Learning To Relax With 10 Minute Meditation

Thursday, September 3, 2009

At Saneadvice.com we want to help our visitors learn to relax without the use of medication. If you can learn to relax and remove stress from your life without medication, it’s what you want to do first.

The most important thing for you to do on a daily basis is meditate. There are many resources online that you can use for learning the art of meditation, like the TM site, and we at SA would like to put up a very simple and easy meditation technique that is only 10 minutes long. This meditation should be done twice a day, but three is better, and one is just helpful. Do it once in the morning before you start your day, and once later in the day when you have finished all or any chores, work, etc. Instead of turning on the TV as soon as you have some time to kill, meditate first.

I am going to use some sample videos from Claire Diab that will prepare you for your meditation. These are Youtube clips I put up so you can try meditation, without having to invest anything money wise – just time wise. However, these clips are far from the entire DVD which goes through everything in MUCH more detail, so if you want to learn much more about mediation, please see Claire Diab’s web site and order her books, DVDs, and CDs there. Sane Advice is a non-profit blog for anxiety suffers, so we do not profit from linking to Claire’s web site. We just know she truly cares about helping people and making money is a natural bi-product of success.

Now on with the meditation process. These clips come from Claire’s DVD called, “Breathe….Move…..Meditate”, where she guides you through a 10 minute, 20 minute, and 30 minute meditations, including the pre-meditation breathing exercises. Here is a bit from her site;

Claire Diab will teach you mantra meditation, breathing techniques, chakra toning and the six directions of the spine. These powerful breathing techniques help to purify and cleanse your lungs, which in turn purifies and nourishes every single cell in your body.

If you have never meditated before, you can use a simple and effective mantra which is provided by Claire as well. You will use the mantra SO – HUM – NAMAH. You make these sounds to yourself slowly and easily, so you can pretty well do this anywhere. This is silent meditation. But first the breathing exercises to do before we start the mantra.

Breathing Exercises Before 10 Minute Meditation – Close Your Eyes

First breathe deeply and gently in so your stomach is moving in and out, and do this about a dozen times to relax yourself. Try and clear your mind at this step best you can, because we are getting in to the flow of the meditation already.
Then you breathe in through your nose twice in a row, then exhale twice in a row. These are short little breathes. So this 10 times and then take a break for a moment to breathe easy. Then do it again for 10 more times – then breathe easy. Do the whole cycle 3 times.
Then you breathe through your nose quickly, in and out, in and out, in and out. Do it 10 times, and then take a break for a few breathes. Do this quick in and out breathing through the nose 10 more times, and then take another break. Do the whole cycle 3 times.
Alternate nostril breathing is the next breathing exercise. Hold one nostril closed and breath in through the other and hold your breathe for a moment. Then release that nostril and close the other which you just took your breathe in with, and exhale. Keep your finger closing the nostril you are closing now, and inhale. Once you inhale, hold your breathe again, switch your finger to the opposite nostril holding it closed and exhale. Repeat the whole process a few times. See video below for reverse nostril breathing.
Breathe in and out normally for about 10 breathes, just like you would breathe if you were not even paying attention to your breathing. Just relax. You are likely feeling quite relaxed now, but the best is yet to come. Stay with me here.

Start Your 10 Minute Meditation

Now start your 10 minute meditation period. Close your eyes, and slowly, calmy, gently, repeat the mantra from above;

SOOOOO - HUMMMMM – NAMAHHHHHHH…………………SOOOOO - HUMMMMM – NAMAHHHHHHH

If you hear noises in the background, just focus back on your mantra, SO – HUM – NAMAH. If you have any thoughts that disturb your mantra, just go back to the mantra SO – HUM – NAMAH.

If you have never meditated before, you will find that your mind will fight back against you somewhat and disturb your thoughts. That is normal. Just focus back on the mantra, and after awhile your mind will calm down, and after a further while you will feel a sensation of nothingness when your mind has calmed down completely and you in your true and natural state.

Just 10 minutes a day, twice a day, is amazing. If you can do 30 minutes twice a day even better.

I will be posting Youtube video clips to show these steps as well. Once again, these are just small clips of Claire’s instructions.

Filed in Meditation | Tagged breathing exercises, Meditation, pre-meditation, relaxation, tm | Comments (0)

Writing This Post While In Panic (Ego and Anxiety)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Today I want to talk a little bit about the relationship between the ego and anxiety in a personal way. Ironically, I have had allot of anxiety these past few days, and I’m now processing and using my anti-anxiety tool kit to put everything back in perspective. As I write this I am in the anxiety cloud stage which I have talked about before. So here we go.

Notice how your mind is being used to visualize these things I’m asking you to visualize. Notice how the mind is simply a tool that the ego will try to hijack, but yet it’s a tool your true self uses as well. The difference is that your true self uses the mind correctly, while the ego uses your mind incorrectly.

When you FEEL you true self using your mind correctly, you will feel a sensation of witnessing. Your goal is to let “the witness” have ownership of your mind. The witness is actually the universal mind speaking through you. You will be finally conscious to reality, and not the falsehoods your ego has been perpetuating.

If you are thinking any scary thoughts, or fears, don’t you worry! This is just the frightened ego panicking. The ego is not your enemy though, O.K. – look upon your ego as nothing more than a frightened child that needs some direction. It’s never about killing your ego – it’s all about accepting and witnessing your ego, and taking it by the hand with love and kindness.

What we’re doing here is taking your ego by the hand and going for a walk. Explain to your ego that everything is going to be fine. Tell your ego things like, “Don’t worry – we’ll have lots of fun in the future, and I have not forgotten you.”

Tell your ego that you love him or her. Tell your ego that you are going to look after everything, and that it will never be alone. Then tell your ego that you are going to take control the reins for awhile, because it has been worrying much too much about the future, and feeling much to much guilt about the past.

