Day 3

 

Welcome to Day 3!
 

Today is all about the effects of positivity and negativity on our bodies.  What impressed me the most when I was learning this was the work of cellular biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton author of “Biology of Belief”.  He studied the effects on cells of hormones released in the body when signaled by the brain.
 

Here’s what he did.  He took two petri dishes and filled them with cells that were clones of each other.  He bathed the cells in a solution.  One dish received the hormones that the brain releases when we have positive thoughts – love, appreciation, gratitude, happiness.  These are oxytocin (the bonding hormone that is also released when we’re in love or when a mother bonds with her newborn child), serotonin, and dopamine.  These cells thrived. 
 

The other identical batch of cells was bathed in a solution that contained the hormones that are released by thoughts that would be considered negative – doubt, fear, anxiety, stress, disappointment, regret, guilt.  These hormones are cortisol, the stress hormone, the one responsible for belly fat and adrenaline.  The cells with these hormones flowing through them struggled.
 

I made a video to demonstrate this for you the way I do in my live seminars.  It has a mistake in the middle that I thought I could edit out but I’m not as good at iMovie as I thought I was.  No worries though, no stress.  Real life and making the best out of it.  Here’s the link: http://youtu.be/yZXhDb09IHo

 

Recently someone asked me what was wrong with adrenaline.  Wasn’t it good for us?  It’s fine in small doses.  It was great in cave man times when the beast came chasing after someone, the great fight/flight or freeze situation. It’s not great for all the things that stress and scare us now – traffic, arguments often over trivial matters, getting offended by everything, families, politics, cranky co-workers, jobs, significant others, over commitments, even not getting what we ordered at the drive-though.  We’re often releasing it when we’re tough on ourselves, when we’re trying to measure up to someone else’s view of what they think we should be.   It’s too much and we’re paying the price.

 

Let’s save it for when we really need it because it truly takes a toll on our bodies.  I’ve felt it after I’ve given a long seminar where I have to be at my peak state for an extended period.  My cousin Val who helps me at those seminars can vouch for that. We go and eat afterwards and I can barely hold my head up.  I’m that spent after giving my all with my friend adrenaline at my side.

 

As we go forward whatever the season, wouldn’t it make sense to get ourselves and those we care about as positive as we can as often as we can?  Wouldn't that make our bodies better able to handle whatever colds, flus and viruses come our way?  I think so.  Certainly can't hurt if for nothing else being more mentally able to handle those things.

 

How to get more positive?

 

Two ways are already familiar to you.  I’ll say them again because it’s always repetition that makes things stick.  Start the day with the positive phrase the way you’re already doing as we said on Day 1.  Get those negative thoughts noticed as you put a penny in the Awareness Jar on Day 2. 

 

Next tip:  Be on the lookout all day for things that make you happy, that bring joy.  As I wrote this I was sitting in my local Panera, a coffee shop, a fireplace in front of me on a cold, rainy evening, the smell of dinner cooking, a warm cup of tea by my side.  As I think of these things, I feel safe, warm, and happy.  Also knowing I’m sharing my favorite things with you makes me happy.

 

I could focus on everything that’s wrong with my life – we all have a list – but I choose not to look there. The time for that is when I’m looking to change something.  I want to collect what makes me happy.  I’ve been collecting for so long now that it’s become one of my almost daily phrases.  I’ll be somewhere and see something and immediately go to, “That makes me happy.”   

 

It’s as easy to look for what you like as what you don’t like.  You get to choose. So let’s layer that in – daily wake up phrases, Awareness jar, look for the happy! 

 

And remember to SAVE the PEEPS!! (You need to see the video to see what that’s all about!)

 

See you tomorrow!

 

P.S.  Now you can choose to continue to the next day or wait until tomorrow.  Either way, here's a link to the next lesson