Today I am going to share Smalley and Trent’s Five Reasons Why Word Pictures Work So Well.

1. Word pictures have been time tested by the world’s greatest communicators.

Cicero, Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr, biblical writers and Jesus himself number among those who have successfully inspired and brought understanding to others with their messages.

2. Word Pictures Grab and Direct Attention

Just as the word pictures in a novel grab our attention, so do our well timed illustrations: up front in the first 30 seconds even. Look at car advertising for example. Do we drive cars or are they Mustangs. Broncos, Cavaliers, Colts, Blazers etc?

3. Word Pictures Bring Communication to Life.

Not only are our emotions activated by word pictures, but we can also be affected physically. Think how we have felt after watching a suspenseful movie or reading a thrilling book. Physiologically we experience the same shortness of breath, cry tears or relax just as the characters do.

4. Word Pictures Lock Thoughts Into Our Memory

We can learn from Holocaust survivor and renowned speaker, Corrie ten Boom who always had an object or story to illustrate what she was saying. She often held up a piece of embroidery with the ugly, chaotic looking threads at the back showing. She explained how our lives often look like this, like when she was in a concentration camp; but as she asked God to make sense of her world, she turned the tapestry around to reveal to her audience a beautifully embroidered crown.

5. Word Pictures Provide A Gateway To Intimacy

Taught by Smalley and Trent in counselling, they have seen many unfulfilling relationships turn into vibrant, mutually satisfying ones. Word pictures have helped many to find a common ground for communicating.

Simply, the language of love is the use of emotional word pictures that allow our words to touch the heart of our listener. Whether we are parents, children, spouses, friends, bosses, workers, teachers, counsellors, ministers, politicians, writers, public speakers or more, our communication skills relate to how successfully and meaningfully we are able to make our point to others.

The amazing thing is that emotional word pictures are able to engage both the thoughts and the feelings of others, allowing them to understand and feel the impact of what we have to say. When both a person’s intellect and emotions are activated, they not only hear our words, but experience them as well, increasing the impact of our message.

My next message will share Smalley and Trent’s reasons word pictures work so effectively.

Step 4. Withdraw from sugar.

David explains what to expect during our withdrawal. Whilst he claims it is not painful, some feel a craving for sugar, some experience mood swings, headcold-like symptoms, and possible headaches. He gives strategies to get through and encourages us that within weeks we can be very happily reaching for mineral water instead of softdrink on the supermarket shelves.

Step 5. Re-stock and Get Ready For The Rest Of Your Life.

I found it so interesting to read the lists of sugar content in common household cereals, muesli bars, spreads, sauces, dressings, take away foods, school lunch items, etc. It was very helpful to plan my grocery shopping from here on in.

Thank you to David for including a chapter of recipes that we can safely eat without starting the sugar addiction trail again.

I’m very grateful that this book offers hope for getting our metabolism back into order, allowing our appetite control system to start functioning as it should, allowing us to feel in control of what we are eating.

Step Two – Eliminate habits associated with eating sugar.

Is anyone else out there partial to eating cake or chocolate biscuits with a cuppa, snacking on lollies while watching a movie or studying, having a softdrink at dinner time? The problem is that habits and addiction can reinforce each other. So here’s the question – Should we avoid a habit until we get the addiction under control (for me, not drink tea, Perhaps go for a walk around the garden instead) or can we substitute something else for the sugar (like nuts instead of the cake) and still enjoy the habit? So far I’m enjoying the nuts or some cracker biscuits with my cup of tea.

Step Three – Eliminate Sugar from your food supply.

Time to clean out our pantry and fridge. Throw out the lollies, the chocolate, the ice-cream, the softdrink, the fruit juice, the sweet biscuits and the cake. A few points I found interesting were that many low-fat foods are high in sugar and many breakfast cereals are high in sugar. The book gives a list of sugar contents of many types of foods suitable to keep.

Join me tomorrow for two more steps

David makes it very clear in his book that as a lawyer,he did not have medical training. He did however conduct an extensive study of medical journals and reputable research articles. In the book he explains how sugar is as addictive as cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs and that not only does sugar make us fat, clog our arteries, give us diabetes, and cause Alzheimer’s Disease, it is converted by our liver into fat, destroying our appetite control, causing us to eat more of everything.

The book shares a five-step plan to break sugar addiction.

Step One is “Believe you are not being deprived”. (Have the right attitude). The plan involves eating anything you like as long as it doesn’t taste sweet. Eat it whenever you like and eat as much as you like; just stop when you feel full!

So, day one for me – no sugar- I survived! It just so happens that I am starting this program to break my sugar addiction on day one of the Lenten Season I observe while preparing for Easter. Traditionally this is a season of abstinence or fasting, so abstaining from sugar it is!

Stay tuned for the rest of the Steps to break our sugar addictions.

