Category Archives: Practice & Performance Tips

Finding The Perfect Dance Class For Children Ages 3-5

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Finding the perfect dance class for your child can be frustrating at times, especially if your child is very young.

Most children ages 3-5 have very short attention spans and are too immature for a one-subject class such as ballet or tap. When children are put into these serious subject classes where there are very strict techniques to learn, they often become bored, which leads to disruption in the class. These children often have bad experiences with dance class and unfortunately never return to any dance class ever again.

When observing a variety of dance classes for your young child to participate in, you should choose a class with a lot of variety. The kind of class you should look for is a one-hour class split up time-wise with various learning activities so your child is learning and doesn’t have time to get bored. For example, the dance class should be segmented into sections such as pre-ballet, tap, eurhythmics, some tumbling activities and creative work. The following are some examples:

1. Pre-ballet: This is fun and prepares the child for future more advanced techniques by learning very basic skills that will be carried through advancement. Children will learn how to make a circle and how to make the circle small and large. They will also learn how to keep the circle round while walking around in the circle. The next step will be to learn how to change the direction several times when the teacher calls. The same thing is done again. The only thing different is that the children are running gracefully on their tiptoes with their arms out. This is a great for warming up the children’s bodies and teaching them direction-change coordination.

There should be some stretching involved. Children should sit down and do some creative stretching. A good dance instructor will create some stretches while pretending to eat ice cream and do arm movements called Porte bras while pretending to be flowers, sun and moon, etc. Children also learn basic plies and tendus, but at this young age there is not great pressure to keep perfect posture.

Some other activities in pre-ballet that children enjoy are learning to skip forward, backward, in one big circle and with partners. They learn to jump facing front and back as well as jumping in a circle right and left, 4 counts to each side. They also learn to chase’ in counts of 8 changing directions from right to left.

2. Tap: Children usually stand in a straight line and learn very basic steps and sounds. Basic steps learned are toe step, heel step, hit step, side toe step, 3 toes step all alternated right and left. These steps are done in one place. The traveling step is toe-heel forward and backward. Slow shuffles, shuffle step, shuffle hop step and shuffle ball-change, in order of difficulty.

3. Eurhythmics: This is done with rhythm sticks. Children learn to count to 4 and 8 while hitting the sticks together. Counts 4 and 8 are dancers’ magic numbers. Children especially enjoy marching around the room while hitting their sticks together to the beat of the music. Further advancement includes learning waltz time.

4. Creative Movement: Examples of this would be pretending to be puppies where children would get down on their hands and feet like a puppy and walk around the room. Another example would be pretending to be a horse and have the music start at a slow pace and speed up into a fast gallop. The alligator move is a good move and also the most difficult where the children lie on the floor on their stomachs and use only their arms to drag their bodies across the floor. This is done to very slow music. All of these moves help to develop a child’s muscles and motor skills.

A dance studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a favorite they call the butterfly kit. As the teacher hands out hand-made antennas and wings, the class talks about how butterflies become butterflies. Then the teacher asks each child to tell the class the colors that are on his or her antenna. This process gives the children a time to rest, as well as giving them some constructive talk time. The children and teacher then stand at one end of the dance studio and as the music starts they do caterpillar walks until the music changes. The change of the music signals them to spin their cocoons. When the music gets slower, the class pretends to get tired and eventually they fall asleep on the floor. The final change in the music signals them to wake up, take their wings and they are now butterflies happily fluttering around in the sky.

5. Tumbling: The tumbling section is very basic starting with log rolls down the mats on each side. Once the children master the log roll, they move on to forward rolls and backward rolls. Children also love to walk on balance beams that are very close to the floor, which is great for establishing balancing skill and coordination.

All of the ideas mentioned here are only some of the activities children will learn in a class of this nature. Children will not get bored, have fun, learn and without realizing it, develop many motor and coordination skills. There is much more that a good creative teacher can include. The activities will be more difficult for 5 year olds than for 3 year olds. These are just the basics.

 

Deborah Bowman has been a dance teacher/choreographer for 30 years. Born into a family of dancers, her family has owned and operated a dance studio for the past 58 years. Not only does Deborah love to teach and choreograph dance, but she also loves to write. Deborah has recently started her own home-based business. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Arts Management/Professional Studies from Duquesne University.

http://www.workathome-dmbunny.blogspot.com

 

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Performance Anxiety Children – 7 Ways You Can Identify This Anxiety Disorder in Your Child!