Explain to your ego that it’s NOT going crazy in any way. Explain to your ego that it’s just a normal human trait to feel these emotions from time to time. Remember that all of this fear will pass. Remember that any time you are feeling frightened, it’s the ego in you that is trying to take the wheel for total control.

Gently, with a loving touch, ease your ego’s fingers off the steering wheel. Put a hand on your ego’s head and turn to look him or her in the eye. At this point of the thought process, imagine seeing your ego face to face. You may see a child which is very common. (this is what some in the recovery movement do to identify their “inner child” and forgive it with love. When recovery movements, therapies, or self-help literature speak of the inner child, they are actually describing of the ego)

All you want to do is loosen the grip your worried ego has and allow the true presence of yourself take over. When you have worry free days, and you feel happy, content, and not afraid, you are feeling positive about the future and present moment. You are not moved by guilt of the past, or remorse of the past either. You are not moved by guilt just because you thought badly of other people. When you have these great days, it’s your ego feeling satisfied with everything going on in your life currently, and your true self rejoices in the bliss of the moment because it’s always been there waiting patiently for your ego to understand that “everything is alright”.

Unfortunately, when your life situation is not ideal, and there is external stress to deal with, your ego can begin to feel overwhelmed and afraid. It then tries paint everything black and tries to block out your eternal bliss. This is when you are miserable and anxious. Some people spill all their anger, fear, rage, and misery outwards, causing suffering and pain for all others around them. They feel some relief for a brief instance, and then their ego manages to quickly start “beating themselves up”, causing even more anxiety for themselves. Often when this kind of ego enslavement is in action the human will then resort to some sort of drug or alcohol “solution”, which is also brief, and followed by more guilt, physical discomfort, and more external drama perpetrated on other human beings. This is what the Bible and other faith-based teachings define as hell – and all along it never HAS to be this way.

Now for those who suffer from anxiety, we usually internalize our ego-based anger, sadness, fear, and loathing. This causes our anxiety disorders. Remember the old bumper sticker and poster of the 1970′s that had this saying?,

“Stress: The confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it”

This is an ego-based statement. It’s surely funny, but why is it so funny? Because it’s makes us laugh at our silly human egos. We all have moments in our lives when we are really angry (disconnected from reality) and we think to ourselves something like, “I’d like to punch that person out”.

Of course, the vast majority of people on earth don’t act on a thought like that, because deep inside we know it’s a ridiculous and hateful thing to do, and we’re afraid of what will happen as well. So when we have a chance to laugh at our own angry moments and negative emotions, it’s a great relief. I think I’ve mentioned before that laughing at yourself (or your ego actually) is great therapy when you are stressed out.

This funny saying is true in some ways for people who suffer from anxiety sometimes. We don’t spill outward our fear and anger because we don’t want to hurt or upset others. We take it inward and not outward. On a purely temporary point of view, it would seem that the person who spills out their grief and pain on others is better off – but not in the long run. In the long run these people suffer much more, and are usually left without any kind of human support later in life.

The trick to relieving anxiety for most people is to accept it for it’s temporary existance, literally laugh at your fear, ease off the self absorbtion with activity and movement, and stop taking ourselves so seriously. In other words, stop taking ego-based and false selves so seriously.

Have you ever seen some of the pictures of Buddha laughing. This is what the truth is. The truth is fearless and alive. We can laugh at ourselves as a way to disspate the ego which controls our mind processes during stress bouts.

Try chuckling and laughing at all things you’ve been worried about or sad about. I know how hard it is to that when you are in the middle of a stressful time, but it can help a little – if not briefly.

Rest assured that your anxiety will be gone soon, and always has in the past. It is NOT a permanent thing. With or without medication, you will get through the stressful times, and realize how silly your little ego is to so afraid.

So to update my current situation as I write this post. I still feel like I’m in the anxiety cloud and writing about anxiety is probably not the best thing to do at the moment, but honestly, and look at all times of anxiety as a chance to learn. Even as I have been in the full anxiety mode today, I deep down inside feel like there is hope, bright blue sky days, happy happy times, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, smiling faces, and stress free days, weeks, months, and years ahead of me.

This is the true mystery of the human mind – even when our egos are taking everything so seriously, and is making our days miserable, we can still feel that somewhat distant voice of reality that is never gone. It’s quietly speaking the truth about the beauty of life, and when the clouds of anxiety pass by, the blue sky of peace and tranquility will be waiting for us. Just writing this makes me feel better.

This is the first time that I’ve ever written a post while under extreme stress so it’s interesting. I’m not sure how long I will continue writing, but the words seem to keep coming out.

My wife is almost ready now to go out, and we putting our dogs (two Golden Retrievers) in our little GMC truck, and going to the dump (landfill) to get rid of some dirt and branches we cleared away a couple of weeks ago. It’s a perfectly blue sky day today, and you would have to wonder why I would feel anxious at all. I have a big house in an upscale neighborhood, a perfect job for me (which is blogging from home) and pays very well, our kids are both out of the house and doing very well. It’s late August and it’s warm and perfect. Our financial house is in order and we are in good health. We travel all the time because our job’s allow for this kind of freedom. We do that in a brand new motor home we bought last year. So how could I possibly feel anxiety? Good question. I don’t quite know either, but I have a guess.

It means so much to me that other people are doing OK in the world, and I can easily get very wrapped up in the “state of the world”. I also get very wrapped in United States politics, and the last 9 years has been difficult to watch. Seeing all of the problems Americans are going through has caused me alot of stress – basically I have caused myself allot of stress because I have chosen to let me ego take control and lament about the plight of others. It’s hard for me to see the suffering of others and write if off as part of the divine order of life on earth.

