Nicole Liammari, Founder & CEO of My Gut Hut, is a leader in the mind + gut + body + soul connection. From a young age, Nicole struggled with severe asthma and allergies. Being on multiple medications, missing out on fun childhood activities, and never knowing when an asthma attack would strike left her uneasy and vulnerable. Fast forward to adulthood, she survived a major car accident, diagnosed with autoimmune disorders, depression, anxiety, and prescribed multiple prescription drugs, putting her once again fighting for her life. After conventional medicine failed her and hitting rock bottom, Nicole decided to take matters into her own hands because she knew life wasn’t meant to be lived in such pain and angst. She became her own advocate and avid researcher, leading her to heal completely, defying all the odds. She quickly realized how the body is so magnificently interconnected and how past trauma, thoughts, food, and more play a vital role in wellness. With that, Nicole made it her mission to help inspire and empower others as she saw so many missing links in how illness is addressed and how it does not have to be a life sentence. She can connect on a deep level with others, mentoring them through their journey via her tailor-made Protocol that encompasses the true pillars of wellness, focusing on the gut + mind coherence leading ones to heal themselves and living a life they deserve. Nicole’s motto is “Heal your Gut, Heal your Mind – Heal your Mind, Heal your Gut.” Nicole Liammari, Founder & CEO of My Gut Hut Who is Nicole? Hello! Thank you for this opportunity. Who is Nicole? Nicole is a fun-loving gal born and raised in NY. My full name is Nicole Liammari, and I presently live in Florida with the love of my life, Ruben, and our little boys. We have a total of 4 boys, ages 5, 10, and then our older boys, 23 and 27. Yes, I am outnumbered, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. My background is in law and wealth management however took a different turn after healing myself of my chronic illness diagnoses (autoimmune, depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, etc.). After struggling for years, literally my entire life, with my health and conventional medicine being to no avail, and subsequently healing myself, I knew I had to come out with my story and help others. Initially, I came out with my full story to help inspire and empower others to become their own advocate and give them hope, but it turned into so much more. With that, I am the proud Founder and CEO of My Gut Hut, a functional wellness company, along with Co-Founder of the Women 4 Wellness Movement. What is it that you do for your clients? It really varies from person to person, as I meet each client where they are, but ultimately, I Mentor and guide them through their journey to feel their best. I created three (3) Proprietary Protocols that focus on the true core areas of what wellness really embodies, and that is the entire being. I focus on the gut, mind, and heart coherence as those are our three brains, so interconnected that if anyone wants to feel their best, they need to focus and address all three properly. In society today, so many are focused on just treating the symptoms, and well, that is not the answer. Being I went through my own struggle for so long, I truly understand the desperate desire to feel better and just get better which helps me relate to my clients on a much deeper level. I actually provide real solutions and modalities that bring real, true results that last. No fad diet or quick fixes (although clients do have results pretty quick) as we build a sustainable lifestyle that comes with a cohesive strategy. I help them become their own advocate, giving them all the tools they need to succeed and thrive to become happier and healthier overall. We leave no area uncovered, meaning we dive into each area, such as mindset rewiring, environment, stress management, food, and more. I created the protocols in such a way that the process is very enlightening, and a common client testimony is “ I feel brand new” or “ I have never felt so great.” Clients come to me ranging with all different types of concerns, diagnoses, and such, typically autoimmune-related. However, my doors are open to everyone. No matter the diagnosis, we start with the basics by focusing on the entire being. That is what makes my Protocols work so well with results that last. Who should hire/work with you? People looking to create a life and lifestyle for themselves and /or their families bringing them to a better place overall. I realize that sounds so broad, but so many people are walking about tired, stressed, depressed, and such for so many various reasons. We need to change this narrative and trajectory. So many don’t know where to start, but I make that simple. So people that are suffering from digestion issues like bloating, gas, acid-reflux PMS and painful periods, weight issues, depression, anxiety. Anything that someone is struggling with really is a gut issue, which we address directly. So, really anyone that doesn’t feel well and wants to feel better. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? My goal is to be there for people on a large scale so they don’t feel so alone like I did through my journey. To help educate people to become their own advocate, their best self and actually show people there's a better way. Help them unlearn and relearn all within a safe community. Really this is one of the reasons the Women 4 Wellness Movement was created. My Gut Hut is my baby, and the Movement is a much bigger version that I am so excited to see grow. We have our first Virtual Summit in August 2021. I see this growing into something amazing over the next 10 years to be where Women come to become their best selves in a way that gets society to wake up and realize their true potential. What supplements do you recommend? Well, I actually don’t. I know that sounds a bit crazy, being the supplement industry is huge. Here’s the thing, supplements are not food. Our body thrives on food because it knows what to do with it. Supplements are not regulated, questionable, expensive, and well, taking a handful of supplements daily doesn’t equate to health. I get a lot of pushback on this, and that is okay. There is a method to my madness (I jokingly say that as my approach is different), and well, it works. It works very well, and clients are happier, healthier, and let’s be honest, most people don’t want to take a bunch of pills. Too much to remember in this crazy busy world we live in. The only product I recommend is a multifunctional food that harmonizes gut bacteria and digestion. It is a tool, not a quick fix, but it’s been used for thousands of years, the research is there, and I see how my clients have thrived using it over the last 1.5 years. Being the only Certified Master Specialist of it, I have studied a lot, and it’s truly amazing. It not only supplies the most diverse of natural forming good bacteria but also is packed with vitamins, minerals, and more. What are 3 things you would like to share with our readers? Love this question! Just 3? Your body wants to heal and most certainly can and will given the right tools, strategies, and environment. Healing of any sort starts from within and is not found in a pill or powder, and does NOT cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Your body is truly magnificent and resilient, love it, and it will love you back. Where can people find you, read more and or connect with you? Everyone is welcome to check out My Gut Hut’s website. I have a contact me tab there, and anyone is always welcome to reach out. They can also check out the Women 4 Wellness Movement website to read up on the mission and our upcoming Virtual Summit in August. I am also on Instagram. Thank you again so much for this opportunity! Follow Nicole on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nicole!

Written by: Kelly G. Wilson, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Heartbreak is like a forest fire. On the surface, a forest fire appears to look like total devastation. The forest is ravished by fire, and total consumption of life occurs. However, what happens after the fire is astonishing. The once nut attached to a standing tree now lays on the ground, cracked open to allow new life to take root and grow. The fire contributes to a new tree rising from the ashes by cracking open the nut's shell to let new growth happen. When it comes to heartbreak, you have two choices. Become a better version of yourself by using your heartbreak as a catalyst to live your best life or live in the shadows of defeat by choosing stagnation instead of growth. The choices are equivalent to the story of the tree nut. However, unlike a tree nut, you have a choice. Yes, heartbreak is painful when it happens. If your experience is anything like mine, it is total devastation. Give yourself space to grieve your broken heart and embrace the deconstruction because, in that rubble, which was once your life, you will find hope. The next step is yours to make, and you have two options. The first option is to be defined by your experience and live in the shadows of the fire that cracked you open. In life, this would look like staying in victim consciousness and believing that this happened to you because you deserved it. Perhaps, your inner critic believes that bad things don't happen to good people. The inner lie is that awful experiences only happen to bad people; therefore, your experience only confirms there must be something wrong with you. The cycle of negative thinking reinforces a deep, hidden, and limiting belief that growing up to be a tall, magnificent tree is meant for everyone except you. When the truth is, you are designed to be a tall, magnificent tree among many other tall, beautiful trees in the forest. Your second option is to use your heartbreak as a catalyst to live your best life. If you choose this option, here are four tips for moving forward: First, commit to self-improvement. Make self-improvement a non-negotiable in your life. Commit to becoming a better version of yourself for having lived the experience that broke your heart by investing in yourself, doing the inner work, and healing the internal lies. Instead of passivity, get out of your comfort zone and sign up for a personal development course, hire a coach, or read a self-help book so that you can come out the other side of the experience stronger and wiser than before the heartbreak. Second, take responsibility for your part of the situation. Taking responsibility does not mean playing the self-blame, self-shame, or self-guilt game. Instead, from a place of empowerment, it means taking ownership of your role and accepting the part you played so that you can learn from it instead of only focusing on the wrongdoings of the other person. Be honest with yourself and assess how you contributed to the outcome. Self-improvement can't happen without self-awareness, so take responsibility, be honest, and identify your role in the heartbreak so that change can happen. Third, harvest the lessons of the experience that led to the heartbreak. Every life experience contains a life lesson. So instead of asking yourself why this is happening to you, ask yourself why it is happening for you. Life is always organizing around your success. Flip your perspective and ask how this is happening for you to open yourself up to greater possibility. Ask yourself what life lessons are here for you to learn. Listen, receive, and apply to your future relationships. Last, let your past go by being grateful for the experience. Open yourself up to knowing that as painful as your heartbreak felt, it brought you a gift, an invitation to become a better version of yourself and to live your best life. An excellent gratitude practice is to write three things you are thankful for in a journal daily for 21 days to make gratitude a habit. Appreciate every lesson, gift, and opportunity your heartbreak brought you because you wouldn't be where you are today without it. And where you are today is at the beginning of living your best life. Be proud of yourself if you decided to learn and grow from your heartbreak and use it as a catalyst for personal growth and development. It takes courage. It takes bravery. It takes getting uncomfortable and clearing out the weeds so that the magnificent tree you are in can grow tall in the forest. As uncomfortable as these actions might be, the rewards outweigh the experience one-hundred-fold. Which option will you choose? Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , or visit my website for more info! Kelly G. Wilson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Kelly G. Wilson, The Butterfly Guide, is an intuitive life transformation coach for women reconnecting with themselves after heartbreak so they can reclaim their self-worth, repair their confidence, and live their best life. Kelly's journey began 10 years ago when she navigated total life destruction after divorce which catapulted her on her journey of self-discovery and reinvention where she learned the true definition of authenticity, soul alignment, and connection. Kelly's journey has provided a pathway to wholeness which she has now transferred into a coaching program, Rebuild After Heartbreak. Kelly's mission is to empower women to move beyond surviving into thriving by building deeper connections with self, others, and the Universe. Kelly has traversed her journey from caterpillar to butterfly and now lives in connection and relationship with life where quality, heart, and contribution intersect. She has a passion for adventure, travel, nature, and self-expression through art.

