Pete Bissonette's Blog
March 14, 2017
Create Your Ideal Money World
Money is a powerful and useful tool that can make life easier and more interesting and fulfilling. But how you perceive money can hinder your ability to earn and receive it.
The beliefs or “scripts” you hold about money can significantly affect your financial, mental, and emotional well-being, according to research from Kansas State University.
Subjects responded to a list of 72 common money scripts. The study revealed four distinct belief categories that give insight into a person’s “desire to avoid money issues (avoidance), accumulate money (worship), differentiate one’s self from other socioeconomic classes (status), or keep one’s money issues private (vigilance),” the researchers wrote in The Journal of Financial Therapy.
The research was done to develop an assessment tool to help clinical therapists and psychologists identify a client’s problematic attitudes that can be destructive or interfere with accomplishing their financial goals.
Here are some money beliefs from the Klontz-Money Script Inventory. Do any resonate with you?
Researcher Brad Klontz told The New York Times people need to be flexible about their money beliefs and open-minded in their thinking about money’s role in their lives.
“As human beings, we’re always evolving and we only have part of the picture at any stage,” he said. “We need to identify the set of beliefs that work and the ones that don’t and modify them or let go of them.”
So how do you accomplish that? How do you create a new money mindset if you are living in an old one?
Try this process from our Abundant Money Mindset Paraliminal. It helps you release limiting beliefs about money and develop a positive relationship with money so your choices and habits align with an abundant money life. Focus your attention on the following:
Imagine your ideal money world as a vivid movie playing in your mind. Be clear about what you choose to be, to do, to have, and to keep appreciating in your life. Take time to engage in this practice daily. Journal about it, and notice how your money mindset changes.
When you replace your limiting money stories with a positive habit of thinking about money—independent of your circumstances—you’ll develop confidence in your ability to earn, save, and grow your financial resources and share them with others.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
The beliefs or “scripts” you hold about money can significantly affect your financial, mental, and emotional well-being, according to research from Kansas State University.
Subjects responded to a list of 72 common money scripts. The study revealed four distinct belief categories that give insight into a person’s “desire to avoid money issues (avoidance), accumulate money (worship), differentiate one’s self from other socioeconomic classes (status), or keep one’s money issues private (vigilance),” the researchers wrote in The Journal of Financial Therapy.
The research was done to develop an assessment tool to help clinical therapists and psychologists identify a client’s problematic attitudes that can be destructive or interfere with accomplishing their financial goals.
Here are some money beliefs from the Klontz-Money Script Inventory. Do any resonate with you?
Money Avoidance: Rich people are greedy. It is not okay to have more than you need. I do not deserve money. There is virtue in living with less money. Money corrupts people.
Money Worship: More money will make you happier. You can never have enough money. I will never be able to afford the things I want in life. Money would solve all my problems. Money buys freedom.
Money Status: I will not buy something unless it is new. Poor people are lazy. Money is what gives life meaning. Your self-worth equals your net worth. It’s okay to keep secrets from your partner around money.
Money Vigilance: You should not tell others how much money you have or make. Money should be saved, not spent. People should work for their money and not be given financial handouts. If you cannot pay cash for something, you should not buy it.
Researcher Brad Klontz told The New York Times people need to be flexible about their money beliefs and open-minded in their thinking about money’s role in their lives.
“As human beings, we’re always evolving and we only have part of the picture at any stage,” he said. “We need to identify the set of beliefs that work and the ones that don’t and modify them or let go of them.”
So how do you accomplish that? How do you create a new money mindset if you are living in an old one?
Try this process from our Abundant Money Mindset Paraliminal. It helps you release limiting beliefs about money and develop a positive relationship with money so your choices and habits align with an abundant money life. Focus your attention on the following:
• Your old stories about money—the limiting beliefs and mindsets you grew up with that made you think the outer world of money controlled your inner world of thoughts and feelings about yourself and what you could or could not do in life.
Could you let these limiting ideas go? Would you let them go? When?
• Your current story about money—the competing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may prevent you from fully realizing true abundance.
Could you let these competing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors go? Would you let them go? When?
• Your new ideal money story—your life with an abundant money mindset. This is how you feel, act, and speak with the freedom your new relationship with money brings.
Could you welcome these feelings and new ways of being? Would you welcome these feelings and new ways of being? When?
Imagine your ideal money world as a vivid movie playing in your mind. Be clear about what you choose to be, to do, to have, and to keep appreciating in your life. Take time to engage in this practice daily. Journal about it, and notice how your money mindset changes.
