Today's DailyOM Offerings...
November 30, 2011
Free Yourself From Anxiety
Erin Olivo, PhD, MPH
2011
In Free Yourself From Anxiety, clinical psychologist Dr. Erin Olivo helps us pinpoint when our daily stress becomes anxiety and prescribes exercises and meditation to help with anxieties such as getting on elevators, being in crowded spaces, or just waking up with an existential sense of dread. Dr. Olivo understands how to diffuse our anxious responses. The title is, she admits, "a misnomer...we wouldn't want to completely rid ourselves of our anxiety, because our anxiety communicates to us. There are important and powerful messages behind our anxiety," so Dr. Olivo's practices are here to help transform your experience of your anxiety.
The first disc finds Dr. Olivo introducing us to the various ways that stress is experienced and can be overcome through breathing, focusing our "flashlight attention," and letting go of our thoughts, learning to watch them come and go without judgment or involvement. In the opening track she explores treatments like cognitive therapy and neuroscience, which has measured and proven how our brain actually changes through mindfulness meditation. This involves "the mindful approach to anxiety" and learning how to "cultivate a compassionate stance." Dr. Olivo uses the metaphor of a glass of muddy lake water that the stressed mind wants to keep stirring and shaking. But if we can step away from the glass for enough time, the sediment settles to the bottom and we have clear water. In session two, "Practices for Working with Anxiety," Dr. Olivo takes us into various relaxation practices that focus on elevating mood.
Dr. Olivo also gives us lingo to use like "worry thoughts" and "rumination," which help us identify and prevent anxiety as it builds within us. With her practical and friendly bedside manner she makes learning how to Free Yourself From Anxiety a breeze. Dr. Olivo also shows how we can tell when our anxiety is manageable or has led to destructive behaviors that may require professional help for dealing with our anxiety. All in all it's a valuable primer and a great gift or recommendation for yourself or that friend in need.
November 30, 2011
Connecting to Clarity
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel fidgety and restless today. You may find yourself second-guessing your decisions because you feel uncertain about the right choices, or you could be struggling with feelings of impatience when faced with challenges. By strengthening the connection with your inner self, you should be able to gain greater clarity and insight about your life path today. Simply find a quiet place to be alone and allow all tension to leave your body. Empty your mind of all thoughts and feel a sense of peace come over you. You can then turn your attention inward and forge a stronger connection with your spiritual center. In this quiet place, you can ask specific questions about decisions you need to make or simply remain receptive to insights you receive.
Consulting our inner guidance during periods of uncertainty can help us feel more optimistic about our circumstances and provide insight about the choices that are right for us. We often feel restless and uncertain when we don't have a clear understanding of what we want. By quieting our mental chatter and releasing our worrisome thoughts, we are able to connect more deeply with our natural inner guidance. We are then able to receive valuable insight about our life path and know instinctively which choices are right for us. We then feel empowered and optimistic about our lives, and we can go on to create more fulfilling circumstances. Your feelings of restlessness and uncertainty will vanish today if you take the time to build a stronger connection with your inner wisdom.
November 30, 2011
Consuming to Heal
Filling Imaginary Voids
The need to fill an imaginary void by shopping is a symptom of disconnection from our true selves.
In our culture today, we are constantly encouraged to consume. This includes food as well as purchasing ever newer items that we may not need, often using money that we may not actually have. It could be that we are trying to fill a void we feel within ourselves, but if we take the time to examine it, we know deep inside that this is not the solution. We may notice how quickly the joy fades after our purchase or once the food we've enjoyed is gone, and how soon we feel the urge to do so again. This is a symptom of disconnection from our true selves, so the first step toward balance is connection to our center.
When we connect to our center, we access the fullness of who we are as an individual spirit. We also connect to the energy source of the universe, from which nothing can be lacking. It could be that we have been energetically starving ourselves but trying to feed the need physically, outwardly. Once we make the decision to reconnect, we have the ability to examine the behavior from a higher place within ourselves. We can look, without judgment, at the thoughts and feelings that occur before and after our indulgences to find a pattern. We may want to keep track of these observations in a journal so that we can go back if we lose our way.
Often boredom is the main cause for the desire to eat or shop. But when we connect to our center, our intuition can more clearly guide us to the places where our energy can best be used. We can replace the boredom with a meditation practice, a class, a project, seeking a new job, or getting involved in a charity. We may even want to begin planning an adventurous trip. Whatever inspires us tells us the direction we should go. When we find the place we are meant to be, we become so consumed by its constant creation that the frivolous filling of an imaginary void becomes a thing of the past.
