Well Being Psychotherapy

Breathe, you are alive.

"According to a survey from the American Psychological Association, 76 percent of Americans are concerned about the future of the nation. This is now the leading cause of stress, above the economy or work or money." Robert Reich

Ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing leading me to the heart or away from the heart?”

One way to meditate

A few minutes of meditation can make a big impact on stress.
In a recent study: The brain waves of people focusing on their breath changed to suggest they had entered a more relaxed state after just two or three minutes. Here’s how: it’s a simple meditation that involves paying attention to natural breathing. With this type of meditation, you bring your focus back to the inhale and exhale if your mind wanders. Previous studies have shown this quiet, attentive state can promote relaxation and lower stress levels.

Previous studies have shown this quiet, attentive state can promote relaxation and lower stress levels. The researchers looked at how the participants’ brain wave activity changed during a 10-minute meditation session. Within just two or three minutes, all groups showed EEG changes that suggest a more relaxed state.

Meditation primarily affects the brain’s executive function, or the ability to manage and regulate what you think, feel and do. When practicing it regularly, “we see the executive network become more intentional, so you’re more in the driver’s seat of thoughts, emotions and impulses,” said Cortland Dahl, research scientist at the University of Wisconsin Center for Healthy Minds.
Studies suggest meditation may increase brain thickness in areas related to emotional regulation and sensory processing, and that it may reduce emotional reactivity, boost cognitive functions such as focus and attention, and improve stress resilience. Meditating can also make you more resilient to stress and your body less reactive to it, decreasing blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormone levels. While the study looked at focused breathing, experts say any type of meditation can yield similar results.

- Washington Post

What is your purpose? "According to this teaching, there is nothing you need to become. There is nowhere you need to go. There is nothing you need to accomplish. There is nothing for you to realize. There is no project for you to realize. You are already what you wish to become. When we ask a rose or an orchid, ‘Why are you here? What is your purpose?’ The flower might answer, ‘I am here to make life more beautiful. I am here to bring you joy.’ But the flower could also answer, ‘I am simply here.’ I am here just to be here. To be is already enough.” Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh