What floats your boat?

Above all, my reasons to serve the poor and to offer support for those who suffer with stress, anxiety, and depression come from love. As you may know, the net proceeds from the sale of this article go in service to people who ask for support. So, if someone asks for a facilitated session, workshop, or other support, those funds go to help underwrite every effort that they can. I would love it if support could go to a person who has a fear of the story or my intentions. Were you on some kind of hallucinogenic drug when you were at Ghost Ranch? Were you smoking something? You seem to have asked what many people tell me that they had wondered but did not want to ask. I love this question! No, I wasn't on some kind of hallucinogenic drug or smoking any substance. The yes I can find to this question right now is that I was under the influence of Grace. PAULINE: So, that's a really good example of how you could have an automatic thought like This is too hard or It's going to be very hard to take him out, but it might turn out not to be true, or not 100% true. Is that right? PAULINE: So, I wonder, could you tell me in your own words then what we've just been talking about here? LENNY: Well, I guess you're saying that I have all these negative thoughts because I'm depressed. PAULINE: Right. And what effect do these thoughts have on you? LENNY: They make me feel bad and then I might just sit on the couch. PAULINE: Oh, well, that's excellent. You're right. Your thinking affects how you feel and then what you do.

The Ego Unmasked Why is that ego too difficult to explain or describe? The ego is hard to define, because the ego is not one particular thing. In reality, it's made up of many different values a person acquires over their lifetime. Such beliefs may be complex and even conflicting. To confuse that further, the ego of each person is special. If someone defines and explains specifically all the aspects of their ego and what it pushes them to do, you may not get a good description of what it looks like. The challenge of becoming conscious of what your personal ego feels like is getting harder because our society does not praise us for turning our focus inward and realizing these issues. How to Spot the Ego The ego is hard to see, because it lies behind real-life perceptions-our adherence to representations of our personality-and because we haven't practiced searching. It doesn't have to be complicated or boring. Once everyone's together, talk about each of the disasters you've identified as possible risks. Discuss the different ways your family would be notified of the emergency--alarms, radio or television alerts, text alerts or sirens--and make sure everyone knows what each warning system sounds like. Also, does everyone know what to do when they hear the warning? Outline the action steps your family would need to take before, during and after each situation. You can also find information at Ready. Remember, disasters never sleep, so make sure you talk about how your plan might change depending on the time of day or night. After you've determined the action steps, give each family member a job to do. Who will call for help? Who will grab the emergency supplies?

It was burning me up from the inside. So, in that way, I was the one being smoked or rather, whatever I was not was being smoked out. Are there parts of the story you have left out? Yes and no. First, the yes. I would imagine there is much I have left out of the story. I don't know that any true story could be truly complete when we try to share it with inherently limited words. Some details were left out to keep the story on the brief side. The no answer to this is that I haven't withheld anything. I simply share the parts of the story that are most often requested. In fact, if you had thought It's too hard to take Ethan out instead of just It's very hard, what do you think would have happened? LENNY: I don't know. I might not even have called him. But be careful to downplay the importance of identifying automatic thoughts when they struggle. You don't want clients to think they're incompetent. CLINICAL TIPS If you have difficulty identifying one of your client's automatic thoughts, you can provide an example: THERAPIST: I'd like to talk for a couple of minutes about how your thinking affects how you feel and what you do. CLIENT: Okay. THERAPIST: What would you think if you texted your best friend 8 hours ago and he didn't text you back?

You can glimpse other feelings, similar to those mentioned above, by observing them. The easiest way to spot the ego is through the trail of emotional reactions that it leaves behind: frustration at a loved one, a need to be perfect, a sense of vulnerability in some cases, irrational feelings of envy, the need to please someone, and so on. The false beliefs that form the ego will relate these feelings to. In the beginning the signs of subsequent feelings and stress are harder to see, rather than the personality that triggered it. One of the ego's most troubling characteristics is that it produces powerful emotional emotions, then excuses us for how it made us feel. The indignation with which we respond stems from ego-based assumptions that we are right and' know better' than someone else. There may also be an understanding of the survivor of deception or inequality below. When we overreact with frustration we can feel bad about what we've been saying. The ego is moving to a righteous self that knows better and is advising us to overreact with frustration. Simultaneously, it assumes the reputation of being the stupid idiot who knows no better and takes the blame for overreacting. Who will put Fluffy in her cat carrier? Teamwork is essential in an emergency. Make a Plan for When Your Family's Apart If your family is anything like mine, there aren't too many hours in the day when everyone is together in one place, so assume your family will be separated when disaster strikes. Ask your workplace and your children's schools about emergency procedures and request copies of any plans. Think of all the places you frequent and then come up with additional action plans. What will you do if you're in line at Starbucks and you receive a tornado warning alert on your cell phone? What should your children do if there's a fire at school? How will you get home from work if you're caught in a freak ice storm during rush hour? HOW TO KEEP IN TOUCH

Actually, I have shared far more details than I originally thought to share. The original story I had written did not include as much of my personal past, what occurred after I left Ghost Ranch, nor did it include as many descriptions of time, space, physical movement, location, sensations, or feelings on the day that this heart began to burn. In fact, in an early version, the story wasn't even told by me as a person. People guided me as to what they said they wanted to hear about. So, in an effort to give them that, the version of that story is perhaps three times longer in this article than the original write up. Who is to know what parts of the story you will find most important? The good news is that I don't feel like I have any secrets. So, if you have a question, I am happy to give an answer. It is confusing in the part of the story when you write as if you are not the mind. Why do you tell the story from the perspective of the soul? CLIENT: That maybe there's something wrong. THERAPIST: How would that thought make you feel? CLIENT: Worried, I guess. THERAPIST: And what would you do? CLIENT: Probably text again, and if I still didn't hear anything, I'd probably call. THERAPIST: Okay, that's a good example of how your thinking influences how you feel and what you do. Then, if you want to reinforce the cognitive model, you can provide a different automatic thought, using the same situation. For example, ask what the client would feel and do if she had the thought He's always doing this to me. He's so rude. Next, ask her to summarize what she's just learned.