Cultivating Emotional Wellness

"We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It's a death trap." -Anthony Hopkins

© Sculpture by Thomas Lerooy

How do you embrace your inner child?

▪ A child surrounded by criticism learns to blame;
▪ A child surrounded by mockery learns not to trust;
▪ A child surrounded by hostility learns to fight;
▪ A child surrounded by anger will learn to hurt;
▪ A child surrounded by misunderstanding learn not to listen to others;
▪ A child surrounded by deception learns to lie;
▪ A child surrounded by shame will learn to feel guilty;
.. and only strong souls can break this circle...

▪ A child surrounded by support learns to protect;
▪ A child surrounded by expectations learns patience;
▪ A child surrounded by praise learns confidence;
▪ A child surrounded by honor learns to be just;
▪ A child surrounded by safety learns to trust;
▪ A child surrounded by acceptance learns to respect;
▪ A child surrounded by love learns to love and give love;
▪ A child surrounded by freedom of choice learns responsibility for their decisions.

We always have a choice.

How are you living?

The American Life Is Killing You “I believe we are a species with amnesia, I think we have forgotten our roots and our origins. I think we are quite lost in many ways. And…

Love is the only freedom from attachment. When you love everything, you are attached to nothing.

This never gets Old. What do you mean when you say: "Love". https://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/the-ancient-greeks-6-words-for-love-and-why-knowing-them-can-change-your-life

When asked what was the most difficult thing, Thales replied, “To know thyself.”

And the art of peace is to be perfectly comfortable with that.

DEPRESSION

Depression is a negative state of anger.

The very word is meaningful - it says something is being pressed; that is the meaning of depressed.

You are pressing something inside, and when anger is pressed too much it becomes sadness.

Sadness is a negative way of being angry, the feminine way of being angry.

If you remove the pressure on it, it will become anger. You must have been angry about certain things from your childhood but you have not expressed them, hence the depression.

Try to understand it ! And the problem is that depression cannot be solved, because it is not the real problem.

The real problem is anger - and you go on condemning depression, so you are fighting with shadows.

First look at why you are depressed..... look deep into it. Great anger is in you ..... may be towards your mother, towards your father, towards the world, towards yourself, that is not the point.

You are very angry inside, and from the very childhood you have tried to be smiling, not to be angry. That is not good. You have been taught and you have learned it well.

So on the surface you look happy, on the surface you go on smiling, and all those smiles are false. Deep down you are holding great rage.

Now, you cannot express it so you are sitting upon it - that is what depression is; then you feel depressed .

Let it flow, let anger come. Once anger comes up your depression will go. Have you not watched and observed it? - that sometimes after real anger one feels so good, alive?

Start doing something at home . Mm? Do an anger meditation everyday ... twenty minutes
will do.

After the third day you will enjoy the exercise so much that it will be difficult for you to wait for it .

It will give you such great release and you will see that your depression is disappearing.

For the first time you will really smile....... because with this depression you cannot smile, you pretend.

One cannot live without smiles so one has to pretend , but a pretended smiles hurts very much ..... it does not make you happy; it simply reminds you of how unhappy you are .

But you have become aware of it - it is good. Whenever something hurts, it helps.

Man is so ill that whenever something is helpful, it hurts, it touches some wound somewhere. But it has been good....."

~ Osho - Emotional Wellness: Transforming Fear, Anger, and Jealousy into Creative Energy

The Comfortable Life is Killing You Society tames the wolf into a dog. And man is the most domesticated animal of all.

and yet we struggle to accommodate the world to our taste. What a foolish creatures we can be.

https://www.businessinsider.com/neuroscience-50-year-olds-brains-of-25-year-olds-habit-2019-4

Neuroscience shows that 50-year-olds can have the brains of 25-year-olds if they sit quietly and do nothing for 15 minutes a day You can see significant positive changes in just 15 minutes a day.

One of the toughest battles one fights is with oneself. The numerous emotions that help us express ourselves, most of the times also destroy us, eat away our inner peace or make us doubt our own existence. Like physical education, learning emotional hygiene is in great need today.

Modern society is premised strongly on materialistic values. It is vital to remember that what really matters are Our Feelings. Eye contact has been proved to aid empathy developing compassion; a key element to create inner peace.

How Eye Contact Prepares the Brain to Connect A new study reveals what happens when you look into someone else’s eyes.

When you see a friend/family... hug him/her!! that is the real connection!! we live in a skin hungry society. Never before we were "SO Plugged" and so... "Social Isolated".

