A New Year Wish for You

I was thinking I might write something inspirational about the new year, about leaving the old behind because focusing on the past is a waste of time, and about being more present in the present because focusing on the unknown future is also a waste of time.

Now, notice I did not say planning for the future is a waste of time, but focusing on the unknown future is a waste of time, because when we focus on the future, usually that means we are worrying about it. Planning for the future, on the other hand is what this message is all about.

Each of us has an opportunity every day to make ourselves, and our lives anew. For the new year, I like to clean out the old ( I made a trip to the thrift store this last week, the car full of boxes of unused clothes, dusty books, and brick-brack that has lost it’s meaning), and make room for the new. I also like to think about how I can improve myself, with the thought in mind that if I can improve on me, then everything around me will get caught up in that new and improved “vibe”, and my life will change for the better. I think I could improve on me by spending a little more time exercising, and making a commitment to meditate 10 minutes ( or more) each day. These two changes are simple and very do-able. I've already started.

That is something that I think we all may be thinking about this new year- changing our lives for the better. It’s been a tough year for a lot of people, and ignoring that fact is like tip toeing around the elephant in the room. We can’t change what has happened to the economy, the housing market, stocks and our savings. We can’t get back the lost jobs, and we can’t ignore the fact that it’s been a challenging year. We probably all know someone who has been affected by the events in the past year.

So for the new year, I hope that we can all let go of the past, look to the future and know that change is inevitable, and that change, although challenging and even frightening at times, means that there is the possibility for something new, unexpected and really good to happen.

While I was pondering this new year message, This e-mail came from James Ray international, a motivation organization. I think it outlines some great steps for anyone thinking about how to improve their lives for the New Year. I wanted to share it with you. I pondered each step outlined by Mr. Ray, thinking about how it related to me, my life as it has been and how a change, based on some of these suggestions could effect my life in the future. I think it's really helpful, and I hope you to do.

I'm wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year, full of life affirming change that takes you to the place in your life that you really want to be! Peace, -Meandering


James Arthur Ray
President/CEO
James Ray International

Ten Tips for Thriving in This Economic Winter

Many of you have read and commented on our recent conversation about how it's a season to sow, how there's so much fear in our world right now and how it's related to some of the universal laws that modern society has forgotten.

Well, you asked for some quick, easy-to-apply tips on how to thrive in this economic winter and on how to apply the knowledge you learned during our conversation... So here you go!

1. Clearly define what inspires you.
   There's a big difference between taking action out of inspiration versus desperation. Use this season as an opportunity to hibernate into the recesses of your own mind and define what you choose to create in your next spring.
2. Control your focus.
   Energy flows where attention goes. Are you focusing on lack or opportunity?
3. Feed your mind.
   What's your constant mental diet? Do you spend hours in front of the scare news or are you reading good books, attending more positive seminars, watching uplifting DVDs and listening to powerful CDs?
4. Strengthen your body.
   Your physical health and vitality have a tremendous impact on your performance as well as your mental and emotional fitness. Exercise releases stress as well as strengthen your body and mind.
5. Inventory your friends.
   Doom and gloom attracts more doom and gloom. Jettison those "energy vampires" around you and surround yourself with opportunity seekers.
6. Quiet your mind.
   Take time to meditate daily and to slow down if only for a few minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes of meditation will relieve hours of stress and increase creativity and resourcefulness.
7. Rid your life of escapist activities.
   Overindulgence in TV, sleep and alcohol only accelerate the problems you're attempting to avoid.
8. Make a daily gratitude list.
   Focusing on all the good, gifts and God in your life puts you in the right line of thought, feeling and their subsequent actions, which will attract and create more good, gifts and God.
9. Change your attitude.
   Realize that everything that's happened in your life thus far is here to serve you, teach you and help you grow. Find the lessons in your past results, forgive yourself for anything you could have done better and apply the lesson to move forward and create a better future.
10. Get resourceful.
    For the next three days, go to a place where you can have uninterrupted time... Come up with 20 new ideas to grow your income, create new results and improve your life. You cannot leave your spot until you have twenty. And no editing! All ideas are good ideas. Do this for three successive days with 20 new ideas each day.
    
    Now take your list of 60 unique ideas and pick the three to five most powerful and leveraged ones to put into action. Pick these three to five based on: ease of implementation, rate of return and speed of return.

