The Aaron Hill Podcast

Interoception (A Word A Day) 2/2/20

Somatosensory (A Word A Day) 2/5/20

Attention and Meditation (10% Happier Self Care Journey) 1/27/20

Renege (A Word A Day) 1/27/20

I Can't Keep It Going (10% Happier Self Care Journey) 1/16/20

•  Progress. Vs. Perfection....It's normal to have times in your practice  where you lack consistency. Don't judge yourself and realize that using  short times of deep breathing and mindfulness can happen anywhere and at  any time. The goal is momentary intention which leads to consistent  progress....not the unrealistic idea of perfection.

* Set goals that are so realistic and easy that it's virtually impossible to be inconsistent.  Then add other more involved and complex goals on "top" over time. This  way no matter what you always achieve consistency.

• Take time to "do nothing". With our day to day movement this practice  can actually feel more stressful than other more obvious stressful  activities. The goal is to practice this little by little to change our  relationship with stillness over time.

• Periodically drop noting  and focus and allow your mind to wander. The simple practice of doing  this intentionally initiates reverse psychology allowing you to focus  better when needed.

• Learn to enjoy your own company and always  extend gratitude, gratefulness and thankfulness to yourself for  intentionally making it a priority to make time for your self care.

The Brain On Meditation (10% Happier Self Care Journey) 1/17/20

• Cross sectional studies show that atrophy of the brain happens significantly less with those who meditate regularly.

• Exploring shifts between focused attention and mind wandering develops intentional and aware mind control.

• Through focused attention alone you are dampening and decreasing  activity in the limbic system, a primitive area of the brain important  for initiating and sustaining the stress response.

• This type of practice offers a chance to explore what it's like to direct our attention in two very different ways.

1. Focusing your attention helps to stabilize the mind from frequent distractions, improve stress, depression and anxiety.

2. Letting the mind wander intentionally improves understanding of how  the mind works, flexibility, a non judgemental attitude and acts as  reverse psychology toward the goal of becoming more focused.

•  The more we can understand how the mind works and our capacity to train  it, focus and be flexible the better resourced we are to meet the range  of emotions, perceptions and thoughts that we have every moment of every  day.

Atrophy (A Word A Day) 1/17/20

Simper (A Word A Day) 1/15/20

"________" Is My Meditation (10% Happier Self Care Journey) 1/15/20

• Meditation and mindfulness can be done during ANY activity. In fact  the more activities the practice is invited into the better. Intention  is the only ingredient needed to initiate this formula.

• Welcome everything into the experience and make a decision that you're going to work to not get uptight about anything.

• Always start with a focal point (the breath, point in the body, sound  etc.) and use noting to bring you back "home" to the focal point when  you inevitably get distracted.

* "Welcome to the party" - Use  this statement to have a gentle and friendly approach to your  surroundings. At some point nothing or no one will have to leave the  party in order for you to be in a state of mindfulness and meditation.

• Periodically allow yourself to detach from your focus to examine and  explore the other aspects of your surroundings. This actually creates  better control to stay focused on your home base by not trying to block  out, but welcoming your surroundings. Try to scan your surroundings  without over analyzing.

I'll Loose My "Edge" (10% Happier Self Care Journey) 1/14/20

•  Many people think that meditation will make them "soft". It's actually  quite the contrary. Meditation and mindfulness breeds equanimity,  compassion, clarity, clear and rational thinking and an "even keel-ness"  that actually allows you to deal with all situations better. Those that  require calmness and those that require aggressive alertness.

• The tendacy is to think that the best way to deal with stress or stressful  situations is to agressively "stuff it down" or "be stronger" however  the more rigid you are the more deeply it permeates your system. Opening  up to it allows the energy to move through giving you the ability to  reset and come back to an experience more healthy, positively and fully.

• This practice increases your capacity and develops invaluable skills  for high intensity jobs especially where deescalating situations is a  regular part of the daily work like being a police officer, fire  fighter, etc. because you develop the ability to deal with intense  situations with more clarity and less mindless impulsiveness.

• Clarity is the ability to "tease out" the details of our experience.

• Equanimity - Mental calmness, composure and evenness of temper  especially in difficult situations. The ability to receive challenging  energy without returning the favor.

• Learn to enjoy your own  company and always extend gratitude, gratefulness and thankfulness to  yourself for intentionally making it a priority to make time for your  self care.