Kaizentral Station

Blissmas Bites

Expand your mind, decrease your waist, untangle old patterns that don't serve you and weave a new way of being using one gentle-compassionate-patient-fun-small-step at a time.

Quotes from Blissmas Members During the Program:
I'm loving the program.  You are so generous and inspiring. – E.S.
Out of the blue I am dropping weight (down a total of about 10 pounds...)  ~L.F.

... thank you for holding up the mirror for my Blissmas Sisters, and giving us another place to succeed, and feel spectacular! ~L.B.

Body Blissmas is making me feel more attuned to my body and how to take care of it in a loving, holistic way. Thanks Jill and thanks to all our members. ~Margie P

Well, it is truly a wonderful and brilliant idea..  I have lost at least 10 pounds. Thank you for your courage and creativity. ~KH

You have provided rich resources, meaningful assignments, and creative inspiration.  It is making a difference! Thanks Jill for your creative encouragements! I feel fueled by you not to mention inspired! ~LW

Motivational emails are great,I like that we can access recordings in case we miss things or just want to review, Love the guided imagery, Love the Yahoo group, The individual coaching was awesome. Writing exercises have been surprisingly satisfying. ~T.D.

The food list to stock our refrigerators was worth the price of admission! ~S

Getting to see Jill in action is worth the price of admission! ~L F.

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” ~Sophia Loren

Questions and Answers About Body Blissmas

What is Body Blissmas and a Happy New Rear?
Body Blissmas is a creative, playful, wellness program whose mission it is to improve every dimension of well-being through creative thinking, intuition, imagination, play and creative expression. The program works through delivery of daily emails, weekly teleconferences, monthly guest speakers, 24/7 access to mind sculpting guided imageries, creativity workshops and a membership website that catalogs motivators, reminders, recipes, creativity prompts, member's creative expression, references, readings, helpful links and the support, humor, and inspiration from fellow Blissmas members.  You participate as much or as little as you desire.

What Solutions does Body Blissmas Provide?
• A non-deprivation oriented nutrition plan that elevates food's sacred and sensual experience. Imagine eating foods you love and still losing weight. In this plan you must eat in order for weight loss to happen. It is a plan you can follow for the rest of your life.
• This life-style change results in long term wellness, weight loss and a peaceful relationship with food vs ineffective short term weight loss.
• You are provided with a steady diet of tools that make creativity and staying with your creative passion easier. Within the prescription of these tools is a compassionate, imaginative approach that is unprecedented by any other weight loss, wellness OR creativity program.
• Connection with a creative group of fabulous women who share discoveries, expressions, creative personalities, support and humor as much or as little as they desire. Connection to those with similar creative interests is vital to the strength of our spirit, and the consistent support of desired changes from this group over time makes those changes easier.

How does Body Blissmas achieve these solutions?
•The same Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching techniques that are making lasting changes in the lives of hundreds are applied to lengthening the quality of our lives in a way that makes food a pleasure rather than the enemy. There is an added twist of Badonsky quirky-humor, art, playfulness, prompts, creative problem solving, and constant attentive support.
• By providing the tools and thought patterns necessary to triumph over the human challenge of staying with a program that is good for us despite our creative and rebellious natures, stress eating, irresistible cravings, procrastination, self-sabotage, perfectionism, overwhelm, a subconscious belief of not deserving a better life, and passive, wishful thinking.
• By reminding you over and over of what works in a simple way that does not add to your overwhelm. Repeat advertisement has imprinted ditties in our brains such as "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner." Clever, creative repeat advertisement can also remind us of our power, return us to our higher self, shift our belief about food, keep us programmed to stay with nutrition, and make creativity easier to get to. Many of us know what we need to do but forget, become weak, or get distracted– constant reminders packaged in art, humor, affirmations, journal exercises, and quotes begin to reshape our habits to laud our health, energy, authenticity and creative selves. We can be more than weiners!
• This program operates on realistic common sense. Habits take awhile to change. Quick weight loss programs fail. Body Blissmas teaches gentle acceptance and compassion during the process of sculpting habits so they STAY and are not just a product of the temporary enthusiasm we feel at the beginning of many self-help programs and fad diets that ultimately fades.
Is this going to add more pressure to my life?
The encouragement to go at your own pace and just choose really, really, (really) small steps to focus on, practice and repeat over and over for entire months, makes Body Blissmas a gentle, easy addition that makes lasting changes. Following the program's directon actually results in more energy because your mind is provided with a steady stream of inspiration, your soul is nourished with creative thought, support and action, and your body is provided with the right nutrition (which means you throw out all your low-fat and non-fat food and return to whole foods that nourish your cells, your brilliance and your motivation).  You can drop in and out as your life allows and still receive the power of the program - there is no falling behind, just returning as you can.

