Breaking Free From Negative Self Talk with Adrianne Ahern, PhD

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2006-05-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

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Overview: Snap Out of It Now! Four Steps to Inner Joy

2006-05-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

SNAP Out Of It NOW! is an every person’s guide to do-it-yourself fulfillment, whether fulfillment comes in the form of more self-confidence, more money, more inner focus, more love, or more fun and laughter!

For the first time in book form, previously available only through personal counseling sessions and workshops, Dr. Ahern's powerful SNAP Out of It NOW! Method guides readers to a quantum leap out of their negative self-talk and to living with purpose, joy, and excellence!
People are looking for the secret to living life fully—to excelling in their chosen field and to experiencing inner joy. Despite pages of affirmations and dollars of therapy, people often find themselves stuck in what they perceive as their own negative destiny.

SNAP Out Of It NOW! demonstrates to the reader why the secret continues to elude them—they have been looking in the wrong places or just haven't been successful at living their true life-paths due to emotional conditioning! Conditioning is a state of mind: we respond to the expectations and judgments given to us from birth and unknowingly develop emotional roadblocks when we feel unsatisfactory, uncertain or deficient. Without identifying these roadblocks, one has no control over the conditioned thoughts and thus is at the mercy of them when they are activated. Anger and frustration are often the result, dooming one’s efforts to failure.

We are driven to find purpose, joy, money, and happiness in our lives, and to fulfill our birthright. There is no time for autopilot. Ahern’s SNAP Out of It NOW! Method puts the reader back in the driver’s seat of her life. The book is a step-by-step guide to transforming stress, anxiety, self-doubt, anger, and other negative feelings into something completely positive. Eastern secrets to spiritual wellness meet Western psychology to form the perfect personal wellness plan. In just four simple steps, Dr. Ahern’s unique breathing awareness exercises and psychological worksheets—supported by real case examples from her practice—guide readers to releasing themselves from negative thinking and actively succeeding!

Unlock Your Potential!

2006-05-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

How do you become the person you were meant to be—strong, self-assured, powerful, and independent? You see these people everyday with their million dollar smiles, confidence radiating in each step they take, and you know that inside they feel comfortable, safe and happy. You imagine that these people share a secret that enables them super-human capabilities to deal with life’s emotional roller-coasters—otherwise how could inner joy be so easy? The truth is, they do share a secret, and it’s a secret I’ll share with you. You already are one of those people—YOU just don’t know it because all the voices you’ve lived with have told you, “You don’t have it! You don’t have the right genes! You’re not strong enough! You’re not smart enough! Do it my way!” Becoming one of “those” people and fulfilling who you were meant to be seems impossible, but the real secret to transforming your every day life is simple. The first step is realizing that you can leave those voices behind! Breaking free of that kind of intense negativity or what I like to call ‘snapping out of it’ will change your life forever. You will begin to hear the little voice that has been whispering to you all these years, trying to speak over its fear, clearly say, “This is YOUR life! Live it NOW! The only requirement is that you live it YOUR way! You can do it!”

If you’d like to know more check out my Audio CD course, “Unlock Your Potential: Become the Person You Were Meant to B E!"

Snap Out Of Your Conditioned Identity!

2006-05-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

We see only what we can see. Each one of us, as human beings, are doing the best we can with what we have—an awareness that has been conditioned by our family, culture, and society. We are not aware that we are on autopilot as the conditioning has resulted in our pattern of engaging a thought, behavior, and feeling without our conscious awareness.

When we wake up to our conditioning and begin to confront the thoughts we think, the actions and reactions we engage, we begin to see that we are able to break free from the impact of the negativity within our thinking, feeling, and reacting.

It is in the observance of our conditioning—thoughts, actions, and reactions—that we become capable of Snapping out of our Conditioned Identity in this moment.

The following poem by Mary Oliver has been a great support and comfort to me while in the process of Snapping Out of my conditioned identity. I offer it to you...

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice—
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations—
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Create Pressence, Joy and Fullness in Your Relationship!

2006-05-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Snap Out of Your Automatic Reactions and Create Presence, Joy and Fullness in Your Relationship!

You know those times when you've had a heated argument with your partner and are still feeling angry and resentful? You know that if you could only apologize or touch them tenderly, things could move on, but you just can't let go of your anger!

* You KNOW, because you've heard it everywhere, that YOU are responsible for your own happiness. Right?
* Your partner doesn't have the power to MAKE you angry or sad-no one can MAKE you feel any way except Y-O-U! Right?
* You have a CHOICE about how you react to what your partner does, right?

Rationally, you know this to be true, but why is it that you cannot control your emotions? Like clockwork, the very next time your partner comes through the door in the evening 30 minutes late, you are in an argument before the door closes.

Once the fight ensues, you don't feel capable of choosing to stop and end the argument with an apology or an act of tenderness. Your automatic reactions have assumed control of you. You waste hours feeling furious instead of spending good time with the one you love. How often does this occur in your relationships?

CLIENT STORY: I want control over my reactions!

Linda used to find it impossible to let go of her anger and reach out with forgiveness to her husband directly after a heated argument. Why? Because once she automatically engaged her reaction of anger by complaining, insulting and blaming, she was no longer capable of choosing how to react. Her emotional response took on a life of it's own!

What's going on? Linda was not conditioned to consciously experience her feelings of anger-a normal human emotion. When sensations of anger arose in her body, her programming kicked in and she automatically placed responsibility for her anger onto someone or something else. Once Linda began reacting to her feelings of anger by projecting them outwardly, she began a vicious cycle of anger and regret.

I helped Linda with the four easy steps of the SNAP Out Of It NOW! Method. Linda learned to:

1. Acknowledged that she was stuck in negative thinking (about what it means when her husband comes home late), and that she was unconsciously reacting (complaining and blaming) to her own negative thought patterns.
2. Experience herself reacting-to really think about and to fully become aware of her reactions and their consequences (no-win situation leaving her feeling empty and her husband unhappy).
3. Sense the feeling within her body (heat rising in chest) that was provoking the impulse to react with blaming.
4. Breathe with focused intention with the feeling inside. As she breathed, the feeling dissipated and she no longer felt controlled by her automatic "angry" reaction.

Linda discovered how to quiet her mind and how to connect with and experience her feelings. When she acknowledged and experienced the feelings within her, she no longer felt the impulse to react with blame toward her husband.

After 3 sessions, Linda said to me, "I am no longer controlled by my feelings of anger. As I breathe to the sensation of heat rising in my chest, the sensation dissipates and I am back in control. I feel better about myself and I actually look forward to seeing my husband when he comes home. If he comes home later than expected I find something to do to fill the time." Linda began to feel appreciation for her husband rather than only anger and resentment.

Part of the stress in life is that feelings of anger and resentment get in the way of the desire to be present with the ones we love-whether they are parents, spouses, children or friends-and to create joy and fullness in our relationships.

Negative Self-Talk and BREATHING are Incompatible

2006-04-29T12:54:00.000-07:00

Tap into the self-love and joy that is already within your heart.

When experiencing negative self-talk--doubt, fear, or worry--BREATHE and Snap Out Of It Now!

1. Acknowledge your conditioned--automatic--negative self talk.
2. Shift attention from thinking mind to noticing what is going on within your body.
3. Breathe--with awareness--to the sensation in the body
4. Reconnect with your self—body, mind, and spirit--and experience self-love and inner joy!

In practicing the Snap Out Of I Now! Method, you will find that thoughts and sense perceptions are mutually exclusive. That is, you cannot be thinking negative thoughts about yourself and sensing and breathing with the feeling in your body at the same time.

Celebrate Our Earth--April 22

2006-04-13T11:44:00.000-07:00

I am preparing a presentation, "Breathing with the Earth" that I have been asked to give on Earth Day, April 22nd. I want to include a poem in my presentation, and since my favorite modern Poet is Mary Oliver, The Swan, is the first one I have considered. Although, this may not be my final choice--I share it with you here.

I will include others and ask you to sent your favorite poem in celebration of Earth Day!

THE SWAN

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

Snap Out of Your Head and Into Your Heart!

2006-04-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

I have always loved this message from Mother Theresa. A friend emailed it to me today and I wanted to post it here as a reminder for all of us.

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;

It never was between you and them anyway."

~ Mother Teresa

THE INSPIRED HEART

2006-04-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

The following is an article I wrote for Issues Magazine reflecting a visit with a dear friend, Jerry Wennstrom.

I stayed with Jerry Wennstrom, for a week, at his home on Whitby Island and was moved with how, Jerry, the author of the Inspired Heart, lives his life in profound simplicity filled with joy, love, playfulness, and delicious meals. Jerry says, “it’s not so much about knowing, it’s about living into the love we feel for other people.” I love this and loved experiencing this for myself...it’s not so much about knowing, it’s about living into-breathing with-the love we feel for other people.

n Jerry’s life, incongruity was experienced I believe, as a message from God a profound message manifested over fifteen years. As his book and film portray, Jerry left his life in NY— leaving everything he knew behind. He burned all of his art, gave away all his possessions and spent the next fifteen years in a state of surrender. These years changed the way Jerry experienced himself, the way he experienced others and the world around him. It changed the way he engaged his art, his life, and the way he began to engage his spirituality-through creating and living his art, through relationship with himself and through relationship with Marilyn, as well as through his openness to community and community with all sentient beings.

My favorite Parabola author, Helen Luke, wrote, “Each of us, as we journey through life, has the opportunity to find and to give his or her unique gift. Whether that gift is great or small in the eyes of the world does not matter at all— not at all; it is through the finding and the giving that we may come to know the joy that lies at the center of both the dark times and the light.” After spending three days with Jerry, I believe that his gift to the world is himself!

Jerry Wennstrom’s experience and his life are extraordinary. Jerry is capable of sustaining and living within unconditioned awareness - he is living and breathing with the mystery. Since my visit with Jerry, my new mantra (borrowed from him) whenever I come face to face with a challenge, a judgment, a desire, a pain, or a longing is, “This too is God.” Over the entrance to my home I have a plaque quoting Jung, which reads, “Bidden or unbidden God is present.”

For more information on Jerry Wennstrom and his wife Marilyn, please visit his website at www.handsofalchemy.com

Snap Out of Your Head and Into Your Life!

2006-03-26T17:15:00.000-08:00

We all have great ideas that come to us in the middle of the night or just as we awake in the morning. My latest midnight inspiration woke me up with an intense passion and eagerness to be more connected with my authentic voice. How could I accomplish this? After much pondering, I realized that the more aware I become of when I am disconnecting from my authentic voice—when I am stifled by feelings of doubt, disappointment, anxiety, overwhelm or anger—the more I can overcome these stifling emotional disconnects, and the stronger my connection grows.

Isn’t it ironic? As I acknowledge my doubt I am less doubtful; as I acknowledge my anxiousness, I am capable of releasing my fears and opening my mind to “what is” rather than being consumed by “what is not”! My recognition of these feelings of insecurity or distance from my true self, allows me to use my method to change my negative state of mind. I acknowledge my feelings of overwhelm and sense the tightness in my chest and neck, and then breathe to this sensation in my body. I Snap Out of the experience of overwhelm, and joyfully re-connect with my authentic voice.

Below is a question that I received from a reader. Take the Snap Out Of It Now Survey and ask your own anonymous question:

Q: I strongly feel that I am in the right place right now, but sometimes I begin to doubt that I'm really going to make it in the career I have chosen. How can I transform my doubt and begin to believe that I will succeed?

A: Thank you for sharing this—I know how painful doubt is, and I have been there myself. My most difficult struggle while developing my career was leaving behind my feelings of “doubt.” What is doubt? Doubt is an illusion in your mind that stems from what psychologists call “negative conditioning.” We are not born doubting ourselves: society places irrational fears upon us and “conditions” us to believe in them. Always remember, doubt only exists within the conditioned mind, and you can break free from the conditioned mind!

You may not realize it, but you have overcome doubt before! Every time you weren’t sure if you could make it past the finish line—and did! Every time you were unsure of success, but then succeeded. You transcended doubt, the illusion that was holding you back, and thus dispelled the doubt.

But it’s true that there is an easier way. You don’t need to suffer the agony of not knowing if you will make it. If you make your thought process conscious with the Snap Out Of It Now! Method of Transformation, you can dispel doubt on your way to the goal and feel better about yourself in the process.

Turn Your Body Into A Natural Healer!

2006-03-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce my new series of audio CD courses that focus on how to become a partner with your body—the natural healer. Listen to a sample of this CD. These ideas have been with me all my life, beginning with my struggle with psoriasis (a skin condition). Using awareness of breath and intentionally focusing my breathing within my body and my skin I was able to lessen the severity of outbreaks and sometimes eliminate them. Many of us fail to heal because we are not conditioned to participate with the body. The Snap Out Of it Now! Method connects YOU with YOUR BODY, the healer.

Audio CDs NOW available on my website:

How to Turn Your Body Into a Natural Healer, invites you to take a journey into your body where you have never gone before. You will learn to facilitate the detoxification of each organ and your body. You will experience a greater quality of life!

Using Your Body—The Natural Healer—to Manage Your Hypertension. If you or anyone you know has high blood pressure, click on this link and beginning managing your hypertension!

Using Your Body—The Natural Healer—to Become a Nonsmoker
If you smoke, this course can help you improve your life as well as the lives of those around you. Become a Nonsmoker!

Each of these audio courses include an eBook. The ebook will also be available separately.

Experience Gratitude and Break Free From Negative Self-Talk!

2006-03-18T13:01:00.000-08:00

The following poem has been in my collection of "poems I love" and I want to share it with you:

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."~
Melody Beattie ~

The Body As Natural Healer

2006-03-14T14:55:00.000-08:00

Your Body—The Natural Healer Audio CD Series:
I am preparing to record a series of audio CD Courses entitled, Using Your Body—the Natural Healer, in which I introduce the simple and profound practices of the SNAP Out Of It NOW! Method to assist you in using your body—the healer—to create better quality of life and to live longer. I am a clinical psychologist and I live in partnership with my body—the natural healer. Within this program series you will learn to use your body, the natural healer, to:
CD 1: Manage Your Hypertension
CD 2: Avoid Cigarettes
CD 3: Exercise Daily
CD 4: Manage Stress
CD 5: Establish an easy-to-love diet

Visit my website’s product page. Take charge of your own healing and create the life you have always dreamed of with vitality, strength, longevity, and beauty.

Snap Out Of Your Negative Self-Talk...NOW!

2006-03-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

From time to time I will be including questions that I get from clients and from people who have taken my SnapOutOfItNow Survey:

Q:Where is the line between dream "wanna-be" and realistic goal setting?

A:The line between dream "wanna-be" and realistic goal setting can only be drawn by YOU! Who is making the determination as to what is realistic? My guess is that it is those fearful conditioned voices in your head that are fixated on lower standards.

Snap Out of the negative self-talk that is telling you that your dream is unrealistic! Stop, Look, and Listen. Acknowledge the limited and negative belief. Shift your attention to your breath. Notice (sense) your breath going in and out your nose. Breathe to the sensation of the feeling within your body that is present with this conditioned belief. As you exhale you are releasing this feeling sensation and now can choose a thought that is more in line with the fulfillment of your dream. You will begin to move away from fear and toward joy and appreciation.

My dream was to write Snap Out Of It NOW! and get it published! If I listened to the conditioned voices of my past I would still be talking about my desire to write…instead I am now talking about what I wrote. I feel much gratitude and joy!

Early Morning Reflection

2006-03-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Last night I awoke at 3 am with multiple thoughts stirring in my mind. I tried shifting my awareness to my breathing as this often allows me to slip back into a restful sleep, but at 3:15 am I was still awake. I got out of bed and went into the kitchen to get some water. Standing in the kitchen sipping my water a question arouse in my consciousness-with all the self-help books already in the bookstores, how will I distinguish my message and make my contribution to the world? I am only one voice among millions!

In this moment I viscerally experienced the simple truth that the soul doesn't care whether its voice is great or powerful, the soul's purpose is fulfilled by the simple authenticity of expression. I felt in that moment that just by writing Snap Out Of it NOW! and clearly articulating my method of breaking free from the negative, fearful voices in our heads, I was fulfilling my soul's purpose.

My heart expanded with warmth as I acknowledged that my opportunity to help those who feel stuck and guide them toward inner fulfillment was truly great-I am one strong, true voice amid the crowd of those searching for my help. Many of my clients feel angry, resentful, dissatisfied with life, and miserable in their relationships. Many have moments of joy and don't know how to bring this feeling of joy into other parts of their life. The people I work with often seek to fundamentally change elements of their life situation, rather than trying to change the way they react to the situation. If I can help even one person discover how to become unstuck and experience more resiliency toward their life situations-more freedom of choice with their emotional reactions-then I am living my purpose and fulfilling my destiny as a healer.

What do you think of this new title?

