Noticing - Deliberate Embodiment in the Present (By Melanie McGhee, L.C.S.W.)

It's not generally easy for us human beings to adopt new habits. One thing that helps is to make them easy. Noticing is a habit made easy by my seventh grade teacher and Dick Olney.

Living in Turkey, it was natural to hear the call to worship several times a day. A teacher at the time invited our class to pause whenever we heard it, be quiet, still our bodies and notice. That stuck. When I moved back to the states, sirens and red lights and now the sound of an airplane overhead invites that same pause -modern mindfulness bells.

Long before mindfulness was as accessible as it is today, Dick Olney occasionally talked about noticing practice. He taught how noticing practice can help us "Think in other categories." What he meant by thinking in other categories is to wake up, to wake up from the bad dream of who we think we are IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT.

Woman: What I really want is to love, value and appreciate who I really am.

Dick: What about just experiencing it?

(Excerpted from Alive and Real)

Noticing is a practice like that, an invitation into becoming aware of your experience in the moment. This awareness is an invitation in gradual expansions in acceptance. For acceptance is free from the pull of liking or disliking. The awareness that comes from noticing without the inhibition of judgment, criticism or evaluation is liberated from clinging to some idea of good or bad, right or wrong, pleasant or unpleasant.

Noticing practice can also be an antidote to apathy or pain. You may find yourself savoring the floating moments of time - but that is NOT the goal. The goal is to simply notice.

I took to heart Dick's teaching not to wait until you are in the middle of a fire to practice a fire drill. This idea struck a chord with me. I had been a dancer for about 20 years, practiced yoga and meditation for several years by the time I met Dick. Practice makes sense to me.

Though I do meditate, my noticing practice is not a formal sit down mindfulness meditation kind of practice, but a walking around and pausing to experience life in this moment kind of practice. The savoring of life's floating moments happens unbidden, surprising me. It's a habit that bears fruit in the most surprising places.

Of course, noticing involves acceptance. The more complete the experience of acceptance is, the more interesting I find the noticing and vice versa. It can become a pleasant game of acceptance. Practicing acceptance in this way becomes alive.

In the beginning, it is useful to put your attention to various elements of life generally thought to be noxious, like smelly garbage. Ask yourself, "can I accept this?" Remember, you don't have to like it, you don't have to somehow agree that "it" is OK. The question is "can I accept this?"

Practicing with inanimate objects can have an effect when you encounter another person who you judge as somehow not good or OK, somehow less than OR greater than. First, accept that you are judging them (and you). Then, practice accepting them in that moment. Your acceptance does not mean that you like or approve. It means you can accept that they are present.

For a more disciplined approach to noticing practice, try these tips:

• Set a reminder on your phone or watch every couple of hours or so. You could use an app like CHILL that has inspirational quotes.
• If you spend a lot of time in the car, use stop lights and stop signs to notice.
• For 30 seconds to 1 minute pause, notice. Become aware. Notice your thoughts. Notice the images around you, emotions in the moment and body sensations. Take a few easy breaths. Just noticing.
• Don't aim to find something to appreciate. Linger as you like.
• Simply notice the creation. Notice without the inhibition of judgment, criticism or evaluation.
• Notice your thoughts.
• Notice your breath.
• Use your senses - what are you seeing, feeling, hearing, tasting - what are you sensing?

Practice for a few days. Then share your experience AND your challenges.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Noticing---Deliberate-Embodiment-in-the-Present&id=9863218

The Top Apps, Software and Online Services for Organizing Your Mind

A lot of us blame technology for the constant stress that we're under and for the fact that we feel constantly so wired. We're continuously bombarded by notifications and messages and we seem to spend half our time looking at screens - is it any wonder so many of us are burned out?

But just as guns don't kill people - people do, so is it true that apps don't make you tired - you do.

The key is just to use the right technology. Actually, there are plenty of apps out there that can help you to feel less stressed and that can reduce that information overload. Likewise, there are also a number of online services that can do the same. Let's take a look at a few of them.

Headspace

Headspace is an app that can teach you how to practice mindfulness meditation. The app does cost money if you intend to keep using it but the first few sessions are free and provide a great introduction.

Fabulous

Fabulous is a beautifully designed app for Android that can help you to take on new habits and routines and that will guide you through your goals and objectives. It makes setting new challenges for yourself fun and encourages you with motivation and tips along the way.

Standing Orders

Here's a great way to use technology to make your life easier - set up some standing orders with online services. There are actually tons of companies that now offer there services on an automated recurring business:

• Clothes companies that send you a new outfit every month
• Supermarkets that let you have your weekly shop delivered to you
• Diet companies that send ready made meals/ingredients to you on a daily basis
• Flower shops that send flowers to someone on their birthday every year

Consider if something like this could help!

Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is an assistant that works for you via the web. They tend to be based in India and are very affordable but their services cover anything that can be done online. That could mean doing research for your work, or it could mean helping you organize a holiday!

Todoist

Todoist is a great 'to-do list' app that lets you set to do lists and then receive notifications and reminders about them.

Google Calendar

Any calendar app can be a great way to check your availability and to avoid over booking yourself. It syncs with other apps and even lets you share your schedule with others too.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Top-Apps,-Software-and-Online-Services-for-Organizing-Your-Mind&id=9358473

How the Mind Helps Heal the Body

How mental and physical health is affected by the way we perceive and relate to it.

“Our mental state can be crucial in determining our experience of symptoms such as pain, nausea, fatigue and depression…Feeling stressed or afraid can cause your heart to race and your bowels to empty, and trigger an immune response called inflammation. These processes aren’t usually under our conscious control—we can’t will changes to occur—but there are indirect methods we can use to influence them.”

While in no way suggesting that illnesses are “all in the mind,” Marchant’s analysis suggests that our mental and physical health is affected by the way we perceive and relate to it. Meditation, says Marchant, is one of those indirect, influencing, methods that can help, which is perhaps not surprising given that how we perceive and relate to our lives is precisely what’s trained in mindfulness practice.

The effect of mindfulness on inflammatory health was shown in a study by David Creswell that came out this month. This research showed changes in brain circuitry and reduced inflammation after three days of mindfulness training, while three days of relaxation did not have the same effect. Creswell explains the difference in impact between mindfulness meditation and relaxation:

“We show that mindfulness meditation impacts measurable brain circuits more so than helpful relaxation practices, and that these brain circuit changes help us understand how mindfulness meditation improves health. Mindfulness teaches participants how to be more open and attentive to their experiences, even difficult ones. By contrast, relaxation approaches are good in the moment for making the body feel relaxed, but… harder to translate when you’re dealing with difficult stressors in your life. This new work sheds light into what mindfulness training is doing to the brain to produce these inflammatory health benefits.”

How meditation helps me deal with the symptoms of depression and lingering triggers

A mindful way of perceiving and relating to difficult experiences has helped in my journey with depression. I came to meditation around 15 years ago, when stuck in a two-and-a half year depressive trough. I had thrown myself in desperation at various treatments, but mindfulness offered something different. The method itself meant practicing acceptance, just the opposite of what I was used to. This marked the beginning of a transformation—a recognition that the way I was approaching the “problem” of depression actually helped perpetuate it. Through meditation, I learned to see how my attitude and behaviour, characterized by self-critical striving and resistance, was a significant factor in how I felt. Mindfulness offered a gentler way, and I learned how to be kind to myself, even—especially—when feeling stressed.

What’s really changed is that life’s troubles no longer seem to propel me into a prolonged, self-perpetuating funk, one that continues to endure long after the events that triggered it.

I still sometimes experience the symptoms of what I used to call “depression,” albeit usually for shorter periods, after a difficult event. What’s really changed is that life’s troubles no longer seem to propel me into a prolonged, self-perpetuating funk, one that continues to endure long after the events that triggered it. Why is this so? Well, I think that the meaning I give to my condition matters. Once upon a time, I saw depression on one hand as something I couldn’t control, a clinical illness that left me feeling powerless. On the other, I also saw it as my fault, a self-stigmatising belief that filled me with shame, and a sense of failure that I couldn’t shake off. These perspectives, I suspect, made me feel even more depressed.

When I believed that symptoms like heart palpitations, muscle pain, and racing thoughts were fearful catastrophes, signs of the devil depression, I was easily overwhelmed by them, and prone to try to push them away, with a sense of impotent rage. However, as I learned to let go of the labels and judgements about depression, I started meeting the same kinds of symptoms as normal reactions to unpleasant events. I no longer added to their unpleasantness with the stressful belief that something terrible or unmanageable was happening to me, that I couldn’t cope, that it was all my own doing, or that I had to wrestle with it.

Viewing difficult thoughts, feelings, and urges as impermanent events in the mind and body, trusting that they too will fade, just like the events that triggered them, I find I can handle life’s challenges with more competence, trust, and confidence. I’m less likely to add a secondary suffering to the unavoidable stresses of living. Difficulties come, but they also go.