I know that there are other countries and other peoples who are suffering much more than Americans, but I have always felt that if American can get it’s act together, there is a chance for the rest of world. It’s like the flight attendant that tells parents to make sure they have their oxygen mask on first before helping their children. I use this as a metaphor for the United States and the world. If the U.S.A can get it together, they can help with influence in the rest of the world. Not with leathal weapons, but with compassion, leadership, and diplomacy. It’s a dream – a good dream, but for my own stress levels I have to accept that there is tragedy in the world, and that I will not see what I perceive to be a perfect world. This is the naive state that my adult mind still plays with sometimes.

This is how over-sized my own ego is. It will actually try and convince me that I should feel guilt for the suffering of others, because I have been so lucky. This is why I started Saneadvice.com, and why I don’t use my real name, and why there is no advertising on this site. I needed to create a web site that helps people through their anxiety issues, without me gaining from it, and without me taking credit for it.

(I have other web sites that are not about self-help and anxiety, and they are purely for making money. This is why my wife and I free and make a good living)

I think the reason I am so anxious today is because it is tax time, it’s the month end, and I’v been feeling tired and a little ill. I have been watching too much news as the United States Congress, Senate, and Whitehouse grapple with trying to fix their nation’s healthcare problem. I see some extreme so-called right-wing people trying to scare people for the sake of large profit hungry insurance companies, and medical services related companies. I see the elected politicians in the U.S. government taking contributions from these same private companies which is the ultimate in conflict of interest. Meanwhile I see over 35 million people in the United States who don’t have health care at all, and hundreds of thousand of others losing the health care they have. I see the great injustice of all this, and I get very angry. This is pure ego, and I’ll feel better when I just let it go. I can pray for these people. I can pray for the United States and World, and really that is the best I can do.

So this too maybe what has brought on this anxiety. Like I have said before, it’s usually a combination of things adding up over time which bring on anxiety problems, and it alway means I have been processing what I see the wrong way. In order to see the reality of life I can’t be constantly telling myself how messed up the world is, or people are. I have to stop judging so many things as bad, or “not right”, and I have to give up control all together. Just let things be as they are and accept it. Then I have to learn once again what is the truth.

The truth is that I don’t have to take myself so seriously, and I’m NOT going to “save the world”, and I’m not heading for a personal disaster. As all people who have experienced extreme anxiety know – our common sense feels like it’s impossible to grasp when we are “out there” consumed with fear.

I must say that now I feel much better because of what just happened in our living room. My wife’s computer was not working for her, and it was something very simple and I knew it. I got frustrated, and as I was trying to help her (as quickly as possible) I acted angry in my face expressions, and tone of voice. I fixed her monitor problem, and then I apologized for seeming angry, and explained that I was feeling stress.

She responded by saying, “Oh, I thought you were just being an insensitive prick.” I began to laugh out loud and so did she. There is an inside joke here and it goes like this.

I told my wife once that when I’m deeply anxious I get quieter, I eat less, I move by body (more exercise), I stop smoking, and I become more aware of how I am treating others. I told her that when I’m feeling better, I’m less sensitive to others, I over eat, I don’t exercise, I smoke, I don’t worry. She said jokingly,

“So let me get this right – when you are feeling good, you are a fat and lazy insensitive prick” We both started to laugh loudly. This is good comfort to laugh at yourself.

Well we must go to the dump now. This post has helped move things along in my discission on the ego and how serious we can get. We must learn to float and not get “bent out of shape” when things we see and witness don’t go according to our egos.

The answer to my stress today is very simple friends – my little ego is upset because it is not seeing exactly what it wants. When I give up this ego and learn to laugh at my ego, I will start to feel like “myself again”.

Sorry if anyone reading Saneadvice.com ever thought that I had “my shit together” completely, and that I never have extreme anxiety on some days. The reality is that no human ever totally conquers their ego. We can learn to live with our ego though, and we can spend most all our time relaxing in the moment.

Sometimes anxiety just means you need to reset your thinking because you have been thinking wrongly for awhile. Hitting reset button now!

Filed in Anxiety Help | Tagged anxiety, Anxiety Help, ego, Panic Attacks, panic disorder, personal anxiety | Comments (2)

The Seven Keys to Recovering from a Panic Attack or Episode

Friday, August 21, 2009

There are certain key thought processes that can stop a panic attack, when you are in the middle of the attack, and there are the all-important thought processes to use to get yourself back in a better place all around.

So this post is called the “Seven Keys to Recovering from a Panic Episode”. Here I will list the seven thought processes you can undergo in order to stop a panic attack, greatly reduce stress overall, and then enter your “place of bliss”.

Follow these steps in order, and don’t move to the next step until you have fully absorbed and FELT the feeling – not just THOUGHT of the idea.

Key #1 – Acceptance

This first step is extremely important for you if you are presently in the midst of a panic attack or extreme anxiety. You need to calm yourself down by simply ACCEPTING your moment. No matter how bad your anxiety is in the current moment, just say to yourself that you accept the situation. Don’t judge your anxiety attack as bad, good, or anything in between. Just look upon your present anxious moment with a loving observer’s view point. Don’t beat yourself up – just close your eyes and FEEL acceptance of the moment. Once you feel acceptance, you will be amazed at how quickly your anxious thoughts begin to dissipate.

No matter what is causing your anxiety, this acceptance will work for you, but you must feel it. Focus your energy and attention on your body – your chest, your breathing, your legs, your arms, your shoulders, your hands, feet, etc – and feel the acceptance of your present moment situation. Don’t move on to the next steps until you have done this first step. Remember that you are not alone right now. There is the presence of pure love all around you no matter how much your ego and worried mind have tried to convince you otherwise.

All writings from all sages at some point mention the importance of acceptance. The very root, and core reason, for why us human beings suffer from anxiety is because we are resisting what is. We may be thinking about a possible “bad” outcome, or stressing about past issues. If you are able to simply exist in the very moment of your being, it is impossible to have stress symptoms. You can learn a heap about the art of living in the moment by reading Eckhart Tolle’s book A New Earth, and I encourage you to do so. I talk about the art of living in the now in one of the later keys.

