Lightarted Living: Are You Screwing Yourself? Stop it!

Lightarted Living: Are You Screwing Yourself? Stop it!: Do You feel Screwed or Free? We all live on an continuum that puts us on a healthy or unhealthy path in life. 

If you want to experience a sense of freedom and fluidity in your life, train yourself to spend more time in the part of your brain that gives you the freedom to chose your best path and less time in the part that makes you feel screwed. 

Are You Screwing Yourself? Stop it!

Do You feel Screwed or Free?

We all live on an continuum that puts us on a healthy or unhealthy path in life. Depending on where we are on that continuum we work out of different parts of our brain that either serves us up a sense of freedom or rigidity to our lives.

If you want to experience a sense of freedom and fluidity in your life, train yourself to spend more time in the part of your brain that gives you the freedom to chose your best path and less time in the part that makes you feel screwed. 

By training yourself to be calm and centered in response to situations that push you off-center or that rile you up,  you'll spend more of your day in the part of your brain where you have the freedom to think and act consciously and deliberately.

Life is Good!

Freedom's just another word for living out of Your Cerebral Cortex

When we spiral up to our best fully-functioning selves, we work out of our cerebral cortex where we're free to act consciously and deliberately. 

It is from this place in your brain you have the most control over your life and the greatest ability to make choices that serve you best.

Learning to calm yourself in response to stressful experiences is the key to spending more time in this part of the brain.

We're Screwed!

Feeling 'Screwed' is just another word for living out of your Reptilian Brain

When we descend into the depths of our unhealthiest and rigidly-functioning selves we plunge into our reptilian brains where we lock ourselves into obsessive and harmful ways of thinking and acting that are difficult to overcome. 

You screw yourself when you habitually lock yourself into operating out of your rigidly controlled and fixated primitive reptilian brain. Why? At this level of our brain we lose our freedom to think and act independently. 

The reptilian brain serves an essential function when we find ourselves in emergency situations where we need to react quickly--especially when we feel threatened. It is our streetwise 'fight or flight' brain that gives us that shot of adrenaline and heightens our readiness and alertness to take action. 

Everyone needs to work out of their reptilian brain many times a day. The reptilian brain is very useful when we use it for those momentary shots of adrenaline and quick reactions. But we screw ourselves when we habitually live and work out of it instead of just visiting it when needed.  

The key to visiting your reptilian brain rather than living in it is to practice calming yourself after getting riled up. The sooner you return to a place of calm, the sooner you recover your freedom to act with choice.

Feeling the Squeeze

Is your Reptilian Brain Putting the Squeeze on You? 

If your reptilian brain is putting the squeeze on you--making you feel screwed-- here's how to put a stop to it: Practice calming yourself each and every time you get riled up.

The goal is to regularly practice resetting your energy and mindset by redirecting your attention. Wherever your attention goes your energy follows. If your attention goes to calming yourself, your energy will follow.

Always start with a set of slow and relaxed inhales and exhales. Visualize breathing in 'uplift into your heart and breathing out 'calmness into your gut'. Let your attention rest on this image.

Next, put your attention towards looking for one calming activity to engage in. This doesn't have to take a lot of time, and it doesn't have to be the perfect activity. Just do something.

The more you practice calming and centering yourself after getting hyped up, the greater the sense of freedom you'll gain. 

Stop screwing yourself. Train yourself to return to a calm frame of mind in response to stressful situations.

Lightarted Living: Why Not Find the Best of You Inside and Let it Out?

Lightarted Living: Why Not Find the Best of You Inside and Let it Out?:   The Best of You When you imagine the year ahead,  what would you like to see?  Why not create a pleasant scenario filled with friends, fun and inspiration?

Why not allow yourself to turn the corner on 

hanging onto all the difficulties of the last few years?

Let it go and start afresh.

Accept what has been, and then 

leave the past in the past while creating 

what must be for a more satisfying future.

Why Not Find the Best of You Inside and Let it Out?

