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With all we have to deal with today, many days, you need help to be your own sunshine! The quote by Anthony J. D’Angelo, “where ever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine,” is a mantra we can all put into practice.
Sunshine is life, it evokes warm and happy feelings (especially those who live in colder climates) and it’s scientifically proven to boost our emotional state and physical well-being by getting the right amount of sunshine.
I’ve chased the sun and beach my whole life. My parents probably thought I was crazy my senior year in college, I say – “I’m moving to Tampa!”. I was determined to be a beach girl. Thankfully I have amazing parents and they supported my craziness by going with me to see if Tampa was where I was going to start my career and life after college. Didn’t work out that way, moved to Atlanta first. (got cold feet – lol) But I did make it to the beach a few years later and have been planted there ever since. For some reason, I’ve been blessed to know it’s just good for my soul and it is absolutely a part of my daily happiness.
Like many, I’m a huge Oprah fan and I distinctly remember when Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor was on her show. I immediately bought her book, My Stroke of Insight, and have been forever changed for her insight into the brain and our human experience. For those of you that haven’t been introduced her, watch this:
In the well-known video above Jill describes her experience of having a stroke. Here is the description of her talk from the TED web site. Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened — as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding — she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.
Do you use the 90-second rule?
One of my biggest take-a-ways for me, was the 90-Second Rule!! SO POWERFUL!
Here is Jill’s introduction to the 90-second rule. When a person has a reaction to something in their environment, there’s a 90-second chemical process that happens in the body; after that, any remaining emotional response is just the person choosing to stay in that emotional loop. Something happens in the external world and chemicals are flushed through your body which puts it on full alert. For those chemicals to totally flush out of the body it takes less than 90 seconds. This means that for 90 seconds you can watch the process happening, you can feel it happening, and then you can watch it go away. After that, if you continue to feel fear, anger, and so on, you need to look at the thoughts that you’re thinking that are re-stimulating the circuitry that is resulting in you having this physiological response over and over again. Here is the web site that describes her professional work: click here.
Steps to use the 90 seconds rule
Start by tuning into yourself and experiencing the feeling. Don’t deny it, acknowledge it instead but don’t give into it. You know that your immediate decision is needed to shift your thinking and bring your attention elsewhere. You have a power to select. Your conscious awareness will enable that. Find your own individual, best solutions that work: count to 90, clench your fists, breathe or do whatever else you can to get through the emotion.
So what can you do to manage what happens next? What works for you? The next step is to give your brain something else to do. You can replace your thoughts and redirect your attention towards topics that are more positive and relaxing. This means that you will continue to rely on your left hemisphere. Or you can choose to focus on your senses and e.g. notice the environment (what you smell, taste, see, hear and physically feel) which will mean that your right hemisphere is stimulated. Move your thoughts away from the stressful matter, before you even begin to believe that what you are thinking is true.
Our natural ability
If you can master your own emotions, you can truly trust yourself. Using the 90-second rule can enable that in a very real way. It can help you to “be your own sunshine.” It takes practice, but it CAN be done. This method is entirely based on neuroscience and the mechanisms that occur in the brain. It is aligned to how we as humans function. It answers questions about the way to use the natural processes that happen inside us to make our existence more effective. Practice this and become the master of your emotions. Decide to be the sunshine of your own life!
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