Happiness For the New Year

I've been rereading Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman for my Life Coaching research paper. I just found a great New Year's project that he recommends to start your year.
On p.81 he describes it, "Shortly after New Year's Day, I find a quiet half an hour to fill out a "January retrospective." I choose a time that is remote from any momentary hassles or uplifts, and I do it on my computer, where I have saved a copy for comparison purposes every year for the last decade. On a scale of 1 to 10 (abysmal to perfect), I rate my satisfaction with my life in each of the domains of great value to me, and I write a couple of sentences that sum up each. The domains I value, which may differ from yours, are as follows:
Love, Profession, Finances, Play, Friends, Health, Generativity, Overall and then Trajectory in which I scrutinize the year-to-year changes and their course across a decade.. I recommend this procedure to you. It pins you down, leaves little room for self-deception, and tells you when to act."
Sounds like a worthy project. That's what I'll be doing tomorrow.
Happy New Year to you all and a big Ho Ho Ho from Charlie the parrot.

'tis the season

As we enter into the final weeks of 2005, I've chosen this time to reflect on the past year. A book title comes to mind, The Gradual Awakening. Maybe it is my seeing what I want to see, but I'm sensing an awakening all around me, in terms of many of the problems we have become complacent about like poverty, global warming, dependence on our shrinking resources, disease, war, our dislocated communities, consumerism, corporate abuse, election fraud, greed and torture. It may be the internet, it may be cell phones, it may be various documentaries, Air America, but there is a growing need to get truthful information, meet and communicate in real time and solve these problems together, outside of the mainstream channels. A true grassroots uprising! What I have been experiencing is a strong, creative, motivated group of activists who are looking for positive ways to get beyond the anger and powerlessness and march out into the sunlight to find ways around the prevailing obstacles and make sure no one gets left out as we go forward. Yes the task is great but for these coming years we have no choice but to correct our human journey and heal the wounds to the earth and each other. It's more complicated than when the Beatles sang "All You Need Is Love" but let's grow our communities with rich soil, fresh air and water. Peace to you all for the New Year and to our brothers and sisters around this precious planet!

If You Build It, They Will Come

They just had the 25th running of the Knickerbocker 60K race this last Saturday. On this special anniversary for this ultramarathon, rich in so much history, I have been recalling my two experiences with joining in this 37 mile race. The race in 1994 is a vague memory. I had the crazy idea that since I had recently spent 16 days trekking the trails of eastern Nepal, that Central Park would be a breeze. Well I got to mile 27 and they closed the course. I had exceeded the time limit! So the unfinished project brewed for about 10 years. This time I made it a group effort and invited all my buddies to run/walk the 37 miles with me. We coordinated our cell phones and all day long my loving friends came and went. With all that support I finished in dramatic fashion, with 5 minutes to spare! My point is, it can be much more than a race. It's the incredible project, the support, the dream, the motivation, all coming together in a fantastic memory that is as clear as yesterday. Great time to start dreaming for the next one.....

The Infinite Mind Radio Show meets American Mania

Well folks, we are on the cutting edge of convergence. This morning on The Infinite Mind Radio they interviewed Peter Whybrow American Mania about hypomania. They were trying to define when hyperactivity becomes a problem and what happens when the entire culture becomes manic. How creativity is involved and even the genetic component was explored. My favorite topics.
I know it is not a pleasant thought to plan waking at 7 a.m. the Sunday after Thanksgiving, but it'll be worth it next week. They are discussing empathy. Another one of my favorite topics! Start taking those naps now!

Authentic Happiness

I'm working on my research paper for my coaching program and have been rereading Authentic Happiness by Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman. Authentic Happiness I found this paragraph near the end of the book and I want to share it with you.
"Could it be that positive emotion, then, has evolved to motivate and guide us through win-win games? When we are in a situation in which everyone might benefit - courting, hunting together, raising children, cooperatiing, planting seeds, teaching and learning - joy, good cheer, contentment, and happiness motivate us and guide our actions. Positive emotions are part of a sensory system that alerts to us the presence of a potential win-win. They also set up an action repertoire and a mind set that broadens and builds abiding intellectual and social reasources. Positive emotion, in short, build the cathedrals of our lives."

Who turned out the lights?

The days are unfortunately getting shorter and darker going into the holidays. That, combined with our busy schedules, what with trying to get everything done, is a volatile combination. Check out When Your Body Gets the Blues for their advice about getting enough light into your life during these harried times. They are very thorough and answer all the questions I have always wondered about, like whether windows filter the "good" light. There is a great description of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The symptoms are too common to mention. We can use everything that is out there in our arsenal for staying chipper during this coming season of festivities.