2006-02-22T16:18:00.001-08:00

Practical Psychology for Every Day Livin’
It’s as Easy as Snapping Out of Your Negativity…NOW!

Snap Out Of Your Cycle of Stress!

2006-02-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

How Stressed-Out Are You?

Each one of you have different levels of resiliency when it comes to dealing with stressors, and what I might find as very stressful (for example coming up with a compelling title for a publisher) you might see as fun and like solving a puzzles!

Take this brief STRESS QUIZ and find out for yourself.

1. Do you feel tired and find yourself having a hard time getting through the day?
2. Do you have trouble sleeping—sleeping too little or too much?
3. Do you often feel restless and find yourself constantly looking for something to do?
4. Do you worry about little things you have no control over throughout your day?
5. Do you get mad and react easily?
6. Do you have repeated neck or headaches?
7. Do you frequently feel overwhelmed, anxious or depressed?

The most important first step in dealing with your stress is to accept and acknowledge that it is your emotional reaction to a situation or event in your life that causes your stress, not the situation itself. The reason I feel stressed-out when asked to come up with a more “exciting” book title is because I want SO MUCH to get my book published and therefore my emotional reaction may be fear that I won’t be able to come up with a compelling and exciting title. This fear, if not dealt with, will feed the cycle of stress with negative thinking…more fear…more negative thinking…and on and on!

I created the Snap Out Of It NOW! Method to help you learn how to interrupt and SNAP Out of your cycle of stress—negative thinking-negative feeling-negative thinking. These negative emotions provoked by your negative self-talk not only cause harm to your relationship with yourself and with others, but they also negatively impact your body’s health and ability to heal. The Snap Out Of It NOW! Method guides you in shifting the state of your body away from disharmony (negative emotions) back to its natural state of harmony!

More Titles...

2006-02-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

I am still looking for catchy titles. Any of these do anything for you? Let me know at info@SnapOutOfItNow.com.

Snap Out Of It Now! Stop Sleep-Walking through life—Wake Up and Dance Your Dance!

No Money for a Shrink/No Time for the Ashram…An “Everyperson’s” Guide to Fullfillment

I’ve Got 15 Minutes to Find My Passion, Live My Dreams and Seek My Destiny.

New Subtitle for SNAP Out of It NOW!

2006-02-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

My agent tells me there are 2 publishers interested in my book, Snap Out of It Now! One of the publishers has asked me to come up with a strong, prescriptive subtitle that can be highlighted to show the reader what they can do with my book!

I have included my list titles with NEW subtitles below and would love to hear from you about which you like best!

Snap Out of It Now! A Practical Guide for Personal Empowerment

Snap Out Of It Now! How to:
STOP Negative Thinking,
LISTEN to your own Tools for Transcending Your Negative Thinking and Tuning Into Your Feelings—Your Innerternal Guidance Systemand START Succeeding!

Snap Out of It Now! Tools for Transcending Negative Thinking by Tuning Into Your Body, the Natural Healer

Snap Out of It Now! Take Back Control Over Your Life with Simple Techniques to WIN Against Stress and Negative Thinking

Snap Out of It Now! STOP Living Other People’s Dream for YOU—Live YOUR life for YOURSELFOwn Dream!

Snap Out Of It Now! Stop, Look, and Listen—Connect with Your Inner Passion and Live YOUR Dream

Snap Out Of It Now! Tools for Transcending Your Negative Programming and Tuning Into Your Internal Guidance System

I would appreciate your feedback on these possible new titles.

A Message Upon Awakening

2006-02-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

This morning I awoke to the following message written in a card beside the sink in my bathroom:

"A true understanding and humble estimate off oneself is the highest and most valuable of lessons."

I feel that I am very fortunate woman! When I have been locked within my negative self-talk, which still occurs as it is a part of my conditioning, my husband will send me messages that help to bring me back into connection with myself. As we engage our negative self-talk, we are disconnecting from ourselves--our experience, our feelings, our wants, and our needs.

Are You Disconnected From Yourself?

2006-01-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

Are You Addicted to Busy-ness?

SNAP Out of It NOW!

Addiction to Busy-ness—Two Phases:

Phase 1. Acute (immediate reaction to trauma or success):
A trauma has occurred (911, lost job, death in family) and the individual is unable to deal with the trauma and finds that if she keeps busy she is not in as much as anxiety—doesn’t experience the pain. For a small number of people this may work—keeping busy to control the anxiety/pain. She is able to dull her feelings. Keeping busy a useful technique during the acute phase—such as knitting, cleaning the house, chores, shopping, gardening, watching TV, exercise, etc. Inability to handle stress of sudden success—(won the lotto, got a promotion, book is published) the individual doesn’t know how to handle the sudden success, she becomes overwhelmed by her success and moves into busy-ness. Anxiety provokes need to remain busy.

When the “busy-ness” doesn’t help with the anxiety/pain it becomes chronic, the individual will move into chronic phase.

Phase 2. Chronic (on-going and uncontrollable busy-ness that has continued for longer than 6 months):
The individual hasn’t gotten past the trauma and anxiety, and copes with this by increasing the busy-ness.
The successful individual hasn’t found a way to manage anxiety of her success and moves into chronic busy-ness.

Symptoms of Chronic busy-ness:

Can’t be in silence,
Nervousness/anxiousness
Depressiveness
Can’t be alone with self
Inability to cope with life situation
Can’t sleep
Loss of pleasure
Loss of energy
Feelings of worthlessness
Diminished ability to think or concentrate
Disturbance in diet—loss or gain of weight
Constipation
Negative self-talk - internal critical voice that:

Emphasizes past failures
Ignores anything good that happens
Sets up impossible standards of perfection
Assumes that others' thoughts about you are negative
Calls you names

When the individual continues in her cycle of anxiety/busy-ness this may lead to a one of the following diagnoses or a combination:
1. Anxiety: nervousness, can’t be in silence, sleep/eating disturbance
2. Depression: negative self-talk, feeling of worthlessness, sleep/eating disturbance, loss of pleasure
3. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: recurrent and persistent negative self-talk; recurrent and persistent busy-ness—TV, doing/doing, exercise,
4. Phobia: can’t be alone, can’t be in silence
5. PTSD: acute –normal reaction to an abnormal life situation; or chronic—recurring nightmares, thoughts, flashbacks

Why do some individual's react with busy-ness and others with immobilization—
1. Specific conditioning within the woman’s life.
2. Genetics
3. Medical – thyroid disease, or other medical conditions, may be the cause.

ACTIONABLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:
1. Consult with your health professional:
a. for any medical conditions that may be responsible
b. review psycho-active medications that may be of assistance with your condition
c. referral to counselor (If she feels her counselor isn’t working, than she must find one that works for her.) You must be your own unbudsman, therefore when the doctor says it is in your head, you must ask him to check on whether there could be a medical explanation for your busy-ness.

2. The Snap Out of It NOW! Method. The whole point of “Busy-ness” is the individual’s attempt to disconnect from herself, so she doesn’t feel the anxiety/pain. The SNAP OUT OF IT NOW! METHOD teaches the individual to reconnect with herself and learn to break free from her automatic and condition reaction to remain “busy” and take back her life!

THE SNAP OUT OF IT NOW! Method:

STEP 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT—busy-ness has become an automatic conditioned reaction to your negative self-talk. Acknowledge you are conditioned to react with busy-ness.

STEP 2 EXPERIENCE YOURSELF REACTING—with busy-ness

STEP 3 SENSE THE FEELING WITHIN THE BODY—the feeling within your body creates your reaction to be busy. The reaction—busy-ness—is an attempt to escape the feeling in the body.

STEP 4 BREATHE TO THE FEELING WITHIN YOUR BODY—that is causing the busy-ness:
(*When I say ‘breathe to’ I am suggesting that you imagine your breath going to the area of your body that is experiencing the sensation) Break free from your automatic reaction of busy-ness and return to a life connected with yourself, others, and your own creativity.

I develop the Snap Out of It Now! Method when I came face to face with my own conditioning which continued to tell me, even after my 2 masters and a Ph.D., that I must be busy and get one more degree, MBA—then I would finally discover my path and be happy. I have been a victim of this addiction and found a way out and now I am sharing it with others through writing and speaking. The busy-ness was keeping me from moving toward what I had always known I must do—write a book. The hugeness of this task and obligation frightened me, and I ran in cycles for a while avoiding it. I knew since the age of 3 that I had books inside of me—this conditioned belief is a fear that has haunted me all my life until I acknowledged it and from this acknowledgment came the 4-step Snap Out of It Now! Method.

