Page 1221

7 Natural Ways to Get High Without Drugs

January 6, 2015 by Sarah Barkley

Everyone seeks pleasurable feelings as it is a human need associated with happiness. Your brain looks for pleasure and euphoria, and it can find it naturally or through external substances. Finding natural pleasure is the only way without causing harm to yourself, though, so learning how to get high without drugs is essential.

Both legal and illegal drugs alter the neurotransmitters and receptors in your brain. This change creates short-term feelings of pleasure, but the long-term effects are dependency, abuse, addiction, and sometimes death. A natural high also alters the neurochemistry, but in a safe way that doesn’t cause damage.

While drugs can quickly give you a pleasurable feeling, it won’t last, and it is unnatural. The artificial high is what causes drugs to be so addictive and dangerous. Luckily, you can naturally get high without drugs, allowing for pleasure without causing harm to your body.

Knowing how to get high without drugs will help you relax and let go of your daily stresses as your body naturally releases feel-good chemicals. Making these natural ways to get high a normal part of your daily routine will leave you feeling good all the time.

What Happens When You Get High With Drugs

The negative effects of drugs are well-known, but not many people truly understand what happens when you use drugs to get high. It can affect your health, your relationships, your job or school performance, and your future. Plus, it severely affects your family emotionally and can impact them legally, financially, and physically, as well.

While the first time you use drugs is a choice, the second time might not be. You might think you can control it, but drugs change how your brain works, leading to damaging behaviors and losing control. Addiction can happen quickly, and you won’t know it’s happening until it’s too late.

Some of the reasons people use drugs are to ease stress, feel good, sleep, or avoid reality. Unfortunately, those benefits don’t outweigh the effect on your brain. Your brain wants to repeat experiences that bring pleasure, and drugs fill the brain with dopamine, triggering intense pleasure.

Over time, your brain relies on that extra dopamine, and you’ll begin to use the drug more often. Once this happens, you will start to put the drug before everything and anyone else. It can also cause problems with your judgment, decision-making, memory, and ability to learn.

How to Get High Without Drugs

There are too many consequences to consider, so learning how to get high without drugs is essential. You can stay in control, maintain your health, and avoid all of the other issues that come along with drug use.

1. Exercise

Commonly called runners high, exercise offers a natural high by releasing two chemicals. These chemicals include beta-endorphin, which promotes relaxation, pain reduction, and euphoria. Running isn’t the only exercise that creates this feeling, either.

Any exercise that gets your heart pumping stimulates the release of dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is released before your adrenaline kicks in, and your body requires it for happiness and pleasure. Serotonin is essential for balancing your mood and aids in sleep, memory, and sexual function. Both chemicals play a role in your overall mood.

Even if you don’t think you enjoy exercise, you can find some physical activity that you like to do. Once your body gets used to regular exercise, you will learn to appreciate and look forward to the time. Some forms of exercise that you can try include the following:

running or jogging
yoga
team sports
swimming
brisk walking
boxing or kickboxing
weight lifting

2. Meditation

Usually, people associate natural highs with active activities that get the adrenaline pumping. While highly active endeavors create a natural high, it isn’t the only way to do it. Studies show that meditation, which slows down your body, can also give you a natural high.

Meditation releases endorphins, boosting your mood and giving you a feeling of being high. As you become more skilled at practicing meditation, the effects will heighten. Plus, meditating for extended amounts of time can make you feel even better.

You can implement meditation into your daily schedule, or you can meditate anytime you have 15 to 30 minutes of free time. Make sure that your meditating time is uninterrupted, as it requires intense concentration. As you relax and embrace the present moment, you experience the feeling of an altered mindset naturally.

3. Exciting Activities

For a sudden adrenaline rush that gets your heart pumping, you can try exciting activities. This naturally powerful high doesn’t require that you do dangerous things to get the effect. The only requirement of exciting activities for a natural high is that you choose to do it rather than letting it happen to you.

If bungee jumping, zip-lining, and jumping out of airplanes sounds exciting to you, it offers a great adrenaline rush. Sometimes, though, these big ordeals require tons of planning, travel, and high costs. However, if those activities don’t sound enjoyable, there are other exciting activities for you.

Some exciting activities that give you a natural high without drugs include these:

singing in public
contacting someone to do business
skiing
riding roller coasters
surfing
participating in competitive sports
swimming long distance
social interaction
introducing yourself to a stranger
sprinting
taking a cold shower
performing standup comedy
dancing in the presence of others
dressing up
contacting someone, you lost touch with
sharing a deep secret
committing to volunteer efforts

4. Dancing

Dancing boosts your mood, releases endorphins, and increases dopamine levels. Plus, it is a way to exercise while getting a natural high.

With so many dance styles to choose from, everyone can enjoy it. The genre doesn’t matter because moving to the beat of a song gives you a freeing feeling. It gets you out of your head, makes you feel connected to the music, and can create a meditative trance.

Even if you aren’t comfortable dancing in front of others, let loose when you’re at home alone. You will still experience the mood-boosting benefits, but make sure you dance enough to get your heart pumping. If you dance in a public place or around others, though, you’ll get an even bigger rush.

5. Laughing

According to Dr. Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at Oxford, laughter is one of the best ways to get high without drugs. Dr. Dunbar explains that laughing contributes to human bonding and closeness within a group. When you laugh, your body releases endorphins that create euphoric feelings before and after.

Anytime you want to feel high, look for something to laugh about. Turn on a new standup comedy, watch funny videos online, or spend time joking with friends. If you have a favorite movie that always makes you laugh, invite a friend over for a movie night.

As the laughter triggers hormones in your brain, you’ll feel better instantly. Plus, you will feel better later, too, whereas, with external stimulants, you will likely crash when the euphoria wears off.

6. Chocolates

Chocolate is more than just a delicious treat, as it can also give you a natural high. Dark chocolate contains chemicals that encourage the release of endorphins. As more endorphins are released, you will experience a feeling of pleasure, similar to the feeling produced by drugs.

As you eat chocolate, it counteracts the neurotransmitter adenosine and increases heart rate and muscle contraction. Chocolate also increases your supply of serotonin, which boosts mood and behavior.

Anandamide is another molecule found in chocolate, and it binds cannabinoid receptors to your brain. Cannabinoid receptors are a psychoactive molecule found in cannabis, so consuming it in chocolate will give you a natural high.

7. Sex

According to a study from the University of Rhode Island, having sex is a sure way to get high without drugs. This study found that it releases endorphins, which are natural opioids with similar effects to morphine. Like opioids, endorphins contribute to feelings of euphoria and reducing stress.