Dr. Kegley specializes in coaching well-educated, progressive leaders and executives who have been stopped in their tracks due to health setbacks. His doctorate is in theology and preaching. His first 25-year career was in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., where he was a Pastor and Head of Staff. But, after getting nearly burned out, getting diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, and going through cancer treatment, he emerged as a credentialed coach. Now he Coaches in the areas where he experienced his own humility and growth: Health and Wellness, The Cancer Journey, Burnout Recovery, and Leadership and Executive. David Kegley, International Leadership Wellness Coach Who is David? My name is David Kegley, and I am the Owner and Principal of Coaching & Conflict Transformation. This is my second career. My first was as a Pastor and Head of Staff in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. I hold a doctorate in preaching and theology from McCormick Seminary in Chicago. I grew tremendously in my 25-year career as a pastor. The skills that I developed—aside from what people may normally associate with parish work—were administrative and staff leadership and conflict transformation. As I continued to advance in my work and improve my skills, my schedule kept filling to capacity, and I kept demanding more of myself. I increasingly became convinced that there was another career calling to me outside of pastoral ministry, this time as a coach. What’s more, in 2015, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I realized that whatever life I had left was a gift, and if there was another career out there for me, I had better start reaching for it now. Within one year, I had caringly said farewell to my congregation and enrolled in a coaching program. Shortly after that, I created Coaching & Conflict Transformation, LLC. In addition to being a Coach, I am a Certified Mediator and mediate two-party and complex multi-party cases here in Washington State, U.S. My mediation experience does add depth to my coaching practice, but it rarely comes up in my sessions. I added to my initial training by receiving specialized certifications from the Cancer Journey Institute, which helped immeasurably in my work with cancer clients, and the National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach certification, which is the gold standard for health coaching worldwide. I’ve been married to my wonderful wife for 35 years, and we have two adult sons. We have two crazy cats; one is Ollie, a panther-like cat who would run from you if he saw you. He defends us against human and animal predators alike, is a scrappy fighter, and makes frequent trips to the vet for repairs, but he snuggles up to trusted family members in secret. The other is SeaTac (like the airport), who would come to you and purr if he saw you, frequently makes friends with the neighbor animals and humans and never needs to go to the vet. What is it that you do for your clients? I listen to them. I help them get to the crux of their most important issue. Then, we work as a team to decide how to derive new motivation or access that motivation creatively and to feel that motivation bodily. My clients and I will work to frame their language for a new path forward and decide on a declaration for that path. Finally, I ask my clients to work to build a practice with me that, in effect, rehearses what this new path forward will begin to look like. That, of course, is basic coaching familiar to many coaches. My niche focuses on creating health and wellness for clients who meet up with health roadblocks. I help my clients answer questions like: What do I do with my doctor’s prescription to lower my A1c or lose 10 pounds/5 liters, lower my blood pressure, quit smoking? Or how to move forward with a diagnosis of cancer? The common thread that unites most of my clients is that they are brilliant, talented people who have been stopped in their tracks because of something to do with their health. Who should hire/work with you? Corporate executives who need to balance a health setback with a need to keep pace with the demands of their job, those who have given their all through the pandemic and are now facing burnout, and others who never knew they were burned out until their boss or governing board intervened. Still, others who have just walked away from their doctor’s office with a folder and some additional literature about the alarming diagnosis that has just rocked their world or who have just gotten off the phone and heard of a similar diagnosis. Then, the many others who have been contemplating the need to make changes with their health and wellness but have never known where to turn until now. What is your big goal? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? I see myself expanding my capacity and depth in the wellness niche on a worldwide scale. I love coaching in different places around the world. I love telling my family at the end of the day that I went to Australia, Singapore, the UK, and the Philippines (albeit on Zoom) today! My mission is to stay in touch with my own fragile, illumined, and powerful self, honor my top five values of love, beauty, truth, peacemaking, and voice, and to be a learner along with my clients. I see coaching as developing the personal agency of my clients, and I want to do this with them to increase their personal and professional potentials, one person at a time. My big goal is to become a recognized advocate for proactive and interventive health among talented, progressive leaders and build a strong, self-sustaining client list of my ideal clients. Want to work with David? You can reach him at: drkegley.com or LinkedIn!