Using the Snap Out Of It Now! Method with any treatment the individual is undertaking will enhance her success with this treatment, as she will be connected with the treatment.

The Snap Out Of It Now! Method takes only minutes to perform and provides people with the tools to help them transcend the limitations of their addiction to busy-ness.

Journal Windansea, February 2006

2006-01-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Listen to my podcast of Journal Windansea

Women with Happiness "Rules"

2006-01-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

We are not conditioned to be happy.
We are not aware that we are conditioned.
We keep doing the same thing over and over again in order to be happy and it never works.
We read self-help books telling us what to do and it never works.
We know that there is something missing in the way we are doing it, something missing in us. that we cannot be happy but no one ever helps us figure out what it is that is missing.

What is missing is awareness that we are living within a conditioned reality.

The is insidious, as we condition our children the same way we have been conditioned without ever realizing and acknowleding our own conditioning. We say, “What’s wrong with my daughter or son?” We can’t see that they are mirroring our own thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Breaking free from this prison of unhappiness is the essence of my work. I have created a methodology, the Snap Out Of It NOW! Method, that takes only minutes to perform and provides people with the tools to help them transcend the limitations of their negative programming.

I teach people how to SNAP OUT OF IT NOW! and step into the greatness that is their birthright.

I developed this method when I came face to face with my conditioning which was telling me I couldn’t write a book, and therefore could never be happy. I knew since the age of 3 that I had books inside of me, and therefore this conditioned belief is a fear that has haunted me all my life until I acknowledged it! From this acknowledgment came the 4-step Snap Out of It Now! Method.

If you would like to learn more, sign up for Journal Windansea--my free monthly newsletter.

"Oxygen" - a poem by Mary Oliver

2006-01-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

Everything needs it: bone, muscles, and even,
while it calls the earth its home, the soul.
So the merciful, noisy machine

stands in our house working away in its
lung-like voice, I hear it as I kneel
before the fire, stirring with a

stick of iron, letting the logs
lie more loosely. You, in the upstairs room,
are in your usual position, leaning on your

right shoulder which aches
all day. You are breathing
patiently; it is a

beautiful sound. It is
your life, which is so close
to my own that I would not know

where to drop the knife of
separation. And what does this have to do
with love, except

everything? Now the fire rises
and offers a dozen, singing, deep-red
roses of flame. Then it settles

to quietude, or maybe gratitude, as it feeds
as we all do, as we must, upon the invisible gift:
our purist, sweet necessity: the air.

Negative Self-Talk Becomes Faith

2006-01-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

All my life, I have struggled with negative self-talk, which only became exacerbated when I decided to write a book—what do you think you're doing, you have nothing worthwhile to say; you're not smart enough to do this; you're expectations are too high; and on and on the negative self-talk went ....

Well, like most of us who feel sure that our life can’t go on until we write our book, I wrote the book I needed to read—SNAP Out Of It NOW! Breaking Free From the Conditioned Mind.

This afternoon while taking a break, I picked up a book to read. In this book, I came across something that I want to share, a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson,

“The whole course of things goes to teach us faith. We need only obey. There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening, we shall hear the right word.”

The Snap Out of It Now! Method teaches how we can begin listening deeply by starting with our breath. As we simply listen to ourselves breathing—our breath going in and out our nose—we are in that moment not thinking…we are aware, but we are not thinking.

Writing about, living, teaching, and continuing to practice this method has shown me the truth of Emerson’s words. The process of writing about my own struggles and never giving up on my my desire to get my message out has lead me to faith—faith that if I listen I will receive guidance.

I HAVE A DREAM!!

2006-01-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’"

“I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. (To read the entire speech, go to: www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html)

“EVERYONE DESERVES TO HAVE A DREAM”

This is the theme of the movie, Hustle and Flow, which I watched last night and I highly recommend. It is one of the most true to life and inspiring films I have ever seen. Unless each one of us acknowledges our own dream, we will continue to wonder in the desert. In “Hustle and Flow” everyone had a dream and lived in misery (cycling within their own negative self-talk) until they acknowledged their dream. When we acknowledge our dream, we begin to believe in it! The mantra of this film, which I am borrowing for myself is, “I AM IN CHARGE!”

The commentary by the director and writer, Craig Brewer, is really worthwhile experiencing.

SNAP Out Of It NOW! Acknowledge YOUR Dream and LIVE IT!!

The Irrationality of Certainty...

2006-01-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

I fell asleep very earlier one evening after a long day working at the computer, feeling so certain about the importance of what I had accomplished and what needed my attention the next day. As my head hit the pillow, reflections of parts of my day arose in my consciousness—my shortness in a conversation with a friend; the intense irritation at the slowness of my computer; the lack of attention to my husband. Exhausted, I feel asleep at 7:45 p.m. At 2:45 a.m., I awoke and noticed a card by the side of my bed. I got up and went into another room, turned on the light and read my card. My husband inserted the following quote from Thomas Merton:

“Absurdity is the anguish of realizing that underneath the apparently logical patterns of a more or less well-organized and rational life, there lies an abyss of irrationality, confusion, pointlessness, and indeed of apparent chaos….”

I felt in that moment my own little world suddenly loosing all its significance and certainty. In that moment… in the middle of the night…as my seriousness melted away, I laughed at the absurdity of myself. And, thanking God, I breathe to the chaos within me and reconnect with the wholeness of self—my body, mind, and spirit.

The breath is the key to being fully present in the moments of my life!

Yoga and Breaking Free of Negative Self-Talk!

2006-01-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

I am a veteran practitioner of Yoga, I have 2 masters and a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and I KNOW that practicing Yoga leads to a healthier, more joyful and fulfilling lifestyle—a life free of negative self-talk!!

Currently, I have 2 products available for the first time in CD format:
1. How to Breathe Your Way through Stress, Anxiety and Anger, which guides listeners through a unique process to reduce stress, feelings of overwhelm and anxiety in 30 minutes, featuring a breath-work guide and calming, meditative music.
2. Unlock Your Potential: Become the Person You Were Meant to Be! teaches people how to SNAP OUT of the negative and conditioned thinking that keeps them from realizing their full potential and living their dream.

To view these products, please visit this link.

Used as a compliment to one’s Yoga practice, both of these audio courses will teach the novice and veteran Yoga Practitioner to use their breath most effectively and therefore benefit most optimally from their Yoga practice.

Yoga was an impetus in writing my forthcoming book, SNAP Out of It NOW! Breaking Free of the Conditioned Mind, and in the creation of my products. My practice of yoga, and meditation, helped me to discover the intense power of muscle relaxation through breath-work. I discuss this in more detail in my on-line Journal Windansea .

I have just finished, How To Turn Your Body Into A Natural Healer, (audio CD available in the next 3-4 weeks) and Yoga is one of the major complementary practices that helps one turn their body into a natural healer.

I hope this is valuable for you and I am more than willing to respond to any questions that you may have—please email me at: questions@snapoutofitnow.com. I also want to invite you to sign up for my free monthly Newsletter, Journal Windansea.

To view my Video Postcard with links to my Media Kit, please visit this link.

Moving Fearward in 2006!

2006-01-09T07:08:00.000-08:00

Hi, I am the author of “Snap Out of It NOW! Breaking Free from the Conditioned Mind Today.”

First, what you I mean by Snap Out Of It NOW!

It is a personal 911 call to yourself—a wake-up call! An alert to Stop, Look, and Listen and Acknowledge that you are trapped within your conditioned—limited and restricted—thinking, feeling, and doing.   You are bleeding with your negative self-talk, feelings of overwhelm, and self-punishment and you have to STOP the bleeding.

You stop the bleeding by sensing—listening to the breath—and having a moment of respite from the thinking mind. As you breathe with the sensation in your body, you can see where you are, choose how to move forward, and experience balance within yourself.

How many of you have made a New Year's resolution to leave a comfortable corporate job, or any other job for that matter, in order to follow your passion into your own business or perhaps as an artist or whatever. Well, what are the issues you should weigh when you do this?

In my work as a PhD Clinical Psychologist I have found that most people are not able to Snap Out of their conditioned mind and make their resolutions and intentions work for them.

After 6 years of organizational consulting and private pracice, I left the corporate world to follow my recurring dream to become an author and speaker. From my own experience and working with clients, as well as feedback from speeches given around the country, the major issues are:

First, you must evaluate your opportunities with good business sense, and if you feel you need help with this evaluation get help from an expert. Always remember to stop, look and listen to your heart and be true to yourself in order to find both career and personal happiness. And, to be true to yourself do the following.