Additionally, sex can help you sleep better, which is often an effect people look for in drugs. No matter what keeps you awake at night, sex can alleviate the situation and help you feel more rested.

Keep in mind that having sex with anyone won’t give you this natural high. You must feel safe in the situation to feel good about it and experience the euphoria.

Final Thoughts on How to Get High Without Drugs

Knowing how to get high without drugs can help you get through hard times without turning to harmful substances. A natural high won’t cause unhealthy addiction, and it’ll increase your overall sense of well-being. Implementing these natural highs into your daily life will create lasting positive effects.

If you find yourself turning to external stimulants to feel good, try using these ideas instead. Now that you know how to get high naturally, without drugs, you can replace your bad habits with beneficial ones. Even if you have never used drugs before, you can experience the high naturally.

As you make these activities part of your daily life, the effects will be even more prevalent. The more you practice, the better you will become, making the high even better. Learning how to get high without drugs and enjoying a natural high will protect your mind and body from harmful stimulants.

7 Incredible Studies that Prove the Power of the Mind

January 5, 2015 by Power of Positivity

“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.” – Buddha.

There is a tremendous amount of information about the power of the human mind. Discoveries in brain science, coupled with astonishing acts of human will, have solidified the human brain as perhaps the most powerful, life-changing force in the world.

While there is much information available, it is what we ultimately choose to do with this information that dictates how our lives ultimately turn out. Only the practical application of these concepts will constitute a truly life-changing experience.

We strongly encourage, while reading this article that you make a conscious decision to apply this potentially life-changing knowledge to better your own life. If done correctly, you will experience some truly amazing results.

Without further ado, here are 7 incredible discoveries that prove the power of the mind.

Study #1: Visualization creates results:

There are certain physical feats that we can only achieve when we actively pursue them. However, visualization – the recreation of all the images, sounds and feelings in your mind surrounding an activity – can create some astounding experiences.

Psychologist Alan Richardson set out to prove the power of visualization through an experiment. Richardson, an Australian psychologist, gathered a group of basketball players and split them into three groups. The intent of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of visualization in how the players converted free throws.

The three groups were as follows:

– The first group practiced 20 minutes every day.

– The second group visualized themselves making free throws, but didn’t participate in practice.

– The third group did not practice free throws or visualization.

The results were amazing. The group that only visualized demonstrated marked improvement, and were nearly as accurate as the players that actually practiced. The third group, as can be expected, regressed.

Study #2: Smiling improves mood

Specifically known as the ‘Facial Feedback Hypothesis’, scientists have known for a long time that changing your body through actions such as smiling, sitting up straight, and relaxing, are followed by positive emotional responses.

One of these studies took place in the late 1980’s. Researchers did not want to reveal that the study was about smiling or emotion, fearing that it could alter the results. As such, they improvised through the use of a common, everyday item: a pencil. Here’s what they did:

– The first group held the pencil horizontally in their mouth, between their teeth, which physically forced them to smile.

– The second group held the pencil horizontally in their mouth using only their lips, which did not force a smile and actually caused somewhat of a frown.

– The third group (control group) simply held the pencil in their hands.

The participants next viewed different cartoons and rated them on how funny they were. The first (or “smile”) group gave the cartoons much funnier ratings than the second (or “frown”) group. The third group fell somewhere in the middle of the two groups.

Study #3: Thought management lowers stress

Something else amazing about the human brain: it cannot tell the difference between a real or imagined threat.

Don Joseph Goeway, the author of Mystic Cool: A proven approach to transcend stress, achieve optimal brain function, and maximize your creative intelligence has plenty of experience in this area. Goeway managed the department of psychiatry at Stanford and assisted parents dealing with the loss of a child, prisoners adjusting to a life sentence, and refugees of the genocidal war in Bosnia struggling with post-traumatic stress.

His work with stress is truly unprecedented. However, he developed the most simple and practical way to eliminate fearful thoughts and escalating stress as any method before it. Goeway calls it the ‘Clear Button’, which works by distracting the primitive brain where fear is known to reside.

The steps for the Clear Button are as follows:

Imagine that there is a button in the center of your left palm; imagine that this button, when pressed, will send a signal to your brain to stop the fearful thinking.
Press the button with your right hand as you become aware of your breath.
Then take three easy breaths counting them out.
Imagine a different color for each number.
As you exhale, relax in the present moment.

Study #4. The brain can produce serotonin on its own

Serotonin is an essential brain chemical because it increases will power, delays gratification, and increases attention to detail. It impacts every part of the mind.

Despite the proliferation of prescription medications and supplements, your brain is more than capable of producing serotonin on its own. If for whatever reason your serotonin level is too low, you will find difficulty in finishing things, being active, and controlling your impulses.

Here are the three ways your brain can produce serotonin:

– Sunlight. It contains UV light; which when absorbed through the skin produces Vitamin D, promoting the production of serotonin.

– Massage. One particular study focused on pregnant women. Women that received massages twice a week from their partner boosted their serotonin levels by 30%.

– Exercise. A well-known method to increase endorphin levels, exercise is effective at boosting serotonin.

Study #5. People can “think” their way to releasing weight

This experiment involved a Harvard psychologist and a group of mostly overweight hotel maids. Despite exceeding the recommended amount of exercise, 67% of the maids did not consider themselves physically active. Langer, the psychologist, predicted that the maid’s viewpoints on their physical activity made it difficult for them to lose weight.

To test her hypothesis, Langer gathered half of the maids, took their physical measurements and explained that they were exceeding the amount of exercise recommended by the surgeon general. The other half received no information.

After a month, Langer’s team returned to the hotel for reevaluation. The maids that were evaluated and given information had a decrease in systolic blood pressure, weight, and waist-to-hip ratio. The other group’s results were insignificant.

Langer attributes these physical (and likely psychological) benefits to a simple change in mind set.

Study #6. Positivity and meditation prolongs life

In 1989, Dr. David Spiegel of Stanford University took on a study consisting of 86 women in the late stages of breast cancer. Then he split the group into halves. One group received only prescribed medical care. However, the other group received weekly support sessions in addition to medical care. During these weekly sessions, patients shared their feelings, socialized with other patients and had a positive environment in which to cope with their illness.

Upon the conclusion of the study, statistics proved that women in the support group survived twice as long as those that did not. Additionally, a similar study in 1999 found that cancer patients who have general feelings of helplessness and hopelessness have a lower chance of survival.

