Dancing in the Eye of the Hurricane: How to Stop Running from Stress…and Start Asking It to Dance
Dealing with stress is an inescapable part of modern life. According to Patt Lind-Kyle, the key to thriving (instead of just surviving) amidst tension and worry is learning how to consciously manage your mind instead of allowing it to manage you.
Fulton, CA (PRWEB) December 18, 2009
Stress and worry consume many people every day—stress about the economy, rumored layoffs, or how they’ll ever find the time to do their holiday shopping. And when one tries their best to “de-stress” his or her life, it seems for every stressor that is eliminated, more pop up. Rather than trying to outrun the stress hurricane, it is best to find a way to dwell calmly inside its eye.
“Eliminating stress sounds good in theory, but it just doesn’t work,” says Lind-Kyle, author of Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain: Applying the Exciting New Science of Brain Synchrony for Creativity, Peace and Presence (Energy Psychology Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-60415-056-8, $26.95). “What you can do is change how you respond to the stressors that pop up.”
“The brain is capable of changing and growing at any age—a quality called neuroplasticity,” she explains. “Quite literally, you will alter the brain’s neuronal connections and circuitry that are responsible for your emotions, behaviors, and perceptions—and these are as much to blame for your stress as your schedule, work, and money.”
Read on about how mind training can work to help to manage and reduce stress:
Understand that a lot of stress comes from buying into cultural expectations, There is so much pressure to do more, faster, better. However, few people naturally meet every cultural standard of beauty, intelligence, achievement, and desirability—so they're saddled with unmet expectations and compulsive drives that sink their peace of mind and morale.
Stress exacts a very real price. Stress affects one's body, mind and quality of life. High levels of stress can impact energy levels, weaken the immune system, raise blood pressure, and interfere with tissue repair and growth. It can also contribute to depression.
Nobody likes Suzie or Sammy Stressor! People who are full of stress and anxiety tend to raise anxiety levels of others. We tend to gravitate toward those who are calming influences, not stress inducers, so those stressful people are often avoided.
Prisoners of the mind. Due to a mix of genetic factors and external conditioning, we are locked into a set of habitual and automatic attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that are often harmful. And trigger A will almost always lead to result B, unless you take specific steps to redefine what B is.
Mind training? What’s that? This isn’t about brainwashing—it’s about learning to consciously redirect dysfunctional brain patterns. Brainwaves should all work together in harmony, but one often dominates the others, leading to dysfunctional thoughts and habits and “negative feedback loops” of behavior. Mind training helps with focusing on and becoming aware of each brainwave, thus triggering the neuroplastic function of the brain.
Let stress “flow” away. Many people spend more time rehashing the past and worrying about the future than they do dealing with the here and now. Silence this inner voice through mind training to open up to a state called “flow”—which is the antithesis of stress.
Get Home (Base) free! Mind training practice moves the focus from looking outside oneself for answers and fulfillment. We are all wired for what we really want: peace and happiness. It’s those culturally acquired desires for “more” that create disappointment, stress, and unhappiness! By paying attention to their resources, one will notice a marked difference in their ability to become calm, cool, and collected.
“You’ll still have deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and children to chauffeur—but with the help of mind training, these things will no longer send you into a self-perpetuating tailspin of frenetic thoughts and worries,” Lind-Kyle says. “You will be able to meet them head-on with a stable, focused, and calm mind. And that will make all the difference.”
About the Author:
Patt Lind-Kyle is an author, therapist, speaker, trainer, and consultant. She is a former professor at Foothill College, and founder of a learning assessment company that applies neuro-monitoring tools for stress management, health, and peak performance. Her research, writing, and teaching in the mind/brain field center on using an EEG brainwave monitoring system to help individuals maximize their brain-mind potentials.
For more information, please visit www. healrewireyourbrain. com.
About the Book:
Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain: Applying the Exciting New Science of Brain Synchrony for Creativity, Peace and Presence (Energy Psychology Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-60415-056-8, $26.95) is available at bookstores nationwide and through major online booksellers.
About the CDs:
Heal Your Mind, Rewire Your Brain: Companion CDs for the Book (2-CD set, $14.95) contains six sessions that guide listeners through the exercises and practices relating to each of the four brainwave frequencies as described in the book. To download a free mp3 of one of the exercises or to purchase the CDs, please visit http://www. healrewireyourbrain. com/cds (http://www. healrewireyourbrain. com/cds).
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