For instance, if you have anxiety attacks triggered from driving, or being in public, just focus on accepting your current position. If you are stuck on the highway during a long and busy commute, and you feel anxiety pulsing through your body, tell yourself that you accept the moment, and remember that you are just fine. Just watch the road, your mirrors, and breath deeply. Accept, and watch how your anxiety begins to drop and maybe even fade away completely.

Key #2 – Go Within

Going within is the next step once you have FELT acceptance. Once again, going within must be “felt” and not just “thought”. Remember that your ego, your mind, all external people, and all external form, is not the real you. The real you is within – deep within.

In this key (or step) you need to FEEL your inner body and feel all external form leaving your inner domain. Your body truly is a temple of God (or universal love if you prefer) and deep inside your physical form exists a silent and sacred place – basically your body is made up of from the same particles, atoms, molecules, as the universe. What dwells inside of you is perfect and untouched by all external “happenings” and “events”.

Use your mind to visualize your body taking in it’s breath and exhaling it’s breath. Imagine all of your internal organs, bones, blood, and joints in their silent perfection. Your body carries out it’s living miracle without worry or fear, and it is attached to universal love, kindness, and affection. It’s a perfect vessel regardless if it’s in a wheel chair, on crutches, overweight, underweight, bald, hairy, dirty, clean, sweaty, white, brown, black, pink, or green. This has nothing to do with what society calls beauty. This is the same for all humans living on earth, no matter what their living situation.

So remember all of these facts as you focus your energy on your breathing and your inner body. Imagine and see all of your worries, concerns, and events as part of your mind and ego’s reality, because your fear and anxiety is NOT a part of your true reality – your true self does not even understand what fear and anxiety is.

After you have practiced acceptance, and you have FELT your focus going deep inside your body, you will most certainly begin feeling MUCH better. Your stress and anxiety will seem to be nothing more than a cloud existing outside of your body and owned by your false ego and mind.

Next key step is to be the witness, watch the witness, and understand the witness.

Key #3 – Be The Witness and Watch The Witness

“The Witness” is a term used by many ancient contemporary faiths and religions – and for good reason. The witness is divine energy and it is the real you. The witness is your true self as it exists in the cosmic soup of living energy in the universe. It is what most peoples of earth call God.

There is nothing fancy about seeing and feeling the witness. It’s perfectly natural, and the only truth you can know. It is actually where miracles are manifested. It’s where pure love and light exist.

Instead of listening to your ego, as it is trying to scare the hell out of you, let the witness take control of your mind. You can always recognize the witness because it only uses your mind to think thoughts of love, compassion, and kindness – kindness and love for all life on earth, and this INCLUDES YOU!

Witness the witness as it is watching you, the people around you, the air around you, the trees, the furniture, the sky, and ground and floor beneath your feet. FEEL the witness above your head fondly smiling upon you. This witness is God, Jesus, and every loving soul that has ever temporarily inhabited a body on earth.

Notice how the witness loves you and all those around you. Notice how the witness IS you. Notice how the witness is completely detached from your ego’s worrying and role playing. Feel how the witness accepts all that you are and all that you have felt in your life.

When you start hearing kind and compassionate words going through your head telling how everything is going to be O.K., you know the witness is manifesting it’s presence for you to feel.

The witness NEVER leaves you. The ego will use your mind to confuse you, scare you, and cloud over the witness. Only our ego comes and goes, and only your mind’s chatter comes and goes, judges, and frets. The witness is eternal and deathless.

Sense the witness as it watches over you with love, never judging anything good or bad. The witness knows that your temporary stress and anxiety is due the ego’s behavior, but never sees your ego as bad.

Understanding the exististance of your worrisome ego, and seeing how it is unreal, and knowing that your true self just watches what goes down, is another important step on the road to a peaceful and blissful moment in time.

So feel the witness now. If you hear negative thoughts, that is just the ego trying desperately to regain control of your moment. Don’t be concerned with ANY of your thoughts, because frankly that’s all they are – thoughts. Your mind will eventually quiet down. That is next.

Key #4 – Quiet Your Mind

Quieting your mind is another beautiful way to discover more relief. The witness described above will only use your mind for doing acts of love and kindness.

So many practices of ancient and modern times involve quieting the mind. Many experts on this subject call the quieting of mind, finding the gap. Wayne Dyer has written a short book, and it’s accompanying CD, called Getting Into The Gap, which shows another way to quiet your mind completely.

TM (or Transcendental Meditation) is arguable the best way to quiet your mind and enter your sacred realm of universal connection. I urge you to look into this method.

If you use the first 3 key steps as above you will be able to begin focusing on the quieting of your mind all together. If you are in the middle of stress and anxiety, you will need your mind active so the witnessing REAL YOU can focus your energies and attentions as above, but once you have achieved these above steps, you can then “shut your mind down”.

When you are able to quiet your mind (and it does not have to be perfect) I urge you to have a little nap. Let your body have the ultimate rest, as your mind goes along with it.

If you wake up and notice anxiety and stress rippling through your body and mind again, immediately let your witness take back control, and focus your energy back within your inner body. Start the process over.

Try finding moments of the day when you can get a few minutes alone to quiet your mind. You will be amazed at the transformation in your life. You will become very relaxed and creativity will begin to flow, as you start making the inevitable changes in your outer life – meaning relationships, jobs, surrounding, habits, recreations, and patterns.

Key #5 – Remove Time (yesterday and tomorrow)

Once you have FELT and learned the above practices, you must always remind yourself using your mind, via the witness, to completely disregard the past and the future. This may seem impossible if you have never heard something like this idea. You may think this is radical, and unrealistic, but it truly is where bliss lives.

