[ HEALTH BEAT ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 14, 2003 by Phil Anderson/The Capital-Journal Capital-Journal

CRYSTAL CLEAR

THINKING CHAOS

Focusing on yourself can help you tune out the chaos of the world

Mission for self

"The Ethics, Psychophysiology and the Sacred" workshop, sponsored by the Biofeedback Society of Kansas, will be at 7:15 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Washburn University Memorial Union. Friday night's session is free and open to the public, while Saturday's session is $95.

For more information, call Ken Hage at 233-7138.

Master your stress

Here is a compendium of common sense strategies for transforming mental and physical tension into energy. Circle the ones you would like to remember:

Take time for yourself

- Be alone on a regular basis, to listen to your heart, check your intentions and re-evaluate your goals and activities.

- Plan to do something each day that gives you energy, something you love to do.

- Take frequent relaxation breaks.

- Learn a variety of relaxation techniques, and practice at least one regularly.

Focus and simplify

- Eliminate the trivia.

- Practice consciously doing one thing at a time, keeping your mind focused on the present.

Connect with others

- When you're concerned about something, talk it over with someone you trust or write down your feelings.

- Create and maintain a personal support system --- people with whom you can be "vulnerable."

- Seek out friends or professional help when you feel unable to cope.

- Practice stress-reducing communications: Clarify what you hear by paraphrasing and active listening.

Stay in touch with yourself

- Say no when asked to do something you really don't want to do. Read a book on assertiveness if you have trouble doing this.

- Become more aware of the demands you place on yourself, your environment and on others to be different from how they are at any moment.

Take care of your body

- Exercise regularly!

- Monitor your intake of sugar, salt, caffeine and alcohol.

- Take deep, slow breaths frequently, especially while on the phone, in the car or waiting.

- Treat yourself to a massage or learn to massage your own neck, shoulders and feet.

Connect with the world around you

- Take time to be with nature, people, music and children. Even in the city, noticing the seasonal changes of the sky or watching people's faces can bring about feelings of balance and harmony.

- Watch clouds or moving water. Notice the silence between sounds, the space between thoughts.

Be open to learning about yourself

- When you find yourself repeatedly angry in similar situations, ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?"

- Use your own distress to teach yourself to be more patient, caring and compassionate toward yourself and others.

- Choose not to waste your precious present life on guilt about the past or worry for the future.

Stay positive

- Carry a card with four or five personal affirmations written on it.

- Keep a positive, proactive attitude. As a wise sage once said, "If you can't do something about it, why worry? If you can do something about it, why worry?"

- Focus on what you can do.

Take control of your time

- Organize your life to include time for fun, spontaneity and open spaces.

- Learn to delegate responsibility.

- If your schedule is busy, prioritize your activities and do the most important ones first.

- When you read your mail, act on it immediately --- don't put it off.

Nurture yourself with joyful activities

- Smile and laugh more.

- Stop and smell the flowers.

Source: Excerpted from Joel and Michelle Levey's book, "The Fine Arts of Relaxation, Concentration, & Meditation: Ancient Tools for Modern Minds"

- a world that seemingly grows more confusing, complex and chaotic every day, Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey are helping individuals develop increased clarity, compassion and cohesiveness in their daily lives.

They work with some of the largest corporations in the world, including Hewlett-Packard and the World Bank.

They also conduct smaller workshops for individuals within medical and helping professions, as well as for people simply searching for ways to live with greater wisdom and dynamic balance.

Theirs is no mere exercise in academics but rather an approach steeped in real-world practicality, gleaned from centuries of wisdom, traditions and the latest in scientific research on extraordinary human performance.

A major goal of their work, the Leveys say, is for people to learn to deepen their self-awareness and control their responses to stress, and to integrate positive changes in their interpersonal and organizational relationships, improving the quality of life for all whose lives they touch in ways that make the world a better place.

The Leveys, who will be in Topeka on Friday and Saturday for a two- day workshop at Washburn University, say they offer dozens of practical ideas for people to take home at each of their events.

A key component in their work is an emphasis on understanding and optimizing the mind-body relationship.

While there is nothing new with that concept, the Leveys have broken new ground as they move people into the realm of living with greater faith and confidence in the face of change, uncertainty and turmoil, rather than "succumbing to feelings of hopelessness and despair or victimization," Michelle Levey said.