When you replace your limiting money stories with a positive habit of thinking about money—independent of your circumstances—you’ll develop confidence in your ability to earn, save, and grow your financial resources and share them with others.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
March 9, 2017
The Health Benefits of Listening Better
Improving your listening skills can enhance every area of your life, from your relationships to your career—it can even help you lose weight.
Weight problems are associated with inadequate discrimination of body signals. Without clear body communications, weight problems become compounded as a person eats in an attempt to cope with stress and nutritional imbalances. Years of dysfunctional coping with poor eating choices can become a person’s preferred eating habits.
Fortunately, you can create a new relationship between yourself and food that can help you maintain healthy eating habits and achieve weight loss that is permanent.
Certain foods create health and energy while other foods can zap your body of energy and decrease your metabolism. Paying close attention to how your body responds to both kinds is key.
If you want to get off the roller coaster of dieting—forever—take time to reconnect with your inner nature and listen to what your body is telling you.
Begin each day by imaging the ideal relationship you desire between your mind, body, and food. Imagine your meals and the choices you will make to eat healthy foods in proper quantities to fulfill your energy needs.
Before each meal, quiet your mind and attune your body for digestion. Be open to receive the signals that it uses to guide you to good health. Chew your food slowly, deliberately, and quit willingly when you’ve had enough.
Every night as you go to sleep, pause to reflect on your day. Review what worked for you and what you’ll do differently tomorrow, increasing awareness of your true nature and confidence in your ability to achieve a healthy weight that is right for you.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
Weight problems are associated with inadequate discrimination of body signals. Without clear body communications, weight problems become compounded as a person eats in an attempt to cope with stress and nutritional imbalances. Years of dysfunctional coping with poor eating choices can become a person’s preferred eating habits.
Fortunately, you can create a new relationship between yourself and food that can help you maintain healthy eating habits and achieve weight loss that is permanent.
Certain foods create health and energy while other foods can zap your body of energy and decrease your metabolism. Paying close attention to how your body responds to both kinds is key.
If you want to get off the roller coaster of dieting—forever—take time to reconnect with your inner nature and listen to what your body is telling you.
Begin each day by imaging the ideal relationship you desire between your mind, body, and food. Imagine your meals and the choices you will make to eat healthy foods in proper quantities to fulfill your energy needs.
Before each meal, quiet your mind and attune your body for digestion. Be open to receive the signals that it uses to guide you to good health. Chew your food slowly, deliberately, and quit willingly when you’ve had enough.
Every night as you go to sleep, pause to reflect on your day. Review what worked for you and what you’ll do differently tomorrow, increasing awareness of your true nature and confidence in your ability to achieve a healthy weight that is right for you.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
March 6, 2017
How Clutter Can Cause Cookie Cravings
You’re standing in the center of a kitchen in disarray… Crumbs on the counters, dishes in the sink, a phone piercingly ringing on the wall behind you.
Feeling tense?
Now, you’re in the center of a naturally lit, glisteningly clean, and soundless kitchen.
Calming down?
You probably already feel the cleanliness of your kitchen affecting your mental state, but it could also be influencing what you put into your mouth. According to a recent study published in Environment and Behavior, a chaotic kitchen may lead to over-snacking and less healthy food choices—if you’re already stressed.
Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab asked 101 female college students to wait in a kitchen. Some waited in a chaotic, messy kitchen and others in a clean and orderly kitchen.
Prior to waiting, participants were asked to write about a time they felt in control or a time they felt out of control. They were then given cookies, crackers, and carrots to taste and rate.
Next, they were told to eat as many leftovers as they’d like while they waited in the kitchen.
The women in the chaotic kitchen who wrote about feeling out of control ate twice as many cookies as the women who waited in the clean kitchen. Women who wrote about a time they were in control were less affected by the messy kitchen, consuming about 50 percent less than the ones who wrote about being out of control. Unlike cookie consumption, the amount of carrots and crackers the women ate was not significantly influenced by kitchen cleanliness or the feeling of control.
“Being in a chaotic environment and feeling out of control is bad for diets. It seems to lead people to think, ‘Everything else is out of control, so why shouldn’t I be?’” explained Lenny Vartanian, lead author of the study and professor at the University of New South Wales.
The researchers believe if you’re in a chaotic environment, recalling a less stressful time can help control the urge to overindulge.
Or, you may find it easier to keep your kitchen tidy. These decluttering tips from Marie Diamond, creator of Diamond Feng Shui, can help:
Decluttering frees up the energy of any space and can change the way you think, feel, and act. Take these small steps each day to keep your kitchen clear of chaos—and your mind clear of cookie cravings.
www.LearningStrategies.com/FengShui/H...
Feeling tense?
Now, you’re in the center of a naturally lit, glisteningly clean, and soundless kitchen.
Calming down?