Update On Simple Living

Well, the update on the "Transforming Your Relationship with Money" program is here! I've been having a blast going through the CD's and workbook. It is set up so I do my review questions from the previous session and then the preview questions to the next session before I listen. Joe Dominguez is hilarious and a great reason for me to get my homework done, so I can hurry up and get to the next session.
I'm up to session 9 of the 12 and am noticing the effects already. I'm more relaxed about my income and much more realistic about what I want, need and already have. There is less emotional charge in the areas of income and spending, so I'm not feeling crazed anymore. Officially I start the online group at the end of the month, so this is just the beginning. Visit Simple Living Network for details about how to sign up.

What do Kurt Vonnegut, Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain, Timothy Treadwell as Grizzly Man and Bob Dylan have in common?

Well it certainly has been a week of input! I didn’t plan it this way, but some themes have revealed themselves in these 4 stories.
In the core of each story, is a person who truly does not fit any mold and bumps up against the collective desire to speak from the same voice. They all see things in a very unique way and simply cannot fit into the uniform society craves. Even the left, the protesters, youth culture, environmentalists and folk singers come across as quite rigid in the presence of these unrestricted souls.
I’ve heard Kurt Vonnegut speak twice, seen the Werner Herzog movie, Grizzly Man, watched lots of the PBS Bob Dylan film by Martin Scorsese and finally the life of Samuel Clemens on also on PBS.
What I did notice in each of these stories was a superficial displeasure and rebelliousness when these 4 fella’s were restrained, boo’ed, speaking things or playing a style of music that the public wasn’t ready to hear. On a deeper level, they were and are on a mission to speak their truth in an uncensored way and implied in that act is an optimism and hope for humanity. Why else bother, especially with the scrutiny that they were faced with?
At the Q&A that followed the Grizzly Man movie, it was fascinating to see how many audience members needed to declare Treadwell crazy and dismiss him. I mentioned the "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control" movie, especially the lion tamer's story. (See my last post). There were several people, including myself, who understood that living with grizzly bears every summer for 13 years was beyond our comprehension. We were inspired that he lived true to his vision. We also saw the love he had for the animals and his ability to communicate and live among them. Judgments be damned! I encourage you to check out some of these “living outside the box” folks. Listen and be inspired.

In case you missed this one......

Director Errol Morris made a tiny, little movie in 1997 that slipped under the radar. I was reminded of my love of naked mole rats recently and then this movie. We are all a little crazy (especially this author) but these guys are really into their passions, so do we call it crazy? Fun and thought provoking. I love and recommend all of his work!

Here's the official synopsis:The film interwoven the stories of four obsessive men, each driven to create eccentric worlds of their dreams, all involving animals: Dave Hoover, a lion tamer who idealizes the late Clyde Beatty, and who shares his odd theories on the mental processes of wild animals; George Mendonça, a topiary gardener who has devoted a lifetime to painstakingly shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; Ray Mendez, who is fascinated with hairless mole-rats, tiny buck-toothed mammals who behave like insects; and Rodney Brooks, an M.I.T. scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs without specific instructions from a human controller. As the film proceeds, thematic connections between the four protagonists begin to emerge: the lion tamer and the topiary gardener look back at ways of life which are fading from the scene; the mole-rat specialist and the robot scientist eye the future, envisioning creatures that may someday replace the human race.

Happy Birthday to Charlie Parker (our African Grey parrot) and to my sister in OR!!

Simple Living Network

This is the home of it all! Unclutter, get your relationship to money in order and live in s sustainable way. And it's simple. Visit Simple Living Network for lots of tips, support, resources and study groups. I just signed up for the one called "Your Money or Your Life". I'll let you know how it goes. I think simplicity is the antidote to the culture that keeps pulling us away from our deepest values for quick rewards and pleasures. I am doing an experiment and turning off the TV and radio for a month and just listening to jazz. I feel calmer already after only a couple of days and will gradually focus on what I can give back with my new found time and energy. Stay tuned!

In Loving Memory

I want to honor Dr. Harold Kristal, my teacher and mentor and primary founder of the Metabolic Typing Nutrition Program. He died last week in California and will be missed by all the people that experienced his warmth and open spirit. He took the best of all those scientists in the field who went before and combined it into one inclusive system. His focus has always been on how to serve each individual the best. He would take the time to design a specific program for each person who came to him and would fill people with hope and optimism about their health issues. My husband and I both went to his clinic and were honored to have been seen by him. As a teacher, he wanted to spread his Metabolic Typing protocol near and far and he shared his approach to diet freely with hundreds of healing practitioners. His work will go on through us and I will dedicate my efforts to his legacy.