Despite being labeled as a “spontaneous remission” by physicians, David Seidler believed it was anything but. Seidler, writer of “The King’s Speech”, battled bladder cancer for years and was scheduled to undergo an operation within two weeks. Seidler decided to use meditation in an effort to battle the cancer. He used meditative practices and the power of the mind, specifically imagining a healthy bladder, leading up to his surgery.

When doing the pre-surgery biopsy about two weeks later, the doctor was surprised to discover a complete absence of cancer, even sending the results to four other locations for reevaluation. All other locations agreed: there was no cancer.

Study #7. The Placebo effect

Placebos are pills, medications, or procedures that are prescribed only for the psychological benefit of the patient. In fact, pharmaceutical studies frequently employ placebos to affect the human mind and other areas as well.

In fact, as researchers are discovering that placebos are at times more effective than actual medication, the pharmaceutical industry has been left worrying about the profitability of its industry. Prozac, a common antidepressant, and other long-tenured prescription drugs are often less effective than placebos. As a result, the industry is currently engaging in other neurological studies in an effort to either refute or safeguard their products from common placebos.

Indeed, the power of the mind is an incredible thing.

10 Signs You’re Happy (Even if You Don’t Feel Like it)

January 5, 2015 by Power of Positivity

What is happiness, and how do you find it? How can you even tell if you’re leading a happy life?

These are two questions we all ask ourselves at some point. Believe it or not, you may have already found it, even if you don’t realize it. Oftentimes, people mistake happiness as something to gain after an event happens in their lives, whether that be a promotion at work, a new job altogether, better health, etc.

However, you could just as easily find happiness right now if you view fulfillment as the path, not the destination. You may not feel overwhelmed with joy every day of the year, but these ten signs prove that you might just be living the good life, even if it’s not always apparent.

10 Signs You’re Living a Happy Life (Even if You Don’t Feel Like it)

1. You Have a Job You Love

Jobs take up much of people’s time, so feeling happy with whatever you do to make an income is essential. While you may not have found your dream career yet, you probably can think of at least a few aspects of your job that you enjoy. Do you like your coworkers? Have a great boss? Get to help people in some way daily? Put things into perspective, and you might just find that your job isn’t so bad after all.

2. You See the Value in the Little Things in Life

Most people rush through life without slowing down occasionally to take in all the beauty around them. If you can look at a flower growing in a bed of weeds and smile, you have a pretty good outlook on life. In the same way, if you can sit in a sea of cars on your way to work and feel thankful for the chance to gain patience, this shows you can find the silver lining in any situation.

3. You Feel at Peace with the World

Many people want peace, but don’t realize the only place to find it is within truly. If you feel peaceful most days, you have likely discovered one of the most hidden truths in the universe. You cannot live a happy life without finding inner peace; that elusive feeling is one of the most telling signs of contentment.

4. You Focus on What You Can Change

Unhappy people always dwell on what they can’t change, but happy people take advantage of the changes they can make. Unhappy people give every reason why something is impossible, but happy people understand that they can transcend limits with positive, determined thoughts. If you realize what changes you can make and take active steps toward creating those changes, you have discovered one of the best ways to feel true happiness: by taking responsibility for establishing a positive change in your life.

5. You Don’t Care What Others Think

If you feel comfortable living beyond the confines of societal norms and couldn’t care less what others say about how you live, you are part of a rare group of people. Many people never allow themselves to flourish because they worry too much about how others will perceive them, and don’t pay enough attention to how they perceive themselves. The day you stop caring what others think is the day you start living. If you have surpassed the need to seek approval and live life according to your own ideals, you have unlocked one of the gates to happiness.

6. You Have Hobbies You Enjoy

You probably spend some time outside of work doing recreational or creative activities that please you. Even if you have only a few hours a week to dedicate to your hobbies, you can use this time to let all of life’s pressures melt away and relax. Maybe you have a garden, write poems, knit sweaters, run marathons, or tutor children after work. As long as you have found something you truly enjoy, that’s all that matters.

7. You Fall Asleep Easily at Night

People report sleep troubles more than ever and attribute many of their struggles to an overactive mind. If you can easily slip into a dream state, you probably have learned how to shut your brain off and give your body much-needed rest. Also, an easy transition from wakefulness to sleep can point toward a fulfilled and purposeful life. If you feel content with your life, you probably won’t have as much reason to worry, which will help you fall asleep easier at night.

8. You Don’t Have Regrets

If you live a life without regrets, you probably take chances often. People with regrets usually wish they had taken those chances while they could instead of opting for the safer, more traveled route. While many people have a few regrets in life, you are doing pretty well if you can look back and say you did everything you wanted without fearing the outcome.

9. You Aren’t Afraid of Failure

This goes along with the previous point because living without regrets often coincides with having no fear of failure. Leaving the comfort zone behind means that you focus more on the experience rather than the result of that experience. If you accept failed attempts as part of the learning experience here on Earth, you probably live a pretty happy life because you understand that growth can’t happen without failure.

10. You Have a “Yes” Mentality

Adopt this mindset, and you will have a whole new outlook on the meaning of “no.” No means that the universe is redirecting you to another opportunity, which means that a “yes” is inevitable if you just hold your intention. If you already have this mentality, you actually love the answer “No” because it challenges you to keep following your path despite the obstacles you face. Having this mentality means you say yes to life, even if life may not always say yes to you.

11 Signs There Are Too Many Negative People In Your Life

January 3, 2015 by Power of Positivity

Do you suspect there are many negative influences holding you back in life?

“The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” – Epictetus, Greek Philosopher (55 AD-135 AD)

Who you choose to allow in your life has a definite impact on the person you become. We’ve all had relationships of different kinds that just didn’t work out for some reason. Often times, this can be attributed to differences in personality, character or values. To create meaningful, lasting relationships, it is imperative that you seek out and surround yourself with a majority of positive people who share common ground in these areas.

Your family will always be your family, but your “friends” will not always be your friends. Only you can make the decision about whom you are going to walk with on your path. It is our belief that these decisions should be made wisely. It is important to know when you are in the presence of too many people who don’t contribute to your well being. At times, this negative presence can even be difficult to detect. After all, there is the smiling face, the “peppy” attitude, and seemingly warm emotions that emanate from their being.

Here are 11 (some not so obvious) signs that you are in the presence of negative people:

1.Their time is always more important

Hypothetical question: if a family member was to call and ask if you had ten minutes for something important, what would you say? Most of us would immediately engage in conversation or manage to free up ten minutes, right?

