Hi, my name is Trish and I contribute to the Human Potential Center’s blog from time to time. Recently, I was asked to present at the 2014 American Psychological Association’s Division of Humanistic Psychology Forum. Here is a 13 minute video presentation on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a humanistic perspective.
The Blue Poppy: C.G. Jung on Combat-related PTSD
FREE THINGS
TO SCRATCH WHERE IT ITCHES
TO THINK FOR YOURSELF
TO SMILE WHEN YOU’RE HAPPY
TO FROWN WHEN YOU’RE NOT
TO SING WHEN YOU WANT TO
TO DANCE TO YOUR OWN MUSIC
TO CRY WHEN YOUR HEART HURTS
TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN WAY
TO PLAN AHEAD
TO LOOK BACK NOW AND AGAIN
TO CHOOSE TO BE HERE
TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE
TO VOTE
TO EAT
TO DRINK
TO SLEEP
TO WISH THINGS WERE DIFFERENT
TO PLAN TO CHANGE THINGS
TO ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE
TO TRY, AND FAIL
TO TRY AGAIN
TO BE THANKFUL OR UNGRATEFUL
TO BELIEVE WHAT YOU WILL
TO SAY A SILENT PRAYER
TO LEARN ABOUT WHATEVER YOU LIKE
TO RUN AROUND NAKED IN YOUR ABODE
TO TAKE A WALK
TO OGLE OTHER PEOPLE
TO WONDER “WHAT IF?”
TO ACT ON YOUR DREAMS
TO LIVE WITH YOUR CHOICES
TO DRAW A PICTURE
TO PAINT A CANVAS
TO LEARN AN INSTRUMENT
TO LISTEN TO MUSIC YOU LIKE
TO LEARN TO JUGGLE
TO CHOOSE YOUR ATTITUDE
TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR CHOICES
TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
TO APOLOGIZE FOR SOMETHING YOU DID
TO APOLOGIZE FOR SOMETHING YOU SHOULD HAVE
TO FORGIVE YOURSELF
TO FORGIVE OTHERS
TO DISAGREE WITH SOMEONE
TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES
TO WRITE A BOOK
TO WRITE A PLAY, A POEM, A SCREENPLAY, OR A SONG
TO ENJOY A BABY’S GIGGLE
TO HELP SOMEONE WHO CAN’T HELP THEMSELVES
TO GIVE YOUR TIME, ENERGY, AND/OR MONEY TO WHOMEVER OR WHATEVER YOU LIKE
The freedoms listed above may or may not have positive or negative consequences should you choose to use them. Anything illegal, immoral, harmful to oneself or others or just plain downright nasty is not a freedom.
You even have the freedom to think of your own freedoms and share them, if you like, by sending them to me by snail mail at the Human Potential Center, 2007 Bert, Austin, TX 78704.
Namaste Ramdassnt
“We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.” Virginia Satir
It just makes sense donesn’t it? It should be easy enough to get four a day. Just ask. You’ll be surprised at how many folks are receptive to being hugged. Of course, some aren’t. In my personal research over the years, I’ve found that co-workers are more inclined than management. Something about maintaining a professional distance. I can understand that. I can only hope they’re hugging someone, somewhere. Their emotional well-being can affext those they “manage”.
Many moons ago, I read about a study done on newborn rhesus monkeys who were deprived of their mother’s touch. Provided with warmth, food and shelter, they withered until an upright furry stand was placed near them and they could cling to it. Surrogate mom? To me it points to an innate need to give and receive physical contact/affection among the members of the animal kingdom…us included.
Those of you old enough to remember the last episode of the Mary Tyler Moore show witnessed a group hug. A little difficult to orchestrate, but worth the effort. My favorite kind of hug is the “oreo”, involving three people. I’m sure you can picture it. And each person can take turns being in the middle.
I should mention here that all hugging I’m referring to is done standing up. Any done in a prone position becomes “cuddling” , which may become the subject of a separate blog.
Hugging is pretty much universal, meaning there may be some cultures that just don’t. The only one I can think of may be the Eskimos, but then I’m not very well-versed on international cultures.
Hugging has been the subject of many art forms including sculpture and painting dating back hundreds of years. It can imply many things; shared joy, shared sadness, affection and love. They also vary in length, the longer suggesting a closer relationship.
There are different kinds of hugs between two people. The upper body hug …friendly. The full body hug…a little more intimate. The side hug. The handshake-backslapping hug, and the back hug. One comes up behind the other and encircles them with their arms.
Hugging can also reduce blood pressure and reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. So it feels good and its good for you. Win, Win! CAUTION! It is a good idea to ask first. Make it known to those around you that you are available should they need one, with the agreement that should you need one….
I heard about a man in Australia who started a “free hug” movement in 2006. It’s never too late to start one here. You could start by purchasing a “professional hugger” button soon to be available on the Human Potential Center website. And keep an eye on the HPC link on Facebook. A “how to” video is now in the planning stages. You can also get one for free by attending any of the classes or workshops offered by the HPC.
Remember, 4 a day to survive, 8 to stay “alive”, and 12 to thrive. The more people are hugging, the less they’re fighting. Do your part for whirled peas.
Now get out there and start hugging! Ram Dassnt
Everyday there are many tasks and responsibilities to accomplish. Usually, taking time during the day to eat healthy meals or get an amount of sleep that gives us the rest needed to engage the activities during the day with vitality, but all too often time needed to relax and rest gets doesn’t get the emphasis that it deserves.
Many illnesses arise from the effects of over-stressing the mind and body. These illness can by physically catastrophic or chronically draining in an emotional or mental sense, but either way the effects of these illnesses can be lessened by taking time to relax and rest at some point every day.