And so during this winter season, remember: It's not about resources... there are plenty of them. It's about resourcefulness. Get resourceful and get busy.

To your continued wealth and happiness,

James Arthur Ray
President/CEO
James Ray International

One of my regular readers sent me this account of her chance encounter with abject terror- it's a warning really, to all of us, that Christmas shopping can be damaging to your mental health and a trip to the toy store can, at times, lead to irreversible psychological and emotional damage. Thank You Jane for sharing this!

Ah yes- the Christmas season is upon us and so I

forced myself to go shopping (which I truly hate).

First stop-one of those very popular everything stores.

Having really only 1 young person to shop for I decided to

hit the toy isle first and get that chore out of the way.

I mindlessly wandered up and down the isles looking at all

of the "stuff" they didn't have when I was a kid. Transformers,

those ugly Brat dolls, kids learning computers, all kinds of jewelry

making kits(cool) and than the Barbies-Oh my God! What the heck

is it? The Birds Barbie! Have you seen it? Do you remember when

you were finally old enough to watch that movie for the first time?

Who the heck thought a woman being pecked by birds was a good idea for a doll? I can remember cowering on the couch with my siblings-big pillows on our laps to hide in- watching that movie when I was young-maybe around 8 or 9- and it scared the crap out of me! Yep, that's something I want to remember with a special collector doll. It totally freaked me out and I just wanted to run out of the store screaming!!!

Oh- wait- I'm all grown up now and the birds don't really do that-YET!

For more on this "collectible" Barbie go to http://www.barbiecollector.com/

Don't say I didn't warn you-it's eerie!

While you are on the Barbie website check out the mean witch from the

Wizard of OZ- just goes to show-every one can be beautiful-if you are Barbie.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Have you ever seen anything so frightening? Thank you Jane. Now I'm going to have nightmares too.

Happy Holidays, Meandering

Woo Hoo!

We had one extra minute of daylight today!
Woo Hoo- we are on the flip side baby, spinning back to the sun and longer days! Woo Hoo! Sunlight rules!

Meander with Me a While, and Leave Your Good Ideas in the Comment Section.

Amidst all this holiday fa-la-la-ing, I’ve been meandering around the current issue of putting people back to work. I think Obama and Joe have some good ideas, and, as a patriotic and concerned citizen I have a few more ideas for them that they can have- no charge.

First, lets make it a rule that if your corporate headquarters is in the USofA, your call center must be as well. Now I think that would put a lot of people to work, and you and I would have the customer service advantage of actually being able to understand the English that our call center representative is using to talk to us a mile a minute. Now, I know regional accents can be a bit confusing at times but hey- I would much rather try to decipher a deep south “can I help you” than a English as a second language learned in a 6 week course ‘can I help you”. I have more patience when I know the call center is supporting the economy of our great nation, and I always love finding out the person is somewhere across the country and asking how the weather is there, and where is a good place to eat if I ever happen to be in their town.

While we are at it, making rules that is- lets say that if your corporate phone menu has more than two selections you must have operators answering the incoming calls and directing people to the correct extension. This would make all our lives much easier and probably save millions of dollars in lost work time as we all know we are making those calls that take 17 different menu selections and 54 minutes to complete on work time.

Why don’t we outlaw those noisy gas guzzling riding mowers, leaf blowers and weed whackers? Make yard work a teen age occupation once again. We would save gas, reduce noise pollution, and get teenagers off their lazy butts and away from the computer long enough to make a little cash for that next game they want. In the process they might loose a few pounds and teen obesity would be reduced as well as health care costs, as many overweight teens become overweight adults with diabetes and heart disease which the cost of medicating put a drain on our health care system. What if someone –like an elderly person on a fixed income- can’t afford to pay a teen? Well, put those welfare recipients, the ones who can’t get a job because they don’t have skills, to work doing yard work for those on a fixed income. Anyone can learn how to mow a yard or wack a weed. Make it mandatory for any able bodied person who is now collecting welfare.