Stop, Look, and Listen and ask yourself:

How well do you know yourself?
How well do you handle change, fear, disappointment, and failure?
How well do you know those you are connected with—your family, parents, and your friends?
How well are you able to handle the feedback from your family, parents and friends?
Are you able to handle success?
Do you have the finances to support this transition?

In my experience these are the most crucial questions to consider when one is thinking about making such a change, and without considering these questions (which usually arise after the change is made) one finds themselves unable to move forward.

It is very important that before you make this leap you ask yourself these questions so that you can fly!

Journal Windansea, January 2006 Podcast

2006-01-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

You can read and listen to the January 2006 Newsletter, Journal Windansea right now.

Happy New Year!

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:

Release Your Feelings of Overwhelm in 2006!
SNAP Out of Your Automatic Reactions and Create Presence,
Joy and Fullness in Your life!
FREE TELESEMINAR - Stop Wasting Time with Negative Thinking -
It's Time to Snap Out of It Now and Start Living Your Dream!

The Full Spectrum of Human Emotions

2006-01-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

Recently, I received a note from a subscriber of my newsletter and she wrote, "Thank you for your journal this month. I believe it to be so true. Someone wise once said that to be a healthy human being, we should be able to experience the full spectrum of human emotions, but not stay in any one place too long. I feel you are touching upon the same idea."

Many of us are not conditioned to consciously experience negative feelings such as anger—a normal human emotion. When sensations of anger arise within our body, our programming kicks in and we automatically place responsibility for our anger onto someone or something else. And, once we begin reacting to our feelings of anger by projecting them outwardly, we begin a vicious cycle of anger and regret.

We can all benefit from the four easy steps of the SNAP Out Of It NOW! Method:

• First, we need to acknowledge that we are stuck in negative self-talk (about what it means when feelings of anger arise within us), and that we are unconsciously reacting (by complaining and blaming) to our own negative thought patterns.
• Second, we need to experience ourselves reacting—to really think about and to fully become aware of our reactions and their consequences.
• Third, we need to acknowledge the feeling within our body (e.g., heat rising in chest) that is provoking the need to react.
• Fourth and lastly, we need to breathe with a focus on the feeling within ourselves. As we breathe thoughtfully, the feeling will dissipate and we no longer felt controlled by our automatic reactions.

Practicing this method, you will discover how to quiet your mind and how to connect with and experience your feelings--the full spectrum of them, but not stay in any one place too long.

Faith--A Poem by David Whytehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

2006-01-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

Faith

I want to write about faith
About the way the moon rises over cold snow
Night after night
Faithful even in its’ fading from fullness
Slowly becoming that last curving and impossible
Slither of light before the final darkness
But I have no faith myself
I do not give it the smallest entry
Let this, then, my small poem
Like a new moon slender and barely open
Be the first prayer that opens me to
Faith

--David Whyte

A Prayer for the New Year Sent to Me by a Dear Friend

2005-12-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

A Prayer for the New Year

Dear Lord, please give me
A few friends who understand me and yet remain my friends...
Work to do that has real value, without which the world would feel the poorer...
A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed...
An understanding heart, a sense of humor...
Time for quiet, silent meditation...
A feeling of the presence of the divine...
And the patience to wait for the coming of these things,
With the wisdom to know them when they arrive.

-- W. R. Hunt

Claim Your Free New Years Gift!!

2005-12-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

As the New Year approaches and we prepare to make changes in our
lives--moving from negative self-talk to self-worth--I want to offer you a gift that will help you to live your life more fully, to feel more secure and happy, and to realize those New
Year's resolutions that you have long promised yourself.

Just go to: www.SnapOutOfItNow.com/survey/ take my brief survey, and claim your FREE, life-changing gift, today!

The Snap Out Of It Now! Survey is designed to provide helpful and relevant information to you in 2006 through my newsletter and my
upcoming teleseminar. Simply click on the "Start the Survey" button
NOW to automatically claim your FREE gift. It's that easy!

Please forward this email to your friends and tell them to take the
Snap Out Of It Now! Survey at www.SnapOutOfItNow.com/survey to get their free gift. Tell them they can quickly and easily learn how to release feelings of overwhelm, stress and anxiety with the Snap Out Of It Now! Method!

Why I think Heifer International is an Important Contribution to Humanity

2005-12-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

You can read the December 2005, Journal Windansea newletter right now or download the December 2005, Journal Windansea podcast and listen to it on your computer or iPod.

SNAP Out of It NOW! Experience the Joy of the Season

2005-12-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

We are right smack in the middle of the holidays and already reacting with negative self-talk—I’ll never meet anyone; I should have started my diet in September; I don’t deserve any presents. And, do we even realize that those negative judgments we make toward others—what a tacky dress!; Gosh, could he sing any worse??—stem from our own negative self-talk?

Well, the best gift we can give ourselves this holiday season is to Snap Out of our negative self-talk so we can truly experience the joy of the season. While consumed by the negativity in our minds, we are in a no-win situation—we are miserable and the world around us is miserable. As we acknowledge and bring our attention to what we are experiencing in our body—tightness in chest, hollowness in tummy, tension in our muscles, pressure in our heads—we immediately break free from the cycling of negative thinking in our minds. As we breathe to the feeling/emotion that arises within our body we are connecting with ourselves in this moment.

The wondrous thing about the Snap Out Of It NOW! process is that as we breath through the negativity—stress, anxiety, and anger—our experience becomes one of peace, calmness, and love.

If you would like to learn more, please visit: http://www.snapoutofitnow.com/products.html

And, check out my new audio CD courses:

1. How to Breathe Your Way Through Stress, Anxiety, and Anger
2. Unlock Your Potential: Become the Person You Were Meant to BE!

How to Breathe Your Way through Stress, Anxiety and Anger. This CD audio course will guide you through a unique process to reduce stress, feelings of overwhelm and anxiety in 30 minutes. It features a breathwork guide and calming, meditative music.

The Gift that Keeps On Giving

2005-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

I have purchased a Heifer Arc on behalf of my SNAP Out Of It NOW! Community! The mission of the Heifer International Project (www.heifer.org) is to work with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and care for the earth. This holiday season marks the end of the first year since I finished my manuscript and began my pre-publication preparation. I anticipate my book being in the bookstores for the spring 2007 season.

In gratitude for taking charge of my destiny and moving beyond my negative self-talk through the creation of the Snap Out Of It Now! Method, I have chosen a Heifer Arc as the way to give thanks.

In the most recent issue of Journal Windansea (www.SnapOutOfItNow.com) is a description of the Heifer Gift Arc.

Mind-Body Breathing

2005-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned recently in my newsletter (www.snapoutofitnow.com), just after returning from India, I live with a skin condition called psoriasis. I have learned that outbreaks occur following times of stress. However, for most of my life, each time I had an outbreak I experienced “surprise.” I was so unaware of the negative self-talk accompanied by negative feelings within my body that I had to discover the outbreak on my skin before I would realize I was experiencing stressed.

I have had no control over when the psoriasis will occur and how long the outbreak will last. As a small child, I was not aware that my body was trying to communicate with me and therefore I treated the outbreak as a foreign attack upon my skin. I experienced fear and anxiety as I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I would look at my skin and see ugly red blotches of skin. These blotches would itch, and when I scratched them, they would bleed. I realize now that I was looking at my body and seeing it as separate from “me.” When my mother said, “We’ll go to the doctor to see what this is on your skin,” I thought to myself, “The doctor will take this away and then I’ll feel better.” And, when the doctor said that I would have to learn to manage the psoriasis as there was yet no cure, I felt that I had no control over what my body “did to me.” There is still no cure for psoriasis

I was not conditioned to experience the feelings that would arise within me and I was not conditioned to acknowledge, and therefore be aware, of feelings that would arise within my body. Whether we are aware of them or not, feelings will be experienced within the body and the body will attempt the expression of these feelings. We may pick up a feeling of agitation or irritability, and we avoid it because we don’t have time for it or we feel it is not that important or we think it will just go away. When there is no awareness or acknowledgment of the experience within the body and the feelings are exacerbated (as they will be if they go unacknowledged) the body will find some way to express these feelings. For me, the expression will be through an outbreak of my skin, and in another body the expression might be through an ulcer. Through our experience within the conditioning, we have effectively separated the body from the mind, and the mind from the body.

Breathing is how we connect the mind’s messages to the body. Breathing into the body will affect the chemical process and alert the body’s defenses. In the placebo process, we can get greater placebo effect when: (1) we are told the pill will work, (2) we are told how the pill will work, and (3) we sense in the body where the pill is going to work and breathe with this process—we sense the pill and disease process, and we sense the pill working with the process. As we sense with our breath, we are establishing mind/body interaction.