Written by: Emanuela Visone, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Who here has heard your inner voice calling to you? Sometimes it is a low whisper in the back of your head and other times it can be an overwhelming call to arms to get our attention. It is our gut wisdom also known as our intuition. It is there to guide us on what decision is best for us. But many times, we choose to go against what our gut instinct is telling us which usually ends up with regret and a hard lesson learned, hopefully. My failing health made me pay attention in ways I never thought I would ever have to. But I was destined to win the battle over my discouragement and to overcome my body’s inability to repair itself. I decided to listen to my gut feeling. It told me to “clean-up” my diet once and for all. My body needed more to heal. It couldn’t do its job to improve in its own time without the proper nutritional support. I decided to provide the best quality foods to nourish every cell in my body. I needed to be strong enough to believe in my body’s healing powers. I wanted the confirmation from natural healing authorities that would assure me that I was on the right path. There is a new medical discipline called Nutritional Medicine being practiced today by holistic doctors and health coaches like myself outlining how to address health challenges. Many of the books written by nutritional medicine doctors present information as to why degenerative conditions occur and logical step by step solutions to such conditions using diet and supplements. Thousands of people have followed the Nutritional Medicine health model and as a result, they are experiencing health and vitality. It truly transformed my life as well as the lives of many of my clients. I will share with you in the next few pages what I have learned from these doctors, because if the following information makes sense to you, then you will be motivated to explore what we have to offer you to address your own health challenges. Nutritional Medicine The Nutritional Medicine principles support the following: 1) better digestion and assimilation of foods using probiotics and enzymes; 2) better nutrition through nutrient rich food supplements and 3) increased protection against free radical damage (oxidative stress) through whole food antioxidants. Tens of thousands of people have used this health model to heal themselves from many chronic degenerative conditions. Additionally, many of the studies and books written by Nutritional Medicine doctors including my book, Healing Through Nature’s Medicine, A Story of Hope give us the scientific reasons behind why this specific health model and the supplements used have helped with a wide variety of health-related conditions. Today there is a very large number of functional, allopathic and naturopathic doctors practicing the Nutritional Medicine approach to health. What Is Nutritional Medicine? Nutritional Medical physicians believe that most degenerative conditions have their origin in the malfunction of the digestive tract and the liver's elimination processes. In other words, illness can be directly related to problems of the digestive and liver detoxification systems and their related influence on immune, nervous and endocrine system functions. Therefore, when the health of the digestive and liver detoxification systems is addressed, the body is given the opportunity to reverse many degenerative conditions. If the degenerative condition is labeled lupus, diabetes, or eczema, etc., a Nutritional Medicine doctor will first recommend addressing the health of the gastrointestinal tract. Once the GI tract is normalized, then the liver detoxification system should be supported and strengthened. Today, through the efforts of Nutritional Medicine doctors, we have hundreds of clinical studies and scientific research that confirm what many of us have heard so often from folk medicine practitioners: "Stomach problems are the cause of all ills" or "Death begins in the colon." Jeffrey Anderson, M.D., wrote an article called "How Problems with Digestion Can Cause Illness Anywhere", and in this article he explains why you should address the health of the gastrointestinal tract first, no matter what the name of the degenerative condition. He explains that "new information on the dynamics of the body make it clear that conditions in the digestive tract affect the entire system" (Nichols, et al., 1999, p.125). The "...degradation of the gastrointestinal environment is one of the primary points at which health is lost. What we now know is that the same toxins associated with GI dysfunction are frequently absorbed and distributed to other parts of the body. First, they place a burden on the liver and the immune system. If liver overload occurs, there will be spill over, and some of the toxins will be passed on to other organs or tissues" (p. 125). "Often, it's a weak link in the system that will be hit by the damage - an organ that can be anywhere in the body that is most likely to be vulnerable. The vulnerability may be inherited, caused by physical injury, toxic exposure, or poor diet" (p.125). For example, "if the sensitive system is the lungs, toxins that originate in the gut and circulate in the bloodstream may manifest as asthma or allergies" (p.125). If the brain is the sensitive system, then it can manifest as anxiety or depression. Len Saputo, M.D., in his article, “Harmful Flora", also believes that if the gastrointestinal tract goes out of balance and the liver detoxification system breaks down, our entire immune system can malfunction in three ways. First, it can be weakened, and the result called an immune suppression disease (cancer and AIDS). Second, it can overreact and become hyper responsive to normal stimuli; this occurs in asthma, eczema, migraine, and food allergies. Third, a malfunctioning immune system can cause auto immune reactions, where antibodies target our own tissues, as in rheumatoid arthritis or lupus (p.60). Jerry Stine, M.D., in his article, "How Digestion Works", explains that the gastrointestinal tract is the largest immune organ in our body. Eighty percent of all our protective immune globulins are produced in the digestive tract (p.16). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that when this large, strategically placed immune system member isn't working well, our defenses are lowered and once our barriers are down, it becomes more difficult to defend against invaders. Nutritional Medicine Strategies to Reverse Degenerative Conditions: Nutritional Medicine doctors including, Dr. Jeffrey Anderson, Dr. Len Saputo and Dr. Jerry Stine, believe that cleansing and supporting the GI tract and the liver can and will clear the body of any and most degenerative conditions. - First you detoxify the GI tract. - Then get the liver detoxification system working. - And finally clean up the downstream consequences, which includes the toxins in the tissues and cells. Nutritional Medicine doctors believe that you can't deal with the downstream conditions (symptoms in the body such as lupus, arthritis, eczema,.etc.), until you've treated the upstream problem(s) in the gut and liver (p.132). When you clean up the upstream issues and the liver, then the downstream consequences tend to go away. Nutritional Medicine Solution for Most Degenerative Conditions. The 4Rs Solution: 1) Remove: Abnormal kinds/amounts of intestinal microorganisms (parasites, bacterial pathogens, small intestinal overgrowth such as yeast, and food antigens). This can be done by repairing "leaky" intestinal membranes. 2) Replace: Hydrochloric acid, enzymes, and fiber deficiency can be addressed and replaced with friendly bacteria, digestive enzymes and fiber supplements. 3) Restore: Symbiotic bacteria and GI bacteria through the use of full spectrum friendly bacteria (L. acidophilus, B. bifidus, L. planetarium, L. salivarius, L. bulgaricus, etc.). 4) Repair: Replace or augment with nutrients necessary to support healing of intestinal lining, plus adequacy of calories, and adequacy of fiber. Support the liver detoxification system through the use of antioxidants and food based nutritional supplements (pp. 181-182). The Difference is in the Quality of The Nutritional Supplements: There are a multitude of allopathic and naturopathic doctors practicing Nutritional Medicine today, and they recommend supporting better digestion, better nutrition, and better protection against oxidative stress. However, when it comes to supplements, most Nutritional Medicine doctors recommend standard man-made supplements in their isolated, single, separated or chemically manufactured form, such as zinc, copper, vitamins B, C, E and beta carotene, to reverse degenerative conditions. Vitamins and minerals should not be taken in single and chemically manufactured forms. For example, Vitamins are intricate, interrelated, integrated, united organic nutritive groups. Nature made them as an indistinguishable part of foods for the benefit of human health. Vitamins are inseparable as working nutrients from trace elements, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients. Chemists have attempted to isolate and identify some of the components of these food complexes, labeling the seemingly "active" elements as vitamins or other nutrients. Yet there is no possible way that even the sum of the parts is equal to the whole. It is only the whole food, intact and unaltered, that works as a nutritional source. The isolated parts are not recognized by the body as foods. In large amounts, these isolated chemicals function more like drugs, which stimulate or suppress biochemical functions, instead of providing nourishment for the cells to carry on their vital activities. Natural, food-source vitamins are enzymatically alive. Man-made, synthetic vitamins are dead chemicals. Human health requires "live" biochemicals. It is simply a matter of chemistry versus biochemistry. I believe that nutritional medicine doctors are "right on the money" when it comes to explaining why degenerative conditions occur, but when it comes to the solution which is their supplement program, they are mainly providing the typical man-made and chemically manufactured supplements. Many of us prefer the use of whole food supplements based on the philosophy that "Food is the best medicine." Searching for the Ultimate Whole Food Supplements: There are certainly better alternatives than man-made supplements, i.e., organic whole food supplements. Whole food supplements are far superior in their quality and effectiveness for reversing degenerative conditions because they are produced in their natural and complex configuration. Why whole food products work better is based on the philosophy that the human body is a marvelously designed living organism with the ability to grow, regulate, repair, and defend itself when given natural, high quality, full spectrum nutrients. Not too many companies produce high quality whole foods supplements. However, one such company that has been in the whole food supplement business for twenty-five plus years is New Earth from Klamath Falls, Oregon. Their philosophy of producing whole food supplements is very impressive and they believe in preserving the quality of their whole food supplements from the time the foods are harvested to the time they are introduced to the public as supplements. Here is the website so you can look and read about the amazing products: www.newearth.com/2310066 and feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. Hundreds of thousands of people have been helped with our whole food products. I also use these amazing products when guiding a pet owner on how to heal their dog’s irritable bowel syndrome. This should not be a surprise to anyone because when it comes to healing the body, there is nothing more powerful than supplementing with whole foods, especially if they are organically grown. If your goal is to find a natural remedy for your health challenge, may we recommend that you follow this health model which is the same as the Nutritional Medicine health model with the exception that we recommend the use of wholefoods and not man-made supplements: 1. Better digestion and assimilation of foods using probiotics and enzyme supplements. 2. Better nutrition through food-based supplements (consuming nutrient rich foods such as wheat grass, bee pollen, blue green algae...etc.). 