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Presenting itself through a number of signs and symptoms, performance anxiety is a social anxiety disorder that affects people who perform in public for example; singers, actors, musicians, and public speakers or master of ceremonies. Your child may also experience this condition if s/he is made a part of the debate team or a part of the school play or such similar part. The most common root cause of this ailment is feelings of inadequacy on the part of your child. This article will reveal 7 of the most common triggers that you can learn to recognize and know if your child is suffering from performance anxiety (PA)…

1. Stage Fright…
This is one of the most common indicators of this performance anxiety according to author Martin Richfield. It mostly occurs in the form of a paralyzing fear and immobility. Your child becomes unable to move or speak; this scenario is mostly brought on due to your child’s irrational fear of humiliation or rejection by his or her classmates or playmates.

2. Lack Of Concentration…
Another common sign of PA in your child is his or her inability of to concentrate. Becoming confused of losing focus are results that can be directly traced back to feelings of fear or apprehensive thoughts which may have overtaking your child’s mind and affected his or her ability to complete the present task at hand.

3. Perspiration…
Excessive swearing from various orifices in your child’s body, particularly your hands, feet and face, is another sign that s/he might be experiencing a bout of performance anxiety. What occurs is that the brain sends signals to the body which causes “hot flashes” and results in a large volume of perspiration due to emotional stress. When this occurs, your child begins to feel uncomfortable and self-conscious.

4. Quivering…
Shaking or quaking uncontrollable is a common occurrence while experiencing PA. This shacking generally occurs around your child’s hands and knees. Adrenaline is sent through your child’s body as a defense mechanism which results in uncontrollable quivering. This is also referred to as “fight or flight” mode.

5. Dyspnea…
More commonly referred to as shortness of breath, is a very common occurrence while experiencing a bout of PA. Hyperventilation, gasping for air, an increased heart rate etc are all linked to dyspnea and occurs when your child is afraid of performing.

6. Lightheadedness…
While performing your child may become woozy or faint headed, this dizziness is a typical sign of performance anxiety and can cause your child to lose his or her balance. This is due to the brain not getting the required amount of oxygen and blood needed to function properly. Your child may begin to see a spinning hall or room and can potentially faint if the anxiety is intense.

7. Adrenaline Rush…
You will know this through your child’s increased heart rate. While experiencing PA, adrenaline will be released into your child’s body as a survival response, which is what causes the increased heart rate; in fact, the more afraid your child becomes, the faster his or her heart will beat.

 

Ty Lamai is an avid researcher and writer with in-depth knowledge spanning a wide variety of topics. He has hundreds of articles published online and has a blog dedicated to info about performance anxiety in children [http://analyze-more.com/anxietyblog/how-to-treat-performance-anxiety-do-this-and-your-next-performance-will-be-a-hit%e2%80%a6guaranteed] which you should visit today.

 

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Social Anxiety Disorder and Performance Anxiety – Plan Your Presentation

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You have probably heard the phrase that most people would rather die than present the eulogy at the funeral. Yes, public speaking brings on performance anxiety (a form of social anxiety disorder) in most of us. Performing artists, job interviewees, sports people and exam participants are also performers and are susceptible to performance anxiety.

While many of us feel anxious when we have to perform, anxiety itself is not bad. When you are stimulated, scared or anxious a flood of adrenaline and cortisol is released into your body. This prepares
you to give the highest performance, one with excitement and focus. So anxiety does serve a purpose. Most experienced performers feel concerned if they do not feel any anxiety as this can lead to a flat and dull performance.

Performance anxiety is feelings of ‘butterflies in the stomach’ or in severe cases ‘stage fright’. It is the response to ‘fight or flight’.

In some people this reaction is so debilitating that they become paralyzed by fear, unable to speak or think clearly. For someone with social anxiety disorder they may even go to the extent of refusing a promotion at work if there is any likelihood of having to do a presentation at any time.

But there are ways to help prepare to perform and to lower your state of anxiety.

