The Power of Gratitude Can Take You From Stressed to Blessed!

On Thursday, November 8, 2007, from 5:30 to 8:45 p.m., Ventura County Ventura County Professional Women's Network will present its November General Meeting and Dinner. The guest speaker will be Patricia Alexander. The program is entitled " The Power of Gratitude as a Holiday Stress-buster: Super Self-Comforting Techniques to Take You from Stressed to Blessed."Patricia Alexander is establishing herself as one of the country's leading authorities on self-care and comfort. She is co-author with Michael Burgos of The Book of Comforts: Simple, Powerful Ways to Comfort Your Spirit, Body and Soul.MAIN POINTS OF THE PRESENTATION:Holiday stress creates need for comforting oneself, consciously or unconsciously. When done consciously, you are less vulnerable to "toxic" choices you regret, like overeating, martyred complaining and overspending.Do you have permission to self-nurture? Conscious self-comforting empowers your choices and creates more balance and joy. Examine the things you've been told by early authority figures and the "myth-beliefs" you've accepted - even though you don't really agree with these concepts (like everything has to be perfect at the holidays or you've failed your family) and they're not working for you. Puncture their power by identifying the beliefs that have been running you, then gently tell any authority figure that comes up for you that you are an adult now and you respectfully disagree with what they told you. Now you can take back the power you gave away.There are a lot of exciting happenings this month! This month's meeting sponsor is Shirley Lorraine and Mary Gabriels for Weekenders fashions. We will be holding our autumn silent auction. There are many fun goodies to be bid on, including the "Gratitude Gift Baskets." This is a great way to get some of your holiday shopping done. The deadline for entry of the gift basket competition is November 1. The baskets must be delivered to Laureen Lazzaro at Bank of the West in Ventura, in order to be eligible for the competition. At long last, the winner of the Wind Beneath My Wings contest will also be announced at the meeting. The suspense is mounting! Please join us in the festivities and get into the pre-holiday spirit!The meeting is located at the Wedgewood Banquet Center, 5880 Olivas Park Dr, Ventura. Reservations can be made atwww.vcpwn.org or call (866) 275-4134.