This does not mean you don’t recall something from the past for practical purposes, or make plans for tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. It’s means you use the past and future as POSITIVE tools to flow in your present moment. You don’t need to visit the past or anticipate the future for more than a few brief seconds a day for practical reasons. Outside of that – BURN THE PAST, and BURN THE FUTURE – they are not real. The only thing that is real is your present breath that you are taking into your body as you read this sentence.

Key #6 – Remember The Rules (you are not the form and happenings of this world around you)

Remember the rules of your true and eternal self. You are not your money (or debt), your job, your marriage, your kids, your house, your car, your reputation, your past, or fear, or your problems. Your eternal and REAL self is the witness that is watching your physical life as manifested in flesh for your experience here on earth.

I know this may sound “out there” to some readers, but this the reality of our existence. All near-death experiences documented (and there are thousands and thousands studied every year) show the reality of an eternal self that is still witnessing your physical journey (even when your body is lifeless).

Quantum physicists have long discovered that at the particle level of our bodies there is nothing but space between atoms and particles. Your body is really just an energy form. Same goes for dense objects such as rocks and minerals. There is nothing but movement at the sub-atomic level. We are extremely fluid beings at our pure physical manifestation.

You are an energy field. Plain simple fact. This is the miracle of life, and life is friendly. Never forget that you are imminently more important than your problems and life situation. Never forget that you are a miracle and you are as powerful as the universe – you just don’t know it yet.

So detach yourself from the petty games people play around you, at work, at home, in traffic, in the neighborhood, etc. etc. As you detach, make sure you detach with love and kindness. Don’t judge others as “bad”, or even “good” for that matter. Don’t judge them at all, no matter how disconnected and rude they can be. Just witness them with love and kindness. I know that this sounds “soft” and “weak” to your ego, but it is the truth. Deep inside you know this and you can feel it. Send a silent thought of understanding as other people carry out their lives trapped in their human disease of ego.

Engage yourself in your daily and momentary life, but detach from the outcomes, and all of the negative noise your fellow humans spew, and ALL of the negative noise your ego can spew.

So keep in mind that you are lighter than your body weight. Float with your breathing, and KNOW that happenings and occurrences need to not stick to you in any way. Your ego is going to fight this because it is fighting for it’s fantasy. The ego will creep in even when you are an enlightened person. The difference between the enlightened person and an unenlightened person is awareness. An enlightened person still has bad days and bad judgments when their egoic self is running the show, but they have less of them. When an enlightened person judges another person, he or she SEES it and is aware of the truth. This is the difference. Awareness.

So stay aware and detach from the forms of human life that are swirling around you.

Key #7 – Enter Your Bliss as Often As Possible

Now when you have learned to apply all of the 6 key steps above, make sure you make a habit of entering your bliss. This comes down to simple time management. Find (MAKE!) time to get yourself alone away from the noise and activities of life to go within, detach, and meditate with “the witness”. Do this as often as you can and you will find yourself stress free almost all of the time.

You WILL slip and let your ego have the day sometimes, but it will be for a short time. With your new awareness you will see what is really going on and realize that NOTHING is worth getting upset about.

Read books from writers that teach you how to enter into a peaceful state. Look for new ways to find information regarding freedom of stress and energy level peace. Enter your bliss as often as possible.

KNOW that these words are not just a poof of smoke from “a weird softy”. These words are truth and don’t come from me at all – they come from universal love. I am just the witness that is taking dictation. Nothing more. Just we all are.

Enter your bliss when you wake up. Enter your bliss on your way to work or doing chores around the house. Enter your bliss when you are preparing to go to sleep. Enter your bliss when you communicate with others, and associate with co-workers and family members.

Enter your bliss when something happens that is so-called “bad”.

Enjoy this day friend.

Jacob

Filed in Panic Attacks | Tagged keys to recovery, Panic Attacks | Comments (2)

Anxiety – A Portal To Pure Enlightenment

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Today I want to talk about the end-state of extreme anxiety. I truly believe, and have witnessed in my own life, that experiencing extreme anxiety is a portal to absolute freedom – at least it is meant to be. To truly find absolute freedom during your brief stay on planet earth in the now-here, you must have a portal – an open door – a way “in”, so to speak. So today we are going to discuss how your so-called “negative” anxiety may be the most important gift of your life. I have another post which describes your anxiety as a gift, but today I want elaborate on this theme in completely different angle.

The Portal

There are 6-7 billions human beings on this planet right now, and everyone of us is here for the same reason – to find their portal. We are here in a physically manifested human body with the fortunate opportunity to transcend the very physical form we are co-mingling with. How each of us finds their own portal to freedom – aka, God, Heaven, Enlightenment, Nirvana, The Truth, is different. Not completely different, because there will be thousands who find the gateway and enter heaven on earth in a VERY similar way – such in our example of extreme anxiety. Thousands more will be faced with some kind of tangible “real” tragedy in the loss of physical form. This can be the loss of a loved one or family member due to a tragedy of some sort (although I know longer belief there are any tragedies, which I may explain later). It may be a loss of form in simple material items and/or wealth. If a human being decides that material wealth is everything to them and attaches themselves to their material wealth, and they lose it, it may be enough of a shock to their value system, that they will be guided to their portal to freedom – consciousness.

All it takes to find The Portal is to attach yourself to any kind of label, or form based “thing” hard enough, and it may lead to the beginning of awakening, and as The Buddha put it, The End of Suffering. Of course you can’t see The Portal, or walk through The Portal with any kind of man made attachments. You can only enter The Portal naked. Naked of your mind, your ego, your physical attachments, your past, your future, or your Good Sam’s Club membership card, and the wallet you keep it in. I’m not suggesting you literally sell or give away all your belongings. I’m suggesting you remove any attachment to “your things” and “your labels”. Honor the things around you that you “own”. Look after them, and enjoy them, but don’t call them yours because they are not yours. Your things are simple made up of the different elements of the periodic table, and will someday be particles in some other thing(s) millions of years after your current flesh body has been recycled as well. As the child character Stewie from Family Guy says to his mother in one of the episodes, “Let if GOOOO Lois”.