Now let’s go back to my skin condition—psoriasis. As I began to acknowledge to myself how unaware I had been about my own negative self-talk, the feelings that would arise in my body, and how my body reacted to these feelings (stress, anxiety, anger), I began the practice of yoga and meditation. Within these practices, I discovered the intense power of muscle relaxation through breathwork. As I practiced breathing "into my muscles", I began to sense the tightness and tension slowly dissipate. Then I began to use this same method with my skin. I started breathing "into my skin" and gradually became aware of sensations of tingling that became more intense I as breathed.

As I continued with this breathing practice, I sensed the anxiety in my body, and could see and feel my nerves beneath my skin as electrical circuits gone haywire. My skin, my nerves and my mind were working together—I had found the practice that would cure me!

The most effective method to interrupt a conditioned reaction—stress, anxiety, anger—is breathing. It is truly that simple. Using the breath to connect the mind, the heart, and the body is the simplest, most effective and most readily available method of changing our lives.

If you would like to learn more, please visit: http://www.snapoutofitnow.com/products.html
And, check out my new audio CD courses:

1. How to Breathe Your Way Through Stress, Anxiety, and Anger
2. Unlock Your Potential: Become the Person You Were Meant to BE!

Where the Mind is Without Fear

2005-11-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine sent me the following poem written by Rabindranath Tagore who is a nobel peace prize winner for literature in 1913, and is from India. He is also the person that gave Gandhi the name "Mahatma" which means "blessed one."

Where The Mind is Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

2005-11-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

This morning I awoke very earlier and my heart was filled with great joy and deep gratitude that my life's journey has allowed me to discover a path of work that feels congruent with my deepest sense of self.

But...it wasn't always like that. For so many years of my life I was consumed with fear--fear of not finding my purpose in life and fear of not finding a way to contribute.

David Whyte, in his book Crossing the Unknown Sea, writes "...to feel that what we do is right for ourselves and good for the world at exactly the same time is one of the great triumphs of human existence."

I offer the following poem by David Whyte that I feel speaks so beautifully to the desire to find work that we love and which will also contribute to our world.

But still, on the ocean, there is
no path

only the needle's trembling dance
north

...followed
without fear,

though the dance now is fear
and calmness
in one movement

seeing

as you look
not only the angry sea
of what you
have denied

but
here,
near at hand,
in the center
of your body

the rose-fire
of the compass
blossoming
with direction.

Snapping Out of Negative Self-Talk!

2005-11-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from a spiritual journey in India. One of the most valuable and nurturing experiences I had while in India was my stay at the Kumarakom Lake Resort--where I was exposed to the science of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a way of life, "totally binding, yet absolutely liberating. It is a total surrender to nature and at the heart of Ayurvedic philosophy is the belief that the human body is a microcosm of the Universe."

In all cultures there is an awareness that the mind and the body are separate, and an attempt in the culture to find a way to integrate the mind with the body. In our culture we have just begun to find a way to integrate the mind and the body and have no indigenous process, as we are a melting pot. We have begun to set up a patchwork of Eastern philosophy and Native American philosophy as a way of integrating the two. Yoga, meditation, drumming rituals, Goddess Gatherings, etc. are all ways to begin integrating the mind and the body.

As I traveled throughout India, I could feel—in the food, in the smells, in the people, and in the temples—an ongoing process of integrating the mind and the body. The Snap Out of It NOW! Method acknowledges the body and the importance of breathing with the body. Negative self-talk takes place within our conditioned mind and as we engage in it we are separating from the body, and essentially from the experience of ourselves. I believe that the indigenous process present in all of us within the melting pot is the breath. The magic we seek lies hidden within what we already have!

I have created two audio CD courses that are designed to integrate the mind and the body, they are:

1. How to Breathe Your Way through Stress, Anxiety and Anger. This course guides listeners through a unique process to reduce stress, feelings of overwhelm and anxiety in 30 minutes. It features a breathwork guide and calming, meditative music.

2. Unlock Your Potential: Become the Person You Were Meant to Be!, teaches anyone how to SNAP OUT of the negative and conditioned thinking that keeps you from realizing your full potential and living your dream.

To learn more, visit: www.SnapOutOfItNOW.com/products.html

Dr. Adrianne's Journey to India

2005-10-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

We all think that when we go on vacation our negative self-talk will disappear. It does become less as we are focusing on our immediate experiences which often are different from those in our day-to-day lives, but we still have a nagging feeling that the negative self-talk is still there. We continue to judge ourselves and others in the same way, we compare ourselves to others and find ourselves wanting, or, on the other hand, we find “others” wanting.

At these times in order to SNAP out of it, we need to:

1. Acknowledge our negative thinking
2. Become aware of our breath
3. Shift attention to inside the body and breathe to the feeling that arises.
4. Experience ourselves in the present moment—the world is so much larger than our thinking mind can take in.

I feel that often we miss the gift of Snapping out of our negative self-talk because we say, “I’m on this trip/vacation and shouldn’t be having any other feeling then happiness and joy that I’m on vacation.” When we deny the negative thinking, it simply persists subconsciously. The gift is that no matter when the negative self-talk arises we can use the Snap Out of It NOW! method to reconnect us to ourselves and what we are experiencing. We often return from a trip realizing we could have been more focused when we are inside a temple or visiting a ruin. The Snap out of it NOW! method conditions us to breathe with what we are experiencing, allowing us to be more focused in any one moment, and we experience the true essence of the temple or ruin.

I will be traveling in India during the first 2 weeks of November, and as always I will practice snapping out of my thinking mind, and reconnecting with what I am feeling in my body, whether that be feelings of joy, inspiration, anger or sadness. This practice allows me to stay connected with myself, others, with each experience I encounter, and with God.

This will be my first trip to that part of the world and I want to share my itinerary.

Itinerary of India Trip:

Day 1, Oct 31, Monday
Arrive into Chennai

Day 2, Nov 01, Tuesday
Madurai. Visit the Meenakshi Temple.

Day 3, Nov 02, Wednesday & Day 4, Nov 03, Thursday
Individual appointment with the naadi readers & visit the bronze icon makers.

Day 5, Nov 04, Friday
Naadi readings.

Day 6, Nov 05, Saturday
Cochin to Kumarakom.

Day 7, Nov 06, Sunday & Day 8, Nov 07, Monday
Sight seeing, boat cruise, ayurvedic massages.

Day 9, Nov 08, Tuesday
After breakfast depart to Cochin, sight seeing. Visit to Jew Town.

Day 10, Nov 09, Wednesday
Mumbai; Jaipur.

Day 11, Nov 10, Thursday
Elephant safari to Jalgarh Fort. Afternoon bazaar walk, rickshaw ride.

Day 12, Nov 11, Friday
Morning excursion to Samode. Camel ride, lunch at Samode Bagh.

Day 13, Nov 12, Saturday
After break fast drive to Fatehpur Sikri. Drive to Agra. Evening visit to Taj Mahal.

Day 14, Nov 13, Sunday
Early morning visit to Taj Mahal, visit Agra Fort

Day 15, Nov 14, Monday
Morning visit Old Delhi. Afternoon visit Humayun's Tomb.

REFLECTING

2005-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Today, I found myself in a quiet space. I have been working so hard over the past several months building my platform so that a good publisher will find me and my book, SNAP Out of It NOW! worthy of taking on, and next week I am headed to India for a spiritual retreat.

In this quiet space, I began to reflect on the last several months and a recent comment another author made to me about getting her book out there—“I don’t want to be ‘pushy,’ so I don’t tell people about my book.” Well, I imagine that some might say that my efforts to build my platform have gone way beyond “pushy.” Some may even say that what was once a spiritual journey has become a marketing endeavor.

Let me share with you what I feeling right now. As I am breathing with the feeling sensation within me I feel congruent—I feel I am traveling my OWN path!

Respite from Negative Self-Talk

2005-10-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

I want to share with you some inspiring ways I have found that provide respite from negative self-talk.

The Spiritual Cinema Circle (www.spiritualcinemacircle.com) offers inspirational films (DVDs) each month to its members that you will be unlikely to see anywhere else. I love what Gary Zukav's says, "I love movies, but the movies I get from the Spiritual Cinema Circle love me." Parabola Magazine (www.parabola.org) provides mythological and spiritual articles with messages that reach deep into our souls.