The only metric of success that really matters is the one we ignore Community is about a series of small choices: how to spend a Saturday, what to do when a neighbor falls ill, how to make time when there is none.

Because you are alive, everything is possible!! Can you feel your aliveness?

Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. - Gandalf

Are you thinking in this way?? Who you will be without your drama??

Looking for a boost in your mood??

Hug!! But... really... hug.

The average length of a hug between two people is 3 seconds. But the researchers have discovered something fantastic. When a hug lasts 20 seconds, there is a therapeutic effect on the body and mind. The reason is that a sincere embrace produces a hormone called "oxytocin", also known as the love hormone. This substance has many benefits in our physical and mental health, helps us, among other things, to relax, to feel safe and calm our fears and anxiety. This wonderful tranquilizer is offered free of charge every time we have a person in our arms, who cradled a child, who cherish a dog or a cat, that we are dancing with our partner, the closer we get to someone or simply hold the Shoulders of a friend.

A famous quote by psychotherapist Virginia Satir goes, “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” Whether those exact numbers have been scientifically proven remains to be seen, but there is a great deal of scientific evidence related to the importance of hugs and physical contact. Here are some reasons why we should hug::

1. STIMULATES OXYTOCIN

Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter that acts on the limbic system, the brain’s emotional centre, promoting feelings of contentment, reducing anxiety and stress, and even making mammals monogamous. It is the hormone responsible for us all being here today. You see this little gem is released during childbirth, making our mothers forget about all of the excruciating pain they endured expelling us from their bodies and making them want to still love and spend time with us. New research from the University of California suggests that it has a similarly civilising effect on human males, making them more affectionate and better at forming relationships and social bonding. And it dramatically increased the libido and sexual performance of test subjects. When we hug someone, oxytocin is released into our bodies by our pituitary gland, lowering both our heart rates and our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

2. CULTIVATES PATIENCE

Connections are fostered when people take the time to appreciate and acknowledge one another. A hug is one of the easiest ways to show appreciation and acknowledgement of another person. The world is a busy, hustle-bustle place and we’re constantly rushing to the next task. By slowing down and taking a moment to offer sincere hugs throughout the day, we’re benefiting ourselves, others, and cultivating better patience within ourselves.

3. PREVENTS DISEASE

Affection also has a direct response on the reduction of stress which prevents many diseases. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine says it has carried out more than 100 studies into touch and found evidence of significant effects, including faster growth in premature babies, reduced pain, decreased autoimmune disease symptoms, lowered glucose levels in children with diabetes, and improved immune systems in people with cancer.

4. STIMULATES THYMUS GLAND

Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body’s production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.

5. COMMUNICATION WITHOUT SAYING A WORD

Almost 70 percent of communication is nonverbal. The interpretation of body language can be based on a single gesture and hugging is an excellent method of expressing yourself nonverbally to another human being or animal. Not only can they feel the love and care in your embrace, but they can actually be receptive enough to pay it forward to others based on your initiative alone.

6. SELF-ESTEEM

Hugging boosts self-esteem, especially in children. The tactile sense is all-important in infants. A baby recognizes its parents initially by touch. From the time we’re born our family’s touch shows us that we’re loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still imbedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.

7. STIMULATES DOPAMINE

Everything everyone does involves protecting and triggering dopamine flow. Low dopamine levels play a role in the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s as well as mood disorders such as depression. Dopamine is responsible for giving us that feel-good feeling, and it’s also responsible for motivation! Hugs stimulate brains to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Dopamine sensors are the areas that many stimulating drugs such as co***ne and methamphetamine target. The presence of a certain kinds of dopamine receptors are also associated with sensation-seeking.

8. STIMULATES SEROTONIN

Reaching out and hugging releases endorphins and serotonin into the blood vessels and the released endorphins and serotonin cause pleasure and negate pain and sadness and decrease the chances of getting heart problems, helps fight excess weight and prolongs life. Even the cuddling of pets has a soothing effect that reduces the stress levels. Hugging for an extended time lifts one’s serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.

9. PARASYMPATHETIC BALANCE

Hugs balance out the nervous system. The skin contains a network of tiny, egg-shaped pressure centres called Pacinian corpuscles that can sense touch and which are in contact with the brain through the vagus nerve. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system – parasympathetic.
Embrace, embrace with your heart.~~

When you rely on the principles of truth, they take you far.

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