We all started out 2010 washing ourselves of the memories of 2009 and gaining a renewed sense of hope for what’s to come. Unfortunately, once we hit what is now Spring, the strive for better fades and old memories may be dug up leaving us lost without a purpose. Your outdated beliefs, assumptions, behaviors and habits are blocking you from living your BEST LIFE. So, what should you do to peel away that old mentality and connect with your deepest purpose? “The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse” by New York Times Best Selling Author Debbie Ford focuses on detoxing your soul. To move forward you must cleanse your physical body of accumulated stress and toxicity or in laymen’s terms: You’ve gotta kick out the bad to breathe in the good. Publiclee was able to catch up with Ford and here is what she shared:

The Spiritual & Emotional Wellbeing Connection to Achievement

Why aren’t we able to achieve our goals? We can’t achieve our goals because we don’t feel like we have the inner strength or the motivation to actually make tough choices. And we don’t believe we can make tough choices because we have bought in to some old negative belief about ourselves that now lives in our consciousness. If we don’t shift the way we feel about ourselves and don’t connect with this inner resource that has the power to deliver us the goals that we desire, we will often run out of motivation early in the process. While it’s true that our actions determine our outcomes, the thoughts and feelings we experience on a daily basis exert a powerful influence on our actions. All goals – including the goal to lose weight or adopt a healthier lifestyle – are made more potent when we are clear about why we want it, and how we will feel once we achieve it. If we try to initiate positive life changes without first addressing any underlying disappointment, frustration, or resignation that may be lurking beneath the surface of our consciousness, we will be fighting against ourselves the whole way. By acknowledging and then releasing these self-sabotaging thoughts and emotions first, we open up the space inside ourselves, inside our consciousness, for lasting change to take root.

Meditation is Needed Everyday

There is a saying, “If you don’t go within, you go without.” So much of our waking attention is externally driven. We get focused on the hustle and bustle of daily living, making ends meet, and pleasing others. The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse is an opportunity to move our attention from the outer world back to ourselves. The daily meditations are easy to do and only a few minutes, but they reconnect us with our internal source of motivation, courage and internal strength and help us to stay focused on what we can do to experience more fulfillment, have more fun, and live our lives in a way that makes us proud. Each meditation ends with something I call Soul Food – a mantra that we can repeat throughout each day to align our every thought and action with our intention. It’s very powerful.

What is a Consciousness Cleanse?
I think of the Consciousness Cleanse as a detox diet for the soul. In the same way that a physical cleanse purifies the body of accumulated stress and toxicity, The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse purifies our minds and emotions, recharging us with strength, clarity, and inner peace. The Consciousness Cleanse is designed to clear away the difficulties of the past – our struggles, stresses, hurts and resentments that might cause us to overeat and sabotage our diets. When we are liberated from guilt, regret, insecurity, and the heaviness that we carry around from the past, we find the internal courage to make choices that empower and inspire us.

The Number 21
In the 1970s, a physician by the name of Maxwell Maltz published a research study that confirmed that it takes roughly 21 days to change a habit. Over the past decade I have supported tens of thousands of people in changing their lives for the better, and have seen over and over that committing to a single intention for this period of time generates enough momentum to keep most people inspired. Because the Consciousness Cleanse is divided into three areas of focus – the past, the present, and the future – the process is accelerated and people notice positive shifts immediately.

Separating the Past, Present and Your Future

The first seven days of the Consciousness Cleanse is dedicated to clearing out the negative thoughts, turbulent emotions, limiting beliefs, and unresolved pain from the past that literally weighs us down and keeps us repeating from making better choices for ourselves. People experience a great deal of release – physical as well as emotional – during this phase. The second seven days provides an opportunity to honestly assess who, what, and where we are today; to get really clear about what is and is not working in our lives. Many compulsive behaviors – including overeating – are merely an attempt to cover up or distract ourselves from a deeper issue that needs our attention. Once we’ve identified the emotions and patterns from the past, we can mobilize the inner and outer resources we need to resolve them. This produces an immediate boost to our self-esteem, energy level and motivation to stick to our goals. The final seven days of the Consciousness Cleanse directs us toward the future, unveiling a road map that will lead us to the actions, feelings, and outcomes that we are yearning to experience. We’re exhilarated and find the strength to look and feel our best.

Watch Yourself Change

The Consciousness Cleanse is a full-immersion process of spiritual renewal that guides us to clean up the past, get honest about our present circumstances, and envision a future that leaves us lit up and inspired. It will support us not only in obtaining our goals for the New Year, but more important, in building a powerful, loving and respectful relationship with oneself.

For more information about Debbie Ford, visit www.DebbieFord.com