Wednesday, May 21, 2014

What's the Message? Part 3- Feeding the Brain Positive Messages

While it is important to limit the negative messages our brain takes in (as discussed in Part 2), it is equally important to ensure that positive information is getting in there as well.

Here are some practices we can incorporate into our daily routine:

A Positive start – Before heading out in the morning or starting on the day’s tasks, carve out a 10-15 minute block of time.  In that time, engage in a mindfulness exercise (see the previous chapter) or a relaxation practice like the one below:  

·         Close your eyes and place both palms on your diaphragm, the space between your stomach and chest. 

·         Breathe in through your nose with your mouth closed.

·         As you breathe in, extend/push out your diaphragm, feeling the expansion with your palms.

·         Hold for 3 seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth as if you are blowing through a straw.

·         Listen to your breath as you release it, and notice your diaphragm contract.

·         After exhalation and before you take another deep breath, repeat an affirmation to yourself.  It can be a single word, phrase, or sentence that motivates and inspires you.

The codependent’s prayer can be used as an affirmation to start the day:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change,

Courage to change the person I can,

And the wisdom to know that is me.”

A Positive end-  At day’s end, our brain gets ready to process our experiences.  It can be helpful to write down the day’s events, unresolved issues, and any information acquired.  Journaling is a way to ‘sweep out’ residue from the day’s experiences.  This enables us to sleep with a clear head.  Once we have done this, we can ‘feed’ our brains positive/peaceful or neutral (does not trigger good/bad feelings) information just prior to falling asleep.  This can be achieved by looking through a collection of peaceful images, reading words of inspiration, engaging in a meditation like the one just mentioned, or listening to sounds/music that create calm or trigger the memory of a pleasing experience.  Sounds of the ocean, rainfall, or forest, can be found on audio cd or in certain apps.  Since there is a large amount of ‘data’ out there that is negative and, even, frightening it makes sense that many people today struggle with sleep disturbances, such as recurring nightmares, intermittent sleep, and insomnia. Go to www.cdc.gov/features/dssleep/index.html#References for more information. 

May this blog be the inspiration to experience life more fully by creating a more positive mindset.

 

 

Thursday, May 15, 2014

What's the Message? Part 2- Reducing Negative Messages

We receive negative messages from a variety of sources.  Television news, radio, newspapers/journals, email notifications, neighbors, co-workers, friends, family members. For some of us, repeating negative messages to others can become a way to socialize and make chit-chat, however, the impact this has on our psyche is no less potent than watching the local news channel air one tragic event after another.  Rather than comprehensive and thorough coverage of an issue, the most shocking or attention-grabbing aspects are often highlighted. Issues are, essentially, ‘dumped’ on us, resulting in a sense of powerlessness.  Sources may offer a sentence or two, a soundbyte or headline only without exploration or a call to action.

Here are some ways to limit our daily intake of negative messages:

  • Keep superficial chit chat to a minimum or maneuver it toward more inspiring headlines, witticisms or humor.
  • Limit contact with those individuals who complain often or who make generalizations about the world and human nature based on isolated incidents portrayed in the news.
  • Allot one specific ‘news session’ per day utilizing any one source or combination of sources and limit it to 20 minutes or less. Set a timer if necessary.
  • Refrain from keeping the television on as background noise.  Only turn it on when you intend to sit and watch a specific program. When the program is finished, turn the television off.
  • Turn down the volume or walk away during television commercial breaks which primarily offer products/services to minimize or eliminate something negative/undesirable about us; thin/dull hair, yellow teeth, poor memory, etc. or to convince us that life would be better if we owned certain things; faster car, more powerful appliance, bigger television, etc.

In the next chapter, we will look at ways to ‘feed’ our brain positive and empowering messages.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

 

Thursday, May 8, 2014

What's the Message? Part 1- Increasing Awareness

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

                                                                                                         -Buddha

The first step toward creating a more positive mindset is to increase awareness of negative messages.  We can do this by becoming more mindful. To be mindful is to be fully present and aware of one’s own state of being in a given moment.  When we increase our mindfulness, we increase our ability to recognize when we are taking in information.  It is common for many of us to hear the radio, but not actually listen or to watch the television/computer, but not see the true content.   Technology can provide background ‘noise’ which fills the quiet space conducive to mindfulness.  It is important to remember that whether we are conscious of the information our brain is taking in or not, it is getting in there and impacting our thoughts/feelings about ourselves and the world we live in.

An effective way to begin practicing mindfulness is to focus on the senses.  We ‘sense’ in the moment, not the past or the future.  Throughout the day, we can stop for one or two minutes and do a sensing ‘scan’.

 Here are some questions we can ask:

What am I hearing? Try shifting this sense from the immediate environment, like the room, train car, or automobile you are occupying to the broader world outside.

What am I seeing?  Am I gazing into the distance without focus, staring at a computer screen, or seeing images in my mind of a past experience or a place I would rather be at the moment.

What am I touching?  Be aware of the physical points where your body makes contact with the material world, such as thighs resting on the chair seat, elbows on armrests, etc.  Try closing your eyes and sensing your feet (ideal situation- to be shoeless with feet planted flat on the ground) then continue upward through the body. 

What am I smelling?   Be aware of the smells around you by identifying them without judgment. 

What am I tasting?  If applicable, savor the flavor of whatever you are eating/drinking by slowing down and identifying each step- i.e. the fork/container touching your lips, chewing, swallowing, etc.

It important to keep in mind that there is no ‘right’ way to be mindful as long as we increase, by some degree, our awareness of the present moment.  Once we are aware, we can then reduce negative messages in order to make 'room' for more positive information.
In the next chapter, we will look at ways to reduce our intake of negative messages.

 

Monday, May 5, 2014

What's the Message? Introduction to Creating a Positive Mindset

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”

                                                                             -Norman Vincent Peale

Maintaining a positive state of mind can be challenging in today’s society. Messages of destruction, despair, and injustice are abundant.  They can be found in the written and spoken word and in images real or imagined.  We take in information and our brain processes it whether or not we are conscious of it, so that the very first step toward creating a more positive mindset is to increase awareness.  Just as it is important to be aware of the food we put into our bodies to digest, it is equally important to be aware of what kind of ‘food’ we allow our brains to digest. 

In the next few weeks we will explore how to create a more positive mindset using the following approach:

1.       Increasing awareness of when our brain is receiving negative and disempowering messages.

2.       Limiting the amount of negative messages we are exposed to throughout the day.

3.       Consciously ‘feeding’ our brains positive and empowering messages.

In the next chapter, we will look at ways to increase our awareness and be more present.