Dr. Don Deems, the Dentist's Coach - Free Newsletter: Reclaiming Your Life ... to Living Life Fully

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Reclaiming Your Life ... to Living Life Fully
June 28, 2006

Get control. Find balance. Drink lots of water. Exercise. Eat non-fat, low sodium, low carbohydrate foods. Read self-help books. Try this new diet. Take this new medication. Feeling down? Try this. Full Throttle. Sensationalism. Instant gratification. Cell phones. Text messaging. Fast food. Terrorist threats. Bird flu. Global warming. Identity fraud. Spam. War. Stock market. Divorce. Do I drink too much? Debt. Job insecurity. Weather disasters, live at 5. Gas prices. Inflation. Energy shortage. Lawsuits. High cholesterol. Cancer.

Do you feel overwhelmed, confused, stressed by all the challenges and changes you face everyday? Is it asking a lot just to keep your head above water? If so, you're not alone. But have hope: there is a way to reclaim your life, and if I might also suggest, to live the fullest expression of your life, even in times like these.

How is ANYONE to reclaim their life amidst the chaos, much less "live it to its fullest expression"? It's not easy, but it is possible - definitely possible. And the best news is that it will take some work - "inner work" - to make it all happen. No one is going to do it for you, no one will spoon feed it to you, and you do have a cheerleader along the way.

One thing I do know is that you're a conscientious person and are doing everything you can to live a rich, full, and healthy lifestyle. You're interested in improving your life, doing the right thing, learning and growing, contributing to the community, and helping others. You're on your journey, searching for answers. We all are. And, some of us will find some answers, some of us will not. Most of us will only find more questions; questions that challenge the essence of who we are and our experience of life.

I've looked high and low for my answers: therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists, medical intuitives, energy healers, holographic repatterners, physicians, alternative care providers, trainers, exercise coaches, meditators, yoga instructors, coach training, dental school, college, mentors, friends, and more. I've read shelves of self-help books, listened to then-again as many books-on-CD, and attended CE from the West coast to the East coast. I've taken handfuls of health supplements and then none at all. I drank coffee, I stopped coffee. I drank alcohol, stopped alcohol, then drank again. I've tried this-n-that to eat right, feel good. I became a groupie of a personal growth organization then quit it all. It wasn't until I was in my 40's that I had my first minor surgery and experienced prescription pain medications. (I learned why people liked them as an escape). I've had my aura photographed. I've meditated with Jon Kabat-Zin. I've cried listening to Ram Dass. I've gone through secret initiations into manhood. I've left my family and come back. I've vented my anger towards my parents, anger I suppressed for so many years, then learned about love in a deeper and richer way from them. I've felt despair and emptiness to the point of nausea, and felt connectedness to others and the world so deep it's indescribable. I've spent night after night alone in the woods, fasting until I almost hallucinated, calling to the Spirits, doing a Medicine Wheel. I've climbed to mountain heights knowing that I could just step off and end it all if I wanted. I've been scared out of my wits, then enjoyed scaring others out of theirs. (Some of this stuff is great fun!) I know you can relate and have your own list of your searches for answers.

And no, I haven't done it all. I hope I never do. It's all too rich NOT to do. I want to experience it all! In my book, there's no other way to live.

Truly, we are all on our own unique path. We are doing what we are supposed to be doing, we're right where we're supposed to be, however miserable, however glorious it is for us at this moment. Sometimes the tide is out, sometimes it's in. (Or, as we say in the South, sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield!) I've met people on my path who will always remain in my deepest heart, despite years sometimes passing before spending time with them again or maybe never seeing them again. And I've met so many others I will never see or hear from again.

So, what about reclaiming our lives from the chaos that surrounds us daily?

As a coach, I have some pretty good ideas, experience, training, and been-there-done-that I share with my clients. For some, we have deeply philosophical discussions about the "meaning of it all". For others, we explore strengthening their foundation, making them strong enough to weather everything except that which will end their lives. Yet for others, we investigate communication and relationship skills that help them live fuller, more expressive lives. One thing for certain: for no one person is it the same.

Why the exposé about my life? Because as a coach who has the tremendous honor and deep privilege to be a part of a person's "inner life", I want to communicate to you one very certain thing: You have inside you everything you need. Yes, you can explore all you want. (I encourage it.) However, if you start looking for the answers outside of yourself, I'm not so sure you'll find personal lasting truth.

As a coach, I draw this inner wisdom out of you, help you learn to trust it, to learn to listen to it, to discover how to access it at any time. I do it by asking great questions, being your cheerleader, holding you accountable, not allowing you to step over anything. I deeply want to challenge you to do those things that take great courage so that you might find yourself. I want you to love. I want you to feel pain. It's all a part of the tapestry of your life.

Once reclaimed, what would be the fullest expression of your life?

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