You probably already feel the cleanliness of your kitchen affecting your mental state, but it could also be influencing what you put into your mouth. According to a recent study published in Environment and Behavior, a chaotic kitchen may lead to over-snacking and less healthy food choices—if you’re already stressed.
Researchers at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab asked 101 female college students to wait in a kitchen. Some waited in a chaotic, messy kitchen and others in a clean and orderly kitchen.
Prior to waiting, participants were asked to write about a time they felt in control or a time they felt out of control. They were then given cookies, crackers, and carrots to taste and rate.
Next, they were told to eat as many leftovers as they’d like while they waited in the kitchen.
The women in the chaotic kitchen who wrote about feeling out of control ate twice as many cookies as the women who waited in the clean kitchen. Women who wrote about a time they were in control were less affected by the messy kitchen, consuming about 50 percent less than the ones who wrote about being out of control. Unlike cookie consumption, the amount of carrots and crackers the women ate was not significantly influenced by kitchen cleanliness or the feeling of control.
“Being in a chaotic environment and feeling out of control is bad for diets. It seems to lead people to think, ‘Everything else is out of control, so why shouldn’t I be?’” explained Lenny Vartanian, lead author of the study and professor at the University of New South Wales.
The researchers believe if you’re in a chaotic environment, recalling a less stressful time can help control the urge to overindulge.
Or, you may find it easier to keep your kitchen tidy. These decluttering tips from Marie Diamond, creator of Diamond Feng Shui, can help:
• In any room or area, donate, sell, or get rid of everything you do not need or do not love.
• Discard old food, expired products, and old spices or baking ingredients.
• Carefully wash all of your kitchen surfaces. Use cleaning products with lavender essential oil.
• Reorganize everything that is left, from food in the fridge to the stuff in your cupboards and drawers and on your countertops.
• Always clean up immediately after breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• After a meal, place fresh flowers or a bowl of fruit on your dining table.
Decluttering frees up the energy of any space and can change the way you think, feel, and act. Take these small steps each day to keep your kitchen clear of chaos—and your mind clear of cookie cravings.
www.LearningStrategies.com/FengShui/H...
March 1, 2017
The Power of Placebos
Has mind-body medicine finally gone mainstream?
Almost half of Chicago physicians of internal medicine responding to a study on placebos reported using them as “therapeutic” tools in their clinical practice. And 96 percent of the physicians said they believe placebos can benefit patients, the study reported.
A placebo is an inactive substance containing no medication that is given to reinforce a patient’s expectation to get well. Placebos are also known for their use in controlled clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of a drug.
Another review of a dozen separate studies concluded that belief and expectation of placebos induced discrete physiological changes in patients, including the body’s production of a natural analgesic, leading to pain relief. When subjects were given a hidden or blind injection of a substance known to block this natural analgesic, the pain returned.
Research documenting the profound influence of the mind is vast.
What are you doing to take advantage of your powerful mind?
Decades of studies have proven the ability of meditation, yoga, relaxation techniques, and other alternative practices to effect healing, improve emotional well-being, and aid recovery from surgery.
In his groundbreaking book Superimmunity, Dr. Paul P. Pearsall documented the power of psycho-immunology, or how the mind affects the body’s immune responses. Pearsall long ago recognized that a positive healing environment could be created through a spiritually rich and supportive visualization process.
In Learning Strategies' Perfect Health Paraliminal, positive language and mental imagery are used to encourage the release of the body’s immune response for healing. Through the right use of your imagination, you too can connect with the healer within and gain access to vast inner resources that can influence your health.
Tap your powerful mind. Engage in the following visualization process 10 to 15 minutes a day:
Establish a regular visualization process to align your mind and body for perfect health and well-being. The infinite intelligence of the body/mind does the work when given the proper impetus to do so.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
Almost half of Chicago physicians of internal medicine responding to a study on placebos reported using them as “therapeutic” tools in their clinical practice. And 96 percent of the physicians said they believe placebos can benefit patients, the study reported.
A placebo is an inactive substance containing no medication that is given to reinforce a patient’s expectation to get well. Placebos are also known for their use in controlled clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of a drug.
Another review of a dozen separate studies concluded that belief and expectation of placebos induced discrete physiological changes in patients, including the body’s production of a natural analgesic, leading to pain relief. When subjects were given a hidden or blind injection of a substance known to block this natural analgesic, the pain returned.
Research documenting the profound influence of the mind is vast.
What are you doing to take advantage of your powerful mind?
Decades of studies have proven the ability of meditation, yoga, relaxation techniques, and other alternative practices to effect healing, improve emotional well-being, and aid recovery from surgery.