While we are on the subject of welfare- why not make being a stay at home parent an occupation paid for by the government? That’s what welfare is you say? Well, let’s change it a bit- lets say one parent can stay home and get a salary, which is fixed- regardless of the number of children in the family. That might just be incentive for people to stop having so many kids they can’t take care of. Think about it- You only get so much a year. If you only have one kid, there will be a lot more to spend on the really important things- like booze, cigarettes, tattoos and those really fine rims for your shag mobile. Then, make counseling mandatory for any parent in the program, that would put a lot of people to work doing the counseling ( not to mention doing the accounting and paperwork for the program) and the parents would have an opportunity to learn to parent. We could also give them job training starting when ever they want, or if they don’t want- when the child is 16. That would give them two years to learn a skill and get a job before the gravy train stops running.

This program would also be an advantage for those single parent families where the parent is barely making enough to cover child care so they can go to work. Let them get paid to stay at home and be a parent to their child. Give the low pay- hundred hour a week job to someone who does not have a child at home that they are trying very hard to raise right.

If we can spend billions putting our troops overseas, why can’t we spend some money funding after school care centers in every neighborhood in the US? That would put a lot of people to work, taking care of all those kids who live in homes where both parents work. The cost could be subsidized, parents who could pay, and make it very reasonably priced, something could. Those who can’t- don’t.

Speaking of our troops- why don’t we bring them home and put them along our boarders where they belong? Now, I know, there is not much for them to do along the boarders, but they could be developing new green technology, helping in poor neighborhoods- kinda like a peace corps. This would give the military a new meaning, defending America and strengthening our country at the same time it did wonders for boarder town economies. Now don’t get me wrong- I do think they could still do their military exercises and be prepared for what ever it is they prepare for.

I do love the space program, but at this point, I think it’s time to cut a lot of the funding and get all those NASA eggheads into the high schools to develop world class science programs for our young people. I figure if they can put a man on the moon they can probably figure out a way to make science attractive to teenagers and before long the USofA would be tops again in science and technology training. The NASA eggheads would design the programs, and train many more science teachers to do the teaching. We could give schools incentives to spend as much on their science programs as they do on their sports programs. While we are at it, let’s get new built in the USA computers into every school and the IT instructors to go with them.

Why don’t we subsidize salaries for people who work with the elderly, the disabled and kids? Where would we get the money? Why don’t we cut all those tax breaks to big corporations who really should be paying the taxes because they are making all that money! Make jobs that require you to take care of another human important, and make them pay well. We would have more people going into the fields and eventually, enough workers to really fill the needs of our most vulnerable populations. The fact that jobs in these professions are low pay, high turnover is a disgrace to our nation.

Now, at this point you are probably thinking- boy that Meandering sure has some good solid ideas for putting people to work. We should vote for her next time. Now, stay with me because I’m gonna get a little out there on you, but I think, when I’m finished you will still be saying “good idea!” I have also been pondering how to make jobs and improve the health of our population at the same time. This is a little harder to do than just create jobs- however, I think it’s important because not only are a lot of people out of work, our great country can boast the poorest health and the most spent on health care of any developed nation. We really have to turn this around.

How about we learn something from China, where it has been scientifically proven that a population that does Tai Chi on a regular basis is healthier and spends less on health care. They actually have schools to train Tai Chi instructors, and then they place them in neighborhoods to lead regular exercise for the population. It’s considered a great job, and the exercise classes are so popular, there are millions of people doing Tai Chi everyday. I think we should do the same thing.

A scientific study on meditation done in Washington DC showed that crime rates went down in the DC area when they had round the clock meditation practitioners sending out “the vibe” – no, I’m not kidding. We could make meditation a good paying job and set up centers in all the big cities. Keep the vibe going 24/7 and reduce crime rates while we created a lot of jobs.

And last but not least- It’s also been scientifically proven that grain fed beef ( what you typically buy and eat) has way more Omega 6 ( the bad kind) fatty acids than Omega 3 ( the good kind) fatty acids, and this translates to- eating omega 6 beef throws your omega fatty acid balance way off and causes your cholesterol to go way up and your body to be in a state of inflammation all the time which can lead to diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other serious health problems. However- cattle that eat grass have lots more omega 3’s than omega 6-es, just as the lord intended, and eating that kind of beef is not a health hazard. Now, most people will not give up the beef, but we could bring back free range cattle, and cowboys/cowgirls. Make cattle herding a great paying job, and require the beef industry to set the cattle free. Make it illegal to lot feed, and grain fatten beef, and get rid of the outdated and polluting methods of raising beef that we have now.