How did this all get baked?
In 2006, I increased my exercise and decreased my calorie consumption and began gaining more weight than ever. While trying to finish writing a book, my mind became unfocused, fuzzy, even more twisted than it already is and all I wanted to do was sleep. My hair was falling out; my body was in a crisis, and my moods were all over the map. Through a series of encounters with women's health professionals I discovered a nutrition plan that healed my body, returned me to energy, helped me lose the 12 pounds I've been wanted to lose for 10 years. I knew, however, that without creative thinking, support and practice that my habits would bounce back to the old ways and return me a lifestyle that will not serve my creative passions or my health for the rest of my life. The KMCC tools, designed to help us move past fears, procrastination and other self sabotaging ways work beautifully in this program AND result in increasing the depth of creative abilities. I am soooo very passionate about this program, I want to share it with as many women who will listen. There's so many unhealthy diets out there, ack! This one is not just a diet, but a creativity journey and a new, healthier life style.

What are my qualifications:
My background includes ten years as an Occupational Therapist, six of those years were on an eating disorder unit prescribing creative activities to shift control of the body and unhealthy preoccupations with weight to control of art media and expression through a creative outlet. I received in depth nutrition education for healthy mind, body and soul by earning a Yoga teacher certification at White Lotus Yoga Institute in Santa Barbara. However, the nutrition plans that Blissmas are based upon were devised by actual doctors: Diana Schwarzbein and Joel Fuhrman.
My 11 years as a creativity coach, workshop leader, writer, artist and program developer has given me good insight into what keeps people engaged in healthy change and creative passions even when they are a resistant, temperamental, and rebellious group of individuals.

Who qualifies for Body Blissmas?
~Women 42-65 (with a few spaces for women on either side of this continuum): This is a program for women entering midlife and beyond. The issues of our bodies changing, reinventing our lives and a desire to rediscover long-lost selves are specifically addressed.
~Women willing to make at least a 3 month commitment and preferably a 6 month commitment. This program purposefully moves at a slow pace to practice, repeat and make new habits lasting. Short term commitments do not develop the muscles, esteem, and most importantly the habits to make lasting change and to change former patterns of quitting-too-soon.
~Women motivated to find at least an hour a week to participate at whatever level they feel comfortable.
~Women who know they cannot afford NOT to start taking better care of themselves.

How much does it cost?

Compare subscription levels to see which would best support you:

BODY BLISSMAS (and a HAPPY NEW REAR!) Exclusive Support Tools Value Club Car: 3 month initial commitment First-Class V.I.P. Car: 6 month initial commitment (limited to 25 members) Daily email supportive reminders, writing prompts, original art, inspiration and *surprises* directly from Jill Badonsky $50/mo. x x 3 Weekly Teleconferences Per Month (First 3 Tuesdays) $225/mo. x x 1 Creativity Workshop a month (Fourth Tuesday) $125/mo. x x Jill Badonsky's Magical Mind Sculpting Guided Imageries-of-the-Month Recordings for 24/7 use $25 no x Monthly One-on-one Creativity Coaching Session with Jill $125 no x 90 minute group coaching sessions monthly with Jill to address your individual needs for maximum success $75 per session no x Access to Private Online Forum Discussion in Members-Only Group. Access to Members Only Website. $79/mo. x x Access to Online Recordings of all Teleclasses  $139 x x Downloads of Teleclasses $25 a piece Available for $10 a piece x Inclusion in Monthly Guest Lectures with Creative or Culinary Experts  $49/mo. Available for $25 x V.I.P. Gift Package in BODY BLISSMAS Totebag including Choice of The Schwarzbein Priniciple or Dr. Fuhrman's Eat for Life book, Jill's Muse Book or the Kaizen Book, an original Art Trading Card from Jill Badonsky with a Blissmas Affirmation – (includes all Blissmas Gifts below) $75 (not including Blissmas Gifts) Available for $75 x Blissmas Gifts: mini paint palette and brush, Blissmas notepads, pens, clapping teeth (humor reminder), bath salts, tote bag $30 x x Group coaching with Registered Dietician quarterly $75 Available for a discount of $60 x Discounts on Products, Retreats, Workshops varies no x TOTAL VALUE = $628 a month $1022 a month YOUR COST = Commitment Deposit of $120 and then JUST $35 a month!!! (3 month min.) Only $125 a month or $750 for ALL six months of the VIP commitment!!