Well, with your friends this should be no different. Whether it’s a phone call, a Friday night and you need a ride home, someone to cover your shift, or something else; they should be willing to help out sometimes. This is especially true if you’ve made the effort to help them out in the past.

The truth is that some people are incredibly self-absorbed and only make time when it’s convenient…for them. This is not how meaningful relationships work. This is not how friends treat each other.

So, if your friend always seems to say “Gee…I would, but…” It may be time to reevaluate your friendship, have an honest discussion, or both.

2. They discredit your ambitions often

Again…who is the only person who truly knows what they’re capable of achieving? If you responded: “Me!”…congratulations! Give yourself a shoulder pat…or a glass of wine…or something.

No one, especially a friend, has the right to define who you are and who/what you want to become. Friends motivate each other, celebrate successes, and encourage us when we fall short.

Needless to say, this is an egregious offense. Discrediting someone… anyone…is a mean-hearted, selfish thing to do.

3. They lie to you continuously

Trust is the foundation of any relationship, friendships included. Someone that lies to you continually is not a true friend.

Lying is a blatant sign of disrespect… both of you as a person and of your relationship. Disrespecting you and your friendship should not be tolerated. In this instance, some sort of corrective action is needed.

As with any other offense, the first one is a mistake. Perhaps they’ve fessed up, felt guilty about it, and vowed never to lie to you again. This is different from the friend that lied, was found out, then lied again for whatever reason.

Simply put: don’t tolerate chronic liars…especially as friends.

4. They always play the victim

Friends that play the victim are always begging people to feel sorry for them. They often are quick to pronounce the difficulties they are experiencing and just want to vent their circumstances towards someone…you.

Being the good friend that you are, you tolerate the onslaught of complaints and grievances. “Maybe they are just going through some tough times and need a friendly ear…” you say to yourself.

Then, you need a friendly ear for some advice or comfort. What happens? They are either short with you or exude their disinterest. Their negative attitude is toxic. Maybe they are thinking about something they need to complain about…again.

5. They make excuses for everything

Your real friends will make time…others will make excuses. It really doesn’t matter if these excuses are directed towards you or not. Excuse-makers do not make good friends for various reasons.

– They will dodge conflict.

– These people won’t make time for you.

– They avoid accountability.

– These are often two-faced individuals.

– They are disinterested in your problems.

6. They ignore you at will

These are the type of friends that are more than willing to socialize when around you and your inner circle; however, once you are in their “territory,” they are too busy schmoozing with their friends while remaining completely disinterested in your involvement, or lack thereof.

These are the type of friends when you send off a text or email about something important, it always seems that they “just forgot.” Oops!

Ignoring someone is just another type of non-acceptance and insecurity…and is certainly not a good attribute to have in a friend.

8. They use you for anything.

Also known as opportunists, these people love to be incredibly nice, respectful, and loving towards you…when they want something.

Maybe you have some extra money, a nice car, an extra room, or some free time. These people love to take advantage of anything that they can. Even worse, these are the “friends” that will always need something and never provide anything in return.

Friends help each other out. They don’t knowingly and willingly take advantage of someone just because they have a need to be met.

8. They are jealous of you

This is a tricky one, because some people are seriously lacking and may feel somewhat envious of what you have. This is relatively normal. And in this instance you should attempt to lift them up and help them out.

However, there those who are excessively envious of you – your possessions, looks, popularity, success, etc. This is jealousy…and it’s an emotion that can manifest itself into other negative emotions and behavior such as gossiping about you, intentionally hurting your feelings, and generally making life more difficult.

If this becomes sort of attitude and behavior becomes consistent and you’ve made the attempt to help them out, it may be time to reconsider exactly why you would consider a friend like this.

9. They attempt to change who you are

Perhaps there is no more obvious sign that you are surrounded by a negative person than when they try to change you. Maybe it’s something physical – your weight, hair, or makeup. Perhaps it’s something else – your personality, ambitions, or some other innate quality.

Positive relationships are built upon acceptance of one another. If someone cannot or will not accept you as-is, this person is not worthy of your presence. It’s as simple as that. Never, ever willingly attempt to change who or what you are because some person cannot accept it. It’s not acceptable for someone to dictate that which makes you unique.

10. They judge you by your past

The longer that your friendship goes on, the more you will likely reveal about yourself. This is the essence of trust; being able to confide in someone your personal, innermost thoughts and feelings. These thoughts and feelings sometimes include mistakes that you’ve made, learned from, and moved past.

The problem lies in people that judge you based on things that you’ve done in your past. This is another sign of insecurity and unmerited superiority. It’s not within their right to judge you based on mistakes that you have made, period.

If a person continuously brings up your past, either as a method of retaliation or blatant disrespect, it’s time to seek out a more positive relationship…one in which the person does not willingly wish to do harm by bringing up your past mistakes.

11. They gossip about you

You are not in grade school anymore, and you shouldn’t be hearing from another person what some “friend” said about you. Gossip is not something that mature, rational adults do. The rule is simple for most of us: you have a problem with someone; you bring it up to them, even if it’s uncomfortable.

People that continually gossip about this or that is not someone you should trust. In fact, that trait is assuredly a sign of a negative person. As with some other things on this list, it is a sign of insecurity and weak character. It’s time to approach the individual, place some ground rules, and reevaluate your relationship if needed.

Learn to Separate Negative People With Grace and Kindness

When you decide to separate from a negative person, do so with an ample dose of both grace and kindness. Their ill-will is toxic, but don’t get sucked into a tit-for-tat game with the person. That will only serve to cause you bad karma.

Finally, for a daily dose of positivity, please follow us on Facebook.

5 Creative Ways to Practice Conscious Thinking

January 3, 2015 by Power of Positivity

How much do you practice conscious thinking versus performing actions by rote or habit?

When you woke up this morning, did you mean to drink coffee while simultaneously checking emails, or did you merely do this out of sub-conscious habit? Maybe you’d rather wake up slowly, and only have one cup of coffee. Maybe you’d rather lay in bed for ten more minutes than immediately rush to your phone to check for notifications.

Oftentimes, people become aware of things and make them a habit without even realizing it.

“Life is too short to spend in negativity. So I have made a conscious effort to not be where I don’t want to be.” – Hugh Dillon

You can create conscious thinking patterns, and adopt a conscious lifestyle by becoming aware of your daily habits, and actually deciding if those are habits you want to keep around or not. To become aware of your own actions, we’re sharing creative techniques to help you start thinking more consciously.