 

The Best of You

When you imagine the year ahead, 

what would you like to see? 

Why not create a pleasant scenario

filled with friends, fun and inspiration?

Why not find the best of you inside and let it out?

Frolicking 💓Fresh💓Free💓That's me!

Fabulously Fun💓Fully Alive💓And On Fire💓That's me!

Friendly💓Funny💓Flirtatious💓And Fiercely Kind

💓Full of Love and Charm💓That's me!💓

Right Up Your Alley!

Why not allow yourself to turn the corner on 

hanging onto all the difficulties of the last few years?

Let it go and start afresh.

Accept what has been, and then 

leave the past in the past while creating 

what must be for a more satisfying future.

Rediscover the joys of hanging out 

at the Good Outlook Vista.

You Deserve a Detour off the Dark Road of Life

If the past years have been hard--

and especially if life's still challenging, 

you deserve to take a detour off the dark road of life

to travel down Good Fortune Road a while. 

Do a little window shopping at 

The Merry Mall of Life and Good Nature Way. 

Stay a while and try on a good outlook or two.

See how a new outlook on life looks and feels on you.

Chose to take The High Road of Life 

to create an uplifting future 

even if it isn't easy.

Turn that corner, try on that new outlook, and

walk down Good Fortune Alley awhile--and then 

keep putting one foot in front of another.

Lightarted Living: The Cure for the Holiday Blues

Lightarted Living: The Cure for the Holiday Blues:    Do you or someone you know get the holiday blues? You're not alone. 

For so many the winter holidays are anything but joyful. Whether it's missing a loved one who passed, dealing with seasonal affective disorder syndrome (SADS), or dealing with ghosts from the past or hurts in the present, a sense of depression and social isolation can move in to haunt you during the cold winter months, especially in the time of Covid.

The Cure for the Holiday Blues

 

Hope

Cheer

Love

The Holiday Blues

Do you or someone you know get the holiday blues? You're not alone.

For so many the winter holidays are anything but joyful. Whether it's missing a loved one who passed, dealing with seasonal affective disorder syndrome (SADS), or dealing with ghosts from the past or hurts in the present, a sense of depression and social isolation can move in to haunt you during the cold winter months, especially in the time of Covid.

To distract yourself from your own self consciousness and dark mood, stay connected while putting your focus on others, and find ways to engage in small ways.

The Messengers

I See You

I'm Here to be Seen

 

I'm Glad I'm Here

I'm Glad You're Here

I Care about You

Warm up your days Doing the Impossible

Warm up your days by doing the seemingly impossible: Reach out to others in need to give what you'd like to get--a bit of human kindness and comfort.  

As difficult as it may be to initiate contact when you're not at your best, you'll discover the connection is as good for you as it is for the others. 

Just being around others for a moment increases the probability others will gift you with some small kindness of their own.

I SEE YOU

Acts of Kindness

Get through your winter blues by reaching out to others with little concrete acts of kindness.  Your kindnesses do not need to take a lot of time. 

Pace yourself according to your energy level. Start small and let each new act of kindness towards others re-energize and lift your own spirits. 

"It was only a sunny smile, and it cost little in the giving,

But like the morning light, it scattered the night,

And made the day worth living."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

A Sunny Smile Scatters the Night

Kindness towards others comes back to us tenfold. The smallest act of kindness--a smile, a well-wishing, a thank you, or praise for a job well done-- can have a big impact in the life of others and brighten our own. 

Learn to scatter the night of winter by putting yourself out there daily with at least one sunny intention of your own. Slowly your dark days can turn to light, and you can freely love life once again.

"When grief sits with you,

Its tropical heat thickening the air

heavy as water more fit for gills than lungs,

The thing is to love life even when you have no stomach for it,

And everything you have crumbles 

like burnt paper in your hands,

And your throat is filled with silt.

Then you hold life like a face between your palms,

A plain face-no charming smile; no violet eyes-and say

Yes I will take you; I will love you again."

Ellen Bass