In his groundbreaking book Superimmunity, Dr. Paul P. Pearsall documented the power of psycho-immunology, or how the mind affects the body’s immune responses. Pearsall long ago recognized that a positive healing environment could be created through a spiritually rich and supportive visualization process.
In Learning Strategies' Perfect Health Paraliminal, positive language and mental imagery are used to encourage the release of the body’s immune response for healing. Through the right use of your imagination, you too can connect with the healer within and gain access to vast inner resources that can influence your health.
Tap your powerful mind. Engage in the following visualization process 10 to 15 minutes a day:
* Sit or lay in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. And breathe deeply and slowly.
* Decide what area of your physical or emotional health you want to enhance now.
* Think about a time when you felt good, strong, and healthy. Visualize your “perfect self” standing over your body and scanning the area that requires attention.
* Imagine directing healing light energy to this location, restoring perfect balance.
Establish a regular visualization process to align your mind and body for perfect health and well-being. The infinite intelligence of the body/mind does the work when given the proper impetus to do so.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
February 27, 2017
Age Is a State of Mind
Now, here is the best part: You have a head start
If you are amongst the very young...At heart
Those closing lines to Frank Sinatra’s hit song “Young at Heart” were prescient in 1953. They offer sound advice for today’s aging population, according to research from Purdue University.
The saying “you’re only as old as you feel” is proving accurate, according to Markus H. Schafer, co-author of a study that compared people’s chronological age and their subjective age to determine which has more influence on cognitive ability in older adults.
Participants aged 55 to 74 were surveyed about aging and initially asked, “What age do you feel most of the time?” The majority identified with being 12 years younger than they actually were.
The people who felt young for their age were more likely to have greater confidence about their cognitive abilities a decade later, Schafer reported in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, and subjective age had a stronger effect than chronological age.
Do you feel young at heart?
Youthfulness is an attitude and a way of life. Researchers characterize it as the need to love and be loved and the need to experiment and learn. Youthfulness includes traits such as curiosity, inquisitiveness, imagination, creativity, open-mindedness, joy, spontaneity, enthusiasm, sense of humor, playfulness, optimism, and flexibility.
Our bodies and brains are designed to continue delighting in these traits throughout life, but programming from society, television, advertising, parents, teachers, and friends—even our own self-talk—can lead one to feel old.
So how can you maintain a sense of youthfulness?
Take measures today to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit and activate passion in your life. As old Blue Eyes crooned, Fairy tales can come true…It can happen to you…If you're young at heart.
www.LearningStrategies.com/Paralimina...
If you are amongst the very young...At heart
Those closing lines to Frank Sinatra’s hit song “Young at Heart” were prescient in 1953. They offer sound advice for today’s aging population, according to research from Purdue University.
The saying “you’re only as old as you feel” is proving accurate, according to Markus H. Schafer, co-author of a study that compared people’s chronological age and their subjective age to determine which has more influence on cognitive ability in older adults.
Participants aged 55 to 74 were surveyed about aging and initially asked, “What age do you feel most of the time?” The majority identified with being 12 years younger than they actually were.
The people who felt young for their age were more likely to have greater confidence about their cognitive abilities a decade later, Schafer reported in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, and subjective age had a stronger effect than chronological age.
Do you feel young at heart?
Youthfulness is an attitude and a way of life. Researchers characterize it as the need to love and be loved and the need to experiment and learn. Youthfulness includes traits such as curiosity, inquisitiveness, imagination, creativity, open-mindedness, joy, spontaneity, enthusiasm, sense of humor, playfulness, optimism, and flexibility.
Our bodies and brains are designed to continue delighting in these traits throughout life, but programming from society, television, advertising, parents, teachers, and friends—even our own self-talk—can lead one to feel old.
So how can you maintain a sense of youthfulness?
• Recognize that you have a choice in your life. You do not have to blindly accept society’s typical norms about aging.
• Continually learn new skills and activities to stimulate your curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
• Socialize with others, and embrace new technologies like social networking websites. Extraversion was a defining personality characteristic in the offspring of centenarians in a Boston University of Medicine study on personality and aging. (The average age of the children studied: 75!)
• Nurture youthful traits. That’s the focus of our Youthful Vitality Paraliminal. You can do this anytime with this simple visualization exercise:
Close your eyes and relax. Select a trait of youthfulness you want to integrate into your personality. You might have to think back to your childhood when you had an ample supply of imagination, spontaneity, or resiliency. Use rich imagery to immerse yourself in this trait, expressing it as a fun-loving child. Tap into the visualization daily until you truly inhabit this trait.
Take measures today to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit and activate passion in your life. As old Blue Eyes crooned, Fairy tales can come true…It can happen to you…If you're young at heart.
www.LearningStrategies.com/Paralimina...