5 Creative Ways to Practice Conscious Thinking

1. Make Daily Chores a Time for Self-Awareness

While you vacuum the house or wash the dishes, pay attention to how you feel. Do you feel tired, unenthused, uninspired, or apathetic?

Conscious thinking means you put all of your awareness into the act of doing the chores. Soon, you will find that completing your daily tasks can actually be fun. Or, you might still hate doing chores, but either way, you can become aware of your thoughts during this time when most people let their brains run on autopilot.

If you give life to your chores and inject meaning into your daily tasks, you will feel more present in life rather than just being a silent spectator.

2. Pay Attention to What you Eat

Do you eat foods that give you life and nourish your cells, or do you feed your body with processed, chemical-laden products that have no nutritional value? When you live a fast-paced life, it can be very easy to drive through the closest fast food restaurant and settle for convenience rather than nutrition, but you may not even realize how often you opt for unhealthier choices. Once you become aware of this practice, you can easily incorporate a new practice.

You can choose to skip the fast food or frozen dinners, and instead eat more whole, fresh fruits and vegetables. You have the power to change your habits, and what you eat can either be a healthy or dangerous habit.

Think about what you eat before you put it in your mouth. Food serves as one of the most important aspects of conscious thinking.

3. Keep a Journal

One of the best ways to keep tabs on your thoughts is by writing them down. Not only will this allow you to release bottled up emotions, but you will be able to see what your dominant thinking patterns are. If you have a lot of negative things to say, this could be the deciding factor in taking responsibility for your thoughts and your life.

Keep a gratitude journal, and list everything you’re thankful for, rather than everything you dislike in life. Even if you don’t enjoy writing, you could just write down a couple things that you enjoyed about your day before bed. This will empower you to keep paying attention to your thoughts, and encourage you to focus on all the good around you rather than the bad.

4. Spend Time on Technology Wisely

Every time you get on your phone or computer, what do you spend the majority of your time doing? Is it scrolling through Facebook or Instagram for hours, constantly checking emails, or shopping for new clothes or gadgets? Many people waste hours on social media or other unproductive websites each day, without even realizing it.

Technology isn’t inherently bad, it’s what you do with it that counts. You could spend your time online reading about things you enjoy, or emailing an old friend to say hi. Also, setting a limit for how much time you spend online each day can help you manage that time more efficiently. Use your online time to become aware of your technology habits, and then decide if those habits are benefiting or hurting you in the long run.

5. Do Something Outside of Your Comfort Zone

There’s not much of a better way to test your mind and spirit than taking them into unknown territory. By trying something new, you stimulate your spirit and immediately invalidate negative thinking patterns. Let’s say you decide to go to a poetry reading and present one of your best poems.

You might feel extremely nervous about how people will react, but by facing your fears, you can create new thinking patterns that reinforce hope and confidence, rather than despair and unease. Before you get up on stage and read that poem, you can practice positive thinking. You can turn the “This poem isn’t good enough; everyone will hate it” or “I am too shy to speak on stage” into “I wrote this poem from my heart, so it can’t be bad” and “I am perfectly capable of reading this poem to everyone in this room.”

Oftentimes, the life experiences that lead us far away from the beaten path will uncover the most about us and propel us into an entirely new way of thinking and living.

What techniques do you use to practice positive conscious thinking? Add to the discussion below! And, please do take moment to follow PoP on Facebook.

9 Signs You’re In A Life Long Relationship

January 2, 2015 by Power of Positivity

When you find someone who shares the same interests, life background, sense of humor, and taste in music as you, you feel like you’re on top of the world. The excitement of being in a new relationship begins to set in. And, you probably spend all your free time with your new flame and spread the news to all your friends and family. But how can you tell it will be a life long relationship?

“Relationship is an art. The dream that two people create is more difficult to master than one.” – Don Miguel Ruiz

After a few months, you may find that the once casual relationship has turned into a much more serious one, but the signs of a committed relationship aren’t always obvious. If you have wondered where your relationship stands, the following tips can help you discern between a short-term relationship and one that could last forever.

9 Signs You’re In A Life Long Relationship:

1. You Have Unbreakable Trust

In a committed relationship, trust usually ranks in the top 5 must-have characteristics of a partner for a reason: without trust, you can’t have a solid foundation to build on your relationship. You must be able to trust your partner and count on him or her to show honesty, no matter the circumstances. If you truly have trust in the relationship, you can depend on your partner for anything, and you never feel like he or she is hiding something from you.

2. You Share Common Values and Morals

While you both may enjoy the same type of ice cream and favor comedies over horror movies, a long-term relationship requires more than just shared interests and hobbies. After the first couple of dates, both of you may have started talking about your morals, religious or spiritual beliefs, your outlook on life, and your long-term goals. For a relationship to last, you both need to share the same general ethics and ideas about life, because these determine many aspects of how you live.

For example, if you are a vegan or vegetarian and your partner still eats meat, you may clash with him or her in the future about your stance on animal cruelty. If your partner wants kids down the road but you don’t, this would obviously cause friction in the relationship. Your hobbies and interests can change yearly, monthly, or even daily, but deep-rooted convictions generally never change. If you want to grow in the same direction with someone in the future, you will probably want to find a partner whose general values and morals in life match up with yours, or at least come close.

3. They Always Remind You of How Amazing You Are

In the first couple of months of the relationship, the novelty of it will make you feel like you had the air knocked out of you, and you and your partner probably can’t get enough of each other. But if your relationship is in it for the long haul, your guy or girl will always make you feel special, even after the newness of the relationship has worn off. He or she still honors your amazing qualities after months, or even years of being together, and can see your beauty even on days where you don’t see it yourself. If both of you can still recognize each others positive qualities even in the darkest of days, you have found a truly special connection.

4. You Say “I Love You” Often

Those three words symbolize a deep affinity for another person and represent who we all are at the core of our being. People in committed relationships have simply found someone that matches the frequency they emit into the world and can share that deep bond with one another.

If you feel truly comfortable saying those three words without feeling awkward or vulnerable, and your partner says them back, you have likely found someone who truly loves you on the deepest level.

5. You Feel Comfortable Around Your Partner’s Family

The day will come when your partner wants you to meet their family. Because, in a committed relationship, some people say you aren’t just dating your boyfriend or girlfriend. Indeed, you are in a relationship with his or her entire family. Getting to know them is just as important as getting to know your lover, because you will inevitably see them at family functions in the future, and you want to make sure you can feel comfortable around them.

A person’s family is one of the biggest parts of his or her life, and your partner’s mom might become your mother-in-law before you know it. If you feel at ease around the family, you will probably keep a close relationship with them, which will further enhance you and your partner’s relationship, too.

