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Everyday Anxieties Are Separate From You
 
Good  stress  is  the  kind  that  motivates  us  to  take  action.  That  means  that  the  urges  that  come  and go, the repetitive  trains  of thought,  advertisement  jingles,  habitual  worries,  and everyday  anxieties  are  separate  from  you.  They  are  largely  habitual  inner  forces  competing  for  your  attention,  and  it  is  your  decision  to  grant  them  that  attention  or  not.  The  goal  is  to  develop  the  conscious ability to do just that.  A perfect  example  is  anger.  You  won’t  accept  ownership.  Instead,  you will be able to simply  note that  anger has  emerged,  or  called  for  your  attention  now.  As  an objective  observer,  you  will  know  that  you have  the  choice  of attending  to  it  and  indulging  the  feeling  by allowing  it  to  manifest  in your words  and  deeds  or  not.  Suddenly,  this  simple  shift  in  your  attention  places  you  in  the driver’s  seat,  not  stuck as  a passenger  along for  a ride  determined by  unconscious habit.  We use  the phrase  attention commerce to describe what is going on inside  our  minds.  Your  attention is  the  pot of gold,  the  currency  that  your  inner  potentials  can  use to  purchase  their  existence  and  opportunities.  They can  be  creative  or  destructive,  beneficial  or  harmful, but they are  always  longing  to  be  expressed  and  anxious  that  we  attend  to  them.  
Dear Friends
Observe  and  feel  the  inner  tension.  Notice  that  when  you  focus  your  attention  on  one  thing  it  looms  large,  and  other  things  fall  away  in  importance.  Your  choice  of  focus  changes  your  internal  feeling  and  emotions.  Where  can  you  turn  your  attention  so  that  it  is  inherently  away  from  the  worry  and  anxiety  that  produces  harmful  stress?  This  is  your  true  refuge  from  mental  stress.  Actual  stressful  situations  may exist  in the  present moment, requiring  action,  but mentally generated  stress  does not exist  there.  This  is true, because thinking is  a  slow  and complex function  that  takes  processing time. It lags the  present  moment  by  half  a  second  or  more.  To  become  absorbed  in  the  raw  sensory  input  is  to be separated  in time from  the cognitive  universe where worry  exists.  That  can  happen, because we  experience  sensations  much faster  than  we can think about things. These are simple facts that reflect  the  biological  mechanics of our  nervous  system,  but  their implications and  impacts are extraordinary.  They relate  directly  to  the  practice  of  mindfulness,  which  refers  to  the  mental  state  of  being  focused  in  the  present  moment.  Tai  chi  and  kung fu employ mindfulness. The Sky  is Crying
This  ancient  practice  brought focused breath  awareness  to many Westerners  as  an integral component  of  physical  training, yielding superlative results. Today,  mindfulness  is  used in clinical  psychology to treat anxiety, depression, and pain. Once we act, the situation soon ends, and we naturally cycle into a regenerative phase. Bad  stress is  mental  anxiety,  worry.  This erodes our  physical  health and can  shorten our  lives. She began  practicing  mindfulness to  deal  with stress  of deployment theaters  like  those in  Bosnia and  Macedonia.  She  found serious  scientific  partners in 2007  and  was approached by  funding  organizations.  The results  from  those  who received  the training  were better  than expected. This triggered  two  more studies of  troops  deploying to Afghanistan  and  another embedded  into  the United  States Marine  Corps School of  Infantry. Stanley  is  an associate  professor at Georgetown  and founder  of  the  Mind Fitness Training  Institute.  A focus of attention  inherently  allows  us  to leave behind internally generated  anxiety  and  worry.  This  shift  of attention  is  accomplished  by  focusing  on physical  sensations,  which  inherently  occur  in  the  present  moment.  Living On The Edge Of The World
Stanley’s  research  partners  also  have  studied  the  brain’s  response  to  stress  in  average  citizens,  elite  athletes,  and  members  of  military  Special  Forces.  When  faced  with  stress,  those  who  had  received  the  training  maintained  their  center,  which  was  verified  by  calmer  heart  rates  and  slowed  breathing.  Immediately  after  a  workout,  our  brains  are  better  able  to  build  neurons  and  establish  the  rewiring  that  helps  us  handle  stress.  Applying  this insight  and integrating key aspects  of mindfulness  can  importantly  advance  the development  of  training.  Stanley and her  work through retired  lieutenant  colonel Dave  Grossman,  a  graduate  of Ranger School  who  later  became  a  professor  of  psychology  at  West  Point.  Since  retiring  from  the  Army,  he  has  founded  a research group  and  educates  law  enforcement  officers  and  soldiers  on  how  to achieve  better  outcomes  when  faced with  potentially  lethal  encounters.  He  also  speaks  to  civilian  groups  and  teaches  them  how  to  deal  with  the  aftermath  of  violent  events,  like  school  shootings.  We  now  have  a  growing  body of new understanding built on scientific investigation  that  shows  us  how  to  better  handle  our  stress.  These  techniques  can  be  applied by everyone. She is petite and thin. Mary spent the decade before the strength test working out. In fact, she had been hitting  the  gym  5  days  a week for many  years.  The  gym  never  really  scared  Mary.  What  was  Cullen  going  to  throw  her way  during a training session? What was in store for her when she arrived at the gym? And  while nutrition  wasn’t  a fear  factor  for  Mary,  it  continues  to  be  the  most challenging  part  of her  fitness  and  overall  health  regime.  She  has  to  work on  watching  what  she  eats regularly.  It’s  hard  to  fight  the  cravings.  She’s  got  that down.  Since  Mary already  worked  out  regularly,  she  felt  she  was  on  top  of her health.  However,  by being pushed to lift  heavier weight, she  suddenly discovered  not only could  she  do  more  but  that  at  58,  she was  also  in  the  best shape of  her  life.  Mary  has  fibromyalgia  as  well  as  adrenal  and  thyroid  issues.  She  said  that  despite a  humid  summer  recently, the program  seems  to have helped diminish those symptoms. Just get to the gym,  said  Mary.  Once  you’re  there,  and  you  start moving,  you’ll be  able to  increase what  you’re doing.  If  you  can  swing  it,  Mary  suggests using  a  trainer  to  guide  you,  because a  trainer  will  push  you  to  work  harder  than you  might push  yourself.  She  can now  deadlift  170  pounds.