February 24, 2017
Hardwire Your Inner Drive for Success
"Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power." – Lao Tzu
People attribute success in life to many things, but most achievements really boil down to a key attribute: self-discipline.
Whether one has it in spades or finds it difficult to muster, self-discipline can determine life outcomes as diverse as educational attainment, state of health, and criminal behavior.
It can even be measured in early childhood. A New Zealand study that tracked 1,000 people from birth to age 32 found childhood self-control predicted physical health, personal finances, and criminal behavior.
Children with poor self-control were much more likely in adulthood to experience drug and substance abuse, struggle financially, and commit more crimes, reported the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Those outcomes even accounted for differences in socio-economic status and intelligence, said lead researcher Terrie E. Moffitt, of Duke University.
Perhaps you heard of the intriguing Stanford University “marshmallow” experiment on deferred gratification by psychologist Walter Mischel. In the study, children were each offered a marshmallow and were promised that if they could resist eating it, they would get two marshmallows instead of one.
In adolescence, those children who had the self-discipline to delay gratification longer were described as significantly more competent. A few years later that ability to delay gratification translated into higher SAT scores.
The good news is self-discipline is a practice that can be learned. It’s not a grim determination to correct weaknesses, nor is it a matter of plowing through difficult tasks with unbelievable willpower. True self-discipline is actually powerful, playful, and consistent with a healthy life.
You can increase your odds of success simply by understanding what makes you tick. The next time you engage in a difficult work project, a physical workout, or routine household chore, consciously observe yourself for clues to your resources and strengths. Notice especially instances when self-discipline flows for you. Ask yourself these questions from the Learning Strategies Self-Discipline Paraliminal:
Finally, ask yourself, “How can I make these things part of my days more often?”
Being self-disciplined does not have to be difficult or taxing. True self-discipline flows naturally from the strength of your clear purpose and living in alignment with your values.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
People attribute success in life to many things, but most achievements really boil down to a key attribute: self-discipline.
Whether one has it in spades or finds it difficult to muster, self-discipline can determine life outcomes as diverse as educational attainment, state of health, and criminal behavior.
It can even be measured in early childhood. A New Zealand study that tracked 1,000 people from birth to age 32 found childhood self-control predicted physical health, personal finances, and criminal behavior.
Children with poor self-control were much more likely in adulthood to experience drug and substance abuse, struggle financially, and commit more crimes, reported the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Those outcomes even accounted for differences in socio-economic status and intelligence, said lead researcher Terrie E. Moffitt, of Duke University.
Perhaps you heard of the intriguing Stanford University “marshmallow” experiment on deferred gratification by psychologist Walter Mischel. In the study, children were each offered a marshmallow and were promised that if they could resist eating it, they would get two marshmallows instead of one.
In adolescence, those children who had the self-discipline to delay gratification longer were described as significantly more competent. A few years later that ability to delay gratification translated into higher SAT scores.
The good news is self-discipline is a practice that can be learned. It’s not a grim determination to correct weaknesses, nor is it a matter of plowing through difficult tasks with unbelievable willpower. True self-discipline is actually powerful, playful, and consistent with a healthy life.
You can increase your odds of success simply by understanding what makes you tick. The next time you engage in a difficult work project, a physical workout, or routine household chore, consciously observe yourself for clues to your resources and strengths. Notice especially instances when self-discipline flows for you. Ask yourself these questions from the Learning Strategies Self-Discipline Paraliminal:
• What time of day is self-discipline easiest for me?
• What locations and environments nourish my self-discipline?
• What level of distraction strengthens my focus and practice? Is my self-discipline enhanced by silence and solitude? By a certain kind of music? By a certain level of hustle and bustle around me?
• Who energizes my self-discipline? This could be anyone you connect with in your daily life such as a friend, mentor, or trainer. Or it might be someone whose success story you admire.
Finally, ask yourself, “How can I make these things part of my days more often?”
Being self-disciplined does not have to be difficult or taxing. True self-discipline flows naturally from the strength of your clear purpose and living in alignment with your values.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
February 22, 2017
Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude for Better Health
A growing body of research proves what sages and enlightened folks like poet William Blake have advised through the ages: “The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.”
That harvest can include better health and happiness, higher self-esteem, greater resiliency, deeper relationships, and increased longevity. And taking the time to write about the things you appreciate in your life can help.
Gratitude is both an inward and outward expression of positive feeling and emotion. When expressed inward, gratitude generates growing feelings of expansion that increase your inclination and ability to extend loving-kindness to others.