Change your thinking to change the way you feel. If you start thinking about your sweating palms, racing heart and wondering if you will remember your speech your attention is divided and not on the job at hand — that of giving the speech. If you are thinking about the outcome you are distracting yourself from the task. Focus on the task at hand, the presentation you are going to give. Perceive your presentation as a challenge rather than a threat.

You wouldn’t expect someone to tell you that you were useless before you went out to perform but that’s what we tend to do to ourselves — telling ourselves that we are no good at speaking, or that we’ll be glad when it’s all over. This negative self talk needs to change into something positive — “I am well prepared and will show them what I can do.”

A good way to counteract negative thinking is to practice new thinking and create new habits. For each stage of the performance process write a set of positive self talk.

1. Preparation: The time from when you know you are to give your talk until you arrive at the venue.

a. “I am looking forward to this challenge”

b. “If I feel nervous this is natural and means that the performance is important to me”

2. Before: The time before you go on stage.

a. “I have done this in practice and can do it here”

b. Remind yourself of breathing and meditation techniques to calm yourself, and breathe easily.

3. During the performance

a. “Focus on the present”

b. Remember that if you forget something your audience has no idea that it has been left out, after all you wrote the notes.

c. A tip is that pauses are effective in a speech making, use a pause to gather your thoughts.

d. Another tip is to look just above your audience’s heads. It will appear that you are looking at them.

4. After the performance

a. “What can I learn from this performance?”

b. “Next time I’ll do even better.”

The key to your presentation of course is to be prepared. And to practice, practice, practice. Self talk will not help you if you have not prepared and do not know your subject

Many well known performers have admitted to being troubled by performance anxiety. Kim Basinger Stephen Fry, Barbara Streisand, Carly Simon and even the late Pavarotti have all suffered the affliction. These performers have made a conscious effort to control their anxiety and you can too.

 

For more articles by Ceejay Caton please visit http://anxietyattacksymptoms.weebly.com Ceejay’s aim is to help others by sharing information with anyone experiencing anxiety disorders. It may even be a family member or a friend suffering from what is often a frightening experience.

 

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Tips for Dealing With Music Performance Nerves Part 1

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It is important for performers to seek methods to deal with the feelings accompanying fear and nerves. The following are several simple methods to alleviate mild nervousness.

1. Before performing, you must first remember that you have practiced to the best of your ability and remind yourself of this. You have used your practicing skills in the most effective way you know. Of course, there will always be things you look to improve in your playing, but given all the circumstances that have led to this moment, you have worked hard as you can. Now the practicing is over. What you will do now, is to use your “hook point”, (what?) something you would have encountered during practice sessions. The hook point (hp) is at work, for example, when you learn the fingering for a piece. When you repeat and reinforce the new patterns, the hp is the moment where your brain starts to recognise the pattern and become familiar with what your fingers are doing, usually after many repetitions. The information from this process is retained, so that when you go on to practice other areas like articulation/dynamics, you don’t have to think too hard about the fingering. The most comforting aspect of the hp is that when it is time for you to perform, what you do is recall what/where was the hp, or areas you played easily during practice. Usually, once your ear recognises a passage you’ve practiced many times over, your brain will trigger the familiarity that the fingers developed in practice.

2. Do not draw conclusions about what just happened or what might/might not happen. Self-criticism while performing is pointless because it takes you out of the here and now and destroys your focus and physical actions.

Whatever the criticism, it introduces a verbal aspect into an activity that is most successful when it is non-verbal. Reserve judgment for after the performance, preferably after you have listened to other people’s reactions. Rather than judge your playing, simply observe it without saying anything, and play from the heart. For example, when you are about to make a crescendo, go for it and then feel it as you are doing it. There is nothing verbal about this process. You are, rather, putting intention into action – that is, motivating.

3. Do not second-guess the audiences reaction to your playing. When performing we become mind readers and believe we know exactly what the responses to our playing are. More often than not, these thoughts prove to be completely, wildly inaccurate and only serve to further distract us from our aim. An example: I was once playing a recital, with only twenty people in the audience. As soon as I came out to perform, I noticed a guy who looked familiar, but whom I could not quite place where I had seen him before. For most of the first piece, I was only partially thinking about the music, the other part, wondering who he was and (even worse) what he thought about the playing (crazy I know).