3. Better protection against free radical damage (oxidative stress) through whole food supplements (wheat sprouts, red algae, wheatgrass...etc.). With the use of whole food supplements, you can improve the GI tract environment, decrease the burden of the toxins, and thereby take the stress off the liver. With less toxins there is less need for a constant high-level defense effort and everything in the body just starts to work better. Dr. Jeffrey Anderson summarizes the whole concept of healing so beautifully when he said: "you can't deal with the downstream problems (symptoms in the body) until you have addressed the upstream problem(s) (i.e., malfunctions in the gut)" (p. 132). "Who here feels 100% confident after reading this article that they know exactly what steps to take to get unstuck and follow through on how to restore your health naturally or how to live a healthier lifestyle?” “Well, that's because we've actually left out 3 key ingredients that put all of this together. Without these 3 ingredients, we stay in the same patterns and repeat the same old behaviors that keep us stuck. Some of us do well for a little while. We get some new information, renew our commitment to follow through, take consistent action for a week or two. We convince ourselves that "this time it's going to be different" and then, what happens? Our motivation fizzles out, we fall off track. How many people know WHAT to do, but don't always do it? Yeah, most of us. That is because knowing isn't enough. It's not what motivates us to action. We are suffering from a high fat and processed food diet. We’ve got a lot of theory, but we’re not putting it into practice. The 3 key ingredients that bring this all together are The Right SYSTEM, SUPPORT and ACCOUNTABILITY. We've got information. You don't need more information. What we DO need is to “make this time different”. Someone to encourage our progress and to be your cheerleader, and someone to kick us in the butt when we make poor choices.” Take the first step and put an end to dragging yourself through every day of your life, waking up tired and not having the energy to meet the demands of everyday life. Your stomach is a mess once again and you’ve been avoiding family and friend get-togethers because most likely you will end up with a bathroom emergency. The thought alone stresses you out! I’d like to invite you to a complimentary Total Transformation Breakthrough Session. This is a 45-minute private consultation where we will look at why you’re stuck and how to get unstuck, and what your plan of action is to experience a total transformation and start living your best life now. And, for the first 5 people that schedule a session, you will receive a complimentary and autographed copy of my book, Healing Through Nature’s Medicine, A Story of Hope. Learn step by step what I did to lose 24 pounds in 4 months with minimal exercise, how I reversed my malfunctioning thyroid and adrenal fatigue as well as completely shrunk a mass and nodules on it. Are you ready to say YES to honoring yourself? Click on the link below and remember happiness is a choice, to make a choice is utilizing your freewill to choose. Courage is getting out of your own way to let happiness happen in your life in Abundance! https://www.embodyvitality.net/bookings-checkout/total-transformation-discovery-session?referral=service_list_widget You may also email me at embodyvitalityconsulting@gmail.com or call me on 917-597-3512. Follow Emanuela on her Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and visit her website for more info. Read more from Emanuela! Emanuela Visone, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Emanuela is a leading expert in restoring health and a Master Transformational, Health, and life coach. After 20yrs recruiting in the finance industry, she discovered her true calling for naturopathy and helping people and their pets throughout the US. The value she provides her clients has put them in a position to gain better health and live a more fulfilling life. Having restored her own health, Emanuela is excited to share her victory and help others do the same, from thyroid conditions, shrinking nodules, blood pressure, hormones, and much more. This inspired her to write her first book, “Healing Through Nature’s Medicine,” A Story of Hope. Having restored her St. Barnard’s health, Emanuela coaches many pet owners on becoming their own best healer. She loves spending time with her family and friends, the outdoors, and her deepest passion is helping others transform their health. References: Nichols, Trent W., and Faass, Nancy. (1999). Optimal Digestion. New York: Avon Books, Inc. Donia Alawi, Researcher

This is a sponsored post. A ballast water system is a type of marine technology. Ballast water is used to control and stabilize the buoyancy of a ship. Ships, whether they are transporting goods or cargo, need to think of the ecological impact the ballast micro-organisms have on the habitat that the ship passes through. Considering this has become increasingly important thanks to IMO’s “International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship’s Ballast Water and Sediments”. It’s a breakthrough convention, really. What are the Benefits of Ballast Water Systems Apart from using UV treatment, gas treatment, electrolysis, and magnetic separation, hydrocyclones are also widely used because of the flexibility that they offer. Though, given, discs and screens are used before a hydrocyclone can be used. A hydrocyclone is the next method if screens and discs are not working. In many specific cases, hydrocyclones provide much better efficiency. However, even they come with their drawbacks. Smaller organisms cannot be removed from the ballast water using a hydrocyclone. Many marine species are invasive in nature. This is where ballast water systems come in. Invasive species can imbalance the ecological habitat. Apart from the aforementioned methods, media filters and chemical disinfection are also pretty effective. Oxidizing and non-oxidizing biocides offer a great value here. A few examples of oxidizing biocides include: Chlorination, Ozonation, Chlorine dioxide, Peracetic acid, and Hydrogen peroxide. The ballast system type that you need depends on a number of factors, such as the available space, ship size, your budget, and so on. The point of most ballast systems is to keep out micro-organisms such as sediments, zooplankton, and phytoplankton. These micro-organisms happen to offer a considerable threat to the marine ecosystem, and that’s precisely why ships are supposed to be equipped with cutting-edge ballast water treatment systems.

Written by: Tracy Renee Stafford, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. It’s kind of ironic that the fastest way to change our state and calm the body & mind is to slow down the breath. This is because the breath is one of the only actions in our body that is both automatic (we don’t need to think about breathing throughout the day or when we are sleeping) and that we can also voluntarily control — varying the speed, intensity, and rhythm of our breath. By working consciously with the breath, we can simply, quickly & directly affect our nervous system, which, in turn, will affect body systems that are not normally in our conscious control. Digestion, immunity, circulation, cognition, sleep, mood, & libido can all get a boost, and pain, inflammation, blood pressure, & emotional reactivity can all be dampened just by slowing down the breath. Shallow, fast breathing = fight or flight When our nervous system is in stress, called the ‘sympathetic’ or ‘fight or flight’ state, our breathing is shallower & faster. In this state, more cortisol (the main stress hormone) is released, and the blood & nervous energy goes away from the vital organs and instead to our limbs in order to fight or flee from potential danger. This works when we are in actual danger, but more often, our bodies are in a chronic state of fight or flight due to chronic stress, which can then lead to chronic issues through the body & mind. Slow, deep breathing = rest & digest The complementary state is the parasympathetic nervous response, often called the ‘rest & digest’ state. This is when the body is calm, allowing for maintenance, cellular repair, and restoration to occur. When we consciously slow our breath down, we are sending the message to our nervous system that there is no danger and that the focus can shift to well-being rather than to protection. Blood pressure lowers, digestion & elimination improve, inflammation is reduced, immunity is strengthened, hormone levels are balanced, sexual energy flows in a more harmonious way, we are in a less reactive state emotionally, and our mind is more oriented towards curiosity & being present, rather than looking out for potential threats. Slowing down the breath, in general, has been shown to be very effective in bringing the body into the ‘rest & digest’ state, but here I will show some more specific yet simple techniques that are not only ancient (falling under the branch of Yoga called Pranayama), but that has also been shown by modern science to be beneficial for the body & mind. The Breathing Body On the inhale, the body expands as air enters. This expansion often happens in the upper chest, neck & shoulders, which is shallow breathing. While breathing here might be helpful when actually stretching this area, it has been shown that it is MUCH more beneficial, especially when the goal is relaxation if the expansion of the breath is in the belly and even all the way down to the pelvic floor. The belly and the pelvic floor receive the inhale by gently expanding, and release the exhale by gently relaxing and drawing in. You may notice other places expanding and relaxing in the body as you breathe, which can allow the simple practice of breathing to have quite a lovely massage effect throughout the body. Emotions live in the body. Keep in mind that because emotions live in the body, we may stir them up as we breathe. While it can be very good to release emotions that are ‘stuck’ in the body, and the breath can be a fabulous way to do that, it is very important that it is done with the proper dosage. If you notice that emotions are being stirred up in a way that feels uncomfortable or unmanageable, within the practice itself or later in the day, it may be a good idea to ease up and perhaps seek guidance from a trusted breath coach, therapist, bodyworker, or primary health care practitioner. If you notice that emotions are being stirred up in a way that feels manageable —that they can move through you with relative ease & comfort — then enjoy this therapeutic effect of the breath practice. Breathwork or Meditation? Meditation usually begins by creating an ‘object of attention’: some point of focus to help steady the mind and bring attention to the present moment. The breath is a very common object of attention. The difference between breathwork and meditation is that in most meditation styles, the common instruction is to keep the breath natural, whereas, in breathwork, we are consciously (and gently) manipulating the breath. Breathwork can be a great substitute if traditional meditation techniques don’t feel quite right for you. While meditation has also been shown to help bring the body into the ‘rest & digest’ state, working with the breath is much more immediate, without the need to delve into any philosophy or study. For this reason, I often recommend that people start with breathwork in order to address the chronic state of physical, emotional & mental stress that we are often in. Meditation works best when it is accompanied by some teaching in the philosophy behind it, whereas breathwork is something that we can all access, just for being human. And now, here are the techniques! It’s powerful if these can be done for 5 minutes or longer, while seated or lying in a comfortable position with no distractions, but it’s equally powerful when these are done ‘on the spot,’ i.e., at different points in the day when we might be feeling impatient or not fully present, such as when waiting in line at the supermarket, or even right at the moment when the body is ‘triggered’ from a potentially stressful occurrence. Running late for a meeting, waiting for results from a job interview, or even just reading the morning news, are a few examples of when the body might be tempted to go into ‘fight or flight.’ While these examples might be cause for some mild stress, they are not life-threatening, and they happen often enough that we need to train the body not to treat them as cause for alarm — but as an opportunity to connect more deeply to our inner reservoirs of calm. 1. Noticing the breath. The first step in ‘working’ with the breath is to simply notice it. With relaxed but curious attention, simply notice where you feel the breath in the body the easiest — perhaps at the nostrils, the feeling of the air entering and leaving. Perhaps you notice more the rising & falling of the chest or the expansion and relaxation of the belly. Perhaps you notice a whole sense of the body breathing. Let your attention rest wherever in the body you can feel the breath, and just watch it like you would watch the waves of the ocean. You may notice that it takes some effort to keep the attention on the breath and that the attention wants to wander. This is totally natural. When you notice that the attention has wandered, simply & kindly return the attention to the sensation of the breath — at the nostrils, the belly, or wherever it is easiest for you to feel it. After a few moments, you might gently guide the breath to drop down into the belly, pelvis, and hips, inviting a feeling of expansion on the inhale and softening on the exhale. Continue watching the breath there, noticing the effects on the body and the mind. 2. Inviting the inhale and exhale to be the same length. Once you have taken a moment to notice the breath, now count it, to notice its length. For example, a normal, relaxed inhale might be 2-3 seconds, and a normal, relaxed exhale the same. First, intend that the inhale and the exhale have the same length. Gently guide, rather than force, the breath to do this. After a few moments, gently lengthen the inhale — perhaps to 4 or 5 counts, and then exhale, the same. Keep the body as relaxed as possible. Place the attention as fully as possible on the sensations of the body breathing, with the invitation that each breath is of equal length, value, and quality. 3. Inviting the exhale to be longer than the inhale. Start by noticing the breath (practice no 1) and perhaps doing practice no 2 for a few moments, so you can count the breath. Then gradually intend that the exhale becomes slightly longer than the inhale. For example, inhale for 4 counts and then exhale for 5, noticing how the body & mind respond. After a few rounds of this, once it starts to feel comfortable, the exhale could be extended to 6. Get comfortable with this rhythm for a while before increasing the length of the exhale to eventually be double the length of the inhale (i.e., inhale for 4, exhale for 8). There are many studies that show that having an exhale that is longer than the inhale triggers a very immediate response of the parasympathetic nervous system to calm down the body, mind & heart. 4. Box Breathing: inhale — hold — exhale — hold. I find this a challenging technique to leap right into, and for that reason, I have it as the 2nd last one on my list. In this technique, the ‘box’ describes the pattern of breathing: there is an inhale, a hold, then an exhale, and a hold. They are all of equal length, like the 4 sides of a box. To start, I actually recommend ‘rectangle breathing’ so that the inhale and the exhale are longer (4 counts, for example), and the ‘holds' are shorter (2 counts). This ensures that the heart and nervous system are not too stressed, and therefore not triggering anxiety or overwhelm. The hold could even be 1 count, like a small pause at the top of the inhale and the bottom of the exhale. The image that I like of the ‘hold’ is of a ‘suspension,’ like at the top of a rollercoaster, with just a slight pause. Keep the neck & shoulders, jaw, hips, and the whole body as relaxed and comfortable as possible. Notice the response in the body, mind & heart. 5. The 3 Part Breathing The ‘3 parts’ refer to directing the breath to 3 different places in the body: the abdomen, the lower ribs, and the upper chest. This allows us to take advantage of deep abdominal breathing while still invigorating the upper body with the breath. Begin with a few moments of just noticing the breath, as in practice no1. Then, inhale from bottom to top: first expanding the belly & pelvic floor, then the bottom ribs, then the upper chest, so the whole body expands from bottom to top as it fills with air. Then, exhale from top to bottom, first relaxing the upper chest, then the bottom ribs, and then the belly and pelvic floor muscles gently relax inwards as the air leaves the body. Keep all of the movements of the body and the breath very gentle. I also recommend incorporating this breath technique with the other ones described above, as it brings more physicality into the practice. Personally, I love practicing this technique when preparing for sleep or meditation to bring my awareness away from mind chatter and towards the body. With whichever practices you do, take time to return to practice no 1 — just noticing the breath without manipulating it — as a way of closing the practice. Slowing the breath down is not just good medicine for the body. It can be just the encouragement that the mind needs to slow the thoughts down. When this happens, we can be more present, and we can respond in a more mindful way to what is happening within and around us, rather than reacting impulsively and habitually. These breathing techniques are more powerful and potent than they may appear, so I encourage you to try them out in small bursts, with as much attention as you comfortably can, and then to notice the effects over the rest of your day and over the long term. If you would like to know more, sign up to receive my 5 Day Introduction to Fully Embodied Living, where I offer guided stretches, meditation & breath techniques, as well as powerful insight on healthy nourishment. Follow Tracy on her Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and website for more info! Read more from Tracy! Tracy Renee Stafford, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Tracy Renee Stafford is a coach in Fully Embodied Fitness — a weave of yoga, pilates, dance, & functional exercise — and in Fully Embodied Living based on 4 Pillars of Well-Being: Connection to Body, Nourishment, Presence & Growth. Her mission is to help people discover how they can make self-care a celebration, rather than an obligation, & enjoy the body for how it feels, rather than just for how it performs or looks. She ran her own studio in the Canadian Prairies heartland for 20 very rewarding years — where she taught various forms of fitness, with a specific interest in injury prevention & rehabilitation and empowering students with information on HOW the body works best. She is a Mindful Movement, Holistic Living & Nutrition Coach, weaving together all of her expertise into her Fully Embodied Living Programs. She currently lives in Buenos Aires and keeps her passion for dance alive by studying Argentine Tango.

Written by: Arti Pancholi, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. This is Mary’s story about exploring energy healing to handle grief, and how the guided experience to her soul records completely rejuvenated her personal and business life! Mary came to me just a few months after losing the love of her life, her dear husband Andrew, to a terminal illness. He was her whole world, and she was his. Completely devoted, they did everything together, sharing so much, including a large, successful business they jointly ran. I loved her strength and determination, and through a clear channel, I made no promises as to whether I could connect her with Andrew. However, we made that connection...and so much more!! My spiritual detective skills came through to give more clarity and information about the unique nature of the spiritual connection between this couple. With the help of Mary’s higher self and soul records, we learned that Mary and Andrew were siamese souls! Siamese Souls are two souls intertwined. This siamese soul connection continues for lifetimes, ending only when one or both decide to break free. This also means that in every lifetime, Mary and Andrew have been and could remain connected. Curious as to what happens next with Andrew gone from the physical world, we wondered what role he would now play in her life. Was he gone forever? I found that he is a member of the High Council in the spiritual realm. We were getting strong signals that a connection could be established due to this. From the other side, in this role, he is able to support and guide Mary on her continued journey on this physical plane. On that very day, Mary was able to establish a connection with Andrew!! Her tears of sadness were replaced with tears of joy! Since then, life has been magical for Mary. Andrew sends Mary physical signs daily, including actual physical gifts! Shortly after Mary’s second Akashic energy healing session, she had found a stone frog on her front lawn! She and Andrew shared a private joke about frogs that no one else knew about! And, whilst a beautiful love story continued beyond Earth. Mary faced some challenges within the business. Shockingly she was out-voted from her position as CEO in the company at the behest of a particular board member. A huge shock and disappointment, as Mary and Andrew had built this company up to achieving high levels of success, and Mary was determined to protect the legacy she had created with Andrew, she returned for more spiritual help. In our next healing session, we focused on fortifying Mary’s intentions to win her position back as CEO in the company. By clearing and opening her up energetically to attract and receive more supportive people around her, we activated her wealth on a deeper soul level. Positioned to better fulfill the dream she shared with Andrew, within only 2 months, Mary won back her position by majority vote, and this difficult board member left the company. A double win!! The legacy preserved, the company through Mary’s clear energy, a radiant aura, and powerful leadership has attracted even larger and more prestigious international contracts, which have propelled the company to new heights. With the power of our healing sessions, Mary has enhanced her confidence, released her grief, gained greater clarity of mind, strengthened her relationships, and enhanced the loyal and devoted company support team who surround her, as she leads the company from a place of love and kindness, proudly carrying Andrew’s legacy. She is one strong, unstoppable, and amazing woman! Mary and I continue to work together, where she continues to achieve business success and to keep her sacred connection clear with Andrew. Co-creating with the Universe from our soul records is truly next-level! It took Mary’s love story beyond Earth, and through dimensions to heights that allowed herself to envision and experience peace, wealth, and abundance. Each soul’s experience is unique and a treasure I am blessed to support. For one to one bespoke energy healing and clearing to bring inner peace, wealth, and abundance, please email me at arti@artipancholi.com, or feel free to directly message on Facebook, or follow me on Instagram. Arti Pancholi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Arti Pancholi is a Spiritual Wealth Coach and Akashic Energy Healer, empowering conscious women entrepreneurs to clear, heal, activate wealth, and restore inner peace through their Akashic Records. She specializes in helping women to manifest wealth using their soul gifts and clear all deep-rooted soul blocks from their Akashic records and higher levels of consciousness, with the assistance of her Akashic Guides and Divine Angelic Beings. For long-lasting transformations, she has helped to clear chakras, auras, karmic debt, soul vows, hooks, curses, contracts, conditioning, negative entities, imprints, fears, wounds, and trauma, from past, present, and future lives. She has successfully helped women to magnetize their soul intentions into physical form. She knows that manifestation is more than mindset work. It’s mastering the energetics of soul consciousness from higher dimensions for consistent success and true happiness.