A key is focusing on a positive emotion to create more of the emotion. Whether you choose to think of something good in your life that happened an hour ago, yesterday, last year, or during childhood does not matter; your attention creates more of the emotion now, in the present moment. It is a now experience, and you reap the beneficial effects of the expanded energy.
You always get more of what you reinforce. Any time you purposefully spend on gratitude will augment that energy within you, stimulating “feel good” hormones and neurochemicals in your body that benefit you on every level—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
If you have no daily gratitude practice already, start one today. Here are a few tips from the Learning Strategies Gratitude Paraliminal for using a journal:
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
That harvest can include better health and happiness, higher self-esteem, greater resiliency, deeper relationships, and increased longevity. And taking the time to write about the things you appreciate in your life can help.
• Organ recipients who kept gratitude journals scored better on measures of mental health and general well-being than those who only kept routine notes about their days (University of California, Davis and Mississippi University for Women).
• Patients with asymptomatic heart failure who journaled experienced better mood, better sleep, less fatigue, and less inflammation (University of California, San Diego). “It seems that a more grateful heart is indeed a more healthy heart, and that gratitude journaling is an easy way to support cardiac health,” said lead author Paul J. Mills, Ph.D.
• Couples who recorded their feelings of appreciation for their partner’s actions boosted happiness, romance, and satisfaction in their relationships (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of California, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles). “The little things may make a big difference within the daily lives of individuals in romantic relationships. Gratitude may help to turn ‘ordinary’ moments into opportunities for relationship growth, even in the context of already close, communal relations,” noted the authors.
Gratitude is both an inward and outward expression of positive feeling and emotion. When expressed inward, gratitude generates growing feelings of expansion that increase your inclination and ability to extend loving-kindness to others.
A key is focusing on a positive emotion to create more of the emotion. Whether you choose to think of something good in your life that happened an hour ago, yesterday, last year, or during childhood does not matter; your attention creates more of the emotion now, in the present moment. It is a now experience, and you reap the beneficial effects of the expanded energy.
You always get more of what you reinforce. Any time you purposefully spend on gratitude will augment that energy within you, stimulating “feel good” hormones and neurochemicals in your body that benefit you on every level—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
If you have no daily gratitude practice already, start one today. Here are a few tips from the Learning Strategies Gratitude Paraliminal for using a journal:
• Devote at least a few minutes each day to reflect and write about what you are thankful for.
• Write in your journal any time of day. If you have sleep issues, do it right before you go to bed, because studies show it can actually help you sleep better. Keep your journal on your nightstand as a gentle reminder.
• Simply list five or ten things you are grateful for. However, reflect and write about as much as you feel inspired to. Then notice what shows up for you!
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
February 20, 2017
Take Command of Your Dreams—and Your Inner Genius
If you’re like most adults, you spend as much as a third of your life sleeping. What if you could use that time more effectively?
Don’t misunderstand—I don’t mean to encroach upon your valuable sleep time. A good night’s sleep is necessary for optimal health and well-being, and it just plain feels good.
But what if you could use your snoozing hours to find creative solutions to problems at work, develop a skill or talent to perfection, or explore a whole new career?
You can—with lucid dreaming.
In a lucid dream, you are consciously aware you are dreaming and are able to creatively interact with your dream world in ways that can help you increase your abilities in the waking world.
You gain access to more of your inner genius, because lucidly dreaming widens the channels of communication between your conscious mind and nonconscious mind.
Dreaming is how your nonconscious mind attempts to communicate with you. But you must learn its language and become aware of the symbolic ways your dreams communicate.
Start by noticing your regular dreams. Motivation is key. Simply having the intention of remembering your dreams when you go to bed is enough for many people.
Your first thought when you awaken should be “What was I just dreaming?” Lie still and recall the striking elements of the dream. Keep a journal beside your bed, and jot down the images and symbols you remember.
Be aware of what these symbols mean for you, and notice patterns and themes. Then when you’re in the midst of a lucid dream, you’ll understand it better, giving you even more control of where you take your dream experience.
The Learning Strategies Dream Play Paraliminal offers guidance for entering a lucid dream from your regular dreams. Consider trying this technique developed at the Stanford Sleep Research Laboratories by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D.:
Then explore in your own virtual reality lab!
Lucid dreaming can be fun, because you get to play with your responses, giving you more choices in whatever you want to do… perfect your French speaking skills on the streets of Paris… apprentice to Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel… explore other galaxies with Albert Einstein… or whatever strikes your fancy!
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
Don’t misunderstand—I don’t mean to encroach upon your valuable sleep time. A good night’s sleep is necessary for optimal health and well-being, and it just plain feels good.
But what if you could use your snoozing hours to find creative solutions to problems at work, develop a skill or talent to perfection, or explore a whole new career?