When we are inspired we rarely breathe to the feeling sensation of inspiration within our body. By breathing to this feeling sensation we are truly present with the wholeness of our experience. We are in the moment where negative self-talk does not exist!

This picture was taken on the 1st annual Spiritual Cinema Circle Festival-at-Sea Cruise in May. I was asked by Joe Kulin, publisher of Parabola Magazine (on the right) to present a commentary on the film, In the Hands of Alchemy, the remarkable spiritual journey of Jerry Wennstom. Stephen Simon, (on the left of me) is the co-founder of The Spiritual Cinema Circle.

This commentary is offered in this month's issue of my newsletter, Journal Windansea:
http://adrianneahern.com/journal_windansea/september_2005.html

On the links page of my website (www.adrianneahern.com) you will find links to The Spiritual Cinema Circle, Parabola Magazine, and Jerry Wennstrom's website.

And, for those of you working in Corporate America, my friend Bernadette Doran's consulting firm Industrial Strength Soul (www.industrialstrengthsoul.com) provides leadership support services for new corporate America, incuding onsite stress management and wellness workshops based in mind-body science. For more information, contact Bernadette Doran at (708) 383 2288, or send her an email at bdoran@industrialstrengthsoul.com.

Witnessing the Diaspora

2005-10-17T15:23:00.000-07:00

This Blog will continue to witness what is occurring with the Diaspora, as well as post articles that speak directly to the problems individuals face in breaking free of negative self-talk.

The immediate solutions to working with those that have been displaced from their homes often dehumanize the individuals, which results in these individuals disconnecting from themselves, from others, and from God.

The mobile home solution has not provided for community or connectedness. There are no trees, no grass, bushes, flowers, or even communal gardens in these mobile home parks. This housing-solution for the classless has led to the development of gangs, and always the poorest prey upon each other. The time must come that we, private citizen’s, provide habitats for the underclass—the untouchables. The negative self-talk of the government—that they should help themselves—is a call to all of us to help.

The Challenge of the Diaspora

2005-10-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

It is NOW very clear that many of the evacuees will have a difficult time returning to their homes. They will also have a difficult time integrating into the communities to which they have been sent. This Diaspora, which we have seen many times in the history of the world has resulted in a feeling of having no place to call “home.”

The misery is great for the people who cannot return to their own home. This is so overwhelming that we must not abandon our efforts to find a way to deal with this Diaspora.

The first step is to acknowledge that Katrina and Rita have created a Diaspora.

The second step is to maintain awareness of this Diaspora and witness. We have the ability and compassion to work with this Diaspora.

The third step is to break free from the negative self-talk that immobilizes us. We CAN break free from the conditioned mind.

The Untouchables

2005-09-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

The New Yorker, some months ago (I will find the issue), had a cartoon of a homeless person dressed in rags sitting with a sign over their alms bowl. The sign read, "Hugs please!"

Katrina and now Rita have clearly exposed our class society and the compassion of the majority of the American people, even as they struggle with their negative self talk. The communities in which the evacuees are now living are struggling with acknowledging their biases (negative thinking), which is a result of their conditioning..

I believe they truly want to find a way to embrace everyone.

I believe that one day we will all give hugs to the “untouchables.”

Wynton Marsalis Digs Deep Beneath the Flood

2005-09-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

Katrina has contributed to a better understanding of how we are conditioned. Wynton Marsalis, the incredible jazz trumpeter and artistic director of New York City Jazz at Lincoln Center, was born and raised in New Orleans. He writes in "Saving America's Soul Kitchen" (Time Magazine, Sept. 19, 2005), “ let us assess the size of this cataclysm in cultural terms, not in dollars and cents or politics. Americans are far less successful at doing that because we have never understood how our core beliefs are manifest in

our culture and how culture should guide political and economic realities."

Racism is a part of our culture and until we understand and acknowledge own biased core beliefs they will continue to unconsciously determine our behaviors.

Wynton Marsalis hits it on the head, “Forget about tolerance, what about embracing it (racism).” I agree with him—as it is important for each of us, all people of color, to acknowledge our own racist/biased core beliefs, embrace them, and experience how these beliefs feel within us. This is conscious awareness!

“This tragedy implores us to reexamine the soul of America. Our democracy from its very beginnings has been challenged by the shackles of slavery.” We have all been living in the prison of our core conditioned beliefs. Wynton Marsalis ends his essay by saying, “not resolving the nations issues of race and class has and will cost us so much more money.”

Again, I agree with him and I would like to end by saying, we are in a spiritual crisis and that we mustn’t let “a wall of illusion thicker than the new levees” continue to block us from healing.

Part 3: A Natural Disaster Has Created a Human Disaster!

2005-09-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Katrina has not only resulted in a major catastrophe, but also has exposed how our social programming has resulted in the poorly integrated response of the local, state, and federal governments. Individual heroes have risen and the social programming of these individuals has led to innovative approaches to crisis management. That not one leader arose to deal with the whole crisis is a result of this social programming. We are conditioned to respond to a chain of command, but by the time one gets through the chain of command…everything is lost.

The negative self-talk—blame and looking for a scapegoat—prevents real change from occurring. For example, I believe the government needs to leave the concept of “big” or “little” government, and tackle the crisis with real discussion of what is needed.

I had proposed, on a citizen level, that we begin to set up women mentors for those women (who usually head the household) so that they could share ideas and not be isolated. There has been good response. And interesting response (when women begin to take the initiative) from someone asking, “Why just women? Don't men feel disconnected too?” I agree, but as men are usually conditioned not to listen to woman, I suggest that some man come forth to set up mentors for men.

Heifer Foundation (www.heifer.org) has come to the realization that they must put more emphasis on women, as the women often carry the whole burden. Heifer is asking for donations because the small farms have been destroyed in the wake of Katrina.

Breaking Free of Your Negative Self Talk Today!

2005-09-15T11:15:00.000-07:00

How you experience yourself, others, and life itself is being determined by your Conditioning—the unconscious cycles of thought, judgment, and expectation or more commonly known as negative self talk that chatters constantly inside your head. I KNOW you all want to stop the chatter! And, I’ll bet that many of you reading this have tried different ways of stopping it, letting go of it, or even replacing the chatter with positive thinking. The difficulty with these attempts results from the fact that the thinking mind is conditioned—this “chatter” has been conditioned, and therefore it occurs automatically and unconsciously.

We have lost control—the chatter now controls us and at many times we are the “CHATTER!” We are so identified with it that we have become it—e.g., “oh, there I go again, saying something totally unrelated to what they were talking about…they must think I’m an idiot…I am an idiot …why can’t I just listen instead of interrupting before I even know what the subject is…they will never invite me back again…I’m such a loser… no wonder I have no friends….” The irony is that sooner or later we discover that this is the same chatter that exists within our parent’s head. If we took the time to become aware of this chatter (our negative self talk) we would be able to identify our mother’s voice or our father’s or our grandparents’ voices – the voices, as poet Mary Oliver says, “that keep shouting their bad advice!”

Becoming aware of your breath is the key to BREAKING FREE of your negative self talk TODAY!

What you need is a SNAP NOW! Moment:

Okay, right now…stop, look, and listen to what you are thinking. Become aware of the chatter in your head—the complaining, the judging, and/or the doubting of yourself. This negative self talk has been conditioned, or programmed if you will, into our mind and you have identified with it.

SNAP NOW!

ACKNOWLEDGE this mind-chatter. Don’t try to change it, just notice it.
STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN to what is happening within your body as the mind chatters—what feeling sensation is present and where is the feeling sensation?
BREATHE to the feeling sensation in your body. Become aware of your breathing and follow your breath into the body where this sensation is. As you do this you have already shifted out of the mind-chatter and you experience the feeling inside of you. As you sense the feeling and experience the feeling the negative self talk ceases.

With practice you will experience the power of your breath to break free of your negative self talk and to reconnect you with the present moment—the NOW!

Part 2: A Natural Disaster Has Created a Human Disaster!

2005-09-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

We know from studies done on the victims of the Jonestown Flood (1889), that people who are uprooted from their homes and have to move to new locations without the possibility of returning, will find it very difficult to feel connected with themselves, their family, and their new location. Even those who are able to return "home" will find it difficult to feel any real connection with thier "home." And, following the 9/11 tragedy, people living near the Twin Towers who were uprooted have had difficulty being connected with their new "homes."

I am interested in building a network of women who will offer themselves as mentors to the uprooted women and families of Hurricane Katrina. I am hopeful that women in our country, women in the Sudan, women in Afganistan, women in Iraq, and women all over the world will come forth to be mentors of reconnection.

Please contact me at adrianneahern@gmail.com

Part 1: A Natural Disaster Has Created a Human Disaster!

2005-09-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

With the disaster and human suffering going on presently in Louisianna, Alabama and Mississippi, and with the pain being felt in our country and the world, I am finding it difficult not to be consumed by negative self-talk. In the mammoth aftermath of Hurricane Katrina... mother's are separated from their pre-mature babies, families cannot find each other, neighbors cannot find each other, people are dying of starvation and dehydration, and the fabric of connectedness has been devastated and even destroyed.

Our connections with the ones we love and a feeling of being connected to those who are suffering is made possible only through our connection to ourselves. When we are consumed by our negative self talk we have disconnected from ourselves and as a result we are less able to truly feel empathy toward the ones suffering the most in this tragedy.

SNAP OUT of your negative self talk and connect with your suffering:

Stop - Look--acknowledge your negative thinking.
Listen--become aware of your breathing.
Breathe to the feeling sensation in the body--connect with yourself.

We think we must endure our suffering alone and that we must overcome it alone. We need mentors--we need woman to mentor and support those who are feeling disconnected from themselves, from their families, from the earth, and from God.

I will discuss an idea I have tomorrow. I welcome your thoughts.

Being in the Moment

2005-08-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

This morning I was practicing a talk in front of my handycam. When I watched the replay of my talk, I saw myself on tape messing up and then laughing at this "mess up." In this moment-- I was standing there laughing at myself while watching myself on camera laughing at myself, I thought, "I like myself!" And then, in this moment it occurred to me, "Wow, how far I have come. From the woman convinced I had no voice of worth, consumed by my own negative self-talk, comes a moment when I am free of the negative self-talk and able to laugh at the very thing that used to provoke self-doubt." It was here that I thought to myself, "I am in the moment, connected with myself, God, and the universe."

People say to me, "Can I have a moment of your time?" or "Give me a moment of your time." And, I try to listen and be present, but some of the time I find myself stuck in my conditioned thinking mind and in my self-talk, which happens often to be negative. When I am engaged in this self-talk I am not present and I am not in the moment.

I have always wondered, "What does it mean to be in the moment?" And, "How do I get myself to be in the moment?" The idea of "being present in the moment" became clear to me when I was visiting with a friend who has a mother with Alzheimers. She shared with me that rarely is there a time when her mother really connects with her on something they both can share. And then she told me that the other day her mother while taking a walk in the garden said, "look at the color of that rose. Isn't it beautiful." My friend said, "As each of us breathed in the scent of the rose, I realized that my mother and I were in the moment, nothing else existed as we both shared the experience of the rose."

Being in the moment is to experience oneself...feeling joy, happiness, sadness and feeling connected to oneself and to another. This is what it means for me to be in the moment. When I want to experience the present moment, I become aware of myself breathing...I listen to my breathing. How wonderful to have a tool--listening to the breath--that will allow us to be free of negative self-talk if even just for a moment!

Practice this when you are with a rose, when you are with your parent, and when you are with your child who is talking with you.

Day to Day Spirituality

2005-08-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

In our day to day life, we have many opportunities to experience our spirituality--the connectedness to ourselves, to others, and the mystery of life. When there is a threat to our spirituality, such as what has occurred today in London, we become fearful, angry, and filled with dispair.
It's at this time when a disaster occurs that we breathe to the feeling sensation within ourselves so as to experience the wholeness of ourselves, staying connected with ourselves, and therefore connecting with all sentient beings and the mystery of life. I feel strongly that by doing this, eventually there will be peace--as it begins within each one of us.

The Truth of the Universe

2005-08-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Story has been used to create a greater truth, and continue the sharing of myths that are very rare in our externally oriented society. There are no more gurus, the guru lives within each one of us. Let me share a story with you,

which I hope will become a myth some day.

An Eastern myth tells how a group of gods had a meeting to decide where to hide the “truth of the universe” from humanity. The first god suggests concealing it under the ocean, but the others shout him down, saying that people will build an underwater boat to take them there. A second god suggests hiding it in the heavens, on a planet far from earth; but the other gods realize that a craft might be built to reach this destination also. Finally, a third god suggests that they hang the truth around the neck of every human being. The other gods agree that people will never look in this most obvious place for the truth. And so they all do exactly as the third god has suggested.

We are not aware that our awareness is conditioned, and therefore we live with a conditioned mind that produces ongoing negative self-talk, doubting, and the inability to look inside ourselves. Our conditioned mind forces us to look outside of ourselves for the answers that lie within. When we look to the world for the restoration of our peace of mind, or to tell us how to live, we may never find the truth we seek, because the truth we seek is within us.

When we connect with ourselves in our body we connect with all those we love and with God, the Universe, and the Mystery. This is when we become a Human Being.

What Peace Really Looks Like

2005-07-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me an email entitled, "What peace really looks like," with this picture attached.

And, then another friend wrote...
"If only people could understand that none of us is any better than another -- and that love and grace are the only way."

Creating a Network of Ideas

2005-07-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

At this time when individually our basic concepts of love, caring, and nurturing are being attacked, it is important that we all share our ideas so that we do not loose sight of our compassion, our spirituality, and our belief in the mystery. It is my hope that these ideas will multiply so that all the ideas of hatred and bigotry will transform. It is up to each one of us to share our ideas by snail mail, email, phone, and in our prayers.

I want to share with you some of the responses I have received from my entry yesterday—Day to Day Spirituality. The first is from my mother—thank God for moms!

• Thank you for this, darling. I really did breathe with
the sensations of pain and sorrow I felt as I saw the
people of London in the immediate aftermath of their
desperate experience, and what I found myself
experiencing was a strong affinity with them and love
for them, a "brotherhood of man" feeling. By the way,
not to be too much like Granny but despair is spelt
with an "e"! I love you, Mom.

• I always appreciate your insight at moments such as these. I have been
breathing all day and can only tell you that my heart is filled with sorrow for the families that have been touched.

• Thank you for your message. I indeed feel it starts with peace within myself. Thank you for the reminder!

• Thank you so very much for sharing!!!

• AMEN "A" !!!! THANK YOU, with loving thoughts

• And, in response to “eventually there will be peace--as it begins within each one of us,” I received the following: Yah – in which lifetime will this occur?!?
Thanks for these Pearls of Wisdom…thoughts to ease the pain of these cowardly acts! May God bring peace, tolerance and LOVE to the hatred hearts of these misguided malcontents!!

• I watched The Matrix yesterday with my son, who is here visiting (boy am I glad he's not at Cambridge today!). I think of the Mr. Smiths as the self-reproducing conditioning you describe. With each film they proflierate and get more vicious. Too bad Neo didn't have the breath work you offer! Sometimes it seems endless, and perhaps it is until we're free. So, back to the breath (pant, pant). Hope all is well with you. I appreciate what you are doing.

Connectedness

2005-06-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

The theme of Journal Windansea has been to connect with ourselves and to discover the immense gifts we have for ourselves and for others. To connect with ourselves is to connect with our body. Our body is where emotions are expressed–fear, frustration, helplessness, hopelessness, and anger. Our body is also where the feelings of joy, happiness, contentment, fulfillment and love are expressed.

We rarely fully experience the feelings within our body. The feeling is expressed as a physical sensation arises in our body and then we react to the feeling, and we call this reaction our experience. The moment we engage a reaction, by retreating to our thinking minds to find excuses or rationalizations or accusations, we are disconnecting from our bodies and no longer in touch with what we feel.

When we acknowledge the feeling of love, happiness, sadness, or joy, and then we breathe with the feeling and experience it–we will find that we are more able to express these feelings within ourselves and to others. How often do we breathe to the feelings of love, joy, and happiness?

When we acknowledge the feeling of doubt, fear, impatience, frustration, jealousy, or anger, and then we breathe with the feeling and experience it–we will notice that a few moments of experiencing these feelings within our body will allow the feeling to dissipate.

I feel we are at a crucial time in our experience of being human. We have become more disconnected from ourselves, and as a consequence we are further away from truly being able to connect with others. Do we even know what it is we feel, want, and need? Can we be quiet for a few moments? Can we be silent in the presence of others?

As we acknowledge and experience the feelings in our body, using the breath, we become aware of the way feelings are expressed within our body. We discover we are able to experience all of ourselves–feelings of fear, anger, jealousy, self-hatred, joy, happiness, and love–and we discover we are capable of choosing how we will respond to the feelings experienced within our body.

When we breathe to the feeling sensations in our body we are fully experiencing our feelings and we are connecting with ourselves, which allows us to connect with others and%2