So if you have found yourself reading Saneadvice.com because you wanted to find some answers to your anxiety problems, or the anxiety problems of a family member, you may have accidentally stumbled on to something much bigger than curing anxiety and anxiety symptoms. You have stumbled across the beginning of the most important education of your life – in fact the only true education in your life.

As a sufferer of anxiety, and the ego-based fantasies of the collective human race, you have some very different choices to make. One; you find some sort of addiction to dwell in – such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, work, sports, entertainment, etc. etc., or Two: you stay stuck in your extremely unhappy rut and make all those around you unhappy in the process, or Three; you start your upward ascent to enlightenment while you are still in the flesh (all human beings are from pure light and will return to pure light – it’s just that most in this current century will have to wait until their flesh dies before experiencing pure consciousness). Choice one and two are the most common because they are the easiest, and suit the ego’s demands. Choice three requires a leap of faith, and involves a prolonged effort whereby the ego is denied.

This is why the more extreme humans find nirvana and enlightenment. The so-called “great sinners of earth” (using the true definition of sin; “being off track” and “out of connection with universal energy) often awaken before those with mild ego related diseases, because they can no longer suffer so intensely. They HAVE to make a change. They HAVE to either set themselves on the path to enlightenment or perish their flesh. For those who suffer from mind and ego domination just enough to make them constantly “grumpy” and “unsatisfied”, but never completely reckless and lost, they may never find true and full awareness because their life is tolerable. They are aware of their true state of being JUST ENOUGH to live with some kind of sanity.

In some cases these extreme human beings wander from one extreme point of awareness and consciousness, where they are pure love manifested in flesh – helping hundreds, thousands, and millions of people on their way to enlightenment – and then make a sudden reversal into absolute ego (insanity) and cause great suffering and personal trauma for a great number of people. A perfect example of this would the Reverend Jim Jones, of the Guyana Mass Suicide/Murder incident in the 1970′s where almost 1000 men, women, and children of all ages, races, and backgrounds ended their flesh experience on earth. This is still considered to be one of the greatest tragedies of the 1900′s. You can see many examples of this in other humans beings in bigger and smaller forms. Fortunately, this is not your fate, and even more fortunately, the future of earth will see less and less humans fall deeply into the insanity of the 160% proof ego state (Hitler and his fellow Nazi leaders being prime examples of pure ego state).

You Are Not “Whatever You Put Your Mind To”

So the portal can be anything you have been putting “your mind to”. The old affirmation that parents often give their children; “You can be anything you put your mind to”, is as false as any statement. The truth is that you were born perfect and deep inside your inner body of pure light, you are still perfect. Your mind is just a tool, and usually a useless and harmful tool. If you work hard and focus on something that is divine, and is a result of you true essence, then the so-called positive outcome of “success”, as looked upon by the collective human ego state will happen. But, if you put your mind to something that is not of your true essence, then it is doomed to “failure”, as perceived by the collective human ego state. However, if your great and wonderful failure leads to intense anxiety and suffering, then you will be given the most important opportunity of your life – entrance through the portal to enlightenment. If you can see the paradox in these statements, then you can see the wondrous paradox of human existence.

When Extreme Anxiety “Takes You” The Portal Is Not In View, But It’s There – It’s Always There

When extreme anxiety takes takes you, it’s simply your ego taking you, in the sense that your true self is being muted too much by the ego and mind state. You have fallen victim to the ego’s need to have everything it wants, and everything in the order it wants it. This is a bitter pill to swallow for most people in depths of their anxiety swings.

When you are in the deepest throws of your anxiety state – when your mind is trying to be the boss of your moment(s), you are not going to see the portal, but it is indeed their right in front of you. Your ego and mind can only throw up a temporary cloud of smoke and fog in front of your portal. Your ego and mind can make such a mess of the ever sacred “now” that your portal will be completely blocked from view, and your ego will convince your mind that life is nothing but a foggy and smoky hell hole. The irony here is that when the ego and mind are subdued even in the slightest, your true essence sees the portal right front of it’s face – even more accurately, the portal is inside of you and always has been. This metaphor of “the portal” is simply a way to try and explain the reality of your existence on earth.

What religions and believers always eventually lead to, is that we are going to enter some kind of kingdom of heaven, and they usually tell their flocks that they must die before they see their doctrine’s version of nirvana. The truth is that ALL human beings will “enter the kingdom heaven” or “walk through the portal” when they die, but we don’t HAVE to wait until we die. We can find enlightenment and enter now!

So when you are suffering from extreme anxiety, remember that it’s just your mind and it’s friend, the mind, throwing up fantasies and fallacies creating smoke and fog. It’s all make believe, even if it’s a tangible and so-called “real stress” in your life. The good news is you may soon be on your way to finding the portal.

When Your Anxiety Settles Down and The Smoke Has Cleared

When your anxiety and stress settles down, and the smoke has cleared, you have a choice. You can ramble and wander on in the same way you have your entire life until now – trapped and controlled by your mind and ego; or start reading, listening, and learning from the great teachers of our times, and past times.

You can choose to learn how your mind and ego work together to create suffering and madness in your life and others lives. You can choose to surrender to “The Way”, and to the universe, and find out that you are a piece of the universe. You can learn how you to focus your energy on what is real, and stop judging the false as bad. The false is always a portal to truth. You can begin opening your mind an choosing never to let your ego and mind ever control an entire day, hour, or even one minute of your life. (the truth is that our egos and minds will always TRY to interject themselves).

