the best affirmations are simply bringing to mind the things that are most important to you and letting those thoughts soak through you.

Dr. Richard Davidson, who is one of the world’s most respected cognitive neuroscientists, and who helped create the entire field of what is now being called Contemplative Neuroscience, and who is the founder and chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, gave a Google Tech Talk in 2009 where he

any answer that your mind formulates to answer the question “who am I?” or “What makes me me?,” or to borrow from Rainn again, “What are the 5 risks you haven’t had the guts to take yet?” … all those answers… that is your mind’s {self}. They are all ultimately answers to the question “who am I.” Answer the “who am I” question differently a hundred

Let’s imagine we’re standing in a kitchen together looking at a bowl of ripe red apples. You see the apples. You see the color of the apples. You see their texture. You see the way the apples are stacked so they don’t fall out of the bowl. You may even have a thought that you’d like to grab an apple as a healthy snack. From there, another thought

Setting your own expectations and setting expectations within others around you can be a very effective way to reduce the emotional fallout of future negative events. I’ve even used this practice with my son in preparation for a long car ride to go see his grandparents. “It’s gonna be a really long time in the car, buddy,” I would say. “What things

Our mind’s self can attach as easily to a treasured family heirloom that becomes a part of our identity as we can to the idea that we like the loose sheets of toilet paper to hang from over the top of the roll, and not from behind and under it (or vice versa). So in reality, our self (aka top level self, aka ego, aka false self) is really more of a

every action and reaction we have as humans, regardless of age, is designed to defend or perpetuate {self}.

While it’s true that your Expectation/Preference is primarily set automatically in relation to things on your {self} map, you can step in and purposefully adjust your expectations if you need to. This loosens the effect a negative event may have on you when something does eventually go wrong.

“Now I just expect people to do stupid shit. It makes it completely bearable when they do.” And while that’s pretty funny, it’s really true. Setting expectations in yourself really works.