#choicetofeelbetter – Presence and Positivity

The Uphill Flow

Post by: Tracy Weaver, Life Coach, EFT Practitioner

So there you are doing something, some cranky ol’ bear of a task, that really really was not even on the same planet as your “Can’t wait to!” list. What’s the use, gotta get it done. What choice do you have? Physically, maybe not so many choices at the moment. But inside, in that interesting universe called your mind, your imagination? Well! If anybody knew the things you think about!

So, what you’re saying is, you actually do have choices, they’re just inside your head instead of outside. Well, what’s wrong with that? Your emotions are reactions to your thoughts, right? An idea pops up and you react to it. The thought makes you feel better, the same, or worse. If what you’re thinking isn’t helping you to feel good – seems obvious – change the thoughts! Look, if you were alone watching TV and you didn’t care much for the program, what would you do in a heartbeat? Grab that remote and find a more enjoyable program, right? Darn straight.

You may be stuck doing some task, but chances are there is some room inside to choose thoughts, memories, imaginings that make you happier. Let’s just work backwards here. Start here: how would you like to feel right now? Thought so. Well, what kind of thoughts or memories make you feel that way? Without abandoning attention to your task, could you call up just enough of a memory or use a little creative imagination to catch that feeling? That’s it, I saw that little smile. Now, hook onto that good feeling. Just enjoy its company for a bit. Doesn’t have to be a memory, you know. What about your secret plans, your cherished goals? Nobody can take those from you, and they would just love a visit from you.

If you are having a tough time getting the flow going, you might need some bigger guns, at least to start. How about some music? What tunes make you feel the best, make you soar? How about a little soulful singing on your part? Depending on your task, what about a recorded book? A self-improvement audio course? Nature sounds? If you can spare your eyes, what about movies you’ve been meaning to watch? They say you can learn anything on YouTube, right? Here’s a challenging one, how aware and alert can you be? Wake up your senses. Reach out and really hear all the sounds going on around you. What’s happening out there? How about smells? Anything you didn’t notice before? I can see you’re getting the drift.

You know, if you really wanted to, you could do your onerous task and still have a party going on inside! It’ll take some practicing, and maybe you’ll have to let go of some resentment so you have room to think some better thoughts, but really, which way would you rather spend your time? Thought so.

Our Thanks to Tracy for contributing!

The Only Moment We Truly Have

“Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

We move. We do. We ‘get it done’. There are days when you may not remember much about your day specifically and then other moments that it seems door frames, corners, and furniture jump right out into your way and BAM! Some days flow and some days simply do not.

We breathe and move. Does our breath lead our movement or does our movement lead our breath? Do we breathe in the shallows or into the deep? Science has proven that deep breathing massages the heart, pumping nutrients and fluid into the vascular system while pumping toxins out and away, leading to better cardiac health. When you have the choice…..breathe in the deep. Aim to find the beginning of an inhale down below your navel and the top near your shoulders.

“The men of old breathed clear down to their heels.” -Chuang Tzu

Try this when you find stress overcoming your body and mind.

Stair Step breath:

Exhale fully and let sips of air in with pauses so that your full inhale takes 8-10 sips and then slowly exhale to the count of about 6 seconds. Try this for 2 breaths.

Then stair step or sip your next inhale as well as your exhale for 2 breaths.

Now return to a stair stepping inhale with the long 6 second exhale.

If you find any discomfort or anxiety with this simply breathe as usual or come to an even 3 count breath.

Thank your body for doing as you ask and breathing in this moment, with purpose. Be thankful for your body and your breath.

Purposeful Rise: a choice to feel better

“The thought manifests as the word; The word as the deed; the deed developes into habit; and the habit hardens into character … as the shadow follows the body – as we think, so we become. ” -Buddha

Post by: Tracy Weaver, Life Coach, EFT Practitioner

All of your emotions, from the best to the worst, are valuable to you. They let you know where you are, what’s going on with you. So, please be easy about them – and you. When you are feeling low, depressed, angry, unappreciated, at least you know what direction you want to head in: feeling better!

Your emotions follow your thoughts. Thoughts always bring in more thoughts of similar kind, feeding the current emotion, making it stronger. When you’re feeling really good, milk your mood! Enjoy it! When your emotional state could stand some improvement, what to do? I mean, just try not thinking about the thing that’s got your attention. Unless you are an accomplished ‘meditator’, your active brain just isn’t going to let you. So what we need is some way to distract that ol’ “monkey mind“.

That’s it! Distraction! Get your brain off one scent and on to another! So okay, you want to feel better, and you want to distract your brain away from its current track of thoughts. Here’s a way. Purposefully turn your attention to gentle, general things you already know make you feel good. Non-challenging things, soothing things. Anything will do for starters. “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.” I’m not kidding. If you are free to, go out and treat your physical senses to something that makes you smile and lifts your mood. As you do, you’ll naturally think about it. The first thought will pull in the second thought, the second a third, and as the happier thoughts continue and build, your mood will rise. Milk it, get in the habit of playing the game and celebrate the improvements!

I’m sure it sounds way too simple. But I can tell you from practice and experience that it works, reliably. You won’t leap wildly from dejected apathy to passionate joy. But, you can train your thoughts to move gently upward, a step or two at a time. As your mind gets better at this new skill, you’ll have a great tool to move on that new path upward to where you really want to live. And your thoughts will change.

Our Thanks to Tracy for contributing!