health, that you need to change things and do things differently.  And I need to take a deep breath and remember who I am and not who I was as defined by others.  If I don’t let them see that I’m not the same person that they’ve always known and I don’t get honest with myself and them, there is no one to blame for my frustration on no one noticing that I’ve changed except myself.

Things are about to get really exciting for me and for others in my life as well – and that includes clients.  I know that I change moment to moment and breath to breath and with that comes new opportunity for personal growth.  Not A Bad Way To Live!

Letting Go Of The Past AND….Growing Forward.

Amy

Amy McNaughton

     This past week I felt that it was time to just allow myself to stop and pamper myself.  Pampering for me is no longer going shopping or going out for a coffee, it’s truly about stopping where I’m off my feet and am in the horizontal position.  You know…facials, massage, body wraps, pedicures…hmmmm if I keep on I’m just gonna have to book again.

On Thursday I booked an appointment for a pedicure.  Pedicures for me are something that I don’t usually invest in.  I’ve never really had a lot of feeling in my feet so never full enjoyed them but still booked once and a while cause the poor feet get abused and rarely get acknowledge.

Well let me tell you that Thursday found me giggling and laughing AND…AMAZED. 

Since engaging from a WEL-Systems®  paradigm I have let a lot go from the past.  And because of that, my health has improved in so many ways that it would take me quite a few pages to share it all with you.  So I’ll share this with you for now and know that there will be more to follow on Health Issues later.

So I need to give you a little bit of history for you to get a ‘feel’ for what I’m saying.  Where to start?

Well…how about my feet where in all started?    The balls of my feet and the heals have been always hard and very calloused since I was a child.  The callouses were so thick and hard that they appeared to be almost yellow.  They didn’t and haven’t bothered me through out my life cause I couldn’t feel anything anyway.  I was told by a doctor was that the reason that they were like that was because I had been a majorette for 15 years of my life and that constant pounding on the feet was a sure way to develop callouses.

It sounded pretty logical to me so that was it.  I had an answer and it was ‘justifiable’ for me so what more did I need?

The next thing that I need to share with you is that over the past year I have invested in mySelf and have taken the  WEL-Systems®  certification stream line and have educated mySelf in a way that has become more meaningful to me than anything else that I have studied.  For me it was all about personal growth which is why my business is, “Growing Forward ~ Personal Growth Services.”

So simply put, when you start to break up the ‘mortar’ (which we call the past), things start to change.  I not only mean from a ‘mental’ aspect but also from a physiological aspect.  Yes, tissue changes – health improves and to say the least, my life is absolutely incredible now.

On Thursday, when I went in for my pedicure – I told Nancy that me feet have always been badly calloused (and they aren’t as bad now as they were) and that the baby toe on each foot for some reason has always split from the bottom up.  As a laid there quite comfortable relaxing after a wonderful foot soak I hear words coming from her that didn’t seem to make sense.

She said, “Your feet aren’t calloused at all and your toenails on your little toes aren’t split at all either.”  She laughed and said, “What are you talking about?”

I couldn’t believe it.  After having severely calloused feet for more than 35 years, the callouses had disappeared and the toe nails were healed as well.  I had noticed a few months ago that the callouses weren’t as bad but they were still there and the little toes were still splitting.

Although through coaching with clients I have witnessed (with them as they share) that the tissue in (and outside) of the body does heal however, I didn’t realize that callouses could disappear like that.

So this time my pedicure was quite the experience for me. And probably for Nancy - was somewhat difficult because I kept on pulling my foot away and curling up my toes cause it tickled so much.  She laughed as she said that my feet were so sensitive.  Yes…maybe sensitive in one way, but the way that I described it to her was that they were finally ‘alive.’

And that is the way my life is now.  Fully Alive from the tips of my ticklish toes to the top of my head.  It has even been a benefit for my feet that I have let go of the past.  Oh there are still things about the past that serve me and that’s o.k. but there are many things from the past that definitely were a hinder for me AND…no longer are.

If you’re looking at letting go of the past or are wanting to shake things up a little, consider the program being offered on,

March 29th.  ”Remembering Who We Are” is a program experience like no other.  There will be quite a variety of topics being discussed and you’ll leaving wanting more.      http://thepowerlieswithin.com/prog_remember.html

So if you’re looking for Health or Life changing experiences, this is the place to be.  And know…that you’re not alone and you’re always in good (no) Great company. 

Letting Go Of The Past And…Growing Forward 

Amy

For a different view on the intelligence of the body, go to:

http://thepowerlieswithin.com/WordPress/

Amy McNaughton

     Yesterday was a pretty exciting day for me.  I started off with a client and then later in the afternoon I got my business line hooked up in my office. 

I’ve been kind of working out of my office since the first of October and yet I’ve only been going up if I have a client or have paper work to do and need a quiet space.  This was not my desire and yet it was suggested to me by “An Expert.” 

Remember when you got pregnant (if you have children) that all of these experts came streaming out of the woodwork with their expert advice?  Remember that a majority of them didn’t have children of their own and had never been pregnant?  Well, back then I polite and took what they had to offer into consideration and then ended up doing a trial and error thing.

Well, since I started my business the same type of experts came out of the wall and totally unexpected this time.  And to my dismay, I actually listened to some of them – after all what do I know about running a business, it’s my first time.?

So lets see…As a new business owner you need to watch your spending.  Hmmmm, well now I can say yes and no.  From the very beginning I was told, “Don’t get a business phone number cause it will cost over  $100. a month and that’s an expense that you don’t need.  Hmmm, I think not.  For a little over 5 months I haven’t had Internet or a business line at my office.  I was forwarding calls for my phone line (in my name only) from the home office to my cell phone so that I wasn’t totally without a phone.  The rationale behind this that was shared with me by an expert was, “You’re clients see you by appointment only and when you see them you turn your phone off so what’s the use of spending money for nothing?” 

It sounded quite logical and I went with that for a while (5 months) and yet the whole time my body was saying – do what is meaningful and fun for you…not what the experts are saying.

Well I’ve said this in my other blog as well as this previous one…The Emerging Futures: Entrepreneurial Women’s Retreat allowed me to clearly see everything that I had been feeling in my body but this time I could no longer ignore the impulse. 

I came home and the same day, I called the phone company to find out how much it would cost to have a business line.   Well get ready for this.  It’s costing me about $6. more a month and that is for High Speed Internet, advertisement in the White and Yellow pages of the phone book and not to mention my phone line of course.  And before I was paying only for the phone line and for $6. more I get so much more.

When seeking suggestions (not advice) from someone, I suggest that you go to someone that you truly trust and then take a few minutes to research their suggestion (because things get updated on regular basis and there may be something new that will better serve) before just going with what one person suggested.  ALSO…don’t do as I’ve done by denying the truth of my experience.  For 5 months I’ve wanted a business line and now I have one and it feels pretty damn good.    Oh yes, and by the way….2 minutes after the phone company called me to confirm that the line was now active as a business line, the phone rang and I booked an appointment.    Let me tell you that that was an awesome feeling.

I’m sharing this information as part of a learning experience.  Now that I’ve experienced it and it didn’t feel that great…you don’t have to.  You can choose differently. 

I believe that I’m here to share my life with others and that means the experiences that I have whether it be business, parenting, thoughts on health or any other aspect of my life.

Letting go of the Past and….Growing Forward!

Amy

Amy McNaughton

     I set this blog up a few months ago and up until now have never posted anything on it.  Every once and a while I come back and visit it and look at the picture and yet…nothing pulls to me to want to write until today.

I now realize what this blog is going to be about.  It’s about me taking a different path and crossing the bridge.  Me Growing Forward as a Business Woman.  I have been moving through my world differently over the past year but now there are new discoveries and growth happening.  This is beyond my personal life and yet it co-exists at the same time.  It’s just another aspect of who I am in the world and who I am willing to allow myself to become.

