Today’s our Independence Day 2012 in the U.S., and we’re grateful for our republic and the common values we hold most dear. Without question, we treasure our extraordinary freedoms especially. For those of us who value positivity, every day offers a chance to celebrate personal freedom if we choose, so here are some simple steps to help you let go.
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One expert who has devoted her work to the power of personal freedom and positive psychology is Dr. Judith Orloff. She offers specific advice about being healthy and well through better habits that generate good energy. A medical doctor by training and experience, Dr. Orloff’s practice and teaching in intuition and positive energy inspire people to seek ways to use their emotional intelligence to create the professional and personal success they desire. Consider how you can use her good advice on personal freedom to create a more positive outlook.
Dr. Orloff encourages her clients to focus on the Positive Now and resist “catastrophizing” what potential crises might destroy us. She cites the physiological reaction that destroys positive energy and growth when people dwell on negative what-ifs and generate stress hormones, break the flow of happy endorphins and quash the chemicals we make in our brains that are pain-reducing.
She encourages daily meditation as a positive step toward personal freedom. She cites scientific research that shows the physiological benefits of meditating each day on a positive image and realizing a deep sense of calm throughout the body. While many people meditate morning and/or evening, she suggests her clients take mini-breaks during a personally stressful part of the day to generate more calm and well-being.
She admits to using positive self-talk for well-being and promotes its benefits to others.
This is a form of affirmation that will neutralize the tendency to focus on what is negative. For instance, if you are tired, tell yourself, ‘It’s okay to take a rest’ instead of beating yourself up over not being a super person who goes nonstop. Or say to yourself, ‘You’ve done a great job’ when you’ve done your best in a work situation or in the process of healing from an illness.
Another strategy for personal freedom is to reinforce to yourself the gratitude that you feel for what is working well in your life, instead of dwelling on what has gone wrong. This one is so powerful and so obvious, too. “Just Let Go” is the central theme: let go of negative thoughts about the past. She suggests we “always focus on the love [we] have and know the enormous value of this.”
Free yourself of unhappy thoughts or a bad mood by reaching out to help someone else. Even in small ways—listening compassionately to a troubled friend or letting someone in front of you in traffic—a simple gesture of service to someone else frees our knotted psyches and allows a surge of positive energy to re-direct our negativity or lift a dark mood. We feel better and so does The Someone we serve.
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Since I was a little girl, the word “freedom” described something powerful, almost magical to me. It still does—perhaps more now than ever before. I’m deeply grateful for having been born into a family and country that values freedom, so here’s my Holiday Salute to our righteous quest to breathe free.
Much Love and Independence, My Friend,
Dr Mell
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Orloff, M.D., J (2005). Positive energy: 10 extraordinary prescriptions for transforming fatigue, stress, and fear into vibrance, strength, and love. New York: Three Rivers Press. Amazon Book Link