Techniques for relaxation include more formalized activities like (more…)
Feeling good isn’t quite what it seems.
Hello. My name is Chris Jamison. I may be familiar to those of you who have called into the Human Potential Center offices, more than likely to share something with Bob, but got a different voice on the phone than Bob’s pleasant and outgoing tone.
You would have heard me answer the phone because I am helping out with the center on a nearly-daily basis, mostly with office and Human Potential Center related tasks. So far my volunteering has been a relaxing, yet involved due to the ever-shifting demands of helping Bob with the non-profit. I seem to always go into the office, expecting to do one set of tasks, but am needed to abandon them and go in another direction just because the responsibilities of the day require that. If ‘variety is the spice of life’ as a wise person once said, my life is very well seasoned indeed.
While I am new to the Center, I have been dealing with issues relating to emotional therapy and growth since experiencing the death of my mother nearly 14 years ago.
At that time I was in college and trying to be an average, impulsive, carefree, fun-seeking twenty-one year old, but I would tend to sabotage my wishes for happiness by having friendships which weren’t mutually satisfying, being dependent on manipulating my circumstances to avoid painful reactions or over-reactions to people I felt threatened by, and the general insecurity that comes from being an adolescent and not knowing exactly how to accept myself and my flaws and dignity and ensure that I am respected and affirmed by those close to me without appearing rigid or clingy.
When my mother died, I had no idea how to process or describe what I was feeling. (more…)
Thank you.
Short for “I’m grateful that you ________, and I want you to know it makes me feel good.”
It comes in many forms: a smile, a nod, a tip of the hat, and in most, if not all, languages.
I use it in a truly heartfelt way when tech support has walked me through a particularly enigmatic problem with my computer. Occasionally, words cannot express adequately what I’m feeling at those moments, and I begin to sputter half sentences in my search for exactly the right phrase and end up just saying “Thank you,” several times.
Gratitude.
Once in a while something goes unexpectedly right in my efforts to get through the day and I take a moment to look up and say “Thanks” to the powers that be. Recently I’ve quit watching the news and reading the paper. I finally learned that media industry complex is dedicated to creating controversy, to keep us all stressed enough to buy something that will help us feel better. No thanks. (more…)
Identifying how you feel and what your want can be surprisingly difficult, especially if you (like me) have spent years listening to other’s needs and ignoring your own. So here are some hints to make this process easier:
In trying to identify how I feel, it has been very helpful for me to spend time looking at and listening to my actual physical sensations and where they are located in my body. For example, though I may not be well enough acquainted with my emotions to be able to say “I feel angry/happy/resentful,” I can often sense that my fists are clenched, or that I feel a lightness in my heart or a knot in my stomach.
I’ve also found that one easy way to determine what I want is to ask myself the question, “If someone tried to give me this, would I take it?” If I would, I can be pretty sure I want it, and vice versa. Unfortunately, the ability to see our wants clearly can still be clouded by guilt as well as by thoughts and feelings of inadequacy, which often show up in words like should, ought, and can’t. Whenever I hear myself saying words like that to myself, I find that it’s helpful to ask myself another question: “If I could do anything right now, without feelings of guilt or inadequacy, what would I do?”
In this messy and chaotic life, human has become a highly stressed and disturbed. People are too busy in their professional life or in other activities; they are so busy that they don’t bother about themselves. They don’t have time for themselves. Human’s biggest strength is peace of mind as it gives him strength to think better and act intelligently, and human’s biggest foe is stress, he loses what he wants and becomes an ugly person, he loses sense of humanity, he becomes totally insane. For people with stressed life, should follow the art of meditation.
Here are few simple tips for meditation to gain peace of mind and walk forward towards quality and happy life.
Daily routine of meditation
Make meditation your daily routine. Involve this habit in your life. Make a suitable time, when you are completely free and no one is there to disturb you. Daily meditation helps you to learn self-control and be disciplined.
Stretching before meditation
You should perform some stretching exercises before you start up with the mediation. Stretching helps you to feel relaxed and promoted flexibility. Stretching program releases tension from tendons and muscles. The stretching exercise helps to concentrate better.
Candle gives light
One of the best techniques of meditation is by using candle. Keep a lightened candle and continuously gaze its inner flame (the red part of the flame). Try to concentrate on the flame. While you concentrate on the flame, you forget the world and for few seconds you are fully concentrated on the candle. This is called meditation. This enhances your concentration power and also gives peace to your mind. The state of total null or void is known as meditation. Your mind is free from worldly chaos and worries. It is free from the bad spirits. Daily practice will increase your mediation time and help to improve concentration. This would accelerate your mind activity and your will feel more energetic and happy.
Feel the nature
Feeling the cool breeze through you is also one kind of meditation, for a movement you forget the world and get immerse in a peaceful reservoir.
Focus your breath
Sit straight, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Remove all the thoughts from your mind. Just focus on your breath. This is one of the effective meditations. This meditation cleanses your system as you do deep breathing. Deep breathing removes all toxins through the air. It makes you feel fresh and increases your concentration power.
Sleeping is not Meditation
Don’t think that when you are sleeping, meditation process is on. Sleeping is a passive process, you are taking rest but your mind or inner conscience works in some or the other way, for example dreams. In meditation you are actually giving rest to your mind and this is very active process. In meditation you keep your mind focused to one point and this need extreme concentration level.
Place for meditation
Always be very particular while you choose your meditation place. It should be clean, quiet and calm. Best place for meditation is within nature, like garden or lawn.
Conclusion
Meditation should be your integral part of daily routine. It helps to release stress and make you more active. Always choose a clam place for meditation and fix your time. Daily meditation has wonder effects to for your health.
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About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought cool flash drives. These days she is busy in writing an article on right brain left brain test.
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