How do Creativity and Healthy Eating Work Together?

Body Blissmas members recently brainstormed lists of how creativity and eating well work together. Here are the results from three of our members:

Katie:

1. Creativity can make eating more fun and satisfying
2. Creativity helps figure out new ways to eat 
3. Creativity helps add fun to exercising
4. Creativity provides a way to feel more confident and secure about ourselves
5. Wellness means we have more energy to create our lives
6. Wellness means we have more vitality to do creative activities
7. We can face fears through creativity instead of eating to dull them.
8. Through creativity we might become more aware of what we really want and
9. how we really feel
10. Life looks more interesting with creativity. There actually are some things more interesting to do than eat.
11. Helps change our perspective to more creating what we want not reacting to "reality".
12. Creativity gives permission to nurture ourselves in many ways not just food
13. Creativity allows us to use imagination to support us.
14. Wellness helps us to be more peaceful and thoughtful – a more creative space.
15. Moving creatively is delightful and healthy.
16. Creative writing can ease our anxiety and express troubles in ways that reduce the need to eat unwisely.
17. Creativity and well-being develops internal awareness and wisdom which leads to greater well-being.
18. Creativity can make everything more playful and palatable.
19. Everything tastes better with creativity.
20. Both support our innate sense of self worth.
21. Both can become a supportive habit, but require attending to.
22. Both change your perception of the world.
23. Both can begin with small changes and grow very powerful.
24. Many people think they cannot do either one.
25. Both change one's self image.
26. Creativity and imagination can actually improve our physical ability. Athletes use visualization.
27. Both require rest.
28. Both require action
29. Both can be frustrating.
30. Both can bring up fear.
31. Curiousity and gentleness work best for both.
32. Discipline is also needed for both. Call it making wiser choices.
33. Drinking more water is good for both.
34. Walking is good for both.
35. The more color the better. Think vegetables and crayons.
36. There is a balance of structure and freedom required.
37. Permission to be imperfect is necessary.
38. Breathing more "awarely" is helpful to both.
39. Getting started is often the most difficult and then comes keeping going in the middle somewhere and then finishing.
40. How we talk to ourselves matters in both, what questions we ask and our judgements.
41. Imaginary friends can cheer us on and support us in both.
42. Creativity is in a way giving to the world and to ourselves. Wellness is in a way receiving the benefits of life, our delicious food and delightful movement.  They support each other.

A batch from Barbara...

