If you have ever had the feeling “I am not enough” then these videos are a must.

Watch Brene Brown talk about an important and seldom talked about component of the human condition.

Click here for Brene Brown’s TED talk . . . → Read More: Brené Brown: Listening to Shame and The Power of Vulnerability]]> “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”

If you have ever had the feeling “I am not enough” then these videos are a must.

Watch Brene Brown talk about an important and seldom talked about component of the human condition.

Click here for Brene Brown’s TED talk Listening to Shame.

This workshop is for you if:

On KEST 1450 AM  The Bay Area’s Personal Growth Radio

Wednesday Mornings at 9:00 AM

To hear the most recent program with Dr. Sholes click play below.

Don’t miss the next episode with Dr. Cindy Sholes  . . . → Read More: The Road Less Traveled]]> Finding Your Guide to Vibrant Health.

with Host David Stouder

On KEST 1450 AM  The Bay Area’s Personal Growth Radio

Wednesday Mornings at 9:00 AM

To hear the most recent program with Dr. Sholes click play below.

Don’t miss the next episode with Dr. Cindy Sholes  on May 30.

My spring cleaning project in some sense got started last spring with abdominal surgery. I had to remove what we thought was a cyst from the inside of my abdomen, but turned out to be a fist size non-malignant cancer.  As you can imagine, this was quite a scare.  For . . . → Read More: How Spring Cleaning Let Me Be The Hero of My Story]]> Dr. Cynthia Sholes, Ph.D, MdH

My spring cleaning project in some sense got started last spring with abdominal surgery. I had to remove what we thought was a cyst from the inside of my abdomen, but turned out to be a fist size non-malignant cancer.  As you can imagine, this was quite a scare.  For a couple of days, all we knew was that I had cancer. I had to work hard with my mind and emotions not to begin to focus on the worst case scenarios and send myself into a panic.  My mantra became, “Delete that thought. We just don’t know yet.”

The surgeon and oncologist recommended that I soon undergo a second more invasive surgery to remove all of the surrounding and “unnecessary” organs — my spleen, my appendix and a portion of my colon — because of the specific type of tumor. According to the doctor, it could re-grow and eventually take over my entire abdominal cavity. It took me a couple of months and some pivotal coaching by a naturopathic doctor and friend, Dr. Destia Skinner, to really settle into the idea of trusting the innate wisdom of my body to heal itself rather than choose to take my chances with the invasive surgery.

I decided that if I was really going to trust my body, I had to support it with a clean diet, This led me to work with Dr. Mitra Ray, a biochemist, with a P.h.D in cellular biology and a passion for whole food nutrition. I committed myself to her 7 day Beauty and Rejuvenation retreat followed by a 90 day whole food plant based diet. With the help of Mitra’s coaching, I was able to eliminate about 10 lbs of unneeded waste, most notably, fat and I learned that for my body to really operate at it’s best, I needed to eliminate toxic waste.  Needless to say, I felt great too.

Suddenly, I started noticing that having clutter in my physical environment feels overwhelming and disheartening. I was starting to feel a connection between my physical space and my emotional and internal space. So I decided to cleanse and organize my home and office. Thanks to the inspiration of my friend, Chris Stovall, who is a professional organizer, my kids and I began a purge of the excess clutter in our house and personal spaces.

It has been a difficult journey for me to let go of so much of the physical clutter that I have chosen to have around me because letting go of it has required me to look at myself in the process. And that is never easy, for anyone. I started feeling more emotional throughout the day. I remembered that cleansing has a scientific effect on emotions, making the old patterns impossible to ignore. The Mind-Gut connection: our guts contains upwards of 100 million neurons and produces 95% of the feel good neurotransmitter -Serotonin. There are some 30 other neurotransmitters also produced within the gut.  So it is no surprise that when the body purges toxins that are stored in the gut, old emotional patterns and stored neurotransmitters of all kinds get released and cleared out as well.

During this process of physical cleansing, I discovered patterns that I was holding onto emotionally that were now ready to be cleared! I called my friend and colleague, Dr. Ginger Mills, who is a chiropractor and energy healer. Because of her keen sense of how our emotional and energetic patterns get stuck in the physical body, she was able to help me clear the energy patterns that created the environment for dis-ease . She utilizes shamanic healing tools and a keen intuition to facilitate the clearing of patterns.

And now for the best part! Last month, I went in for an MRI to check on the potential progress of the tumor. Thankfully, all that I have been doing, has been paid off.  There was no tumor or any remnant of tumor to be found.  My surgeon was amazed. He says he wants to see one more MRI next year to confirm that there is no sign of cancer and I will  have completed my bout with “cancer.”  As I reflect back on this story, I see that one of the most important things that made my story a hero’s journey rather than a victim story was the support that I had from my friends in the healing community. I could not have done it without the support of these talented and gifted healers.

As my husband and children will attest the road wasn’t always pretty. But it was worth it.  What I have learned on this journey is that cleansing is a lifelong, daily and sometimes minute by minute process. The connection between the mind and the body is so powerful and while it has always been my passion, I know that my journey has only strengthened my ability to support you more completely in being happy, healthy and whole and to live the life you most dream of.  I look forward to supporting you on this journey of life.

For more information contact Dr. Cynthia Sholes, 650-704-1252

Contributing Copywriter & Editor: Elyse Marie Kirk

This workshop is for you if:

- Melissa

 Are You a Wolf?

Native American wisdom says that in our hearts we have two wolves,  one is love and the other hate.

Both are strong and evolutionarily important to human existence and survival, and knowing them will help you to make choices that support your health and well . . . → Read More: Wolf In Your Heart]]> by, Dr. Cynthia Sholes, Ph.D., MdH

 Are You a Wolf?

Native American wisdom says that in our hearts we have two wolves,  one is love and the other hate.