Finally I remembered that he was a respected piano teacher and accompanist I once met at a music shop near where I live. He was undoubtedly going to listen to the music on the program with a keen attention to detail and pick holes at the whole performance. Throughout the entire time, I was preoccupied with these thoughts and not surprisingly, the whole experience became gradually uncomfortable for me. Afterward, when he came to speak to me, I discovered that this piano teacher was, in fact, a jazz and pop specialist rather than a connoisseur of classical music and was very complimentary of my performance. Later I thought, “what an incredible waste of mental energy!” How remarkable it is that the vast resources of ones imagination can be used for such futile, self-destructive mind-games! You probably have had similar experiences.

Trying to imagine what the audience thinks of your playing is useless and distracting. You must please yourself first.

 

Ugo Onwutalu is a musician and piano teacher, also playing the guitar and organ. He is the founder of Grade Music Tutors, a UK music tuition production and entertainment organisation based in London. Visit http://www.grademusicworld.com for information on everything music-related, from learning an instrument and preparing for your exams, to getting a job in the music industry.

 

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Tips You Can Use To Overcome Stage Fright

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As one of the most common phobias, stage fright afflicts many people. It is estimated that every 3 out of 4 people suffer from it. It is easier to overcome stage fright when you keep that fact in mind. Also keep in mind that a little bit of nervousness and anticipation is normal before taking the spotlight.

A well used method to overcome stage fright would be to imagine the audience naked. This visualization permits a couple of things to happen: First, the novelty of picturing a roomful of nude people distracts you from being afraid, and second, thinking of the audience as naked puts them in a lower social station. Furthermore if they disapproved of your performance, their opinions would not matter. They are not with it enough to wear clothing.

The next tip to overcome stage fright would be to become at ease in the location that you will be making the presentation at. Get there ahead of time. Move around the room and stand in the spot where you will be situated. Look around; find a comfort spot to take a look at in case you will need to regain your composure for several seconds throughout the presentation.

And finally, one of the best ideas to overcome stage fright is to concentrate on your expertise. Once you recognize that you might be talking on a subject that you’re most comfortable with, the feeling of anxiety will soon dissipate.

Try not be distracted or rushed on the day of your performance. As much as you can, you ought to be relaxed and calm. This may be completed by picturing what the whole performance would be like all the way through, from beginning to end.

Should you need to face an audience of any size, familiarization is the key to calming those frayed nerves. It begins with the topic that you’re going to be talking on. Regardless of whether or not you’re making an official presentation or giving the toast at your sister’s wedding, you’ve been asked to do so simply because you’re considered capable of it.

In numerous cases the two factors of performance outcome and possible consequences may be evaluated realistically and minimized in a way that the performer has the capacity to overcome stage fright, and go on stage. In other instances one or more cognitive distortions may possibly amplify the performer’s perceptions, and not enable the performer to have a realistic assessment of the risks and rewards of obtaining in front of the audience. These cognitive distortions can effectively paralyze the individual from sharing her or his skills with other people.

I don’t like being afraid of doing things, especially when that fear is hindering my dreams and ideas. I’m sure I’m not alone on this, so it is my goal to help others overcome their fears. Getting in front of an audience doesn’t have to be scary. To read more about how to overcome stage fright, go to http://www.squidoo.com/you-can-overcome-stage-fright. If you want to overcome stage fright permanently, increase confidence, and renew your self-esteem, then please go to http://www.overcomestagefright.info.

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5 Practical Ways to Overcoming Stage Fright

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Overcoming stage fright takes time and some creative effort. But in my experience as a singer and singing teacher for over 25 years, I have observed that with the right approach, most of us can successfully control and/or dramatically reduce the negative feelings associated with stage fright.

In short, YOU can overcome stage fright!

A clinical psychologist at the Yeshiva University in New York. Shara Sand, (who is also a trombone player) says: “What primitively is going on is that there is a kind of exposure and vulnerability.”

She explains that even though we know that there is no great danger to us, still we experience the physical signs of imminent danger: our mouths get dry, our hearts pound furiously, our hands get sweaty and may even shake, our breathing patterns change, and of course, there is the constant desire to go to the bathroom.

1. Are You Really Ready?

Have you prepared yourself as well as you can?

