Profound Changes

I'm just getting caught up on my video reviews for the "Chasing the Present" summit. Today I watched video 2 and the person being interviewed was Radhi Devlukia-Shetty (Jay Shetty's wife). Can I first say that she is just beautiful and her calm, sweet manner makes her moreso. Radhi's idea on anxiety and depression is that it often stems from not knowing what it is that you have to offer the world; not knowing what makes you special. She said part of the path to happiness is figuring out what your power is and then doing daily mantra meditations to reconnect with that power. "Breathwork is the tool that connects your mind to your body." Other tips: When you are stressed out, your mind with tell you it wants junk food but what your body really needs in times of stress is foods that have the most vitality-foods that you can pick from the earth and eat as-is. So the key is to think of what your body needs instead of what your mind wants. Interacting with others may feel vulnerable but it can improve the energy for both (or all) people involved. We are uncomfortable sitting with ourselves in meditation or reflection because we are afraid of who we really are, but those dark places are where the magic happens. She makes the analogy of, if I were just entering into a relationship with you, I would want to spend a lot of time with you to understand you and get to know you, so why wouldn't you do the same for yourself? We are surrounded by so much external stimuli and much of it is unnecessary to our well-being. She recommends you reflect on what things you give your energy to that do not benefit your well-being and learn to slowly let go of those things. She recommends keeping a journal of your habits for the things you want to change. For example, if you were having a conversation with someone and found yourself thinking negative things about them in your mind you might write a journal to record what you actually said, what your mind was saying, and what you wish you'd said instead. By acknowledging the things you need to work on, it brings the focus on behavior goals and eventually the hope is that those knee-jerk responses become less powerful and you can make small changes. She also said to make sure you journal about things you are proud of yourself for each day. That's a bit different than an appreciation journal, where some of the things we are gratful for come from outside of us. So I really like these ideas and may start doing the journaling. I do want to get back into yoga and add some meditation to the mix, maybe when I'm done with this video series or maybe I'll rearrange how I do these things. The one message I am hearing loud and clear is that in order to find what fulfills you on a deep level, you have to spend time with yourself. All the thoughts I toss out constantly about body image and complaints and constantly worrying about the future pull me away from this happiness I'm seeking instead of leading me closer. I'm learning. I'm ready for some profound changes within.