Written by: Tanya Slater, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. For years they have been something I dreaded as all I could see was the huge challenge of juggling my work with spending quality time with my boys and knowing that I would have 6 weeks of experiencing mum guilt when I was working and work guilt when I was playing and taking time out. Needless to say, I wasn’t even anywhere near as productive as I hoped to be, and I was unable to let myself truly let go and relax and have fun with my boys. Now my current task is making a 10-week work plan leading up to and during the holidays. I’m scheduling communications and content to go out so that I can share details of my exciting Clarity and Confidence Clearing Challenge happening at the end of August, let everyone know about my all new group Home Clearing Club starting on September 6th and fit my live coaching sessions in the Life Clearing Club Membership all without sacrificing what’s most important to me. Family and Fun. How do you deal with the summer holidays? Do you have any great tips for helping me or anyone else in our clearing community make the most of this special time instead of feeling pressured and overwhelmed? If you have anything to share, do please email hello@thegirlwhosimplified and I will share and feature you and any great ideas you have in my next article. If you would like to join my Simple Newsletters list you can do so here. I’m excited to have you as part of the Girl Who Simplified community and am look forward to sharing more ideas, stories and inspiration with you as we travel together on this crazy journey, we call life! Big Love, Tanya a.k.a The Girl Who Simplified Follow Tanya on Instagram and join her free private community, The Curious Souls Life Clearing Club. You can also check out her website. Read more from Tanya! Tanya Slater, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine UK-based home-educating mum, Tanya Slater, spent a decade decluttering her home and her entire life. In doing so, she overcame her crippling mental health and improved her human experience exponentially. The Girl Who Simplified condenses 40 years of life challenges, learning, and experience and is now a work of passion transforming people’s lives with her proven transformation formula and simplify to succeed message. Tanya currently teaches busy women how to control their homes to take control of their lives better. It’s best described as well-being, confidence, clarity, life, family, relationship, mental health, and business coaching all rolled into one and uniquely disguised as a home clearing course to make positive and lasting change. It’s magic! Born out of lockdown, Tanya’s Home Clearing Club method is a 49-day online course that gently guides students week by week, room by room around their home to remove all their excess ‘stuff.’ Very quickly, everyone starts to understand how the things they have accumulated over the years have been holding them back and adding to their overwhelm and exhaustion.

Written by: Charmie Torres, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. If there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s that people are hardwired to be connected. Nothing can replace the warmth of a hug or a heartfelt chat over coffee. While the experts see an end in sight, there may never be going back to life as we know it. Many of my senior friends are still feeling their way through the new routine. It's fairly common for the older set to feel isolated and lonely, but Covid19 has made it worse. With family and friends living on the opposite side of town (plus mandated social distancing, which lessens interactions even more), face-to-face quality time is difficult to come by. According to the National Institutes of Health, while social distancing is a crucial public health strategy to control the spread of the virus and minimize the impact on the older adult set, the cost is loneliness. Loneliness, in turn, is closely linked to a host of health issues, the most crucial of which is the immune function. Technology has done such an excellent job at keeping us sane in these times. If you aren't on board just yet, now is a great time. Communicating and building relationships have moved online. There are several social media platforms, as well as video and communication apps for seniors to stay connected. Here’s a look at the most popular ones with the senior set. Facebook – The fastest growing population on Facebook for the years 2018 and 2019 are users 65 years and older. The biggest reason is Facebook’s popularity. Their adult children, grandchildren, and friends are on it. It’s also been a breeze finding high school classmates and childhood friends this way. Chat, video chat, share photos and videos. Learn more HERE. Skype – Skype is a computer application that allows you to do voice calls, video chats, and instant messaging. Available on a desktop, laptop, or smartphone. Allows you to share photos, videos, and documents. Learn more HERE. Zoom – Zoom is used by many teachers and businesses. You can make calls (video calls), host webinars, conduct video chats (even parties such as baby showers), and do product demos. It’s a versatile app that you can use on a desktop, laptop, or smartphone. Learn more HERE. Facetime – FaceTime is a video and chatting app available to iPhone, iPad, and Mac users. This app is easily a favorite. It works just like a phone but with video. Simply dial and video chat. You could park your gadget somewhere and carry on a conversation as if the person were in the very same room. FaceTime also works for group chats. Learn more HERE. Readeo – Readeo is great if you’ve got grandkids because it’s a virtual storytime app. It has over 150 children’s books you can read over a video chat. To access the full library, a subscription is required. Learn more HERE. These are just a few of the apps that have become favorites since the pandemic. If this feels intimidating, don’t worry! It’s a skill that anyone (of any age) can learn. Tell friends and family members that you want to try new ways to stay connected. Have a schedule (a routine helps) and a time limit. And be creative. Go beyond hello. You may use these video platforms for group activities such as a cookout, movie night, or even sangria Fridays. Notes: https://www.seniorlifestyle.com/resources/blog/how-seniors-can-stay-virtually-connected-with-loved-ones/ For more information, visit my website and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn! Read more from Charmie! Charmie Torres, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Charmie Torres is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Löngun, a business process outsourcing company. Löngun was conceived in 2018 in response to clients who needed more than accounting services. Born and raised in the Philippines and studied in one of the top universities in the UK, Charm aims to bridge both worlds to develop a diverse work culture and environment. “It was a knee-jerk reaction to offer administrative, virtual assistance, and graphic design services as well because this is what many of our customers needed to grow their ventures.” With a team of well-rounded and experienced professionals (a motley crew of accountants, customer service professionals, technical experts, graphic artists, and administrative personnel), Löngun’s mission is to help business owners focus on scaling their business by taking care of the company’s non-core activities and streamline their workflow. Also, serve as a catalyst to her Filipino employees to reach their fullest potential.