Sometimes your feelings of stage fright are your body’s way of telling you that you are not yet ready to perform in public. Be sure that you have chosen something to sing that is within your present vocal abilities and that you have learned the piece(s) well. Poor preparation and too difficult a song will, with good reason, put you in a very vulnerable position.

2. Have You Tested the Shallower Waters?

Time, patience and practice help in overcoming stage fright.

So let us assume that you have prepared yourself well and you are singing music that is right for you. You had a chance to perform, and you were crushed by stage fright. You found yourself saying, “Never again!”

What now?

If you do not have the funds for or access to a course on overcoming stage fright and you are in a do-it-yourself mode, here is a fun next step:

First – find a very non-threatening situation in which to sing.

When I lived in the country (first, the mountains of Vermont and later, a lake-house in the Adirondack forest in New York state), I used to sing my newest or most difficult songs to animals.

I am not kidding!

I regularly sang to a large family of raccoons in Vermont, and to the resident woodchuck, porcupine and blackbirds in the Adirondacks.

This kind of prep-performance effort gives you a sense of humor about your performing self. You also see where your mistakes will happen in a very non-threatening, but critical situation. (“Critical” – because animals are a tough audience – they get bored – they yawn openly at your feebler attempts, and they walk away.)

In my case, the raccoons were the yawners. The blackbirds gathered in the trees and trilled harshly when my high notes were not very good. And so I learned to laugh at myself and do better.

(Warning! – Do not sing loudly to babies or dogs. It can hurt their ears. Babies will cry. Dogs will whimper.)

Next…move on to humans in your quest towards overcoming stage fright. Invite one or two people to your home stage who will not criticize you. They may be very young or very old. But their presence is needed only to allow you to practice dealing with your nervous energy.

Take the performance seriously.

For example – walk into the living room from the hallway as though you were walking onstage. Feel the nervous energy climb as you stand in front of your “audience.” Sing your songs with all your heart and with all your technical ability.

Afterward, do not ask for feedback. You are not singing in order to have others tell you how to be a better singer. This exercise is to get your body used to feeling and dealing with the high energy that is required to sing well.

When you have done this exercise several times, start to get more serious about why you are singing.

3. Do You Have Purpose for Your Performance?

What do I mean by purpose? Here is my purpose in singing: I choose to sing and/or write songs that have something to say that I strongly believe in and that I think could be of value to others. When I walk onstage, I need to know that what I am singing has this underlying purpose. Whatever nerves I feel, and after 30 years of performing, I do still feel a lot of nervous energy, I say to myself, “this ‘performance’ is more important than ‘me,’ so I will relax a little bit and give my audience my best.”

You also need to find your purpose for singing. It may be to share your personal world with others. It may be to bring joy to your audience. It may be to raise money for an event or to support a social/political cause.

Whatever you choose as your purpose, I promise you that having that in mind as you walk onstage (or into an audition) is going to take a lot of the sting out of your stage fright. You will have something besides yourself to think about as you prepare to perform.

4. Always Singing Better (Technical Development)

This one is very simple. As your vocal technique improves (for example, you can repeatedly sing the high notes during your practices and you can hold the long phrases when you rehearse), you will be increasingly less fearful about going onstage.

Find a good singing teacher to learn the finer points of singing if you feel that your voice is not improving on your own or with a taped guide. And practice consistently and well.

This is key to overcoming stage fright.

5. A Few Secrets

Finally, here are a few specific things you can do to have a less fearful performance:

o Make sure that on the day of your performance you can have long stretches of quiet time.
o Do some breathing exercises back stage. Look here for a good breathing exercise
o If you find yourself feeling frozen or paralysed backstage – do some jumping jacks (e.g. jump gently up and down on the spot) to help free some of the imploded energy.
o When possible, go to the place you will be performing the day before you must perform and stand on the stage. If you cannot go there, try to find a picture of the room, hall or stage online and visualize yourself in that place.
In a final piece of nutty but useful advice, repeat to yourself what Bill Murray’s crazy character said in the movie “Meatballs,” “It just doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter…” (One performance is a small thing in a big life.)

I wish you great singing!

