A Compulsive Mind Is A Stressful Mind

Descartes, the great philosopher, made his famous statement: “I think, therefore I am.” Accordingly, we think and we become what our thoughts say we are.

Our thoughts are based on our experiences, or rather our perceptions of those experiences as well as our projections of those experiences in the future. Our thinking minds continuously alternate between thoughts of our past experiences and projections of those experiences in the future. Indeed, many of us are compulsive thinkers; that is, we think continuously—even in our sleep in the form of dreams in our subconscious minds. Because our minds are thinking non-stop, we are constantly identifying ourselves with our thoughts in our subconscious minds, whether we want it or not, causing confusion and self-delusion—the source of mental stress. Therefore, it is important that we need to stop our compulsive minds whenever we choose to, just as we turn off our computers. That may be a little difficult, but not totally impossible.

Stress is mental perception of fear based on our past experiences. Once the input is stored in our subconscious minds, it begins to generate negative thoughts that control our conscious minds, leading to anxiety and fear. Given that many of us are compulsive thinkers, our non-stop thinking minds begin not only to dwell on those thoughts of anxiety and fear, but also to believe in their realities. A compulsive mind is a stressful mind that creates chronic stress.

The only way to stop a compulsive mind is to stop the thinking process temporarily to give the mind a break. This can be achieved through meditation, or simply practicing mind training, such as mental attention or concentration on the present moment.

In your everyday life, you can practice mind training to focus on the present moment. Essentially, you are giving your full attention to what you are doing at that very present moment. For example, you can focus your mind on your walking. Pay close attention to every step, every movement of your hands and feet, your breathing, and your body sensations while you are walking. Many people do their walking while listening to their music, or worse, talking on the phone; they are not letting their minds focus on the present moment.

Practice mind training to stop the compulsive mind for stress relief and stress management.

A Course in Mind Power: Learn how to control your thoughts; instead of letting your thoughts control your mind. To live a stress-free life, your mind has to be in control of your thoughts, which affect your choices and decisions in life, which then become your life experiences.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Mind Power and the Placebo Effect

According to scientific studies, the mind has a close connection with the placebo effect, with the following interesting findings:


(1) A placebo works because the patient shows desire to be healed. Such desire is a pre-requisite for any healing.


(2) A placebo works because the mind is cherishing the thought that healing is underway, although the patient may not get the "real" medicine..


(3) A placebo works because the mind is telling the patient that the "real"medicine, instead of the placebo, is being taken.


In short, a placebo has beneficial effects. It is the belief or expectancy that generates positive thoughts, ultimately leading to healing and recovery. Remember, healing begins with the mind first, not the body.


Positive thought is not blind faith. The reason is that when you become sick, there is disharmony in a cell or body organ that causes the distress and hence the disease or disorder. Your cells and organs are constantly and consistently being replaced and regenerated. There is scientific evidence that your thoughts not only may affect positively or negatively the regeneration process of your cells and organs through the production of neuropeptides, but also can influence the performance of some of your genes by switching them on and off. In addition, there is scientific evidence that the degree to which your belief determines the rate at which you are healed. Hence, you can see the power of your mind, and the significant effect of positive thoughts on healing.


To illustrate, a scientific study published in Nature Neuroscience showed the significant changes in the brains of Parkinson's disease patients, when they believed they were taking the "real" medicine, instead of the placebo.


Yes, your mind can also influence your immune system, making you more or less susceptible to disease. It is all in the mind. (Go to my blog: Boost Immune System.)


Indeed, the mind is so powerful that repeated associations at an unconscious level may play a pivotal part in one's health. A case in point: an individual with ill-health starting a healthy diet with a healthy lifestyle may show some initial improvement only to be replaced by ill-health when that individual begins to dwell on the unhealthy food he or she used to eat. It is sometimes not so much that unhealthy food but the thought about eating the unhealthy food that may cause the problem. If you start thinking you are going to get sick by eating unhealthy food, maybe you will -- a kind of self-fulfilling prophesy.


Instant Positive Attitude: the most comprehensive course to learn how to use self-talk to turn yourself into a positive thinker.


Also, visit my web page: Brain Power.


Stephen Lau


Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Good Memory Skills for Good Memory

As you age, your memory may deteriorate. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can still have a sharp memory if you improve memory skills.


Memory has everything to do with brain health. If you don't have a healthy brain, how can you have a good memory? But a good memory requires good basic memory skills. So, improving memory skills goes a long way to improving memory, despite the aging process.


Good memory skills are important to having a good memory, just as a good mechanic also needs good tools. Memory skills are your tools to enhance your brain processing, which is what memory is all about. Memory involves processing of information that you already have, and capability to recall it at will. Such processing requires utilization of your senses: sight, touch, smell, or a combination of some of these senses. The capability to utilize these senses means you are not only being aware of them, but also paying attention to them. As a result, they become memory tools for you, so that you can retrieve your information later without any problem.