Written by: Mikal Nielsen, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Is there really such a thing as a formula that creates success? Yes, this one does, provided you can solve it. Will it work in any area of life, including business? Yes, it works everywhere. I was sitting in a cafe meeting with a potential client. That was 12 years ago. He never became a client but gave me this incredible success formula that has benefited both myself and my clients ever since: V x D + F > R The by far biggest reason we don't achieve the success we want is because of the resistance we have to do what it takes. It is not because we are stupid or bad people, but because of the limiting beliefs that have been lodged into the far corners of our minds. Very few people are experiencing the level of success and fulfillment they truly want in their lives, in marriage, parenting, health, money, and so on. Want to lose some weight or make lots of money? You can get thousands of tools and methods on the internet for free to achieve this. So why do most people have less money than they want, and why are so many people overweight who don't want to be overweight? Because the how-to doesn't work if you haven't solved the equation in the success formula first. So here it is again: V x D + F > R Let's take it apart and discover what each letter stands for. We will start with the R on the right side of the equation, which stands for... Resistance How many times have you tried to become financially free, to lose that extra weight around the waist, to get back to the gym regularly, to improve things in your relationship, and so on, but not being able to achieve it or getting there but unable to sustain it? For me, that is a staggering amount of times in my lifetime. One of the four reasons is the R. The Resistance was too high. Unfortunately, this is not our conscious resistance. If you decided to consciously resist improving your health, you would not even set it in motion in the first place. The catch is that this resistance is unconscious. It is not that you don’t feel it or are not aware of it. It may show up as procrastination or anxiety, which you can be conscious of, but that which drives the procrastination or anxiety is mostly unconscious. It is deeply embedded in our mindsets and often going back way earlier than we can remember. And even if we do remember, that still doesn’t resolve it. So as far as our formula goes, reducing the R is quite difficult. Doable but difficult. But don't despair! the easier solution is in the first two elements on the left. The V stands for Vision. This is the Bigger Picture, the Why behind the results and success you want to create. As Simon Sinek keeps drumming into us: "Always start with the Why." When Elon Musk was asked if he experiences fear, his reply was: "Yes, far more than I like, but I don't allow it to hold me back because what I want to achieve is much bigger than the fear." So what he wants to achieve (the V) is bigger than (>) his fear (R), and he keeps creating success after success. My fear is around not being worthy, not being good enough. It is very strong, so I have to have a compelling Vision in order for my Resistance to not pull me back or stop me all together. A typical way that Resistance gets me is by using procrastination. Putting things off. The best way for me to overcome this is by staying in touch with my Vision. A great first step towards the successes you are after is to create a compelling Vision, a Big Picture, a strong Why because that is what is going to pull you through when the going gets tough. If you just want to lose a bit of weight so you can look and feel better, that is not likely to be a strong enough Vision to make you stick to it. You will need a bigger Why than that, so take some time and dig deep into what truly matters to you and why. That is how people like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Steve Jobs could achieve what they did. Their Visions were huge. And so is the case for Elon Musk. This leads us on to the D, which is where your natural energy to take action comes from. The R is conditioned into you as limiting beliefs in your mindset. This is done without your consent and is mostly out of your control. The V is entirely up to you, and you are in complete control of creating it. The D, on the other hand, is hardwired into you as a human being, and we are all born with it. It is what allowed you to learn to walk and talk: Drive We are all born with a natural Drive for life, for stepping up and stepping out, for standing up for who we are and what we want, for pushing boundaries and finding new and creative ways of learning and growing. Just observe any very young child. They all have this natural Drive. They are not afraid of what others think. They just do what they need to do to learn to walk, to talk, and so on. Therefore, the drive is not something you have to learn or practice. You can’t buy it, nor can you grow it. Why? Because it is already there within you. It is not a skill. It is not a method. It is not a system. It is a natural phenomenon that lives in you from day one of your life. It is your nature. If you are not feeling or experiencing it, it is not because it is not there. It is because it has been eroded or covered up. I will share the two quickest ways I have used to get in touch with my natural drive. The first one is meditation. Through meditation and mindfulness, I can bypass my limiting beliefs and connect directly to that natural high-energy drive that lives in my being. The second one is action. Even though I may not know where to start or what is the best next step, by simply starting to take some steps in the direction of my vision, energy starts to build. That energy is the Drive which I can then re-direct towards other more challenging actions that I would otherwise procrastinate on. I also find that this Drive increases my creativity, so it comes with an added benefit. As I'm sure you have noticed, we have a multiplication sign between the V and D but only a plus sign with the F. That means the combination of the Vision and the Drive is critically important. It doesn’t matter how big, bold, or worthy your Vision is if you don't have the Drive to get out of bed and make it happen. I have met many people in my life who have great Visions for themselves and the world but who simply hasn't got the drive to do what it takes to get the results they want. On the other hand, I have also met many people who have an incredible Drive but no clear and compelling Vision. Drive without Vision leads to stress and burnout because you are going, but most likely in circles, and therefore not really getting anywhere that is fulfilling. In short, have a clear vision and then find a way of connecting it to your natural Drive, and you will be almost unstoppable. The only thing that will stop you, apart from the Resistance we covered earlier, is not being clear on the F. The F stands for First Step Wherever you are standing in this moment, looking at your Vision in the distance, the next step towards it is the First Step. Once you have taken that step, you are in a new moment, and the next step is again the First Step of the rest of the journey. In short, the whole journey is made up of one First Step after another. There are three ways the First step can halt your progress or ruin your success altogether: You don't know what to do. You know what to do, but you don't have the skill/knowledge to do it. You know what to do and how to do it but are not willing to do it. The first one can typically be solved by doing some research, ask around, or get a coach/mentor. The second one can be solved by you up-skilling yourself or delegating the task. The third is by far the most common and hardest to deal with because we are now back in our mindset and what we believe we can and cannot do. This, of course, is closely tied to the Resistance. Having a compelling vision and a strong drive is not enough if we are not taking the steps, the actions in front of us that are required. Taking all the easy steps first won't get us there either. It is about knowing what the next First Step is that is the most valuable, the most important, and then do it. With the understanding you now have of the success formula, you can start putting numbers in the equation to make sure you set yourself up for success or use it to check in on an area of your life where you are not achieving the success you are after. On the left, you score each element on a scale from 0 to 10 and on the right from 0 to 100. Let's say your Vision is fairly good, and you rate it as a 7. Your Drive is ok, but not great. Maybe a 6. Knowing and being willing to take the steps required is pretty good at 8. This makes the formula look like this: 7×6+8>R => 50>R If your Resistance is > 50, you won't make it. Period! If this is an area of your life you have struggled with before, your Resistance is most likely above 75. In this example, say the Resistance is 75, it will look like this: 7x6+8>75, and you would be a long way away from succeeding. If you could get your Vision to 9 and your Drive to 8, you will have a very good chance of succeeding. In my experience in working with myself and other people for three decades, my estimate is that most people's Resistance level to achieving success in areas they are struggling with is between 70 and 90. My invitation to you is to invest time and energy in clarifying and growing your Visions and finding ways to connect more deeply with your natural Drive. I know this article got longer than intended, but I hope it was worthwhile for you to hang in there and that it helped you get some clarity and maybe even some insights into where you need to focus to take yourself, your business, your marriage, your health to the next level of success. If you want more clarity on your mindset around success, I suggest you take my free 3-5 minute Mindset Quiz here. Alternatively, if you are keen to go deeper and have a one-on-one conversation with me about this, I'm offering a complimentary 20-30 minute Zoom meeting for BRAINZ readers that you can access and book here. Wishing you much success. Mikal Follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or visit my website for more info! Read more from Mikal! Mikal Nielsen, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Mikal's mission is to help high achievers awaken their natural wisdom to create profound fulfillment, deep peace of mind, and a perfect balance between everything truly important to them. With a corporate background and starting and running 3 businesses, Mikal has spent the last 14 years coaching business founders, owners, and leaders to get more life out of life and more business out of business. He is a mind mechanic with 35 years of experience in mindfulness, personal and spiritual growth, and 30 years of experience coaching others in these fields. Mikal is an international speaker, certified firewalking coach, author of 5 books, and creator of Modern Meditation for busy people. In addition to coaching entrepreneurs and business leaders, Mikal and his wife Kathy offer relationship coaching. With 30 years of living together and growing up with 3 children, they have learned and experienced a lot and have co-authored a book about their journey together. Seeing how many relationships are struggling or have gone stagnant, they have decided to offer couples coaching.

