Blog Category: stress

When was the last time you just sat and did absolutely NOTHING????  !!!!  Scary thought, perhaps, for some people, but by doing nothing, LOT's of things actually do happen....... For instance:

• your heart rate will probably slow down
• your blood pressure will probably reduce
• your breathing will certainly slow down and be more steady and regular
• and....... if you do it for long enough, your busy mind chatter will probably quiet down as well

Doing nothing is not about sitting cross - legged and meditating for hours on end!!!  Simply sitting for a few minutes and not moving, not looking at anything and not listening to anything in particular - they all can make a huge difference on your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

So I DARE you to sit somewhere for AT LEAST 3 minutes (try 5 if you are feeling brave!!!)  EVERY DAY and see what happens.  It could be the first time in a LONG time that you have done it, and a word of caution......  If you say to yourself that you haven't got time to sit for a few minutes.......then that might just be a sign that says you NEED to sit quietly for a while to rest up and recharge!!!

And if you need some help sitting still, then take a look at the CD "Calm your Mind" and listen to the free track.

It seems that more and more people are choosing silence as a way of dealing with the turbulent times we are living in.  Sara Maitlant - an author and journalist - writes of her experiences of silent living in an inspirational book called "A Book of Silence"  (published by Grant 2008 www.granta.com)

Also check the Diary section on the site for details of a radio programme talking about silence - March 7th

T.U.G.  - something different to help stop your chatterbox mind running away with itself.!!! 
(so,  not what you though it was about!!!)

Neuro Scientists would have us believe that thousands of thoughts run through our head every day, most of which are just the same ones being recycled, and don't serve any useful purpose.  In fact, it can often be the case that we might start the day with some niggly thought which keeps nagging us throughout the day, and stops us enjoying what we do, or fully appreciating the good things that the day has to offer.

Those niggly thoughts can be about anything, or anyone/ real or imagined.  You might be thinking that the day ahead will be difficult, some things you have planned may not succeed, the bus might be late, some work colleagues are bound to disagree with your ideas, or don't like you, or that you don't have enough hours in the day to get every thing done.  And so the list goes on, and those recycled thoughts begin to take on a life of their own, and get bigger and bigger, louder and louder in our heads until we become totally oblivious to the world going on a round us, and just be obsessed with the thoughts!

And what's more, you can't find the off switch, or the volume control to turn the noise down, or switch to another "channel" to listen to. 

Well, think of the T.U.G. technique as a kind of OFF switch - at least to allow you a moment stop and think about what you are thinking about - BEFORE they take over your day and world!!!  And those three letters stand for

So, it works like this.  Whenever you become aware of thoughts that you have had before, which bother you, make you feel irritated, cause you to think negatively about a situation or person, STOP and ask yourself these three questions:

Is what I am thinking TRUE?  ( and if you answer YES, ask yourself "How do I know it is true?" - you may not know but just assume you know!!)

Is what I am thinking USEFUL?  (in other words, does it help me clarify something or just confuse me more?)

Do those thoughts make me feel GOOD? (in myself, about myself, about others, about the situation)

If the answer to ANY of the above questions is NO, then think about something else that does make you feel good.


The trick to the technique is to stop yourself the SECOND you become aware of those niggling thoughts, and TUG at them.  Don't allow them to take control.
Nip them in the bud.

And of course, sometimes we do have thoughts that keep coming back time and time again - so it might be that they are useful thoughts which need to be looked at, sorted out once a for all, so that you feel good for doing that.

So, keep on TUGging at those niggling thoughts, and start to choose the thoughts that you want to have which are true, very useful and make you feel really good.