You don’t condemn you ego as mind as WRONG – you only witness your ego and mind with a loving glance and a wink. When you see your mind judging others and agreeing with your ego based fears, don’t beat yourself up over it. Just watch and observe with a loving smile. Imagine your true self, which is pure love and kindliness, floating outside your body as a witness, watching your mind, body, and ego react to another ego, or circumstance. This entity you have imagined floating outside the situation is the REAL you. This is the essence of truth and love. Is eternal and forever. It judges no-one and nothing. It is pure consciousness, and it is “The Way”.

So today start being a witness to yourself. Don’t just see everything and everybody as separate from you. See yourself as a part of the entire make-up of mankind and human existence in this universe. If you start to have moments when you feel physically lighter, and moments of pure joy – well then you have tasted the sweetness of reality – you have tasted your destiny. You are walking to the portal.

Filed in Enlightenment | | Comments (5)

Stress Management and Anxiety Reduction for Married Men

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Stress management for married men is much easier than for the average stay- home mother and homemaker. Why? Because working men can, more often than not, get away from the stresses of raising children, and dealing with the sensitive problems of home. Men generally have the opportunity to be alone and find time to touch base again with their inner selves and their inner silence.

Of course women are working at the office or in the field more, at the same time men are staying home with the kids – but still, the vast majority of home in the western world have a working father and a homemaker being Mom.

So with the extra time alone, men have the chance to get away for some peace of quiet. But alas! There are reasons why men suffer from anxiety as well.

Young Married Men Who Suffer From Anxiety

Unfortunately younger men often make bad choices such as drinking or recreational drugs, lack of sleep, and bad company – period.

Young men who suffer from anxiety, some would ask?! (and I’ve been there) You would think unlikely, but all it’s takes is a vivid imagination and some basic perceptions out of whack from reality, and young men can easily find themselves in the midst of high anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.

Never forget that young men have allot of pressure (self applied and society applied) to deal with. Jobs, education, earnings, parental expectations, and mating competition, add to the pressures on young men, and when you see the reality of these pressures, you can easily see how young men can fall to worry and fear.

For young men they are not well served to be “out of loop” in their community, or move away from their home base, and surely being out of their supportive community.

If a young man is married with children he can be under a HUGE amount of the pressure to stay in a job that he may hate, feed his children, and support his family. Young women also work more and more, and the amount of duel income homes is increasing steadily. Nevertheless, in the breakdown of stress in American homes, young men are not immune due to perceived ideas of their personal freedoms and carefree lifestyle.

In fact, I remember being a young man, when I overheard a group of ladies dining and talking. They were talking about how easy it is to be man, and basically they had no mercy for any kind of plight a young man might be facing.

If you are a young man suffering from anxiety, or know someone who is a young man suffering from anxiety, you can overcome stress and anxiety with some simple actions.

make sure you AVOID getting wrapped in your self image. Don’t judge yourself on societal standards, such as how much money you make, what kind of degree you have, where you work, what your new wife or girlfriend looks like, what kind of car you drive, and what kind of home you have. This kind of thinking is purely egoic and WILL cause you and those around you to suffer.
clean up your so-called friend base. Realize who your real friends are and avoid all of those who are only interested in a party, or superficial distractions. You will find the madness and chaos in your life will decrease dramatically with this advice.
avoid substances that run down your energy levels – alcohol in excess, nicotine in excess, food in excess, drugs in excess.
get your sleep even if you think your young body can “handle it”

Middle Aged Married Men Who Suffer From Anxiety

Middle aged men have a better opportunity to reduce their anxiety because they may have more time to work with. More time perhaps because children are ususally out of the house and living on their own.

Filed in Stress Management | Tagged anxiety reduction, stress in men, Stress Management | Comments (3)

Stress Management and Anxiety Reduction for Mothers and Homemakers

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The stress management plan for reducing anxiety in Mom’s and homemakers is a challenge due the amount of time our dearest Mom’s of society give SO much of their time and life to their children and the family unit. The challenge here is TIME and SPACE.

This is the toughest life situation to handle if you want to find reduce anxiety. Mothers are the only TRUE warriors of the world. Being a Mom is a quest and a mission from God. Society must learn to support and understand the Mother’s need more support. Everyday that you get through as a Mother is nothing less than God’s grace in action.

Without going into great lengths on the plight (and blessing) of being a Mom, let’s get into the reality of a true anxiety reduction plan and management system.

Clearing Time and Space and How To Make the Very Best of Free Time

Finding the time to read, listen to inspirational DVDs, go for a walk, meditate, do Yoga, Tia chi, etc., is difficult for a busy Mother and homemaker, but it can be done right NOW.

The trick is sleep. You must organize your day and nights around your sleep and alone time. If you are a single mother, and have children who are still at home and not in school, the challenge is the greatest. If you can find ANY help from friends, family members, or babysitters be sure to do it.

You will have learn to stop wasting time watching hours and hours of TV, or socializing at length. They key is getting to bed at an early hour so you can get up early before the sun comes up and your world gets noisy and busy again.

Get up at least 1-2 hours before your children wake up and get your invaluable alone time. In that alone time you are going read books, watch videos, listen to audio programs, and find your inner stillness again – in other words, find yourself again.

If you drop everything and get to bed early and do this you will create plan and routine whereby you are always connected to yourself throughout the day. The first thing to do is begin reading important works of literature that begin guiding you to enlightenment. I recommend Michael Bernard Beckwith’s “Spiritual Liberation”, Wayne Dyer’s “Power of Intention”, and Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth”. If you read these three books twice (or three times) each you will begin to see a strange and beautiful shift in your consciousness. I really didn’t notice a difference until I read these 3 books twice each, and listened to their audio CDs.

If you cannot find this time to commune with stillness of the morning sunset, then at least buy these audio programs for you car, and begin the journey. You will learn why you are stressed, and how to reduce your stress to a very low level.