6. You Have Deep Conversations Often

The ability to have meaningful conversation aside from how your workday was, or what bills need to be paid, or who gets to do the dishes tonight is a telling sign of the intimacy of your relationship. If you can talk openly and honestly about anything under the sun, and beyond, you might have found a partner that will stick around for a while. When you talk about your philosophies about life, or your deepest secrets, you allow new channels to open up within your relationship that will strengthen your bond and help remind you what attracted you to your partner in the first place.

7. You Feel Safe and Protected Around Each Other

A romantic relationship should feel like “coming home,” which is usually a place where you feel warm, welcomed, and loved. You should never feel alienated, threatened, or confused about how your partner feels about you, or his or her level of commitment to you. After a long day at work, you probably can’t wait to get home and fondly embrace him or her and shower them with love and attention. A strong relationship will make you feel like all the world’s problems melt away in the presence of your partner, and you will never have to wonder about his or her intentions with you.

8. You Can Share Your Problems Without Feeling Like a Burden

If something is bothering you, you should be able to go to your partner without feeling like an unnecessary weight on their shoulders. While you should also be able to deal with problems yourself, having the support and guidance from your partner can help you through the situation at hand. They should actually want to take on the issue and help you brainstorm some solutions. A committed partner will always serve as your shield from life’s storms, and help you see the sun even through the dark clouds.

9. Your Partner Encourages You to Follow Your Dreams

Even if your dream requires you to travel or commit to a huge project, your partner will support you every step of the way. They will realize that you following your dreams will help you reach ultimate fulfillment, and will put your happiness above theirs. A good partner will not discourage you from your happiness for selfish reasons, such as waiting for them to finish school or find a career before YOU can do something that resonates with you.

While both of you will likely share a similar life path if you are in a long-term relationship, you might suddenly have an epiphany about your true life purpose somewhere along the way. Your partner will stand beside you, regardless of where your dreams take you or what that might mean for the status of the relationship.

Final Thoughts on Being in a Life Long Relationship

We’d love to hear how you knew YOU were in a life long relationship. Share your story in the comments. And, remember to follow PoP on Facebook!

3 Signs You’re Trying Too Hard to Think Positive

January 1, 2015 by Power of Positivity

In the process of overhauling your mind to make positive thinking a dominant part of your thought process, it can become easy to get lost in the rabbit hole. The result? You actually try too hard to think positively. This can actually end up creating the opposite effect of your original intention. Worse yet, you end up feeling like you’re back at square one in mastering the art of positive thinking.

You might find yourself comparing yourselves to others, seeing how you measure up against them spiritually, or even reject negative thoughts altogether. Or, you’ll begin following ill-advised self-help “gurus” who claim that experiencing the full spectrum of human emotions, including pain or frustration, will “lower your vibration” or “cause an imbalance in your chakras.”

In short, the path to positivity should be yours and yours alone. Never should you be dictated by what others claim as absolute truth. Perhaps you even have learned to follow your own path to enlightenment. But you might still encounter some of these common signs that you’re forcing yourself to feel more positive, rather than allowing it to happen naturally.

Signs You’re Trying Too Hard to Think Positive

1. You find yourself over-thinking

This still happens on our own spiritual journey from time to time. It’s easy to let your mind take over and rule your life. This sidetracking can occur even if you have discovered that positive thoughts create positive outcomes. For example, you might start noticing every single thought that comes into your realm of consciousness.

Thus, you start creating commentary in your head for each of those thoughts, rather than just observing them. Or, you get frustrated and angry at yourself for thinking any negative thoughts at all. A lot of people subscribe to the idea that any sort of negative thought or emotion means you have not reached enlightenment, or you have not mastered your mind. However, I believe that allowing yourself to explore your darkness serves as a vital tool in the evolution of consciousness. After all, without darkness, how will you recognize the light?

In the beginning, you will develop an awareness behind your thoughts rather than just letting your mind chatter away senselessly. At times, it may almost feel as if you have stepped into a hyperaware state of consciousness. In contrast, you probably never even bothered to check in with your thoughts before. You might actually wish you could go back to that from time to time, but there is a middle ground.

Instead of worrying so much about what goes through your mind, just let it come without judgement, and focus on “Being” rather than “Becoming.” Realize that you can slip into a state of being whenever you want, whether you are waiting in line to pick up your kids at school, sitting in an office meeting, or giving a speech in front of thousands of people.

Forgive yourself already!

A lot of people make the mistake of condemning themselves for allowing negativity into their minds, without realizing that they can become aware of the thought without accepting it as truth. If you find that your mind won’t stop firing off demands of what you should be and how you can be a more spiritual person and why your state of consciousness is inferior or superior to others, try to just breathe deeply and listen to the ever-present silence that exists in everything. This will help you stay grounded and remove that heaviness you might feel when your brain tries to run the show.

2. You’re overdoing it

You might feel that you aren’t doing enough to achieve “enlightenment,” and try to “become” a more spiritual person. You feel that you must incorporate a spiritual practice every day, such as meditation, in order to become this spiritual guru that you have envisioned in your head.

While meditation should become a part of your routine, you shouldn’t use any sort of practice or thought process to “become” a more spiritual person. In reality, you embody the universe anyway, which means you already are spiritual. You come from the same force as everyone else, and you don’t have to try to become anything. You already possess all the qualities you need to act positively and peacefully, and all it takes is accepting this fact to quiet your mind and allow it to align with who you already intrinsically are.

Strive to become enlightened, every day!

Aside from regular meditation or yoga, you might also feel you have to always relate occurrences in your life to the spiritual realm, or universal vibrations. Sometimes, you might just want to live without relating it to any sort of spiritual happening, and that’s fine. Many people believe that once they become “awake” in any sense of the word, they must integrate this newfound knowledge and mindset into every waking moment of their days and every event in their lives. In reality, this actually complicates your life and can cloud your mind after a while. While your intuition definitely guides you through life in many circumstances, you still possess cognitive abilities that allow you to perform day-to-day functions, without the Universe necessarily stepping in to help you.

Finally, you might overdo positive thinking by integrating all sorts of new age, healing elements into your home or office space. You might start buying copious amounts of crystals, essential oils, chakra-balancing items, or tarot cards. Or perhaps you spend large amounts of money on Reiki sessions and past life regressions.

