Your Great Journey

Have there been times when you found yourself so angry that you couldn’t see straight? Have reactions that seemed justified in the moment later turned out to be inappropriate and damaging, leaving you feeling regretful? If you’ve had these experiences, today’s episode can help you understand overreactions and choose healthy responses instead of flying off the handle.

Today we have an excerpt from the audiobook Stop Overreacting: Effective Strategies for Calming Your Emotions written by marriage and family therapist Judith Siegel. Stop Overreacting helps you identify your emotional triggers and discover a new way of processing impulsive thoughts and feelings. You’ll learn how your emotions can undermine your ability to think rationally in times of crisis and stress. You’ll also learn how to neutralize overwhelming emotions and choose healthy responses instead of losing control.

Sometimes our emotions are so intense, it is difficult to think at all. Other times our discomfort leads us to try to stop thinking about the situation entirely, even though it’s almost impossible to escape from the feelings. In this episode, Judith Siegel discusses the factors that can lead to overreacting. She talks about two different patterns of overreacting: exploding and imploding, as well as why we react the way we do. Understanding overreactions is a helpful step in learning to respond rationally in moments of stress and crisis.

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Finally, a practical book that gets at what the real triggers are for overreacting in everyday situations. A terrific integration of varied ideas about how to understand present-day overreactions in light of past experiences. This book goes way beyond most guides to help readers think rationally and mindfully.

emeritus professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

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The amygdala is a part of the brain that is the source of many of our emotional reactions—both positive and negative—and it plays an influential role in anxiety. Understanding the amygdala is an important foundation in learning how to change your brain—and reduce anxiety.

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from the audiobook Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry, written by Catherine Pittman, PhD and Elizabeth Karle. This audiobook is a unique, evidence-based solution to overcoming anxiety based in cutting-edge neuroscience and research. You’ll learn how anxiety is created in the brain, as well as the techniques you need to overcome it. Your brain is a powerful tool, and the more you focus on changing the way you respond to fear, the more resilient you’ll become.

In this excerpt, Dr. Pittman and Ms. Karle provide an understanding of the amygdala and anxiety. Like the conductor of an orchestra, the amygdala controls many different reactions in both your brain and your body. They explain role of the amygdala in creating anxiety in the brain. This understanding is an important step in learning to change your brain and overcome anxiety.

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The good news is, every amygdala is capable of learning and changing. You can learn how to train your amygdala to respond differently.

Rewire Your Anxious Brain

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Do you feel caught in a trap where life looks like a never-ending to-do list without enough time to do get everything done? Pushing yourself too hard for too long can lead to fatigue, exhaustion, and burnout. Today we’re sharing a short guided meditation you can listen to anytime you need to take a brief time out from other people and endless tasks—and restore your energy.

Today we have an excerpt from the audiobook The Awakened Introvert: Practical Mindfulness Skills to Help You Maximize Your Strengths & Thrive in a Loud & Crazy World by Dr. Arnie Kozak. If you feel overwhelmed by the frenetic pace of life, this audiobook will help you to create and preserve an oasis within and around you. While it is primarily for introverts, it’s a helpful resource for anyone looking to feel more calm and peaceful.

If you often wish that you had more time to catch your breath and restore your energy level, then this episode may help. Dr. Arnie Kozak— a psychotherapist, professor of psychiatry, and a mindfulness expert—offers tips for how to protect your energy throughout the day. His tips are followed by a short guided meditation that will help you feel rested, recharged and renewed. If you tend to push yourself to accomplish more than you have the energy to do, you’ll appreciate this episode focused on helping you to restore your energy.

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Psychologist and author Arnie Kozak offers a road map based on the teachings and practices of mindfulness that helps us stay connected to inner clarity, creativity, and peace in the midst of daily living.

author of "Radical Acceptance" and "True Refuge"

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chief of staff at the Menninger Clinic and professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine

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Do you ever find yourself wishing your life were different than it is? If only we could wave a magic wand and fix the annoying job, the inconsiderate friend, or the distant partner. But we can’t. The good new is, we don’t need to. Chuck Hillig, author of the audiobook Seeds for the Soul: Living as the Source of Who You Are shares a profound insight: the key to how to live your best life isn’t outside you—it’s within you.

Today we have a conversation with Psychotherapist and spiritual teacher Chuck Hillig. Chuck’s audiobook Seeds for the Soul is a genre-bending mixture of poetry and prose that explores spirituality, life and our own deepest source. This audiobook is an effervescent, joyful collection of inspiring philosophical thoughts. You can come back again and again to Seeds for the Soul, and find something new and nourishing each time.

In this interview, Chuck speaks to those who are looking to take control of our lives and escape the feelings of helplessness that often plague periods of stress and pain. He believes that you can live your best life by beginning to look at your feelings and experiences differently. He inspires us to explore our own vast potential and start taking ownership of our lives and live as the source of who we are.

Chuck Hillig presents an empowering worldview to his audiences by combining the mysticism of eastern philosophy with the practicality of western psychology. Although his books and presentations address the great questions of life, his overall approach is very down-to-earth, lighthearted, and easily accessible. A life member of Mensa, Chuck is a regular speaker at both their regional gatherings and at Mensa annual gatherings. He has been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist since 1978. His print books are published by Sentient Publications.

Visit Chuck’s website here.

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We need to ask ourselves better questions. The question many people ask is “Why do these things happen to me?”—and they feel very victimized. Flip that over to “How can I use these things? How can I awaken to my own divinity? What is the universe trying to teach me?” When you ask yourself better questions, you’re going to end up with better answers.

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