Sport's Mind

Having just completed the 20th anniversary celebration of my first two triathlons, I am a very different person then I was 20 years ago. I am enjoying being fit enough to breeze through these big athletic projects. These days, I am smelling the roses as I go along and yes I am slower but strength and stamina are my new targets.
I decided now is the time to introduce Sport's Mind Earlier in the summer I did a teleclass with Jeffrey Hodges, the originator of this program. What I liked was the flexibility of his approach and how similar it is to what I am coming to understand works best in coaching. Jeffrey puts the emphasis on what successful athletes have used to help them get the results they want and adapting this to the level of each of his clients. These are mostly internal stratagies in areas of motivation, goal acheivement, concentration/focus, anxiety management, self confidence, outlook and attitude, and finally the vision. What I mean by flexibility is the ability to go beyond judgements about "how it is supposed to be done" and creating your own goals within the larger context. This can be as rewarding as doing a "great time". There are many approaches to our athletic goals. Being fit, for example, is mine. Fun may be yours. Go for it!

Infinite Mind Alert - Multitasking

If you missed yesterday's show 8/7/05 you can still listen on line. The Infinite Mind Radio Dr.Peter Kramer and the other reporters clarified the health consequences involved in multitasking and how it ultimately hurts productivity. I especially liked the description of Charles Ives's ability to count in all sorts of rhythms at the same time. Being a bass player, as part of the rhythm section, I can't even imagine his talent.
Dr. Meyers discussed the pre-frontal cortex in our brains during multitasking. One important idea that he clarified is that we need to talk to ourselves in order to perform certain tasks. Anything that interfers with our own inner voices, like conversations on a cell phone, interrupt our self-talk when trying to get something done. This is why driving and talking on a cell phone is the equivalant of exceeding the alcohol limit for driving. WOW!
I'm still not suggesting you wake a t 7 a.m. on Sunday mornings, but these shows are well worth the listen.

Molecules of Emotion

Candace Pert, Ph.D., makes her 8 suggestions for living a healthy lifestyle towards the end of her book Molecules of Emotion.
She can also be seen in the film What The Bleep Do We Know.
Her specialty is, after years of research in the area of receptor sites and studying the emotional information that is passed from cell to cell, to help us understand how it all works. Equipped with this information we can make better choices in our lives, directing us towards a healthier future.
Here are her 8 recommendations:
1) Becoming Conscious - full consciousness is physical, mental and emotional. We "listen in" on the conversation going on at the automatic levels of our nervous system, breathing, digestion, immunity, pain control and blood flow. This is where decisions towards health and disease are made from minute to minute.
2) Accessing the Psychosomatic Network - blood flow to our brains can be blocked due to denial, repression or tauma. This can leave you foggy and less alert. By learning to bring your awareness to memories stored in the very receptors of your cells, you can release yourself from these blocks. This is the main benefit of therapy.
3) Tapping into your Dreams - you can integrate awareness of emotions into your lifestyle by developing the daily habit of recalling and transcribing your nighttime dreams. Your consciousness in the form of a dream happens due to the biochemicals of emotion, as the body and mind retune themselves each night. Information you gather from your dreams can be very helpful towards healing yourself.
4) Getting in Touch with Your Body - you can also gather healing information from an awareness of how your skin, spinal cord, and organs are functioning, as another way to understand the role emotions play in our lives.
5) Reduce stress - meditation is the most effective tool for this. It allows the release of stuck emotions that are interferring with our health.
6) Exercising - make sure you engage your emotions and make it fun to workout. This might mean adding music, going for a walk in a pretty place. Make sure there is lots of feedback between your body and your mind to avoid overdoing it and to prevent injury. Keep asking yourself how you are feeling during a session.
7) Eating Wisely - eating is a very emotionally charged activity. That's where the expression "I have a gut feeling about that" comes from. By tuning into your emotions, as information about your digestive process, you can develop your ability to know what your body needs in the way of nourishmet and when.
8) Avoid Substance Abuse - we have our own natural "feel good" chemicals circulating in us at all times. Introducing something from the outside that competes with our own chemicals, causes our natural feedback loop to collapse, leaving only a small number of our own natural chemicals and a craving for those "outsiders".