Life is difficult! We need to feel the pain (not ignore it) and take responsibility and time to fix the problems. Discipline is a worthy thing. In giving up certain things, true joy can be discovered. Growth and fulfillment can be achieved.

Love is spoken of as an intention and action; an act of will. It is about nurturing our own and others’ spiritual growth. Love is about attention, listening, commitment, discipline, separateness and confrontation.

Dependent people (lacking love) are interested only in their own nourishment and satisfaction. They are not interested in their own growth or any one else’s.

Learning and the pursuit of knowledge; looking for meaning and purpose brings life and love to the individual. Self consuming laziness is love’s opposite. Love highlights new areas of thought, responsibility, maturity.

Grace plays a large part in our spiritual journey and growth. We may choose grace. We may be chosen by grace. We may choose to give, to nurture.

We may have lived in our past but we need to learn what of that past, if anything, should be brought into our present and future. We need to face our problems, learn how to make changes and be prepared for the work involved in making new healthy decisions and habits.

We can bridge the continents of mind and body with imaginative journeys. We have the capacity to create the blueprint for what we want to actualize.

Imagery creates fire in the mind, visions in the soul, and energy in the body. It helps people who solve problems to complete projects more often and more easily. Worlds within and without become inseparable.

Possibilities abound in our physical, psychological, symbolic and spiritual realms as we explore our potential; as we see and feel our inner self, our larger self.

Some thoughts to consider –
What do you ache for?
Do you dare to dream of meeting that longing?
Would you risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive?
Have you touched the centre of your sorrow? Did you become shrivelled and closed? or did you become opened?
Can you sit with pain without moving to hide it, fade it, fix it?
Can you be with joy without being cautious, realistic, limiting?
Can you disappoint another to be true to yourself?
Can you see beauty even when it’s not pretty?
Can you source your life from God’s presence?
What sustains you from the inside when all else falls away?
Can you be alone with yourself and like the company you keep?

This book was an interesting journey. A small one on the larger life journey we are all on.

Our life process is likened to a fly beating itself to death upon a window trying to break through the glass to get outside. It thinks working harder will bring results. In reality, a shift of mind or a change of direction to fly through the open door is all that is required to achieve freedom.

So it’s time to get radical, contradict common sense, multiply instead of add, move to a higher orbit and accept exponential gains.

Our doubts are not the product of accurate thinking, but habitual thinking. So get rid of doubt and visualise arriving at your goal.

Take the quantum jump. Think about where you are going to land. Don’t get caught up in the technique of the jump.

Give yourself a chance. Quit thinking it is a matter of taking a chance.

Find a passion, a magnificent obsession, a deep desire, something that stirs your heart, then jump and let it happen. The dreams, desires and thoughts that burn the hottest in your mind, direct you to breakthrough.

So in my little “holiday” over the past week I have finished reading “The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom” by Suze Orman. Remember, she challenged us to think about the roots of our money perceptions, try to connect them to our current perceptions and where necessary build in new positive concepts to live by. We have looked at our current financial situation and attempted to balance our incoming and outgoing finances.

A chapter is devoted to teaching us about being responsible to the people we love. Information about Wills,Trusts, Life Insurance, Income Protection Insurance, and Medical insurance shows us how to provide for our families if we were to be injured or die.

We are encouraged to respect our money and make the most of time. Investing a little, early and constantly, is far far better than trying to make up a huge shortfall when we are close to retirement age.

Credit cards need to be cut up!!! This is showing ourselves respect.

Investment options are explained. From managed funds to index funds, superannuation to share portfolios, we are encouraged to learn about the options and then trust ourselves to invest wisely.

Suze’s research has shown time and time again that those people who gave money away often were the ones who ended up with more than they needed.

She encourages us to recognise true wealth in defining ourselves by who we are. She doesn’t believe in measuring our self worth by our net worth. She gives much valuable information about the nuts and bolts of investing, but bottom line is that we are more than the money we have.

Today with Suze Orman in “The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom” we are challenged to get a grip on things. Do you know what it costs you to live each month? Have you worked the yearly expenses like rego, insurance, holidays, christmas, into a monthly figure? Have you added little things like movies, bottle of wine, parking and unexpected things like dental bills, travel to wedding etc.

Today’s exercise is to make a list of the last two years expenses. Look in cheque books, bank statements, credit card bills, etc and fill in the categories month by month. This will take some time but it will give you back some power to take control of your finances. Once all fees,accounts, bills are listed, calculate monthly averages.

Now do likewise with income that you will expect to continue over the next year. List wages/salaries, bonuses, social security, rental income, regular money gifts, pension or anything else. Again calculate a monthly average.

Most likely you’ll discover that you spend more than you thought and possibly more than you earn. So your decision is generally to earn more or spend less.

To trim the expenses you can go one extra week each time between things like haircuts and lawn mowing, reduce the frequency of some items like dinners out and movies. Keep tweeking until the budget balances.