Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is going through a transformation that you should be aware of. Why is this? Because the new perspective can help you to glide through life without the desperate anxiety and frustration that appear to be on the increase. Here are two brief videos produced by Dr Russ Harris. Dr Harris is a GP turned therapist and coach. He is the author of the bestselling self-help book “The Happiness Trap” and is a trainer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
The first video focuses upon the struggle to get rid of anxiety. See what he has to say about the “Struggle Switch”.

The second video elaborates upon the difference between obsessive goals and life-giving values such as creativity, curiosity, courage, persistence and freedom.

I can strongly endorse the work of Dr Harris.

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From the age of one week we are learning life skills. Why do we ever stop?

There is good evidence that learning skills is good for psychological health at every age. Adolescents who have learned a sporting skill or a musical skill are much more likely to enjoy their teenage years. Middle-aged men or women who are still learning and elderly people who take up new skills are healthier both psychologically and physically.

Skills can be very general such as:

Using a computer, swimming, meditating

Or they can be particular to a person, for example

Understanding & dealing with irritable bowel syndrome, copy writing, playing the saxophone

Whatever the skill we should all ensure that we are learning every day until the day we die.

Jimmy Gould became depressed as his 50^th birthday approached and his counselor suggested that he learn three skills – with another person if possible. First he persuaded a friend that they would improve their English language skills. The plan was to read slowly through a good book and write down phrases that caught their attention. At their weekly meeting they would practice using the phrases until they became very familiar. They chose a book from Jimmy’s bookcase called the Matter of Wales by Jan Morris.

Within minutes they wrote down and rehearsed the following phrases: repositories of old folk wisdom, his voice was curiously beguiling, a wonderfully percipient man, it was comically apt, he felt something ominous in the air, spindrifts of spray flying helter-skelter over the heather, the ferocious tide. By changing books every few weeks they practiced a large number of diverse phrases and words that slowly became part of their everyday language.

As a second learning mission Jimmy walked through his local woods three times each week and with the help of the internet he got to know the name of every tree on his route.

The third skill was learning the flute thanks to a 26 year old woman who lived locally.

After 6 months Jimmy’s depression scores had plummeted and were down to within the normal range.

Here are 5 steps that will facilitate learning throughout your life.

1. Don’t set your sights too high.
2. Start learning a new skill or improve an old skill every three months.
3. Search the Internet for sites that list life skills and then develop a plan. If appropriate purchase an ebook to help you on your way.
4. Get a clear picture of the enjoyment and possibly the social status that you will experience when the skill has been learned or just partially learned.
5. Above all remember that the main reason to learn a skill is to be interested and interesting. Also to exercise your brain so that it is working well until you die.

Finally when appropriate we can get advice from others: “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask is a fool forever”

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO SKILLS TRAINING

One difference between children and adults is the desire to learn. Children want to swim, learn a language walk, talk and play. When we say he acts as if he’s middle-aged we have assumed that he stopped learning and lost his interest in learning.

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Are you overwhelmed by meditation advice? Do you believe that you should take a six month course in meditation.

Have you ever looked at a wood fire or a candle and found that you start to daydream as you look at the flames. If you have then you have meditated.

Meditation is very simple but it has amazing benefits here are some of them.

FROM: http://tmhome.com/transcendental-meditation-benefits-research-effects

Benefits for students – Regular meditation raises school performance (academic achievement, absenteeism, school behaviour, etc.)

Work efficiency – Reduction in the arousal and stress levels of workers leads to higher efficiency at the work place, both in small and big organizations.

Creativity & problem-solving – Meditation leads to higher brain integration, which in turn sets the basis for mental alertness, original thought and creative problem-solving skills.

Positive emotions and well-being – Research shows that meditation practitioners have 5 times greater clarified gamma output (feelings of love, happiness; well-being).

– Mortality rates from various fatal heart conditions are cut by 48% with regular practice of meditation.

Good sleep – Lower levels of stress mean better sleep. Regular meditation is a natural home remedy against insomnia (sleeplessness).

If you want to get rid of those butterflies in the stomach when giving a speech or if you want to get rid of that mental block when you are trying to write, then meditation is a must.

If you want to overcome insomnia, anxiety and fear then you should meditate.

Famous People who Meditate

Oprah Winfrey

from: http://www.grandparents.com/food-and-leisure/celebrity/famous-people-meditate

Year started: 2011

Oprah has been practicing meditation everyday since she invited meditation teachers to Harpo Studios in 2011 to lead the entire company together in meditation at the beginning and end of the work day. “That way of being ‘still’ with ourselves—coming back to the center and recognizing that something is more important than you—it’s more important than the work you are doing, brings a kind of energy, an intention that we have never had before,” she has said. The results were incredible. Her co-workers no longer had migraines, slept better, and developed happier relationships with their friends and family, says Oprah, who recently partnered with Deepak Chopra to create a 21-Day Meditation Challenge. 

Meditation and the brain

[from ECMHC.ORG]

There are many reasons to keep up a daily meditation but perhaps one of the strongest is that meditation changes your brain in a very positive way.

Here are two areas of the brain that meditation helps to modulate.

First, there is the “Fear Centre” or the alarm system. This is in charge of the “fight and flight” response. When a family member or a friend raises their voice then the “Fear Centre” is activated. It is a waking lion that starts to retreat or attack. The sleeping lion lives in a part of the brain called the amygdala.

Second, there is the “Me Centre”. This links incoming stimulation to perceptions about ourselves. If your father tells you that he is not too keen on your new hair style you might get very angry because the “Me Centre” links this criticism to years of discipline when you were young. The “Me Centre” is in part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex:

When the lion is wide awake then the “Me Centre” tends to respond emotionally to even slight criticism. You are then likely to ruminate about your father until you start to feel anxious and depressed.

Meditation will calm the lion and allow the “Me Centre” to respond in a more positive, compassionate way.

Full Spectrum Mindfulness

Ken Wilber is a psychologist and philosopher of the mind. His approach to meditation is one of the clearest and most advanced developments in the field that you will come across. As a psychologist I find that his programme is in line with current knowledge and interventions.

See here for more information:

http://www.fullspectrummindfulness.com/#

First, what is the essence of mindfulness meditation? When you focus upon that tension in your forehead or stomach the tension becomes the object of the experience. If you were imagining a flower then the flower would also be the object. The person doing the seeing is detached from the object of the seeing and mindfulness meditation facilitates this detachment. When meditating you can view your fearful feelings as if you were filming them. You are almost an impartial observer. If you do this frequently then distressing feelings lose their power over you. Imagine dipping a dirty mirror into soapy water over and over again. Eventually the mirror will be clean. If you fear public speaking and you repeatedly dip this feeling into a mindfulness meditation then the fear will eventually be reduced. This detachment from emotions and gaining power over them is often called enlightenment or awakening.

Ken Wilber also focuses upon the mental growth that we experience as we move through the various stages of human development. These are:

Egocentrism. This is concerned with our individual needs and self-preservation. Ethnocentrism. At this level we identify with a tribe, a nation, a religion or some other group. One of the negative aspects of ethno-centrism is the dangerous “us versus them” dynamics that can result in hatred and wars.

World-centrism involves a connection to all humanity regardless of sex, race, colour or creed. Compassion for all human beings is strongly linked to your own health and happiness.

Finally Kosmo-centrism is a focus upon the whole universe and whatever forces or beings it contains.

Combining “enlightenment” with “mental growth” is a recipe for health and well-being through the development of positive relationships and spiritual growth.

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