The meditation, yoga, exercise, and/or Tia Chi will come after you are well on your spiritual journey of enlightenment, but first you need to reprogram yourself back to the perfect being you REALLY are. These teaching will guide you to yourself again – I guarantee it. (this is a non-profit site for anxiety reduction – we do not make any money from our recommendations)

You will be reunited with your TRUE essence which lies DEEP into the stillness of your body temple, and learn to turn off your worried mind and defuse your dramatic ego. You will learn to appreciate the most mundane tasks, and understand how lucky you really are, even amidst the most stress filled and anxious situations in daily life.

Until you make the time during the morning hours to commune with stillness, and turn OFF your minds busy thinking patterns, you will not reduce your anxiety enough to make a lasting difference. Yes, you can exercise all you want, and that will help with your anxiety, but it’s not going to fully bring you “out of your mind”.

I know it sounds a little strange but you want to go “out of your mind”. That is where the reality of peace, stillness, silence, and universal energy is noticed. This is when you can feel your true self.

Mothers Sometimes Have To Be Very Creative

So in the above I give a quick example on how to and where to find time for yourself, but that just might not work for you. I would suggest that if you don’t have time to read, be sure to listen to the audio books that I mentioned above. If you do it in the car, you are not losing a second of time, because you have to drive sometimes right.

Once you digest all this material you will start seeing a change in how you feel. You will have a big reduction in anxiety, and you will have your old self back.

Filed in Stress Management | Tagged anxiet reduction, anxiety relief for moms, Stress Management | Comments (4)

Stress Management for Anxiety Reduction

Sunday, July 26, 2009

If you want to see a considerable reduction in anxiety you have to find some sort of stress management system to practice. I don’t mean buying some kind of product, because everything you need to reduce extreme anxiety is on the Internet for free.

If you have ever experienced a full blown panic attack before you will be VERY motivated to find a way to reduce your stress significantly, and bring an End To Suffering as The Buddha called it.

In this new century we are seeing and large increase in the numbers of people suffering from stress and anxiety. It’s pretty well an epidemic, and there is a reason for it, but right now we just want to discuss the correct way to reduce your anxiety through a stress management plan. First let’s discuss how to create your OWN stress management plan.

Stress Management Plan for Anxiety Reduction

The problem with the current western medical profession is that there is very little in the way of providing a reduction in anxiety of people (not going to call anxiety sufferers patients because is suggested there is something wrong with you, where the is not) – except for anti-anxiety medication. Why? Because every person is different and every person has a different lifestyle, with different life experiences and a different personal view point. So how could anyone make a pill or medication that can fix EVERYONE like an antibiotic for a simple infection.

So you can create your own custom stress management plan based on your schedule, lifestyle, and “life situation”. Below is a list of lifestyle situations and I hope there is example that is very similar to yours.

married mother and homemaker
married fathers
single woman living with or without roommates employee
single man living with or without roommates employee
teenager/young adult employee
teenager/young adult unemployed
business owner(s)
retired man over the age of 50
retired woman over the age of 50

We will discuss the different stress management plans best suited for the above basic life situation. Click the links for each example.

Filed in Stress Management | Tagged anxiety reduction, dealing with stress, Stress Management | Comments (0)

Learning To Relax With 10 Minute Meditation

Breathing Exercises Before 10 Minute Meditation – Close Your Eyes

Start Your 10 Minute Meditation

Writing This Post While In Panic (Ego and Anxiety)

Sometimes anxiety just means you need to reset your thinking because you have been thinking wrongly for awhile. Hitting reset button now!

The Seven Keys to Recovering from a Panic Attack or Episode

Key #1 – Acceptance

Key #2 – Go Within

Key #3 – Be The Witness and Watch The Witness

Key #4 – Quiet Your Mind

Key #5 – Remove Time (yesterday and tomorrow)

Key #6 – Remember The Rules (you are not the form and happenings of this world around you)

Key #7 – Enter Your Bliss as Often As Possible

Anxiety – A Portal To Pure Enlightenment

The Portal

You Are Not “Whatever You Put Your Mind To”

When Extreme Anxiety “Takes You” The Portal Is Not In View, But It’s There – It’s Always There

When Your Anxiety Settles Down and The Smoke Has Cleared

Stress Management and Anxiety Reduction for Married Men

Young Married Men Who Suffer From Anxiety

Middle Aged Married Men Who Suffer From Anxiety

Stress Management and Anxiety Reduction for Mothers and Homemakers

Clearing Time and Space and How To Make the Very Best of Free Time

Mothers Sometimes Have To Be Very Creative

Stress Management for Anxiety Reduction

Stress Management Plan for Anxiety Reduction

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Breathing Exercises Before 10 Minute Meditation – Close Your Eyes

Start Your 10 Minute Meditation

Sometimes anxiety just means you need to reset your thinking because you have been thinking wrongly for awhile. Hitting reset button now!

Key #1 – Acceptance

Key #2 – Go Within

Key #3 – Be The Witness and Watch The Witness

Key #4 – Quiet Your Mind

Key #5 – Remove Time (yesterday and tomorrow)

Key #6 – Remember The Rules (you are not the form and happenings of this world around you)

Key #7 – Enter Your Bliss as Often As Possible

The Portal

You Are Not “Whatever You Put Your Mind To”

When Extreme Anxiety “Takes You” The Portal Is Not In View, But It’s There – It’s Always There

When Your Anxiety Settles Down and The Smoke Has Cleared

Young Married Men Who Suffer From Anxiety

Middle Aged Married Men Who Suffer From Anxiety

Clearing Time and Space and How To Make the Very Best of Free Time

Mothers Sometimes Have To Be Very Creative

Stress Management Plan for Anxiety Reduction

Search

Contents

Categories

Tags

Archives

Blogroll

RSS Feeds

Meta