Free Yourself From Anxiety
Erin Olivo, PhD, MPH
2011
In Free Yourself From Anxiety, clinical psychologist Dr. Erin Olivo helps us pinpoint when our daily stress becomes anxiety and prescribes exercises and meditation to help with anxieties such as getting on elevators, being in crowded spaces, or just waking up with an existential sense of dread. Dr. Olivo understands how to diffuse our anxious responses. The title is, she admits, "a misnomer...we wouldn't want to completely rid ourselves of our anxiety, because our anxiety communicates to us. There are important and powerful messages behind our anxiety," so Dr. Olivo's practices are here to help transform your experience of your anxiety.
The first disc finds Dr. Olivo introducing us to the various ways that stress is experienced and can be overcome through breathing, focusing our "flashlight attention," and letting go of our thoughts, learning to watch them come and go without judgment or involvement. In the opening track she explores treatments like cognitive therapy and neuroscience, which has measured and proven how our brain actually changes through mindfulness meditation. This involves "the mindful approach to anxiety" and learning how to "cultivate a compassionate stance." Dr. Olivo uses the metaphor of a glass of muddy lake water that the stressed mind wants to keep stirring and shaking. But if we can step away from the glass for enough time, the sediment settles to the bottom and we have clear water. In session two, "Practices for Working with Anxiety," Dr. Olivo takes us into various relaxation practices that focus on elevating mood.
Dr. Olivo also gives us lingo to use like "worry thoughts" and "rumination," which help us identify and prevent anxiety as it builds within us. With her practical and friendly bedside manner she makes learning how to Free Yourself From Anxiety a breeze. Dr. Olivo also shows how we can tell when our anxiety is manageable or has led to destructive behaviors that may require professional help for dealing with our anxiety. All in all it's a valuable primer and a great gift or recommendation for yourself or that friend in need.
November 30, 2011
Connecting to Clarity
Sagittarius Daily Horoscope
You may feel fidgety and restless today. You may find yourself second-guessing your decisions because you feel uncertain about the right choices, or you could be struggling with feelings of impatience when faced with challenges. By strengthening the connection with your inner self, you should be able to gain greater clarity and insight about your life path today. Simply find a quiet place to be alone and allow all tension to leave your body. Empty your mind of all thoughts and feel a sense of peace come over you. You can then turn your attention inward and forge a stronger connection with your spiritual center. In this quiet place, you can ask specific questions about decisions you need to make or simply remain receptive to insights you receive.
Consulting our inner guidance during periods of uncertainty can help us feel more optimistic about our circumstances and provide insight about the choices that are right for us. We often feel restless and uncertain when we don't have a clear understanding of what we want. By quieting our mental chatter and releasing our worrisome thoughts, we are able to connect more deeply with our natural inner guidance. We are then able to receive valuable insight about our life path and know instinctively which choices are right for us. We then feel empowered and optimistic about our lives, and we can go on to create more fulfilling circumstances. Your feelings of restlessness and uncertainty will vanish today if you take the time to build a stronger connection with your inner wisdom.
November 30, 2011
Consuming to Heal
Filling Imaginary Voids
The need to fill an imaginary void by shopping is a symptom of disconnection from our true selves.
In our culture today, we are constantly encouraged to consume. This includes food as well as purchasing ever newer items that we may not need, often using money that we may not actually have. It could be that we are trying to fill a void we feel within ourselves, but if we take the time to examine it, we know deep inside that this is not the solution. We may notice how quickly the joy fades after our purchase or once the food we've enjoyed is gone, and how soon we feel the urge to do so again. This is a symptom of disconnection from our true selves, so the first step toward balance is connection to our center.
When we connect to our center, we access the fullness of who we are as an individual spirit. We also connect to the energy source of the universe, from which nothing can be lacking. It could be that we have been energetically starving ourselves but trying to feed the need physically, outwardly. Once we make the decision to reconnect, we have the ability to examine the behavior from a higher place within ourselves. We can look, without judgment, at the thoughts and feelings that occur before and after our indulgences to find a pattern. We may want to keep track of these observations in a journal so that we can go back if we lose our way.
Often boredom is the main cause for the desire to eat or shop. But when we connect to our center, our intuition can more clearly guide us to the places where our energy can best be used. We can replace the boredom with a meditation practice, a class, a project, seeking a new job, or getting involved in a charity. We may even want to begin planning an adventurous trip. Whatever inspires us tells us the direction we should go. When we find the place we are meant to be, we become so consumed by its constant creation that the frivolous filling of an imaginary void becomes a thing of the past.