Inner Wisdom Breakfast Series Focuses on Retraining Our Brains
Counselor Deborah Lindeen on Developing a Positivity Bias
Her presentation included tips for overcoming our inclination—lingering from prehistoric times toward seeking out threats (negativity) in our environment. These are her suggestions for exchanging your negative thought patterns for a positive bias:
1. Your brain needs about 10 seconds for an experience to “sink in” and become part of your memory banks. When having a positive experience, stop and make sure you notice it for at least 10 seconds. Stop doing anything else, and pay attention to the positive experience.
2. Try to “embody” the experience. This means making it rich and intense to you, by noticing the colors, smells, sounds or feelings in your body. Try to anchor the pleasant experience to as many of your sensory states as possible, which will enhance the memory.
3. Your brain pays particular attention to novelty, so examine the experience for its novelty. It may be just another beautiful sunset, but try to find at least one quality that makes this experience different, how is this sunset different from other sunsets you have enjoyed in the past.
4. Your ability to remember is enhanced by the personal relevance of an experience. Try to focus on why the experience is relevant to you—for example, how it feeds your soul, how it reminds you of some aspect of your personal past, or how it reinforces something positive or affirming in you.
You can experience Deborah’s unique melding of psychology and art at her upcoming SoulScaping workshop which will use a creative collage process to help you discover your life’s purpose. For more information on this half-day March 7 workshop, visit Deborah’s website.
Deborah’s presentation was the second of three in our Friday morning Inner Wisdom Breakfast Series. The final gathering will be held this coming Friday, February 20 at 8:15 at Yoga Heart Studio (5959 Westheimer, #210, Houston TX 77057). Reserve your spot in advance for only $12 or at the door for $15. A light breakfast is included, and you may stay for the yoga class following for only $10 (1/2 off the normal rate courtesy of Yoga Heart Houston owner Selise Stewart).
Friday, February 20: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga
Monette Chilson, author, Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga
Come learn how to take your yoga practice beyond the physical realm through this exploration of yoga’s eight limbs. Find out how yoga can deepen the spiritual awareness of practitioners from any religious background.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE
Monette Chilson is the author of Sophia Rising: Awakening Your Sacred Wisdom Through Yoga. Published by 
Bright Sky Press in 2013, her debut publication helps yoga enthusiasts meld the spirituality of their faith tradition with the sacred awareness cultivated through their yoga practice. Monette has lived her yoga on and off the mat for more than 20 years. She writes and speaks about faith, yoga and the feminine face of God. She’s written for Yoga Journal, Integral Yoga Magazine, and Elephant Journal, among others. Sophia Rising was recently awarded the Illumination Book Award gold medal, as well as the Hoffer Small Press and First Horizon Awards. She blogs regularly on her site and you can follow her at Sophia Rising Yoga. She lives in Houston with her husband and two children.