American Mania: When More Is Not Enough

Here are a few excerpts from Peter C. Whybrow’s book American Mania: When More Is Not Enough
“If as Americans we are to enjoy the benefits of the Fast New World and to avoid its pitfalls, we must first control the mania that it induces. We live in a culture in which our acquisitive cravings have been promoted beyond our needs, and the demand and strain, which that craving now inflicts on mind and body, are beginning to exceed the flexibility inherent in our biological heritage.”
“—we have accumulated a mountain of personal debt. This debt, which in a time of diminished economic activity is increasingly difficult to service, now burdens the average American family and helps drive our treadmill-like existence.”
These are the suggestions from his book and on his website called T.O.M. Rules. Check it out at American Mania

RULE #1

TIME IS KEY: IT’S YOURS, SO USE IT WISELY
Scheduling isn’t what is important. Making every moment meaningful is the goal. Time is finite and should be cherished, protected and “invested” wisely. Setting priorities and making choices consistant with your purpose helps to plant the seeds for geuine personal and family happiness.


RULE #2

YOU’RE THE BOSS. MAKE TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR YOU, NOT VICE-VERSA

Technology is a two edged sword. It has the power to overload and addict us. The average American is targeted with 3,000 advertising messages a day. It takes diligent practice and support to succeed at holding back these unwanted intrusions into our lives. Technology can be a valuable tool when used to serve our genuine priorities and goals.

RULE #3

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR APPETITE FOR FOOD. EAT RESPONSIBLY, PREFERABLY WITH FRIENDS

We evolved genetically from environments where food was scarse. There are few natural constraints to eating. We receive weak signals to say that we are full, especially when we gobble down our meals. The answer is to eat slowly in the company of others. Be sure to be aware of the quality of what you are eating and savor your meal.

RULE #4
HONOR YOUR BODY

We have been told that multitasking is desirable in our turbo charged culture. The process of switching back and forth rapidly from one thing to another is exhausting and can even be dangerous, in the car for example. Stick to one activity at a time and put your full attention on one thing at a time whenever possible.
In our busy, sedentary lives, exercise gets neglected. Try to put new activities into your schedule, like walking during breaks at work with your coworkers, taking the stairs. Plan your day around your gym schedule.
Be realistic when deciding your daily schedule. Allow for traffic jams and enjoy some music while you wait. Try not to overschedule family activities and allow for “serendipity” time to interact spontaneously. Interacting with the real world, in real time, with real people in your life is the best way to break the mania cycle.

Don’t substitute frenzied activity

The Nutrition Solution

I just got back from my monthly Metabolic Typing session at the office. I always get a kick out of sharing the results of the testing and watching the reactions of my clients to their brand new food list.
The observation I can make is that we mostly gravitate to what we should be eating on our own. However, there is always about 25% of the recommended foods that turn out to be a surprise. Check out Dr. Kristal’s book for this great way of approaching nutrition, where he gives such love and respect to all the scientists that went before and combines the best they have to offer. Nutrition Solution

The Infinite Mind Radio Show Alert

You've got a whole week to get ready to set your clock for 7 a.m. next Sunday. The Infinite Mind radio show is going to devote an entire hour to the topic of V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N's. How to leave your cell phones home and really get away!!!! Since we've been having a hot, humid summer here in New York, hearing about a vacation on a cool mountain top might just be worth getting up early for!!
The Infinite Mind Radio

When Your Body Gets The Blues

There is a major time crunch going on and sadly, I think it might be here to stay. Check out this book by Marie-Annette Brown and Jo Robinson "When Your Body Gets the Blues" for their 3 simple strategies that will get you feeling better without hours at the gym, unless you like that sort of thing. (I certainly do!!) Get enough light everyday, go for a walk and take your vitamins. Easy as 1-2-3. Since we have just passed the longest day of the year, light isn't much of a problem yet, so just enjoy your walk and take your vitamins. Easy as 1-2. They have lots of great tips in their book and on their site and have done studies of all these lifestyle improvements to back up their recommendations. Take the quizz too!!
When Your Body Gets the Blues

The Infinite Mind Radio Show

The reason I included this radio show, is because I have asked everyone I know, and no one gets up at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning to listen to the radio. I look forward to this show every week and feed our companion birds while I listen. Fred Goodwin is retired from the show but he is filling in for Peter Kramer on this show. To listen click on the Infinite Mind link
Infinite Mind radio show on my blog and then go down to this same description of this show and you’ll be able to download the show.

