Joyful Minds, Open HeartsOvercoming Negativity Addiction

I just got done doing an amazing radio show with Macha and we went through a typical day for her with Overcoming Negativity Addiction and the biggest thing I took away from it was that she’s deliberately talking gently and lovingly to herself all day long, constantly being attentive to what she’s saying to herself.

This deliberate self talk vibe switch is the most important of all ONA vibe switches, especially in the beginning of doing the ONA program, because otherwise our mind has been wired negatively and when we let it “wander” or are not conscious of what we are thinking, the old habitual thought patterns are negative. Thus, we end up triggering ourselves every two or three minutes when we stop being conscious of what we’re thinking.

I so admire Macha for doing this program so diligently since July. You can feel her bio-chemicals are clean and she said it herself. Focusing on her alignment is her full time job. I am so inspired by that level of dedication to keeping the biochemicals clean!

Yes, in the beginning, it can feel unnatural or maybe even a little annoying to have to talk to yourself “Like Your Own Fairy Godmother” but this is only because your body and mind is addicted to thinking/feeling negative thoughts. But after awhile, the negative thoughts/feelings will actually start to feel like the unnatural thing because you have rewired your own brain and your “default setting” is now set to kind and gentle self talk.

If you don’t believe that you have the power to release feel good chemicals into your own bloodstream without the need of pharmaceuticals, try right now, out loud, to talk to yourself like your own Fairy Godmother and do it for at least three to five minutes. Then notice if you don’t feel happier, lighter, maybe even a little high from it! You just gave yourself your first taste of your new Joy Addiction that you are rewiring into your brain.

The 8 Week ONA program is a real commitment, but it is the most rewarding commitment I have ever made. I am actually restarting the 8 week program tomorrow with the dedication to constant, deliberate self talk that Macha has inspired me to try. I want my chemicals even cleaner!!! I want to be in bliss from sun up to sun down. That is my goal and I know I can achieve it!

Love and Happy Biochemicals,
Denise

Well, I have been riding high for two days now with my Overcoming Negativity Addiction Program, really having a good time with my favorite vibe switch of “Holding the Compassion Note” when anyone does anything I perceive as rude, defensive, indifferent, or unkind, instead of indulging the “hurt feeling” chemicals that used to enter my bloodstream as a result of their behavior, I now do two things.

1. I notice I am triggered by their behavior by saying to myself “Just got triggered”.

2. I shift into seeing it all from their perspective and realizing that they are probably experiencing uncomfortable chemicals in their system if they’re feeling anything but loving. I immediately decide that they deserve my compassion, not my anger/hurt/whatever and I shift gracefully into feeling compassion because they, whether they know it or not, are also dealing with negative emotions in the body that don’t feel good.

When I do what I call this “ONA two-step”, I feel like I can happily be around anyone because I feel I can gracefully manage my emotional states around them without letting their behavior trigger me indulging my addiction to those not fun chemicals of anger/hurt/etc. in my system.

Macha said it the best on our radio show the other night. She said that with ONA, she feels like she’s “surfing her own emotions”.

That’s exactly how it starts to feel. Like you’re able to stay happy no matter what anyone around you is doing or not doing. It’s the most empowering feeling of all, being able to stay in love with everybody, no matter how they are treating me.

I find that holding the compassion note for others works best when I realize that we are all wired the same physiologically and that none of our systems actually enjoy those negative stress chemicals and that, since these emotions are physically addictive, I can cut these people a break for being in the addiction.

It’s interesting that we do seem to have compassion for people who are chain smokers, because we know what they are doing to their lungs from smoking but they can’t seem to stop.  We see that it’s difficult to quit doing because their body is craving the nicotine. It would behoove  us to have that same kind of compassion for the person in our life who is chronically angry, depressed, insensitive, or anxious as well, because their body is just as addicted to those chemicals as the smoker is to the cigarette.

So, this week, let’s all try holding the compassion note for the difficult people we encounter. Compassion does our body good.

Hey. Maybe I’ll make a tee-shirt. “Compassion. It does a body good.”

Love and Happy Bio-Chemicals,
Denise

Today, I am coming out of a two day script rewriting marathon. I feel a little fuzzy because my mind has been focused only on the world of my screenplay and movie. It’s so much fun creating another universe, but it can take me out of the present moment which is what I’m craving now. To ground myself in this here and now moment.

So today I am going to exercise, and meditate, and get off my computer and vibe switch back into “this” reality.

Also, I am noticing something very interesting and helpful. My Negativity Addiction likes to make everything complicated, complex, muddled, muddy, thinking thinking thinking. But when I am vibe switching and overcoming the addiction, everything gets more simple. I just become loving, more body centered, more present, more gentle, softer, and my mind gets very simple and just loving and compassionate.

So today I plan to be very simple with my thinking. The heart is always loving. It’s the mind and the Negativity Addiction that gets in the way. So by making our mind more loving, the natural state of our Hearts is able to come out.

Whenever I try to complicate things today, I am going to vibe switch simply into Holding the Love Note.

I’m also really glad we stopped doing the weekly ONA class, because it looks like I’m taking a bigger role in making this movie. I am also SO glad we created the 8 week Overcoming Negativity Program for those who can’t do the class.

I am so glad I am noticing when I need to take things off of my plate in order to hold the Self Compassion note. But I have to practice my ONA every single minute of every single day and so keeping my journal keeps me accountable.

Doing the ONA radio show with Macha keeps me accountable. For me, ONA is very much about staying accountable and noticing what my mind is doing.

Love and Happy Bio-Chemicals,
Denise