All of these items and services can help you on your spiritual journey. But you can achieve a positive mindset without relying on things outside yourself as well. I have crystals myself. And I sometimes incorporate them into my meditation sessions. However, I believe in the minimalist approach toward everything in life, including spirituality. You, yourself, are the most powerful crystal. Thus, you can easily transform your thoughts and your life by simply believing in yourself and making the decision to do so.

3. You’re comparing yourself to others

On a spiritual journey, or any journey, seeing how you size up compared to others can become the focus if you allow it to. You might feel threatened by spiritual masters or gurus, or wish you could read people’s auras and heal their energy. You might have a friend who has a calm, peaceful demeanor, and talk down on yourself for being more energetic and scatterbrained. All of this results in unhappiness. And in the end, it will make you feel like you will never reach true enlightenment unless you reach their state of perceived consciousness.

At the end of the day, you are your worst enemy. Chances are, the other people probably aren’t judging you or comparing you to their own state of being. Just feel comfortable in your own skin. Realize that you have talents that other people may not have. The spiritual journey is a highly personal one. Comparing one to another is sort of like comparing an opera singer to a rock star.

Final Thoughts on Your Ability to Think Positive

Each person must walk their own path in life and realize their own strengths, and once you stop comparing your journey to someone else’s, you can begin to nurture your soul and follow your own heart. You are neither superior nor inferior to anyone else. You are equal. Furthermore, you don’t have to justify your own state of consciousness by seeing how it measures up to your neighbor’s.

How do you remain positive? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or join up on Facebook.

6 Morning Habits to Guarantee a Great Day

December 31, 2014 by Power of Positivity

How many times have you heard that morning habits can make or break your whole day?

It’s true. The way that we begin our day has a definite impact on how the rest of the day unfolds. We can choose to be proactive and set ourselves up for success, or we can choose to just let things unfold as they may.

Since how we begin our day is so important, why would we choose to be lax in our morning routine? We certainly don’t have to be and we’ll show a few different ways to make the morning more productive.

Here are 6 morning habits that we can practice to guarantee a great day…

1. Stretch – even before getting out of bed.

Stretching is as important as getting regular exercise. Most people do not know this. As a result, stretching is often a neglected practice. Not only is stretching important for your body, but it’s also important for your mind.

Here are some benefits to stretching:

-Stretching helps with posture.

-Stretching improves flexibility by increasing the range of motion.

-It decreases injury by warming up the muscles before activity.

-Stretching increases blood flow and nutrient supply to muscles.

-Stretching helps to calm the mind.

-It releases both physical and mental tension.

To increase the effectiveness of stretching, try these tips:

– Stretch muscles that you know are tight, focusing more of the stretching routine on these areas.

– Practice one long-duration stretch session each week. Take 30-45 minutes doing flexibility work, even if you would normally use this time for a different exercise routine.

2. Set your intentions for the day.

Intentions are important to fulfilling our wants and needs; whether it is related to love, money, relationships, or something else. As such, you should consider spending some time in the morning setting your intentions for the day.

Here are some steps to help set your daily intentions.

– Meditate. So often, our minds are busy dealing with constant inner dialogue – emotions, thoughts, and memories – all of which can detract us from being truly conscious about what we hope to achieve. Meditation assists with this by quieting the mind.

– Release your intentions. The best time to do this is after a period of restful awareness, such as meditation. After releasing the intention, simply let it go and don’t think about it. Spend a few minutes after each meditation releasing your intentions.

– Remain centered. Intentions are more powerful when done from a state of contentment than from a state of lack or need. Refuse to allow doubts and criticisms to creep into your consciousness. Understand that your higher power knows that everything is all right and will continue to be, even if you don’t currently understand the details of what is to take place.

3. Drink plenty of water.

After a period of sleep, your body is certain to be dehydrated. This is true even if you cannot “feel” the dehydration or “feel” the need to quench your thirst. It is important to rehydrate with water in the morning.

According to the CDC, here are four benefits to drinking an adequate amount of water.

– Water maintains body fluid levels. The human body is comprised of about 60% water. It is essential to maintain this fluid balance, as it is responsible for food absorption and digestion, blood circulation, saliva creation, transporting nutrients, and maintaining body temperature.

– Water regulates calories. While not having a direct effect on weight loss, water assists by helping the body feel full. This makes it less likely that the individual will drink or eat high-calorie foods or beverages.

– Water energizes muscles. Dehydration often results in muscle fatigue, making it more difficult for muscles to work and perform when needed. Drinking water before and during exercise is especially important. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking at least 17 ounces of fluids before exercise and continuing to sip on water during.

– Water enhances the look of skin. As with other organs, your skin contains a large amount of water. As such, dehydration causes the skin to appear dry and wrinkled. In addition to drinking water, dermatologists state that using a skin moisturizer can enhance the appearance of the skin.

4. Practice gratitude

Remembering what you are grateful for is so important because it keeps things in perspective. When faced with the stress of daily life, it is very easy to pinpoint everything that is going wrong. However, evidence continues to mount showing why we should do the opposite.

The importance of being grateful has found its way into both psychological and scientific studies. Accumulating research is continuing to show the positive benefits that practicing gratitude has on both mental and emotional well-being. According to a study done by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, here are some of the benefits of practicing gratitude.

– People that keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis: feel more optimistic, exercise more regularly, have fewer physical ailments, and feel less stress.

– Individuals who think, talk, or write about gratitude have lower levels of depression and stress, and increased alertness, attentiveness, determination, energy, and better sleep.

– People with a disposition towards gratitude place less importance on material goods, are less judgmental, less envious, and more charitable.

So do yourself a favor and take 10-15 minutes in the morning to write a few things that you are grateful for. It will give you a great start to the day and you’ll soon begin to realize some of the wonderful benefits of being grateful.

5. Practice yoga or other exercise

Add this info to your morning habits.

Exercise (of any kind) will likely remain the best way to boost your mood and strengthen your body. It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise – lifting, jogging, yoga, biking – do whatever you’d like as long as it gets your heart pumping.

Exercise is so effective because it increases two important brain chemicals – dopamine and serotonin. It also causes the release of endorphins, which creates a “natural high” and is also a natural stress and pain blocker. In addition, exercise creates euphoric feelings, regulates appetite, enhances the immune system, and drastically increases energy.

In setting aside 30 minutes in the morning for some exercise, you’ll feel “euphoric”, less hungry, increased energy, and less stress. What better reasons could there be to take some time to get active?

6. “Mirror” your affirmations

The way that you talk to yourself is critically important to the way that you approach life. Unfortunately, when you feel negative for whatever reason – loneliness, unhappiness, sickness, etc. – you will have an innate tendency towards negative self-talk. To reverse this trend, it is important to retrain your thinking and speaking through positive self-talk.