Now, I know this is a lot to digest all at once, and there is a lot to consider when you go about makin’ rules and cutting funding and adding funding and using public money and shuttling dollars from big business to care for the disabled. Once you’ve had a time to ponder all this, why don’t you leave a comment with your idea of how to improve the job situation in this country. Once all the suggestions are in, I will send this to the Obama-Biden transition team so they can ponder it too. Oh, yes, they will read it, they owe me one, I’m holding a “health care reform community discussion” for them in my town.

Once you are done putting in your two cents worth, get back to the fa-la-la-ing, ‘tis the season.

Get Your Christmas On

It’s time my friends, to nuzzle down into the comfort of holiday traditions.
We’ve got holidays galore this time of year, all you have to do is select your favorite and jump right in to the merry making.

It’s the dark time of the year, but the solstice, that pagan celebration of the renewal of the sun, is just weeks away.

For you science fans- The Earth's axis of rotation makes an angle of about 23.44° called the "obliquity of the ecliptic" (good name for a jazz band). As a consequence, for half the year the northern hemisphere tips to the Sun, with the maximum around June 21st, the longest day of the year, while for the other half year the northern hemisphere tips away from the sun, with the maximum around December 21st, the shortest day of the year. The two moments when the inclination of Earth's rotational axis has maximum effect are the solstices.

The longest night of the year gives way to the earth tipping back to the warmth and light of summer, and that is the best reason to celebrate as far as I can tell.

However, you might be thinking that Christmas is what makes this time of year special, a babe born on a cold winter night, a babe huddled in a manger with animals who spoke. Given gifts by three wise men who, wisely, brought essential oils of frankincense, and myrrh. Christians celebrate this miraculous birth of the symbol of their religion and the savior of so many souls.

More for you science fans- Actually, experts think Jesus was born in July, not December, and that the church moved his birthday to coincide with the solstice celebrations, hoping to distract the pagans and win them over. According to the scientific information above, in the southern hemisphere, in July, it would have been winter and cold as it gets in the desert. Meanwhile, Frankincense and Myrrh oils are both high is sesquiterpenes, chemicals that awaken the emotional centers of the brain, and increase immune system function-good idea for a baby born in a barn in the winter!

Maybe Christmas is special to you because you just love the folk tale of a fat guy in a red suit who trains reindeer to fly- (in Siberia it’s thought that a Shaman can turn into a flying reindeer to journey to the spirit world- think there is some connection?) and brings toys to all the good girls and boys. Maybe the attraction is everything that goes with the folk tale- decorations, lights, trees, tinsel, music, parties. Or maybe the attraction is the candy, cookies, fudge, pies, fruit cakes, strudel, eggnog, and other seasonal ways to add weight. Maybe the rampant commercialism that marks the season in an over developed country like ours is right up your alley. What ever the draw, the season is here.

Let us not forget that not every one in the world is either pagan or Christian. There are other holidays we can choose from and acknowledge at this time of year, such as the festival of lights known as Hanukkah, central to the Jewish faith, and Kwanzaa, the celebration of African American history and culture. There is also Boxing Day - celebrated in countries once ruled by Britain. The roots of this holiday go back to the Middle Ages, when, on the day after Christmas, members of the merchant class would take boxes, fill them with food and fruits, and give them to servants, trades people and the less fortunate. Servants would be given a day off to celebrate after presumably working 24/7 for the past month to prepare for Christmas in the master’s house.

It seems there is a holiday for everyone, and all you have to do is get in the mood.

Now my scientific survey of random shoppers indicates there are a few souls out there that just haven’t found the Christmas spirit yet. ( translation- nasty bugger of an old lady cussing under her breath at the check out counter a few days ago telling me about “the damn season anyway- buy, buy, buy, that’s all people thinks about these days.”)

So, if you have worries that are making it hard to be in the “festival zone” for the holidays, if your troubles are overwhelming- if you have to much stress at work/home/school/with relatives/finances/kids/pets/that damn car/ what ever- let me help you with this guide to getting your Christmas on.

