Shark in the Water

With safety as your guideline, try to bring your thought processes to a proper conclusion. That is mind reading, not therapy, I replied. Not knowing the depths of another person, we live with risk. We must drop our fantasies to relate to him. This man continued. When she told me something negative about myself, and I disagreed, she said this proved I was resisting. If I agreed to an accusation I did not feel was true, I gained her approval. It felt like a Catch-22. It was, I replied. By interpreting disagreement as resistance, we can try to bully people into submission and call it collaboration. Any fact can be misused to convince people that our projection is real. These foods are not necessarily acid in composition, but they leave an acid residue in the body after they are metabolized, making the body itself more acid. To maintain a proper acid-alkaline balance in the body, it helps to decrease consumption of acid-forming foods. Prominent among alkaline foods are all vegetables; Ideally, 50 to 60 percent of the calories you consume should come from these foods. Try including more of the alkaline foods in your diet and see if it makes a difference in the way you feel. Increasing the number of alkaline-forming foods in your diet should not lead you to reduce your protein intake. More Protein, Fewer Carbs Carbohydrates are used by the body to produce sugar or glucose, the form of sugar the body and brain use for fuel. In order to transport glucose to the cells, your pancreas secretes insulin.

Eating high levels of carbohydrates means your body produces higher levels of insulin, and too much insulin has an adverse effect on some of the body's most basic hormonal and neuroendocrine systems, especially those that produce prostaglandins and serotonin. Laird thought that this would be enough to kick-start feelings of love and affection. After the fake telepathy study had ended, all of the participants were asked to rate their amorous feelings toward their experimental partner. The data proved Laird right, with participants reporting genuine feelings of affection and attraction for their newfound soul mate. The study represents an approach to human behavior first advanced by one of the founding fathers of modern-day psychology, William James. According to James, not only do our thoughts and feelings affect the way we act, but the way we act influences our thoughts and feelings. Laird is not alone in exploring ways in which this approach can help researchers better understand matters of the heart. Another study, carried out by Arthur Aron from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and his colleagues from various other universities, suggests that the same type of approach can also help bring couples closer together. The start of any romantic relationship is usually a time of great excitement, with people enjoying the novelty of experiencing life with a new partner. Fast-forward twenty years and often a very different picture emerges. Now the couple know each other very well, and life has become far more routine--the same restaurants, the same vacation destinations, and the same conversations. This move is designed to protect an estimated 27 million American workers from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) caused from repetitive motion, force, awkward positions, and overexertions of muscles. Ergonomics is the science of fitting the job to the worker. Ac-cording to OSHA, when there is a mismatch between the physical requirements of the job and the physical capacity of the worker, work-related injuries can occur. Some of the most common MSDs involve injuring the wrists and back (see article 9, Pain Below the Belt). What can be done to prevent these injuries from messing up your workplace? Ergonomics. Ergonomics--Getting the Right Position Many employers have developed ergonomic programs to protect their workers and prevent MSDs. Check with your Human Resources Department at work to see what's available for you.

Until then, look at these commonsense solutions: Today, after clients know how to do sentence completion, I usually give them the stem One of the ways I can take more responsibility with regard to (fill in the area) is to-- and tell them to proceed full speed ahead. Then they begin to appreciate how knowledgeable they really are. I have heard many people, from all backgrounds and walks of life, produce stunningly insightful endings for this stem, and I have learned to listen with benevolent skepticism to protestations of ignorance and helplessness. If you hear yourself protesting, I suggest you do the same. Of course, sometimes other people can help us to become more aware of some action possibilities, but there are always some things we already know we can do. Begin with these. To accept responsibility for one's existence is to recognize the need to live productively. This is a basic and profoundly important application of the idea of having an active orientation to life. It is not the degree of our productive ability that is at issue here, but rather our choice to exercise whatever ability we do possess. Productive work is the supremely human act. I haven't yet met anyone who wants to die in a hospital. But many do, and that's something folks should think about. A good mantra: `I am not comfortable with death, but I can practice with my discomfort. When I thanked her for her time, I also asked her how she got to be the way she is, with her superpowers. I don't know, she said, and then added, Like you, Laura. You're in touch with your own sadness. And your fears. You're never denying yourself your own suffering. Since we don't deny our own suffering, we also don't deny ourselves the greatest joys in life.

You write about it. We are outside the group, with no way in. We don't belong. It affects the way we view everything about ourselves and other people. I look at her sadly, because I resonate with everything she has just said. This is me. I am shame. I still can't look at her. There is a long pause before she answers. We can try to dismantle some of your beliefs and help you see where they don't fit reality or where they're not helpful any more. Secondly, we can work on you experiencing the opposite of shame here--belonging, being wanted, having your needs met, being connected, being acceptable. This sensation rises gently over your ankles and flows up your lower legs until it begins to kiss your knees gently. At this point, you allow the feeling of relaxation spread through your whole body. It rises around your hips and through your pelvic areas. You gently give into the sensation as it washes over your stomach, hugs around your lower back, and continues to rise over your chest. As this happens, relax your upper arms, lower arms, and wrist. The sensation flows over the palms of your hands. Imagine the excitement flowing to each finger. Your hands feel pleasant, relaxed, and warm. Bring your focus back to your breath, and the relaxation spreads through your collar bones, across your shoulders and washes down your entire back again.

Sink into the bed further and take a deep, cleansing breath in and let it go slowly. This sensation rises gently over your ankles and flows up your lower legs until it begins to kiss your knees gently. At this point, you allow the feeling of relaxation spread through your whole body. It rises around your hips and through your pelvic areas. You gently give into the sensation as it washes over your stomach, hugs around your lower back, and continues to rise over your chest. As this happens, relax your upper arms, lower arms, and wrist. The sensation flows over the palms of your hands. Imagine the excitement flowing to each finger. Your hands feel pleasant, relaxed, and warm. Bring your focus back to your breath, and the relaxation spreads through your collar bones, across your shoulders and washes down your entire back again. Sink into the bed further and take a deep, cleansing breath in and let it go slowly. The only escape from her searing pain is blood. She pulls the knife from her dresser drawer. The urge grows. Abigail pulls off her t-shirt. She slowly pushes the blade into the skin on her stomach. She experiences a single moment of delicious pain -- then nothing. She watches the blood begin to flow and pulls the knife higher, watching more blood pour out of her stomach. She deliberately slices through a scab from the last time. Somehow the sight of blood calms her down and eases her into a state of peace.