This is a radical shift. Gently practicing steadfastness and self-compassion has not only made uncomfortable thoughts and feelings more workable, but allows them to pass more quickly, rather than reactively keeping them going. With this approach, I make better decisions when problems arise, and I’m more able to draw on my environment for support—rather than the old chaotic, lonely existence I used to lead, my outer life has come more to reflect the qualities of mind that I’ve gradually cultivated through mindfulness practice. With my mind, body and life no longer in such conflict, stress has reduced.

Practicing a shift in view, a change of heart, over and over again, seems to be a vital mechanism through which mindfulness training helps our sense of health. As Creswell’s study elegantly demonstrates, it also leads to measurable biological shifts.

For me, mindfulness has been the “master key” to understanding how the mind and body work, as well as a skillful method for managing them. It’s not magic, of course. Our physiological and psychological habits are strong, and we can’t just think our way out of them—believing this would be falling prey to the pseudo-science which has given mind-body medicine an undeservedly poor reputation. Our experience is conditioned not just by our mentality, not just by our biology, but also our relationships, external environment, society and culture, and we have limited control over all of these. But practicing a shift in view, a change of heart, over and over again, seems to be a vital mechanism through which mindfulness training helps our sense of health. As Creswell’s study elegantly demonstrates, it also leads to measurable biological shifts.

There’s a traditional mind training slogan which says: “Change your attitude, but remain natural.” I think this captures the paradox that mindfulness training invites. Without getting caught in trying to change the moment, we nevertheless change our relationship with the moment—the meaning we give to what’s happening, and our way of responding. This, it turns out, changes the moment too.

http://www.mindful.org/how-the-mind-helps-heal-the-body/

5 Natural Treatments for Depression You Can Start Right Now

In 2011, the CDC reported that 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. suffered from depression, and that number has likely risen since then. Many people cover up the root cause of depression with prescriptions and other medical treatments that may cause additional issues. Some cases of depression do need professional medical treatment, even if temporary. However, if you suffer from depression, you’ll be happy to know that you can often approach treatments for depression with safer, and effective options that you can start right now.

These five natural treatments for depression will help you combat depression in a positive, healthy way:

1. Exercise regularly

For many years, researchers have studied the correlation between exercise and depression, and have found regular movement of the body to aid in healing depression in most cases. Most psychologists recommend some sort of aerobic exercise at least three days a week for twenty to thirty minutes at a time. Regular exercise can cause the neurotransmitters in your brain to rewire themselves, and can also have a positive effect on your serotonin levels.

Many people who struggle with depression do not produce enough serotonin, which helps you feel relaxed. However, exercise will naturally boost serotonin, as well as release endorphins, which minimize stress and give feelings of happiness. If you don’t have a regular exercise routine, consider joining classes at the gym where you will have an opportunity to socialize and surround yourself with supportive people.

2. Meditate daily

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, found that just thirty minutes of daily mindfulness meditation could have a more substantial effect on anxiety and depression than antidepressants. Meditation calms the nervous system, and helps you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness meditation in particular teaches you to observe your body and mind without judgment, and just relax into your own being. In addition, researchers have found that meditation helps quiet nerve receptors in a region of the brain known as the default mode network. Many studies have linked depression and anxiety with overactivity in this area of the brain. Try to meditate for at least ten minutes a day to start, and you can even put on relaxing music to help your mind ease into the practice.

3. Take St. John’s wort

(Editor’s note: If you are currently taking prescription medication, consult with your physician before taking this natural herb)

You can find this natural herb in the form of capsules, teas, and extracts such as essential oils. For centuries, it has been used as a holistic treatment for a variety of nervous system disorders, including depression and anxiety. While research is still ongoing regarding how exactly this herb works within the brain, many scientists have found that St. John’s wort offers better treatment than antidepressants in people with mild to moderate depression. Similar to standard SSRI’s, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, St. John’s wort is believed to increase serotonin levels in the brain, and may also boost other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine. Make sure to find organic supplements if you choose to take these, and make sure not to mix them with prescription antidepressants, as this could cause an overload of serotonin in the brain.

4. Avoid caffeine, and drink non-caffeinated green tea instead.

Most people turn to coffee not just because of a caffeine addiction, but because of the warm, calming effect it has on the body. However, in people with moderate to severe depression, caffeine can limit serotonin production in the brain. Not to mention, coffee gives you a temporary spike in energy, but you then come crashing down as your blood sugars decrease – caffeine is notorious for wreaking havoc on the body’s ability to stabilize blood sugars. Instead of pumping your system with caffeine, drink non-caffeinated herbal teas or coffees instead. Herbs can help heal depression in the long-term, and you will avoid the blood sugar volatility that caffeine inevitably causes.