So I am going to share in the birthing process, as I discover the Entrepreneurial Woman that I am. 

 In March of 2007 I changed my business name to better represent my business and what it is about.  So I created, “Growing Forward ~ Personal Growth Services.”

As I’ve learned along the way, there is an ebb and flow when it comes to running a business.  I owe a lot to Louise LeBrun for having the patience to stand shoulder to shoulder with me over the past year.  I know that I stand taller today because of Louise and her brilliance. 

As I’ve fallen and scraped my knees (which I’m still doing), I’m managing to get up quicker that I had in the beginning.  This has been such a huge learning curve for me because I have never owned a business or managed one in my life. 

What I didn’t realize was that a new business is like a baby.  You have to love it, nurture it, be patient, , you need to allow it time to grow, know that sometime it may fall but it will get back up again, allow it to feel the pain that goes along with growing, and always love it because it is of your own creation.. 

My business is personal because I have created it.  And it’s all about me.  So all of the things that I wrote above are a reflection of me and my business.

When I started my business, it was go – go – go.  I never allowed myself the time to acknowledge what I had created, how well it (I) was doing.  A brand new business run by someone who doesn’t have any previous knowledge of running one, let alone owning one.

I’ve managed quite well thus far however there seems to be too much of an ebb happening for me.  What I didn’t realize was that my body needed to rest.  By allowing myself the time I needed to rest and rest properly, things are starting to move again.  I was abusing myself and pushing myself to the limit without seeing it.  Oh I felt it but I had lots of rules about being a new business owner and what resting meant.  It meant stopping and if I stopped then I wouldn’t have a business.  But what I do know is that if I hadn’t allowed myself the time to rest, that I would have ended up with some physical dis-ease that would give me no other option but to stop.

I must say that the reason for me finally starting this blog is due to a program that I stepped into during the month of February.  “Emerging Futures: Entrepreneurial Women’s Retreat.”  The programs which I have taken over the past year (through the WEL-Systems Institute)  made it clear for me what it was that I wanted to do with my life.  Now that I took charged and started my business, I could feel that there was something more that I needed.  That something more was the program.  (See link on this blog).

After just 4 days my life and perspective changed and I now know what I need for myself to take my Dream Forward.

There was a lot of letting go and many self discoveries.  Although my business has been holding its own, I now see that I’ve been holding myself back in different ways without truly realizing it.  But now that I know what I have to do – I just need to do it. 

As I let go of some old  (useless) beliefs that were holding me back, I also let go of some weight at the same time.  (Definitely an added bonus if you ask me).   In four days I lost 10 pounds and within the first few days of being home I lost 4 more pounds.  If you refer to my other blog, (http://www.thepowerlieswithin.com/WordPress/) there are times when I mention that it’s never about what it’s about.  It’s always about something else.  So letting go of old beliefs also helped me let go of weight that was no longer needed either.    AND…it’s that easy!

So there you have it.  Life can truly be that simple. 

Invest in yourself, Trust that you are the only one that knows what’s best for you, Know that you are worthy of all of the incredible things that come your way and know that there’s only one person that can hold you back from making your Dreams a Reality …And that is you. 

So as I go forward in my business you’ll see some exciting things unfolding.  A variety of new programs tailored towards personal growth for women. Health Beyond Nutrition, Remembering Who We Are, Life Unfolding: A Series of Events for the Whole Family as well as one on one CODE Model Coaching™ which changes how you not only look at health issues or the dis-ease in the body but also recognize the intelligence behind it as well.  

I have a sign on my door that clearly states,

“Enter at the Risk of ~ Changing you Health and your Life.”

This is no joke, this has become a reality for me. 

So stay tuned and check this blog out often as I share insights on health issues, parenting, business suggestions and discoveries and much, much more.

Letting Go Of The Past And… Growing Forward  

Amy