Worry Free Mind? Unlikely.

We have a very large surplus of negative thinking bouncing around in our brains. It’s why we have shortened life spans. Why we don’t get enough sleep. And, why we cannot seem to turn off. That said, we may not get rid of it but we can manage it better.Believe it or not, some of our worst well springs of worrying can be contributed to crazy high levels of stress-related chemicals in our bodies. Our minds have always been tuned into a flight or fight type of mechanism which is where some of these stress-related chemicals come from. Much of that chemical stays in our bodies building up. It’s become normal to us to feel chronically stressed. We need to rewire ourselves. Literally.Our very neural pathways affect how we see the world. The great news, we can rebuild new ones that work differently in the way they see the world. Doing so we will be able to overcome this chemical build up of bad mojo.The brain is made up literally of billions of nerve cells called neurons that use electrical impulses to chatter with one another. So, depending on what you’re thinking, feeling or doing, these pulses create brainwaves of different frequencies. The frequencies like a remote control to a car, tell us how to feel.Theta frequencies are the frequencies of deep relaxation. Most commonly you’ve felt them waking up from a nice nap or from a well rested night of sleep.Beta frequencies are the complete opposite side of theta because they push us in to a bright and attentive state. Usually you feel this when you’re dialed into getting some important work done.One other frequency to mention for this practice and purpose is gamma frequencies. This is where meditation and where a sought after state of flow is achieved. That feeling of peace and calm that Buddhist monks practice or accomplished meditation experts regularly want to achieve is within gamma frequency ranges.Now spending to much time in one or the other is not good. We need to find balance. We would ideally like  to free ourselves from worry and anxiety. this most likely is achieved floating in and out of theta or gamma. But how?It’s simpler than we think. To engage those frequencies when we’re too spooled up into worry we need to change our space and peripheral vision. Staying glued to a couch and binge watching your favs is going to give you temporary relief, but as soon as it’s over, you’re back in worry land.Here’s some longer lasting ways to get unstuck from worry and into those gamma/theta feelings:

• Take a walk if it’s nice outside; listen and look around as you do so, engage your mind differently and get out of the environment
• Deliberately shift your focus, don’t be frozen or stuck by it; instead of looking ahead look to the sides and behind you, anything to move you away from what’s in front of you
• Go to a art museum and engage both sides of your brain; when you worry you’re blood rushes to right side of the brain and you want it in both to clear your thinking
• Grab a piece of paper or a journal and practice future thinking; future thinking might be scary and unsure, but it’s forward thinking and creates positive thinking as you focus on what you can do with solutions
• Take a break; sometimes a nap serves this well or just get a well rested few hours of sleep at night
• Smile; freeing blood in your head more by unrestricting your face with a simple smile so it can get to your brain is a great way to clear the head

I’ve been practicing regular meditation daily for just over a year now. I find this great for me to remove myself from worry. Through meditation practices I’ve been improving my self-awareness to recognize these feelings of worry before they can take control of me. Once you know the triggers of your negative responses, you can choose differently how you respond to them. Meditation helps me clear my mind completely.Everyone is different and realize, meditation may not be your ticket and that is completely okay. It’s natural even to worry from time to time. But, it’s a serious problem when your life at work or with family is controlled by it. There are ways you can control it, which is even better news. You can literally repattern your brain and the way you approach worry with some practice and simple disciplines. Before long, you’ll be a master at changing the negative affects of worry into positive ones.Hope this past holiday week was pretty amazing for you! Thanks for viewing and following.✌ Shawn