There are numerous ways to find your Christmas spirit, if it happens to be missing. Let’s look at a few of them-

What says holiday like an evening cuddled up in front of the TV watching Bing and Danny get the girls? Full of memorable music, and one of my favorite choreographed scenes – (Bing and Danny changing clothes after the “sisters” show, while they have a little heart to heart talk. I wonder how many times they went through that complicated routine before it was looking like they didn’t have to think about it?), White Christmas is a classic, along with Love Actually, Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, and - insert your favorite holiday movie title here. There are so many fine movies and TV specials to choose from- who can resist a re-run of A Charlie Brown Christmas (originally released Dec. 9th, 1965!) , or The Grinch Who Stole Christmas or - insert the name of your favorite holiday special here- . So gather up the snacks, preferably holiday-ish ones, a blank-ee, some DVD’s and hit the couch for some holiday down time with the TV.

The Holiday season would just not be complete with out the holiday music that engulfs us from early November right through the New Year. I don’t mind, I mean, quit complaining and lend your voice to the merriment and get into the music! Sing at the top of your lungs, all those songs you remember from high school choir. Hum along with the ones you don’t know- and get up and dance when the moment permits- like in the grocery store when you hear “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” start blaring from the store wide speakers. Nothing will elevate your mood, (nothing legal anyway), and put you in the spirit, like a bit of song and dance, and hey, it’s good exercise too!

Decorations are everywhere. In fact, I think the stores just run in with a paint brush after Halloween and paint all those pumpkins white and try to pass them off as snowmen. To get in a holiday mood, get ye a thermos of hot chocolate and pile in the car to cruse the ‘hood and take in all the decorations. I took a walk last night and sure enough, once around the block and an eye full of brightly lit Santas, snowmen, candy canes and holly wreaths left me feeling like I should turn on the tree lights and flick the switch for my own display of little twinklies on the porch. I passed many homes with multiple trees viewed through windows and wondered where they got enough spirit to decorate not one, but two trees! If your town has a major lights display, and the traffic is not too horrendous (our town does and the traffic is) you can cruse that rather than the neighborhood, that way, you are not likely to be taken for a criminal “casing the joint” to look for piles of presents to make your holiday bright.

What better way to get in the mood for a holiday than to cook up the delights of the season. Notice I say cook up, not eat up. This, my friends, is because it is better to give than receive, better to bake and give away than bake and eat. Unless of course you really want to be two sizes larger by March. So get out your favorite holiday goodie recipes and make a bunch of sweet stuff to pass off on your friends. Personally, I say to heck with the cookies, if we are going to make sweet stuff, lets cut out the white flour and add more sugar, so this year I’m making candy. And, in case that alone doesn’t give me that warm fuzzy holiday season feeling I decided to make rum balls and bourbon pralines, so I have to have a couple of bottles of booze in the house for the candy making. Now most of you have seen that recipe for fruit cake where the cook drinks the brandy and throws the egg beater out the window. That is where I got the idea for the boozy candy.

While the goodies are cooking, get out the check book and write a little something to your favorite charity. It doesn’t have to be a large sum, just a little something. Nothing says holiday mood like remembering those that are less fortunate than our selves. While you are at it, write out a holiday card to someone who is probably not going to get a card from anyone else. I bet if you look through your date book, address book or e-mail file you can zero in on someone whose holiday would be a lot brighter if just one card landed in their mailbox. If you still have something to give, that won’t put your own finances in a bind, head out to the mall and find the giving tree. Pick a card off the tree and go to it. This may be one of the most holiday mood manifesting rituals ever invented by humans. Giving a bunch of holiday joy to some child you don’t even know, can elevate your mood and affect their life deeply, in ways you will never even know. What could be more holiday-ee?

So go now, get your Christmas on- and have a happy holiday, which ever holiday you choose to celebrate!

Train Your Mind Change Your Brain

Here is the link to the Mind and Life Institute. The institute sponsors meetings each year with The Dalai Lama and the worlds top scientists. In the following post, I mention the book that was written about the 2004 meeting, Train Your Mind Change Your Brain.

http://www.mindandlife.org/

Your Brain in a Nutshell

On Tuesday November 18th I was musing on the idea of being able to catch non-productive or unhealthy thoughts as they arise and realize them for what they are and let them go. How do we do this is the question I posed. Well, I’ve been doing a little research on that very topic so I can enlighten you while you waste your boss’s time reading blogs and having that extra cup of coffee before you really get to work.

I picked up this fascinating book called “Train Your Mind Change Your Brain” by Sharon Begley (with a foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama). This book is touted as a “groundbreaking collaboration between neuroscience and Buddhism”. Before I go any further I should warn you that I think physics textbooks are entertaining. I also think scientific experiments are engaging. I love to learn how people learn about all kinds of interesting things.