Both are strong and evolutionarily important to human existence and survival, and knowing them will help you to make choices that support your health and well being.

The “wolf of love” fills your heart with energy and good health. The “wolf of hate” momentarily stimulates erratic activity in your physical heart, which can be documented with a heart rate variability device. While useful in certain situations, too much of this stimulation ultimately depletes your heart’s function.

As you might guess, in our world today, the “wolf of love” is more often effective than the “wolf of hate”.  Unfortunately, this knowledge doesn’t always keep the “wolf of hate” asleep.

The good news is that recognizing and accepting your internal wolves is the first step in having choice and power over them.  In this article, you will come to recognize how the wolves of your heart show themselves and how you can begin to work with them to open your heart and strengthen your heart energy.

The wolves have both psychological and physical representations. When one wolf or another is expressing itself, you will have a physical reaction as well as thought patterns and emotions associated with it.  Your wolves have their own unique personalities too.  It is useful to get to know them.

Getting to know your “wolf of hate:”
For most of us “hate” is a strong word that we wouldn’t want to use to describe our feelings except only on rare occasions.  This is because the wolf of hate in its strongest form is not very socially acceptable even though it gets a lot of press coverage, so most of us have learned to suppress it.  But it cannot be eliminated, nor should it be.

To get to know your “wolf of hate,” you may have to look for subtle clues to its actions.  The “wolf of hate” feeds on fear-based emotions such as insecurity, overwhelm, frustration, irritation, doom, depression, disdain, shame, distrust, and anger. The “wolf of hate” surfaces anytime one of your needs is threatened.

This could be quite subtle. You might experience the “wolf of hate” showing up as irritation if something threatens your ability to make it to a meeting on time.  Or, you might recognize the “wolf of hate” if you feel your efforts aren’t solving a problem that you see.  Or you may even feel a bit of hostility to the excess email that is keeping you from getting to bed on time.  Each of these are instances in which the “wolf of hate” is alive and well. Depending on what you do and think in the moment you can either strengthen your wolf or subdue its aggressive energy.

In general the “wolf of hate” stimulates the body by initiating the stress response and, depending on how much the wolf has been fed and what type of food you are feeding it, the heart beats more rapidly and erratically, your breath rate increases, your palms might sweat and you might feel excess nervous energy.  Aggression and hostility are associated with high levels of testosterone in both men and women and low levels of serotonin.

The erratic heart rhythm produced by the “wolf of hat”e is associated with a range of feelings from fear and hostility to timidity and irritation. It is an indicator of the stress response associated with heart disease, poor digestion, immune system dysfunction and other chronic health conditions.

Caging an active “wolf of hate,” causes long term chronic stress, which can lead to depression and adrenal dysfunction. In depression, there is a flat heart rhythm, often associated with immune suppression, heart disease, or cancer.  In this case, the heart has closed and the energy of the heart has become depleted.

You can turn around or eliminate these chronic effects of an over active or caged wolf by learning how to tame it.

Taming the “wolf of hate”:
It is ironic that the “wolf of hate” is tamed most easily by the “wolf of love”.  You have access to each of them always inside your heart. So let’s learn more about the “wolf of love”…

Getting to know your “wolf of love”:
The good news is your “wolf of love” is the stronger of your two wolves. Evolutionarily, it supports the bonding of male and female, of mother and child, of the family unit, and the community as a whole.  When you are not threatened and are in the presence of someone you love, you will feel the “wolf of love”.

Physically, a “feel good” hormone call oxytocin is released, a “happiness” neurotransmitter, serotonin, is stimulated and your body relaxes.  Digestion and the immune system are supported, your heart rhythm is smooth and even.  You will feel your heart open and positive energy in your body flowing.  You may feel happy, joy, pleasure, appreciation, compassion and empathy.

Working with your wolves – creating a strong and open heart.
One of the simplest ways to subdue the “wolf of hate” is to actively engage the “wolf of love,” thereby distracting the “wolf of hate” until it has forgotten its upset.  Bring to mind an image and a feeling of love or deep appreciation.  It could be the thought of a special person in your life, it could be a beautiful flower, or a moment in time in which you reached a long sought after goal.  You will know you have a good image when you feel calm, relaxed peaceful.  Once the image is in your mind, begin to breath slowly and gently as if you are breathing love into your heart center.

Unfortunately, sometimes you may be too caught up with the specifics of whatever riled up your the “wolf of hate” to find the “wolf of love.”   If this is the case, help your “wolf of hate” get more general with its concerns, so that the intensity of the negative feelings begins to subside.  Once there, your negative emotions are relatively general — such as feelings of irritation or disappointment — then you will find it easier to engage the “wolf of love.”

The “wolf of love” has empathy and can bring compassion and love to any situation, though you may not be very practiced at bringing these feelings into situations where you might feel threatened.  Empathy is also a powerful tool to calm the “wolf of hate” and can be used to settle the negative emotions of this wolf when it is aroused by other peoples actions or inactions.  By focusing on empathy and compassion for the other person, you will be able to find a window into your heart to reach the “wolf of love” who thrives on compassion.

Which wolf gets fed is determined not so much by what happens around you or to you, but more by what you think about what happens – in other words, your interpretation of events.  Where you have the most power is in recognizing that you can chose your interpretations. Choosing an interpretation that is forgiving and compassionate feeds the “wolf of love” and will give you the greatest strength and power, mending your heart and letting you and those around you thrive.

If your inner “wolf of hate” is over active or gets triggered too easily, or if you have trouble easily accessing the fullness of your “wolf of love”, then give me a call. I can support you with getting to know the personality of your wolves, what their needs are, their threats, and  how to work with them to effectively achieve the goals that you have in your life.

Nurture your “wolf of love.” Let your heart sing.