5. Get adequate sunlight.

As you all probably already know, regular exposure to sunlight helps us produce a vital nutrient in our bodies: Vitamin D. This vitamin helps bolster our immune systems, promotes strong, healthy bones and teeth, and helps us absorb calcium. In addition, an international team of researchers found that Vitamin D helped synthesize serotonin and dopamine within the brain, two chemicals that promote happiness, balance, and well-being. If you live in an area where you can’t get adequate sunlight, take Vitamin D supplements or invest in a “light box” to ensure that you get some exposure to sunlight, whether natural or synthetic.

http://www.powerofpositivity.com/5-natural-treatments-for-depression-you-can-start-right-now/

Ten Skills to Manage Fear and Anxiety in an Unsafe World

Psychology skills to help you calm down and move back to the positive.

What do we, as a society do to keep ourselves safe from the disturbed among us? How can we provide more support and education to families so as to reduce child abuse and family violence that provide breeding grounds for psychopathy? Do we need to take another look at our gun control policies, or lack of them? These are longer-term questions. In the short-term, we all seek to restore a sense of safety, meaning, and predictability to our individual and family lives. With the holidays approaching, we want to be able to celebrate without being overwhelmed by guilt or sadness.

Below are some things you can do to help yourself cope with this tragedy. It is important to spend time and energy strengthening your internal resources, so you can feel safer and more competent in dealing with difficult or traumatic personal and societal events.

(1)  Accept Your Feelings

Realize that events of this magnitude take time to process. Even if you were not directly affected, exposure to constant media coverage can be traumatizing. Give yourself time to feel sad or introspective. These are normal reactions.

(2) Re-establish Your Usual Routines.

Don’t spend all day watching news coverage. Sleep, exercise, healthy eating, pleasant activities, time with friends and family, yoga or  meditation can strengthen your internal resources to cope.

(3) Create a Mental Safe Place

Mentally create a peaceful and relaxing setting in your mind to help you de-stress. Deliberately focus on each sense at a time. What do you see, hear, smell, and feel in this real or imaginary haven of peace?

(4) Find Self-Compassion

Treat yourself and your own feelings with tenderness and compassion. Do not push feelings away. Rather find or create a comforting environment in which to feel them. This may be with a friend or family member, while taking a bath, or while listening to soothing music. Mindfulness meditation, with its dual focus on observing the breath and letting sensations come up, provides an excellent way of looking at feelings while remaining anchored in the present.

(5) Create a Narrative

Write a narrative of how you found out about the event, the details that upset you, and your thoughts and feelings. Writing helps you to organize your reactions into a narrative that makes your reactions clearer and more understandable. “When we name it, we can tame it.”

(6) Seek Support and Connection

Reach out to others who can provide support and comfort. If you need to talk about your feelings, choose a person who can listen and be with you as you struggle with anxiety. Stay away from people who minimize your feelings and tell you to “Get over it.”  Research shows social support is one of the most important predictive factors in preventing post-traumatic stress disorder, following a trauma.

(7) Turn to the Positive

Remind yourself that although the world contains much suffering and cruelty, it also contains much that is good. Deliberately think about the positive and uplifting things in your own life and community.Think about the freedoms and opportunities you have that many in the world have not. Focus on the strengths and coping strategies you have developed and the people you can turn to for help if you need it.

(8) Recommit to Your Most Important Values

Think about your most important personal or spiritual  values, including love for family, non-violence, compassion, integrity, hard work, and so on. How does your current life reflect these values? Make a list of your values and some concrete things you can do in the next week or month to make them an even more important part of your life. If you have a family, arrange a time to sit and talk about your family’s most important values. Make a poster, list, or vision board reflecting these and post it in an area your family regularly uses. When a family member makes a contribution or has an achievement that reflects these values, celebrate it!

(9) Feel Gratitude

Focus on the people in your life, past and present, that have provided you with protection, nurturance, or love. Bring to mind an image of yourself with that person. Focus on how you feel in that person’s presence. Then think about the gratitude you feel for what that person has given you. Find a concrete way to express that gratitude, through demonstrations of affection, a letter, a gift, or just telling them you appreciate them.

(10) Do Something Constructive

Channel your anger and outrage into constructive activities to help improve the situation. This may include sending letters of support to the victims, volunteering at local shelters, writing letters to the editors of local papers, or lobbying politicians for the needed changes on a societal level. Taking action can combat feelings of helplessness or guilt and can contribute to increasing safety or goodness in the world.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201212/ten-skills-manage-fear-and-anxiety-in-unsafe-world