 

For more information, please go here: http://www.singing-tips-with-barbara-lewis.com/overcoming-stage-fright.html

For an opportunity to see and listen to some of my music, please go here:

http://barbaralewis.com/Lullaby..deep.ly.html

I have been a singer, songwriter and vocal coach for over 25 years. I have produced and/or co-produced several of my own original-music CDs as well as two television-quality music videos which play regularly on Bravo TV and Classical Arts Showcase. I currently manage a teaching web site called, “Singing-Tips-With-Barbara-Lewis.com.”

 

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Should You Expect More From Your Children?

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The title of this article leads to a mighty serious question; should you expect more from your children? Are we talking five year old kids or teens? What about adult children? What are our expectations and why do we have them?

When we’re expecting our children to live up to our expectations and we are strict about it, then sure enough, somewhere, there is going to be someone crying, “Foul!” For the first time in our history, the U.S. is really falling behind in education. Where my generation would rise to any challenge put forth by the world; kids today would rather take the easy way out. Why not take the easy way? That’s actually what they’ve been taught. Funny thing though, every generation has taken the easy way out. It’s not just the kids of today.

I was never pressured to get straight As in class, but I had friends that were. Some of them did better in life than me, and some, not so great. We each have a different way to measure our success. When it gets reported in the news that our children won’t know how to deal with a world economy and, that Asia will easily take over because their children are prodded into classroom competition, until we get to what is considered the future, we’re not going to know the truth of it all.

Asia may have stricter parents when it comes to an education, but we have college dropouts that change the world; thank you Bill Gates. In the U.S. we appreciate the artist in business more than most recognize. Facebook probably wouldn’t be what it is today if Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t crossed certain boundaries and, like an artist, Create! Create! Create!

Our children of the day may appear to be lazy in many respects to our past, but in truth, we’re not going to know just how lazy our expectations are about their future, until another 50 years. People, wake up! We’re about to match the computer with the human brain and do things that have been unfathomable before. It’s a different world and kids today that grew up with computers keyboards at their fingertips are going to be at a disadvantage to the youth that have the keyboard implanted in their brain. Do you see where this is going?

We expect our kids to expect more of themselves and do great work, but we’re going off of old information. Though I believe that children of the day don’t take their education seriously enough, I do agree that what they’re often being taught is a waste of time. many may disagree but, most human beings are geniuses, they’ve just never been taught to live up to that level of expectation.

I’m sure if I suggested that we move algebra to begin at the age of seven or second grade, instead of where it is now, I’d catch a lot of flack by people who don’t understand how smart human beings really are. As a matter of fact, there are psychology groups that would have you believe a seven year old isn’t capable or mature enough to grasp the concepts of algebra or calculus at such an early age. To that I say, “There are many kids that are doing it right now at age five. Perhaps if you “expected” more from your child, then they too would understand it.”

How can a five year old understand algebra? Are they just gifted children? Sometimes, yes, but mostly, they’re gifted by parents that nurture the child’s mind. Don’t hate the messenger but, we expect more from our children because we wish we had expected more of ourselves.

 

Jeff Scott is an author of self-help fiction, ghostwriter for professionals, a Toastmaster and a personal mentor. His books are available in paperback or instantly downloaded as an ebook. His work is also available through Amazon’s Kindle and other e-readers.

Join Jeff’s free, monthly newsletter, Creating Affinity Through Communication, by signing up at either of his websites: http://booksbyjeffscott.com or [http://affinity-comm.com]

 

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Emotional Quotient

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It does not matter how intelligent you are, there is something else that will predetermine the success and happiness you are experiencing in life.

It does not matter how gifted you are, there is something else that will predetermine the success and happiness you are experiencing in life.

Actually, there is one main thing that will override everything else in life, and this one thing will predetermine what you can expect for all outcomes in your life.

What is that one thing? The most important thing a person can work on to improve the individuals life is the Emotional Quotient-EQ.

About twenty years ago, Social Scientists were researching the elements that made some people more successful than others. Although the researchers looked at many different aspects of successful individuals, they started with Intelligent Quotients (IQs). Quickly they found individuals with very low IQs, who were successful financially, as well as with their relationships, and off the chart in regards to happiness. Obviously, IQs were not a predetermining factor. Neither were the numerous other factors they studied and compared in successful individuals.

As time went on, the scientists discovered and named they felt to be essential for success and happiness-the Emotional Quotient (EQ).

The EQ is how a person handles emotions on a regular basis. The better a person handles emotions, the better life that individual possesses. The converse is true as well.