You can—with lucid dreaming.
In a lucid dream, you are consciously aware you are dreaming and are able to creatively interact with your dream world in ways that can help you increase your abilities in the waking world.
You gain access to more of your inner genius, because lucidly dreaming widens the channels of communication between your conscious mind and nonconscious mind.
Dreaming is how your nonconscious mind attempts to communicate with you. But you must learn its language and become aware of the symbolic ways your dreams communicate.
Start by noticing your regular dreams. Motivation is key. Simply having the intention of remembering your dreams when you go to bed is enough for many people.
Your first thought when you awaken should be “What was I just dreaming?” Lie still and recall the striking elements of the dream. Keep a journal beside your bed, and jot down the images and symbols you remember.
Be aware of what these symbols mean for you, and notice patterns and themes. Then when you’re in the midst of a lucid dream, you’ll understand it better, giving you even more control of where you take your dream experience.
The Learning Strategies Dream Play Paraliminal offers guidance for entering a lucid dream from your regular dreams. Consider trying this technique developed at the Stanford Sleep Research Laboratories by Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D.:
1) During the early morning when you awaken spontaneously from a dream, go over the dream several times until you have it memorized.
2) While lying in bed and returning to sleep, say to yourself, “Next time I’m dreaming, I want to remember to recognize I’m dreaming.”
3) Imagine yourself as being back in the dream just rehearsed; only this time, feel the realization that you are aware of yourself in the dream.
4) Repeat steps two and three until you feel your intention is clearly fixed or until you fall asleep.
Then explore in your own virtual reality lab!
Lucid dreaming can be fun, because you get to play with your responses, giving you more choices in whatever you want to do… perfect your French speaking skills on the streets of Paris… apprentice to Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel… explore other galaxies with Albert Einstein… or whatever strikes your fancy!
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
February 16, 2017
Creating a Life that Matters
Are you doing what matters most to you?
I’m not talking about what makes you happy in the moment, but rather, what really drives your life. What gives your life meaning?
In a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology that examined self-reported attitudes toward happiness and meaning, the researchers found a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately different, reported Emily Esfahani Smith in The Atlantic.
“While happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades away, just as all emotions do,” wrote Smith. “The amount of time people report feeling good or bad correlates with happiness but not at all with meaning. Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future.”
Another study confirmed this, she said. “People who have meaning in their lives, in the form of a clearly defined purpose, rate their satisfaction with life higher even when they were feeling bad than those who did not have a clearly defined purpose.”
Stewart Emery and his co-authors of the book Success Built to Last interviewed the world’s most successful people to distill exactly what drives them, and it’s pretty simple.
“Above all else, no matter where they have chosen to excel—in business, the arts, sports, social service, community, or family—each has achieved success by focusing on the things that matter most to them,” he said.
“Enduringly successful people follow their hearts, aligning their thoughts and actions with their passions,” said Stewart. “They become energized by their work and stay on purpose and committed in the face of setbacks and challenges.”
Imagine those three elements—meaning, thought, and action—as the primary colors of enduring success. When the primary colors of red, blue, and green overlap, they create a bright, white light, a target that is easy to see.
To create a life that matters to you, consider the following:
When you align your thoughts and actions with what gives your life meaning, you magnify your passion and impart greater clarity to your purpose than ever before.
I’m not talking about what makes you happy in the moment, but rather, what really drives your life. What gives your life meaning?
In a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology that examined self-reported attitudes toward happiness and meaning, the researchers found a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately different, reported Emily Esfahani Smith in The Atlantic.
“While happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades away, just as all emotions do,” wrote Smith. “The amount of time people report feeling good or bad correlates with happiness but not at all with meaning. Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future.”
Another study confirmed this, she said. “People who have meaning in their lives, in the form of a clearly defined purpose, rate their satisfaction with life higher even when they were feeling bad than those who did not have a clearly defined purpose.”
Stewart Emery and his co-authors of the book Success Built to Last interviewed the world’s most successful people to distill exactly what drives them, and it’s pretty simple.
“Above all else, no matter where they have chosen to excel—in business, the arts, sports, social service, community, or family—each has achieved success by focusing on the things that matter most to them,” he said.
“Enduringly successful people follow their hearts, aligning their thoughts and actions with their passions,” said Stewart. “They become energized by their work and stay on purpose and committed in the face of setbacks and challenges.”
Imagine those three elements—meaning, thought, and action—as the primary colors of enduring success. When the primary colors of red, blue, and green overlap, they create a bright, white light, a target that is easy to see.
To create a life that matters to you, consider the following:
• What gives your life meaning? What brings you the greatest joy? Loving what you do and who you are is the greatest motivator for building lasting success.
