03 Tuesday Nov 2020
Posted in Ted Talk
Tags
brain, fight, flight, Impact, Madhumita Murgia, Stress, stress hormones
Here’s a video about stress and how it affects your brain. Take a look at this short video if you’re feeling particularly stressed on election day. These video shorts are from TEDEd and are a great way to learn about a bunch of different topics. I use them here to save you some time, as most of the TED Talks can be quite long, comparitively. Enjoy!
Until next time…
Dave
20 Saturday Jun 2020
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
Tags
Calm, Chaos, Contemplation, going within, Meditation, News, Relax, Stress
The world just keeps getting crazier and crazier. This year has been a whopper so far. How do you remain calm in all of this chaos?
Each of us can go within ourselves in quiet meditation or contemplation. We can sit down and read a book that captures our attention. We can listen to Sound scapes, classical, or some easy listening jazz. The point I’m trying to make is you can be alone, quite, and relaxed, simply by going to your happy place in your home and just suck in the peace of silence.
Those that are hardcore meditators, particularly the Zen Buddhists, call meditation sitting, The simplest forms of their meditation is either following the breath or a body scan. Either technique achieves its end goal—serenity in the breath.
The greatest benefit of this process is learning to “control” the mind. You do so by focusing it gently on the breath and keep your attention there. It is harder than I describe it. Many of us have so many responsibilities, worries, and consume some form of news. The latter is the most stressful practice you can adopt. The news is designed to enrage, frighten, and confuse. If they achieve their goal, they have a person stuck in an endless loop of “soap opera”-type news stories that create a situation where you cannot stop reading to get your adrenaline fix.
Who can blame the news? They have to make money in a very competitive marketplace. They compete with podcasts, YouTube channels, Blogs, books, and social media. The news is on every channel in one shape or another. Even ESPN is political nowadays.
Chop down your news consumption. Treat yourself with loving kindness by taking 10-15 minutes to close your eyes and just listen to your breath. It provides tremendous benefits and will help you deal with all that is going on in the world.
Until next time…
Dave
21 Tuesday Apr 2020
Posted in Ted Talk
Tags
Claustrophobic, Covid, Home, Kelly Mcgonigal, Lockdown, Prison, Stress, Ted Talk, Unpleasant
There is a lot of stress out there. So many people are not used to being locked in their homes, only to go to the grocery store or some other critical venture. Here’s a Ted Talk that will give you some ideas on “How to Make Stress Your Friend.” Enjoy!
Until next time…
Dave
01 Saturday Feb 2020
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
“Negativity sells.” – Stephen A. Smith
I follow Stephen King on Facebook and he mentioned today that he was leaving Facebook because there was so much false and misleading information on the platform. I agree, but Facebook has one primary purpose for me–to stay connected with friends and family.
When I first started using Facebook, I’d accept friendship requests from anyone. Then I began to learn my lesson rather quickly. Fake profiles, crazy crap showing up on my newsfeed, and people pestering me for money on Facebook messenger. Lesson learned. In early 2017 I went through my entire list of “friends” on Facebook and developed my own simple rule: If I haven’t worked with someone, met them in person, went to school with them, served in the military with them, or met them through a trusted source, like WordPress, friendship is rejected. You know what? My newsfeed is now filled with wholesome, funny, and relevant content that I enjoy.
The false and misleading information doesn’t stop at Facebook. It is all over the news. Another lesson: Stop reading the news. I scan the news, because I like to stay up on world events and know what’s going on, but I do not open up any news articles unless it’s from my hometown newspaper or it covers something I am interested in, like STEM topics, productivity, psychology, writing, or movie/music/book reviews. If I read something outside of my interest areas, it is purely for entertainment. You know what? My stress levels decreased immeasurably. Just because I refuse to get sucked into articles that are designed to piss me off, stress me out, or make me worry about something.
I guess what I’m trying to get across is the importance of maintaining your sanity by paying attention to what you let in to your consciousness. If you enjoy reading articles filled with lies, exaggerations, and are so slanted one way or another to fire you up, go for it. I choose not to. I’d rather fill my mind with the next scientific discovery on the horizon, look at terrific photos of landscapes, animals, or outer space. I’d rather learn something than read about all the infighting that has reduced our political dialogue to two monkeys throwing shit at each other at the zoo.
Read fulfilling literature, poetry, a well-written non-fiction or fiction book. Watch a good movie. Listen to healing music (classical, sound scapes, and instrumentals are my favorite). These are the things I use to build myself up.
The next time you feel yourself getting stressed out, check what you are letting into your life. I think you’ll be surprised at the stress you have that is self-inflicted.
I hope all of you have a great weekend!
Until next time…
Dave
24 Tuesday Sep 2019
Posted in Thinking Tuesday
Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay
This Ted Ed talk was inspired by my wife who is taking a test for her teaching credential today. Good luck, dear!
All of us get a little nervous before taking a test, wondering if we studied the right material, will remember what is important, and ultimately do well. Watch this Ted Ed talk to discover what happens in our brains when we are stressed out.
I hope you are having a terrific Tuesday!
Until next time…
Dave