The Mental Codes® discovery I made a few years ago has helped people to understand more about the relationship between what emotions they experience and the effect they have on life.

As I have mentioned in the past, people are addicted to negative emotions. They crave negative emotions and reinforce them in any way possible. i.e. Watching the news, talking negative about people and things, having their primary focus on the negative events in life, etc.

In one of my articles, I suggested you start paying attention to your inner thoughts throughout your day. I recommended noticing if your inner thinking is in line with your desired life or are your regular thoughts counter productive to what you want?

Today I would like to take you on another journey into your mind and discover one of the most limiting factors with your thinking. Since you have identified some Mental Codes® that are keeping you stuck in life, it is time to ask yourself a simple but powerful question.

Why do you want to feel that way?

I know at first you may declare, “I do not want to feel that way but I can not help it.” The truth is, the only thing we do have control over in life is our thinking and since our thoughts create our emotions, and our emotions create our actions, and our actions create our habits, and our habits (good or bad) determine our success or failure. So you can see why it is important to control what we choose to think about most of the time. As a matter of fact, what we choose to think about will determine the rest of your life.

Thank goodness you can ask yourself the above question and give an honest answer to start upgrading your life to the next level. Everyone wants to feel the way they do for some reason. To discover the reason why you want to feel that way is the first step in accelerating your life into greater success.

As you start changing the thoughts you are allowing yourself to think (and not think), you will start to feel different emotionally. When you change your emotions, you change your life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael J. Duckett

 

Dr. Michael J. Duckett is a world renowned Social Scientist, Speaker, International Radio and Television Host, and Author of 133 books and programs. To see how Dr. Duckett can help propel you into success, please go to http://www.upgradinglife.com

 

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Gifted Classrooms and the Big Debate Discussed

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Are we making a mistake when we allow marginally gifted kids to enter a class with super intelligent kids in a gifted program? This often occurs when parents demand that their kids are allowed to take classes at a higher level than they’ve actually tested for, but the school administrators okay it, because it is easier than dealing with the conflict of denying entry and having irate parents.

There was an interesting article recently in the Wall Street Journal titled’ “Do ‘Gifted’ Classes Work” which was published on June 4, 2011 in the “education category” which discussed a research paper by Sa A. Bui, Steven G. Craig, and Scott A. Imberman titled; “Is Gifted Education a Bright Idea? Accessing the Impact of Gifted and Talented Program Sustainability” – an NBER Working Paper.

In the article it noted a couple of studies, one where 2500 students were put into a gifted classroom, and due to being “barely” or “almost” certified brilliant in grade 5, then given really a tough teaching curriculum, and by grade 7 were at the same level as the other kids not in the program, also in grade 7. Another program had 550 students selected by lottery for the elite gifted classes which had extra space; “those student had done better in science than their peers not in the program but the same in math, reading, language, or social studies.”

The researchers “speculated” that the increased competition from super talented peers may have been a self-esteem challenge due to substandard grades in the tougher classes, as these kids were no longer amongst the smartest in the average classrooms. That is interesting because over the years, yes, we’ve heard a lot about fostering self-esteem and trying to keep everyone equal, but it gets pretty impossible when the levels of academic achievement and IQ are so vast.

Of course, if the marginally gifted student is in a regular class wouldn’t it also cause the below average students in that class to feel the lesser? Yes, but then where does it all end, that is to say we can’t keep everyone puffed up with happiness and high self-esteem, and to do so defeats the purpose of training and educating our children to compete in the real world, because the real-world does indeed have winners, and losers.

So, with regards to the above research, one should be asking if the challenge is with motivation and self-esteem, and actual “gifted-ness” or with the student’s lack academic discipline, perseverance, and application of self in the learning process. Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you’ve enjoyed today’s discussion and topic. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net – Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

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Crystal and Indigo Children

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Indigo Children
Indigo children are teenagers and young adults. They are naturally intuitive, perceptive, and sensitive. Many of them are psychic, creative and although they don’t usually do well in school, they seem to “know” everything. Unfortunately most Indigo’s are diagnosed with ADHD and put on medications to control their hyperactivity and attention deficit. Sadly when they are medicated they lose their unique personality traits and spiritual gifts. They do have trouble focusing and need to channel their energy into their passion and gifts. They do not do well in the traditional educational system, they do not conform well and have a rebellious spirit.