The answer to any negative self-talk is to say (not just think) the opposite in the form of positive affirmations. For example, when you don’t feel good about yourself state with full intent that you can feel good about yourself. Even if you don’t fully embrace this belief (and oftentimes you won’t) it’s still powerful. By planting the seed of positive affirmations in your subconscious mind, you will eventually begin to believe them to be true.

It is also important to see yourself making these positive affirmations. To do so, stand in front of a mirror once or twice a day and repeat the following affirmations ten times:

– I can do it!

– I can _____ (insert goal, feeling, outcome, etc.)

– I’ll create positive changes in my life!

– I can feel good about myself!

Keep in mind that these are just examples. Affirm whatever thought comes to mind, including the opposite of whatever negative self-talk you may happen to be experiencing at the time. Eventually, you will begin to experience a positive shift in your mindset and the way in which you talk to yourself.

Final Thoughts on Forming Positive Morning Habits

Join the discussion: What morning habits do you practice that help you have a great day? Add your personal happy morning habits to the conversation below! Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook.

Scientific Proof That Mindfulness Can Rewire Your Brain

December 30, 2014 by Power of Positivity

Not so very long ago scientists thought that the human brain could not be developed beyond a certain point. The terms “hardwired”, “fixed”, and “unchangeable” were associated with the nerve development of the human brain once a person reached a certain age. They typically defined that age as early childhood to adolescence.

Science now reconsiders that hard line. Today, they define neuroplasticity as: “The brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming neural connections throughout life.”

So, no longer do researchers think the human brain is a static, unchanging organ that is limited by our age. In fact, neuroscientists now find evidence that demonstrates the brain’s ability to restructure and form neural connections to compensate for damage caused by injury, disease, and age. So not only can your brain repair and strengthen itself despite age. In fact, it can do so even if it’s been damaged!

Further studies demonstrate that mindfulness, the awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the environment. And that the practice greatly assists with the development of our brain. In short, it serves to aid the neuroplasticity process. Brain power is nothing short of amazing!

The understanding that you can change your thought processes, feelings and emotions via neuroplasticity through the practice of mindfulness is incredible.

Here are three scientific studies that prove how mindfulness can rewire your brain.

Study #1: Mindfulness meditation reduces depressive episodes

Millions of people every year are diagnosed with depression and prescribed medication. In the United States alone, depression will affect about 10% of the population in any given one-year period – about 19 million people. In the UK, the number of people taking antidepressant medication has doubled between 1998 and 2010.

Professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Zindel Segal, utilized a grant given by the MacArthur Foundation to conduct a study on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (or MBSR). With the assistance of two of his colleagues from the University of Oxford, Dr. Segal found the study to be a resounding success. This study was so promising that Dr. Segal initiated another study to demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on depressed patients. And the outcome of this led to the creation of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

In the study, all of the patients shared a diagnosis of depression. Of those, 80% experienced three or more depressive episodes (“pervasive and persistent low mood accompanied by low self-esteem and loss of pleasure.”). And 34-36% of MBCT participants who experienced three or more depressive episodes had not relapsed over a one-year timeframe compared to those who adhered to prescribed care (antidepressants or other).

The study’s results

The results were encouraging. Indeed, the outcome led to subsequent research at both Cambridge and Oxford University in the UK. Moreover, both subsequent studies produced similar results. This research proves immensely valuable in promoting mindfulness meditation as a viable, healthy alternative to drug-based therapies in the UK; leading to more physicians “prescribing” mindfulness meditation to their patients.

MBCT studies and mindfulness meditation continues to find a foothold within the scientific and medical communities within the US and other parts of the world. With results such as these, it is easy to see why.

Study #2: Mindfulness meditation improves learning, memory, and other cognitive functions

“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day.”

Harvard University Medical School professor Sara Lazar and other Harvard-affiliated researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital set out to demonstrate her claim through the development of an eight-week mindfulness meditation program.

The eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program consisted of weekly mindfulness meditation meetings and audio recordings for the 16 participants to practice alone. They were then instructed to keep track on how much time they practiced individually each day, which averaged out to approximately 27 minutes for all participants. The focal point of the mindfulness meditation for the study was on “nonjudgmental awareness of sensations, feelings, and state of mind.”

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to take brain structure images of the 16 participants, with a separate set of images taken for the control group. Non-meditating individuals did not participate in the program.

The results were astounding.

The participants stated that they experienced exceptional cognitive benefits, which were demonstrable through mindfulness questionnaires. Additionally, MRIs showed measurable physical differences in gray-matter density within the brain.

The images revealed the following:

– Increased gray-matter density within the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory.

– Changes within the brain structure areas responsible for compassion, introspection, and self-awareness.

– Decreased gray-matter density within the amygdala, the brain structure responsible for anxiety and stress.

A distinguished professor at Giessen University in Germany perhaps best sums up this groundbreaking study:

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life.”

Study #3: Mindfulness meditation alleviates stress

Professor J. David Creswell of Carnegie Mellon University proves that long-term mindfulness practice is not necessary to relieve the symptoms of stress. In fact, just 25 minutes of mindfulness meditation for just three days can accomplish just that.

Creswell and his team conducted a study consisting of 66 individuals ranging in age from 18-30 years. One group of participants entered a short meditation program, consisting of 25 minutes of mindfulness practice for three consecutive days. The meditation group did exercises, designed to focus on the breath while turning attention inward to their present moment experiences. The other group utilized the same time period to read poetry to enhance problem-solving capabilities.

For evaluation purposes, all participants completed challenging speech and math tasks in front of stern-looking evaluators. Each participant reported their stress levels in response to these tasks. And, they gave saliva samples, measured for cortisol, a common stress hormone.

The results:

– The meditation group reported less stress induction from the tasks given; demonstrating that mindfulness practice (even in short duration) can increase the resilience to stress.

– Interestingly, the meditation group showed greater levels of cortisol. That result opposed what Creswell and his team expected.

Creswell explains: “When you initially learn mindfulness mediation practices, you have to cognitively work at it — especially during a stressful task…these cognitive efforts may result in the task feeling less stressful, but they may also have physiological costs with greater cortisol production.”

The research team now focuses on automating the mindfulness practices, making it less cognitively taxing while decreasing the levels of cortisol. Even in its early stages, short-term mindfulness meditation is showing great promise in alleviating psychological stressors.

Weekly tips, affirmations, and small actions to feel your best.

Every day is a day to shine. Shine on!