1. Creativity and weight loss relate because they are both non-linear.
2. Creativity fosters wellness and, as Blissmas Babes have seen for themselves,creativity is helpful in weight loss.
3. Water is essential to both weight loss and some elements of creativity (watercolor, paint/pastel clean-up.) 
4. Difficult emotions may lead to emotional eating but they can be lessened via creative outlets.
5. If we believe/affirm that we are creative artists and if we believe/affirm that we can achieve greater wellness, then we will be correct in both cases.
6. Societal approval is a mistaken marker for both creative talent and for assessing one's desirable weight. 
7. Both creative talent and desirable weight should be determined by the individual.
8. Intuition is a huge guide for both our food choices and for creative expression.
9. Cravings can be managed via coloring.
10. Creative expression can override preoccupation with cravings.
11. Both the process of creating art and of weight loss can be fun.
12. Weight loss buddies enjoy receiving mail art.
13. Effort is a necessary ingredient for both creativity and weight loss, but each can reap immeasurable personal reward.
14. We can cultivate increased self-esteem and higher self-regard via personal food choices as well our personal creative choices.
15. Group feedback can improve efforts at both weight management and creativity.
16. Individual coaching can help accomplish the above as well.
17. Exercise can increase creativity.
18. Both weight loss and creativity exploration can be joyous.
19. Being mindful of the present moment is helpfu to both wellness and creative efforts.
20. Aging should not be negatively correlated with either weight management or creative potential.
21. The Blissmas fairy encourages both weight management and creativity.
22. Journal writing can assist both of the above.
23. Varying one's walking pattern can influence creative thought and will also help target different muscles of the body.
24. Choosing creative music can help lengthen exercise sessions.
25. Kaizen-Muse techniques apply equally well to creativity and weight loss.
26. Legumes and beans are great for glue-on art projects, and they are great for one's health.
27. Food is art.
28. Imaginary companions can empower both creative and weight loss efforts.
29. If we allow it, our inner critic can sabotage attempts at creativity and at wellness.
30. Not setting aside time for our precious selves can squelch creativity along with weight loss endeavors.
31. Abandoning creative projects (leaving them either unfinished or within the recesses of our mind) and abandoning wellness choices are equally self-sabotaging.
32. Feelings of not being good enough can undermine attempts at wellness/weight loss and at creativity.
33. Thinking like Leonardo DaVinci fosters creativity and can also help with weight loss.

Linda

1. The first dyes, paints and materials for creativity were items from Mother Earth, who also provides food and water for wellness and beauty for inspiration.

2.Both creativity and wellness invite us to join in the hum of humanity in continually new ways throughout life's journey.

3.Both are opportunities to engage our higher self throughout each day, and the learnings cross over from wellness to creativity and vice versa.

4. Both teach us to trust our inner knowing to discern our own unique path to growth, and progress in each creates an increased empowerment in the other.

5.Creating space in our day for creativity and wellness is being open to the Divine in new and surprising ways, and each one feeds the other.

6. Creativity and wellness activities teach us to be present in the moment.

7. Both nurture each other to build up and strengthen a healthy self-acceptance and self-love.

8. Both are intentions that have the potential to send love into the world.

9. Both are underscored by similar values, and strengthening actions related to those values in one area also creates strength in the other.

10. Both creativity and wellness foster courage which affect both, and which extends beyond oneself.

11. Both compliment each other by fueling all areas of life with intention.

12. Wellness stimulates physicial energy and abilities for creativity which usually engages more of the  mind and soul which need constant replenishing of the physicial body, so it is a continuous spiral or inter-weaving of benefits.

13. Wellness promotes a longer healthy life in which one is able to enjoy the highest and most creative quality of life.

14. Both can reduce stress.

15. Both integrate the highest capacities of human endeavors and a life demonstrating that integration lights the way for other to see their highest purposes, neither are quite complete without the interweaving of the other.

16. Wellness requires a Creative plan or at least the creation of an intention to be carried out through nutrition and exercise and fulfillment.

17. Both teach trust in ways that filter into all of life.

18. Both teach surrender, letting go of old patterns and messages that no longer serve in ways that crossover with intentions.

19. Both provide opportunities to practice 'beginner's mind', which leads to fuller life experience with a blending of both wellness and creativity.

20. Persons who choose to engage in healthy life style choices learn the advantages of both planning ahead and spontaneity.

21. Both provide opportunities to stop and reflect on the beauty that is everywhere, whether it is in a market or on a walk.

22. Both strengthen the inner self in all areas to accept difficulties and disappointments with equanimity rather than judgement.

23. Both show us how connected we really are to the rest of humanity when we think about the resources available to us for creativity and wellness - from clean water and safe food to artistic resources.

24. Both are a journey on which we can expect to meet unannounced angels and messengers which illuminate all of life.

25. Both invite a sense of humor that lightens up all of life.

26. Both are needed in a healthy blalnce for optimal overall health.

27. Both provide opportunities to let ourselves be humbled by weakness and find strenth and joy in acceptance.

28. Both are composed of essential tools that weight nothing but provide everything in a pilgrim's pack.

29. The brain requires energy in the form of food, so healthy food literally fuels creativity.

30. Creative ideas often come when one is engaged in wellness activities.

31. Creativity often includes or can inspire new ways to use the body to promote wellness, ex: large sweeping motions in painting, or dance steps.