These kids have strong personalities and are warrior spirits here to pave the way for the new world. They are “system busters” and here to quash systems without integrity that are not ethical and productive such as our current governmental, educational, and healthcare systems. To do that they need to have hot tempers and fierce determination. If you are the parent of an Indigo, like I am, your job has probably not been easy. You can throw out the rulebooks when it comes to parenting an Indigo. They definitely have minds of their own and like to be in control.

Many of these kids are gifted and will be our future artists and healers they just need help focusing their energy and finding a creative outlet. They have extremely strong bonds with children, animals, and nature. They connect easily with the spirit realm and sense spirits and angels. They are sensitive to energies and it is not unusual for them to have the need to shower often. They can be extremely messy and disorderly because they have a difficult time focusing. They have personalities that are bigger than life and because of their sensitivities it is easy for them to fall into addictive behavior. Their brains functions differently and theses kids are actually wise beyond their years and misunderstood. We have a lot we can learn from these special and gifted kids.

Indigo Children are very responsive to love and love others very much. They are open, non-judgemental and love without prejedice. They see the beauty in others. They know what is right, have strong convictions and beliefs, and will stand up for them. If they feel they are unfairly disciplined, they will stand up to the parent or authority figure. Fighting for what they believe is right is a common trait of Indigos. These kids are here to teach us the basics of true unconditional love.

Crystal Children
The crystal children are the children usually born since the year 2000. In contrast to the Indigo children, these children are loving and peaceful spirits, incredibly gifted and natural healers. They radiate love! The first thing you will notice about a Crystal child is their eyes, large, deep, and penetrating. They are extremely kind and sensitive. These children are connected to the spiritual realm, many of them see and talk to angels, they are usually picky eaters preferring healthy foods, fruits and vegetables. They prefer whole foods of the earth over junk food. Of course they will indulge ice cream and treats too, they are children!

Many of them have delayed speech patterns and many are diagnosed with autism. They have the ability to communicate telepathically and can do quite well. These children are extraordinarily gifted, many child geniuses are being born in this group. They are multi-talented, creative and our future healers. Many Crystal Children have the gift of healing even as a child. They are so full of love and have such pure hearts that their mere presence on earth lifts the vibration and helps us to raise consciousness. Crystal Children have more activated DNA strands than adults. It’s not uncommon for Crystal Children to be fascinated with crystals and rocks. Crystal children intuitively know about the magical properties of crystals and how to use them for healing.

Indigo and Crystal Adults
As our consiousness rises many of us adults are become more Indigo and more Crystal. As our consciousness evolves, we become more full of love and light and our hearts become purer. As we purify our hearts and hold more light, we activate more of our DNA and devolop more of our talents and gifts and become more “Christ like”. In some ways we are all becoming more Crystal and Indigo. Our world is making an evolutionary leap into consciousness and as we as a group raise our own vibration, we raise the vibration of the planet and create a better world.

Healing for Children
I have conducted many Healing Sessions for children. I see in my sessions how early children pick up limiting beliefs from parents. Judgements, divorce and custody disputes can affect them. Children are precious and its unfortuante to see their beliefs clouded by disapproval and lack of affection when they are so full of love. Many Indigos suffer a from a lot of rage from having to fit in to a traditional system and not being able to fully express themselves. If they have suffered emotional traumas it always helps to release those before they become adults.

They can also greatly benefit from an Intensive Healing session. I know how frustrating it can be to raise and Indigo and the countless hours spent in doctors offices and with counselors. Many of these kids can also end up in the juvenile system and spend a lot of time in the counseling office at school. Many of them don’t finish school but don’t let that worry you too much. They are full of potential!

The sessions can help them release rage, reconnect spiritually, and have a sense of purpose and direction that will help them get on the right path. For older children I prefer to always have their permission. Healing is always the most effective when someone wants it for themselves. http://rainbowremotehealing.com/remote-healing

 

Rebecca Jenkins is an Intuitive Energy Healer. She performs remote healings successfully around the world. Her goal is to help others attain health, happiness, and love in all areas of their lives. She can be reached at http://www.rainbowremotehealing.com

 

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