Written by: Serena Scarlett, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Magical Manifestation is a real thing. As an intuitively inspired writer, I magically manifest for spiritually-based or transformational businesses. A big claim? Maybe, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Try this out for yourself. Follow this process and see where it takes you. Does your business need you to be more in tune with your higher self? Is your business slow or stuck? Does it need some creativity and innovative verse to move it along? By intuiting what your business needs, you have the most unique and powerful way to find the exact words to engage your audience. Here are ways I go about it, which may inspire you too. If you find it difficult, contact me, and we can have a go together. “I create a vessel, a well of ink and the feathered quill dips into the font of wisdom, that very essence of spirit”. By putting myself aside, I listen and align to your goals and vision. I hear what comes. Perhaps you will get a mixture of my business mentoring wisdom and a direct flash of brilliance from The Source. I used to believe you needed to still your mind to hear intuition, but you don't. It's not an inactive state. You just pause. And listen. You only need to hear the first few words. Then you write, and more comes. The pause only needs to be brief, less than a second or two. Imagine you have opened a door, and you are looking into a dark room, and you are peering in to see what you can fathom. Do that with your mind and hearing. Listening with gentle searching is the best way I can describe it. There is a place, a voice of wisdom and inspiration waiting for you somewhere near. You move towards it and let it come to you. This action has an open, active intent with it, a little like allowing the next person to speak in a conversation. What will you hear? It's not necessary to meditate first, but for some, this may be a way to trigger your intuitive flow so that you can recognize how to access it in the future again and again. Like anything, the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Well, at least that is my experience. What happens when you keep dipping into wisdom? You become wiser. And when you deep dive into intuition for others, the flow is effortless. There is no trying or striving. When you have the intention of holding the highest service for someone else, that is what can come. Be aware and alert, though. Our own ego or day-to-day conscious mind is tricky. We need to be aware of times where our motivation may revert to being self-oriented. While we live in our physical bodies, we won't ever be totally selfless. Life is not perfect, so neither are we. However, we can access our spiritual or higher purpose aspects and give generously from this place. Why do you do the things you do? What do you hope to achieve? I get a thrill from creating polished written pieces with purpose. When I help a meaningful, transformational business or entrepreneur achieve their goals of connecting with their clients, this thrills me. Having a therapy, counselor background combined with mentoring in business as the mainstay of my career means that helping others comes naturally to me. I am driven to it. To not help people is hard for me. If anything, I have to hold back from offering help. But hey, this is not about my story but yours. What do you want to achieve for your clients? A better quality of life, a life of their dreams, to be happy, prosperous, and well. To be able to run their lives, their relationships, their businesses to be the best they can be. Take up a pen or open the keyboard, close your eyes, see yourself free and unencumbered on a mountain top. Knowing your intuition has no limitations. Float on the clouds or a magic carpet. Just float and relax. Listen, look, feel. Let your imagination flow. Open your eyes and write the first things that come to mind. No right or wrongs, just write. Now think of your business. What needs writing? Put pen to paper again. Listen, write. Review it. Write. Send it to someone else for review. Post it, send it. Put it out there. Be visible and share your vision. You may surprise yourself. You may become an intuitively inspired writer and enliven your business, taking it with you to a higher purpose. Bless you and yours, Serena Scarlett, your Spiritual Wordsmith. Here to help you write - when you need to access the voice of your business. To find the ideal written words, those magical manifesting phrases to engage your ideal clients, allow me to enliven your audience engagement. Proudly I am a Crea Award-Winning Writer with Brainz Magazine, June 2021. The Brainz CREA Global Award is a prestigious list of top entrepreneurs, influential leaders, and innovators who have been recognized for their innovative ideas, resourcefulness, and accomplishments in the areas of sustainability and mental health. If you need further help to tap into your goals, your vision, or are simply too busy to write. I can ghostwrite for you or work my magic on your rough draft. May your business be bountiful. May abundance be yours. The fine print: This article is for education and interest only. All results vary for each individual, and the above is recommended as a guide only and not meant to replace financial advice. Follow Serena on her Faceboo k , LinkedIn and visit her website for more info. Read more from Serena ! Serena Scarlett, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Serena ignites messages while maintaining the business owner’s feel and stamp. Wholistic copywriting with alternative approaches are central for supporting unique businesses. When Magic (and the opposite) happens, Serena provides Mentoring. She delivers creative problem solving, outside-the-box solutions, and stratagems. Whatever the role or project, Serena powers it up and packs a punch. This includes presenting to a SharkTank / Dragon’s Den-style panel and a public audience at the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship in 2019. Copywriting for web pages and marketing materials are her core functions, and being a Wholistic Mentor for Entrepreneurs. The nitty-gritty / hard yards achieved: designed and ran spiritual groups, mindfulness, relaxation, and meditation classes taught conventional classes on marketing & small business management, financial (debt) management sessions, therapeutic counseling and case management, start-up and business mentoring copywriting, making business presentations, entrepreneurial pitches. International Business Mentor, with clients in the USA, Europe, and Australia. Companies that worked for include International Legal firm VisAustralia, Counselling services Converge International, Belconnen Community Services Canberra, Mission Australia, and Anglicare Canberra covering South East and South West NSW, Australia. And currently an Entrepreneur Serena Scarlett as a Spiritual Wordsmith / Wholistic Copywriting & Mentoring. KEY QUALIFICATIONS (Quals) Copywriting Training & Internet Marketing by Hot Copy, Graduate units Sydney School of Entrepreneurship, Ideation & Structure for Success in 2019 fuelled this further. Formal Quals include: B. App Sci Health (& Community) Education Post Grad Community Counselling Dip Financial Counselling. Create Your Destiny graduate with William Whitecloud April 2021 Mind Soul Spirit workshops (30 + years) The latter two being personal, spiritual, and psychic development.

Written by: Joanne Hughes, Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Can you believe that this title is actually what people are searching for according to the tool “Ask the public”? I guess it surprised me a bit at first. Only then I knew where it was coming from? Is there a fear that "Men" are becoming extinct, our very own species in danger? I hear many of my friends and other women make the statement, "where are all the good men"? Maybe this has been said for years, but lately, as the world begins to spin again and we go back to some normalcy, I wonder if this now has a different meaning. As I do a bit of research myself, I have come to look at that question a lot differently. For me, I see it as more a great and vast divide. I know a lot of people these days that are single, and I have a lot of curiosity when it comes to what I see happening on the planet and also what I see in the alarming numbers of mental health issues arising and also auto-immune disease. I know you must be wondering if I am talking about the same subject at this time, and I assure you I am. You see, I am fascinated with the subject of trauma, and that is where my passion lies. You see, trauma is more about the disconnect, more about how we manage the trauma within our being and how that manifests into our lives. The amount of men that have experienced trauma is really quite phenomenal. More so than what I had ever thought existed, and believe me, I thought the numbers were high. Most men tend to either, as I'm sure I've talked about before, push their emotions to the side, and therefore it becomes like a time bomb waiting for the right person to come along to say the wrong thing for it to explode into an episode of rage or anger. Another way it may manifest is by trying to numb the memories and shame and guilt and will come out as "addictions." The biggest thing that I see for men and women is "Disconnect." The feeling of separateness from not only each other but the disconnect from self. Interpersonal neurobiology is essentially an interdisciplinary field that brings together many areas of science, including but not limited to anthropology, biology, linguistics, mathematics, physics, and psychology, to determine common findings of the human experience from different perspectives. So it is also known that human beings affect not only each other's neurobiology but also each other's biology and physiology. ***According to Dr. Gabor Mate. So, my stream of consciousness around this theory goes something like this. "A woman living with a man that becomes controlling and emotionally abusive, she internalizes that stress and it affects her physiology and wellbeing and her risk of cancer or an auto-immune disease will rise, so then she leaves this relationship (best case scenario), and she will now have fear around getting into another relationship, and her body will actually have a physiological effect being around men. The man has trauma, and he also internalizes it, and it manifests itself through addictions to alcohol and anger because he feels disconnected from himself and now feels isolated because he is not in a relationship. I think we are all pretty disconnected from ourselves these days for a variety of reasons. Our phones, the internet, social media, noise pollution, and trauma, depression, and anxiety. We look for ways to disconnect from our emotions, our pain, and the feelings that we have so we no longer have to experience the troubles that we have. What arises from this, though, is we become shut off and disconnected from each other, and then we forget the most important parts of ourselves. Working through all of this and trying to make sense of it will set us free. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit my website for more info! Joanne Hughes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Joanne Hughes has over 20 years of experience in strategic intervention, divorce prevention, relationship coaching, and trauma work. As a best-selling author, R.C.M.P Victim Services Advocate, and trauma survivor, she has firmly positioned herself in the field of grief and trauma counseling. Joanne currently focuses on Men’s breakthrough coaching. She has made it her mission to help men work through their particular set of challenges and to help them ‘find their way home’ by reconnecting to their power, their mission, and positive spiritual side in order to create more room for compassion towards themselves and the people in their lives.