• Are your thoughts toxic or supportive? Are negative thoughts and self-doubt or the criticism of others drowning out that voice inside of your head—that whisper or “silent scream” telling you what really matters? Learn to responsibly manage your thoughts in ways that keep you on track to your goals, despite obstacles or burdens you will undoubtedly face.
• Are you taking action? What are you doing to bring you closer to your goals or attract into your life people and activities that will support you? While meaning drives success, meaning without action will get you nowhere.
When you align your thoughts and actions with what gives your life meaning, you magnify your passion and impart greater clarity to your purpose than ever before.
February 14, 2017
The Hungry, Hungry Brain
Scientists have long wondered why human children grow at a rate typical of reptiles—much more slowly than our fellow mammals.
The answer likely lies in the appetite of a child’s brain, suggests a study from Northwestern University. According to the researchers, the brain of a 5-year-old consumes twice the glucose—the energy used to fuel the brain—as an adult’s brain.
By measuring glucose uptake and brain volume, the study determined that the brain grows fastest at the time when the body grows slowest. At the age of four, brain growth peaks, consuming more than 40 percent of the body’s total energy.
“Our bodies can’t afford to grow faster during the toddler and childhood years because a huge quality of resources is required to fuel the developing human brain,” said Christopher Kuzawa, professor of anthropology and co-author of the study. “As humans we have so much to learn, and that learning requires a complex and energy-hungry brain.”
The brain maxes out its glucose consumption around age five, when we learn much of what it takes to be successful humans.
As an adult, your brain may only have half the appetite it once had, but you can still access the childhood traits you had when your brain consumed twice as much energy.
Through the spirit of juvenile optimism we physically manifest and express our youthfulness, including traits such as curiosity, inquisitiveness, imagination, creativity, open-mindedness, joy, spontaneity, enthusiasm, sense of humor, playfulness, optimism, and flexibility.
Our bodies and brains are designed to continue delighting in these traits throughout life, but programming from society, television, advertising, parents, teachers, and friends—even our own self-talk—can lead one to feel old.
So how can you maintain a sense of youthfulness?
• Recognize you have a choice in your life. You do not have to blindly accept society’s typical norms about aging.
• Continually learn new skills and activities to stimulate your curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
• Socialize with others, and embrace new technologies.
• Nurture youthful traits. That’s the focus of Learning Strategies' Youthful Vitality Paraliminal. You can do this anytime with this simple visualization exercise:
Take measures today to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit and activate the energized brain in you.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
The answer likely lies in the appetite of a child’s brain, suggests a study from Northwestern University. According to the researchers, the brain of a 5-year-old consumes twice the glucose—the energy used to fuel the brain—as an adult’s brain.
By measuring glucose uptake and brain volume, the study determined that the brain grows fastest at the time when the body grows slowest. At the age of four, brain growth peaks, consuming more than 40 percent of the body’s total energy.
“Our bodies can’t afford to grow faster during the toddler and childhood years because a huge quality of resources is required to fuel the developing human brain,” said Christopher Kuzawa, professor of anthropology and co-author of the study. “As humans we have so much to learn, and that learning requires a complex and energy-hungry brain.”
The brain maxes out its glucose consumption around age five, when we learn much of what it takes to be successful humans.
As an adult, your brain may only have half the appetite it once had, but you can still access the childhood traits you had when your brain consumed twice as much energy.
Through the spirit of juvenile optimism we physically manifest and express our youthfulness, including traits such as curiosity, inquisitiveness, imagination, creativity, open-mindedness, joy, spontaneity, enthusiasm, sense of humor, playfulness, optimism, and flexibility.
Our bodies and brains are designed to continue delighting in these traits throughout life, but programming from society, television, advertising, parents, teachers, and friends—even our own self-talk—can lead one to feel old.
So how can you maintain a sense of youthfulness?
• Recognize you have a choice in your life. You do not have to blindly accept society’s typical norms about aging.
• Continually learn new skills and activities to stimulate your curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
• Socialize with others, and embrace new technologies.
• Nurture youthful traits. That’s the focus of Learning Strategies' Youthful Vitality Paraliminal. You can do this anytime with this simple visualization exercise:
Close your eyes and relax. Select a trait of youthfulness you want to integrate into your personality. You might have to think back to your childhood when you had an ample supply of imagination, spontaneity, or resiliency. Use rich imagery to immerse yourself in this trait, expressing it as a fun-loving child. Tap into the visualization daily until you truly inhabit this trait.
Take measures today to rejuvenate your body, mind, and spirit and activate the energized brain in you.
http://www.learningstrategies.com/Par...