All disciplines in the brain have some connection with memory, for example, music, writing, and art, among others.



(1) According to some scientific research, music has the capacity to change your neuron activity. Music therapists believe that different sounds from different instruments have different impact on different body organs in the physical body. Specifically, they are capable of breaking blockages in energy flow (the Chinese call it "qi"), which courses through the meridian channels in the body to bring oxygen and nutrients to different parts of your body. Nowadays, there is "psychoacoustics" which is the study of sound on the conscious mind through the use of music. Scientists have used MP3 music and subliminal messages for hypnosis to awaken the subconscious mind to improve memory, enhance learning, heal sleep problems, increase self-confidence, just to name a few possibilities. Music, of course, has to do with sound. Learn to play a musical instrument to boost your brain power, concentration, and to develop motor skills.


(2) Writing is another discipline which can improve memory skills, and hence memory. Writing a journal, a diary, or even writing a blog, can boost memory power, because in writing, or rather recollecting one thought at a time and word by word, may help you with organization and logic. In addition, as you are jotting down the words, the movements of your hands (as you type or write), as well as the sight of the words in front of you will reinforce your memory. Writing is a good example of using sight to improve memory skills.


(3) Art is another field which extensively uses your extraordinary senses, such as visual in drawing, or touch in sculpture.


As you get older, your brain shrinks a bit, and that is natural. The good news is that your can recoup your losses. As a matter of fact, you have about 100 billion brain cells, and you have used up only five percent of your brain cells. Tap into them to improve your memory. Use it or lose it!


Awaken Your Photographic Memory is a state-of-the-art memory system to improve your memory.


Visit my web page: Brain Health.




Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Practical Applications of Meditation

There are many reasons why people meditate: some may meditate for body-mind relaxation, while others may meditate for spiritual connection. No matter what, meditation is about awareness—mindfulness of what is happening around you, such as your breathing, your bodily sensations, and, most importantly, your thoughts. Without this acute awareness or mindfulness, there is no relaxation of the mind and the body, not to mention the spiritual connection to a Higher Being. Meditation is all about re-focusing the mind on what is important and discarding what is irrelevant or insignificant. In other words, meditation helps you not only prioritize but also change perspectives regarding events in your life. 

Meditation has its practical application in everyday life; meditation holds the key to the art of living well.

How does meditation apply to your everyday life? How can you bring all attributes and benefits of meditation to your day-to-day world?

Meditation is finding the quiet or stillness between sounds and thoughts and experiences. It is this underlying quietness—so quiet that you can almost hear it—that forms a link between you and your sensations and thoughts. The goals of meditation are: awareness of your adaptation to cope with the mundane world, such as dealing with attitudes and behaviors, as well as pain and stress; knowing yourself better, such as the reasons for your anger; self enlightenment or divine illumination, such as the purpose of your existence. Meditation is essentially a mental training of acute awareness or mindfulness of breathing, physical sensations, and mental thoughts, and the perception of timelessness—focusing on only the present moment or what is “real” at the present moment.

Now, how do you apply meditation to your day-to-day world?

By training your awareness only to remain present in whatever activity you are undertaking in real life, you will find yourself right in the center of that activity you are engaging in. In this way, you will be doing your very best, and meanwhile getting the greatest satisfaction from doing so.

To illustrate, say, you are doing a mundane everyday chore, such as washing the dishes or taking out the trash—something you may not like to do, but you are doing it anyway because you have to. If you have had training in meditation, you will know how to keep uninvited thoughts to a minimum while you are doing the dishes or taking out the trash, and thus enabling you to be in the center of what you are experiencing as well as to do it without distraction. A mind trained in meditation leads to a state of stillness that can be maintained no matter what you are doing, or what is happening around you. That is the power of meditation.

The principles of meditation can be applied to the non-meditating part of your everyday life, such as walking.

• As you begin walking, let go of the outside world.

• Focus on your breathing: listen to the relaxed sound of your breathing in and breathing out.

• Make your walk slow and purposeful.

• As you are walking, observe each step that you are making. Notice all the physical sensation of your feet, as well as the way your arms are swinging back and forth, brushing against your body.

• If unwanted thoughts come, re-focus your awareness on your breathing and physical sensations.

Likewise, you can turn any everyday activity into meditative nature in order to enhance your awareness and clarity of mind, which can be life-transforming in the following ways:

• Your senses come to life.

• You see how things change from moment to moment, so you have a better understanding of what is important and what is “real” in your life.

• You find it easier to let go of things you found difficult to let go in the past.

These are the sublime benefits of meditation. You can turn meditation, which is a mindful, in-the-moment mental exercise, into everyday activity, and it can be applied to all aspects of your life. Let meditation transform your life for the better.

Learn the Secret of Meditation for practical applications to your everyday life.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Self-Healing Self-Help