Here’s the blurb describing yesterday’s show.
In this hour, we explore Animal Companions. Can having a fish help people with Alzheimer's disease? Does having a dog lower your risk of depression? We hear the latest research on the health and mental health benefits of having pets. Guests include Dr. Alan Beck, Director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at the School of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University and co-author of Between Pets and People: The Importance of Animal Companionship; Dr. Susan Cohen, a social worker at the Animal Medical Center in New York City; Dr. Harriet Ritvo, a professor of history at MIT whose books include "The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age"; and pet trainer Bash Dibra whose books include "DogSpeak" and "Cat Speak."

Whartons' Stretch and Strength

People always ask me what type of exercise is best. Since we are all so different and we have different goals at different times in our lives, this is an impossible question to answer. Are you a conditioned athlete, training for a specific sport? Are you just getting back to an exercise program after years of neglect? Do you exercise to calm yourself or to have more energy or to get in shape?
Jim and Phil Wharton use the safest and most targeted approach to the question of which exercise is best. They isolate each muscle, so you get a total workout. With their scientific approach, you are in great hands. They have a clinic in New York City and besides being two of the nicest guys on the planet, you can get help with all you fitness questions. Check out their site when you have time. Wharton Stretch and Strength

The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life

Nell Newman and Joseph D’Agnese have written a great resource book, packed with lots of wonderful information. As you work your way through the various topics, you’ll be presented with lots of choices about foods, technology, even what to feed your pet turtle. You get a small dose of the gloomy state of affairs in our world, which is then quickly followed by how to take actions friendly to the environment and your own health.
Here’s her view on how she makes her own decisions about how she wants to eat.
“I’m what you’d call a “flexatarian.” I prefer to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but I’m not averse to eating meat, poultry, and fish from time to time. It depends on the circumstance. I do admire the goals of vegetarians but I’ve always valued flexibility in eating. If I’m in New Orleans, I’ll try gumbo. Or chowder and lobster in Maine. If a business associate is taking me out to dinner, or a friend has graciously prepared a wonderful dinner, I think it’s more fun to enjoy the food before me than to scrutinize ingredients. Food and friends make the meal.”

So many discussions about the environment leave me feeling hopeless and helpless. I loved this book because it made me feel expansive and empowered to take action. It’s a great read and a great resource, so roll up your sleeves!!
Newmans' Own Organics

What the Bleep movie

The movie's name is What the Bleep Do We Know?
Early in this fascinating movie about how quantum physics interacts with our lives, this following idea is introduced and then the movie goes on to demonstrate how this all can occur.
“Why do we keep recreating the same reality? Why do we keep having the same relationships, having the same jobs over and over again? In the infinite sea of possibilities that surrounds us, how come we keep creating the same realities? Isn’t it amazing that we have options and potentials that surround us but we are unaware of them? Is it possible that we are so conditioned to our daily lives, so conditioned to the way we create our lives, that we buy the idea that we have no control at all. We have been conditioned to believe that the outside world is more real then what goes on inside us. This new model of science is just the opposite. It says that what’s happening within us will create what happens outside of us.”
I’m on my second viewing and am seeing lots of cool details that I missed on the first go round.
What The Bleep Do We Know?

Suggestions for increasing Pleasure and Gratitude

These are the recommendations from Authentic Happiness, Dr. Seligman's book for truly increasing fleeting pleasures and finding those gratifying projects that add true value to your life. To find out more visit his web site.
Authentic Happiness
To keep pleasure in a balanced place in our lives and leave more time for the gratifying endeavors we want to pursue try these exercises.
Spread out your pleasurable experiences
Find the spacing that keeps the pleasure freshest and eliminates habituation
Bring deliberate conscious attention to the experience of pleasure
Share and discuss pleasures with others to create memories
Focus total attention on the present pleasure without distractions

To choose gratifying activities you can look for activities in many walks of life. What they have in common are:
Challenge and skill required
Concentration
Clear goals
Immediate feedback
Deep, effortless involvement
Sense of control
Sense of self disappears
Time stops

Not easy to follow these recommendations but definitly worth the effort!!! Caio!

Take the quizz!

With the links to the right, there are lots of free interactive quizzes. You can start with www.authentichappiness.com to discover your signature strengths and start living a life that is in synch with them right away. Have fun!

Intro. Note

My reason for this blog? I have gathered a world of inspiration from these authors and film makers. I invite you to slowly check them out and find your own inspiration. What these authors all share is the soul of scientific inquiry with the accessibility to reach our inquisitive souls and a dash of heart to bring it into our lives in a practical way. Keep checking back here for discussions about the topics taken from these sources and we can slowly work through the ideas and share how we have put them into practical application. Enjoy! A cyber book club par excellence