I’m about half way through the book now, and it’s all about the ways that the brain can grow and change, even after your body is fully grown. It’s called brain plasticity, and it’s all the rage among neuroscientists, even though just a few years ago the concept of brain plasticity was laughed right out of all the best scientific journals. This is a good example of how narrow minded science can be, the people who are supposed to be discovering new things often don’t even want to talk about new things!

Previously it was thought that you are born with a bunch of brain cells, you grow a bunch more when you are a baby learning all kinds of new things, you start to loose brain cells when you become an adolescent (maybe they are transformed into excess hormones), and this loss continues through young adulthood (accelerated greatly by your choice of recreational chemicals), and speeds up as you age until you eventually die with a shriveled up brain the size of a walnut.

Now however, it has been proven that this is not true! No, science has traveled into the unknown to prove that you only loose all those brain cells if you don’t take care of them, nourish them and invite them to grow.

Now I’m not going to tell you the whole story, read the book if you want that, but I will tell you there are dozens of experiments detailed so the reader sees the progression of one theory to the next and the amazing discoveries that first led researchers to imagine the brain was actually adjusting its cells, functions and usage, based on the persons activities.

I will throw this little bit of information out at you: voluntary exercise on a regular basis makes your brain grow. Bad news for couch potatoes I know. And I say voluntary because the experiment looked at brains of mice who exercised for fun (turns out mice love to run on those little wheels you see in gerbil cages), and brains of mice who were forced to exercise ( picture a white coated lab tech holding a mouse at gun point and forcing it to lift weights) actually, that is not how they did it, I won’t go into the details, but bottom line, the voluntary mice grew to be much smarter.

Now skip ahead to the part on applications for humans and we find that people with obsessive compulsive disorders can be trained to watch their thoughts as the compulsions come and rationalize what these thoughts mean, and how they arise from a chemical imbalance rather than being an intrinsic part of the person and sure enough, after they practice for a while, the obsessive behavior patterns lessen and disappear.

So dear readers, this takes us right back where we started. When you are in a situation that causes thoughts of anger or anxiety to arise, if you try to look at the thoughts and analyze them before you react, your brain will actually learn from what you just did, add more brain function resources to repeating this task in the future, and make it easier for you to do this again.

See? You are not alone! Your brain is helping you! You can learn to think before you react. You can become the type of person who is able to react with compassion rather than anger. You can learn to put that wave of anxiety to bed and think calm healing thoughts even when the going is rough.

Now, I’m sure as I get further into that book I will learn lots of tid-bits about how the process is actually done, but for now, I will just share how I think it might be done.

Next time someone you know acts like an ass and you start to get mad- catch the mad feeling. Stop for a moment and ask yourself what am I feeling? Acknowledge your feelings, then ask yourself if you can imagine any reason that person might be acting like such an ass.

Maybe they had a worse day then the one you are having. Maybe someone they know died, or left them, or is in the hospital, or is missing. Maybe they got fired, divorced or a speeding ticket on the way to work. Maybe they are hungry, hung over or really mentally unstable. Maybe they are all kinds of bad things you can imagine.

Now, this does not excuse them, but it does give you an opportunity to say to yourself- I’m glad I’m not like that. I’m glad I don’t have any of those horrible imagined problems they have. I’m gonna shine that on. I’m not taking the bait. I feel sorry for that ass. They must be having way bigger problems than I have. (if nothing else they have a big problem because they are such an ass no one likes them), Than you can ignore their assy-ness, or ask them if they are OK, or maybe even ask if here is some way you can help them because they are obviously having a bad day.

The same steps can be used for anxiety. When you feel it coming on – Like the Obsessive Compulsion disorder patients,( which, by the way, OCD is an anxiety problem,) you can say to your self- I’m feeling anxiety. This situation is a real ass, but it won’t help for me to be an ass back. Let me just calm down. This situation will soon change. (here’s where that Buddhist concept of impermanence comes in real handy), If I just remain calm and take steps to peacefully resolve this situation things are going to change. My anxiety does not change any thing, things just change.

Now, according to this research I’ve reviewed, if you just keep practicing this over and over it will become easier. From the looks of the news headlines, you may be getting a lot of practice, and this skill is going to become very valuable in the coming months.