32. Wellness as an intention reminds the artist to take measures to protect themselves from toxic supplies.

33. Every cooking endeavor, all of which affect wellness, hopefully choosing wisely,  is a creative action.

Muses Abridged

 

Don't tell anyone, but The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) are ten creative principles in the guise of Muses (and a bodyguard). In this personification, the creative priniciples are more approachable, appealing, and influential. Embracing "Muse personalities" activates our imagination so we already enter a realm where our creative motivation is heightened. The Muses each have a story about how they made the "Muse-cut", how they can help mortals break through blocks, and how to summon their energy. They each have a collection of quotes, journal exercises, writing and art prompts, even a barometer as to how you might be already operating in their particular sphere.

Here are the modern day Muses in a nutshell:

Aha-phrodite, Paying Attention and Possiblities (how to awaken your creative thinking)
Albert, Imagination & Innovation (how to break rules and think differently)
Bea Silly, Play,  Laughter & Dance (why play is so crucial to the creative process)
Muse Song, Nurturing, Encouragement & Good Company (how to change the tormenting voices in our heads to ones that empower our creative process)
Audacity, Courage & Uninhibited Uniquess (summoning up the courage and confidence vital to the creative process and sometimes more important than talent itself)
Spills,  Practice, Process & Imperfection (how to conquer fears of not being good enough)
Lull, Pause, Diversion & Gratitude (the importance of taking a break and embracing what already "is")
Shadow, Gifts of  the Dark Side (taking anger, sadness, quirkiness, and other emotions and siphoning the creative potential as well as the cultivation of compassion)
Marge, Okay-now-let’s-get-started (small steps that bypass fear, strategies to overcome procrastination for good)
The Bodyguard, A powerful force to protect our ideas, intention, and commitment.

Announcing my new DOWNLOADABLE Creativity Workshop!

In this brand-new workshop, you will:

• invent an imaginary guide
• find out and experience how this guide can be a source of strength
• increase your creative willpower and break through procrastination
• expand the dimensions of your mind for the interest of increased creative joy
• through art, writing and guided imagery invent a muse that will be your companion for the rest of your life as you know it.

This is a two hour workshop led by me, Jill Badonsky, M.Ed., author of The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard). It will take you through an explanation of how imagination can help us tap into our inner strength, lead you through activities that make this possibility a reality, provides time for you to express in writing and art, and gives you examples of how to keep this going.

A $75 Value for only $39! (And it's downloadable, so you can repeat the session again and again and again....)

Welcome to Kaizentral Station!

This is a blog all about creativity by itself as well as creativity as it relates to wellness/weight loss. It is written by a creative junkie who has a 30 year addictive habit of exploring altered states of existence, not through drugs, through creativity. I have loyally stayed committed to my creative insanity in the realms of healing through creativity, writing, playwriting, painting, illustration, multimedia production, teaching, marketing and inventing a creativity coaching model that has opened pathways of joy for the many who have been exposed to it - .

The creative process is a world in and of itself, and in my opinion one of the only routes to living a fulfilled life. With a creative mind we can choose thoughts like colors from a palette - paint our existence with the perspective that most serves our highest intention and brightens our interaction with those close to us as well as those we want to serve. But the creative process is filled with detours, demons and delirium.

Although many academic, dry and analytical types as well as many stubborn artists dispute that the creativity is 1) something that can be taught and 2) within the reach of all of us.. I have discovered tools and techniques that make creativity easier for anyone wanting either to embark upon or continue a creative path in writing, art, music, comedy, performance or film as well as in creating a positive change in one's life such as weight loss and wellness.  As we grow older we need more ways of coping with life's realities - creativity not only helps get us through the changes, the unexpected turns, the losses - it also exalts our existence and gives us license and manner to be the best of who we are.

This blog will keep you informed with how that looks in real life, will encourage you to be a part of it, will encourage you to do more than just read.