Five Tips For Avoiding Road Rage

Road Rage is a term that, unfortunately, we have become more and more aware of as the media covers an increasing number of “road rage” incidents. We’re all aware of the shocking stories of mild mannered commuters turned cold blooded murderers, and we’re fairly certain that this will never happen to us. We’re right—we will probably never turn into a cold blooded murderer simply because some jackass cut us off on the freeway. While most of us are nearly immune to such heinous fits of rage, many of us fall victim to a milder sort of road rage.

I am guilty of having committed some pretty severe “road rage” infractions in my day. I was punished in high school for some very uncivil things I said (or rather, yelled) at a bus driver in the school parking lot. On the DC beltway, raising my middle finger (along with my voice) became a reflex; it was almost as natural as using the turn signal. I wasn’t going to go out and kill someone; but my behavior sure could have gotten me killed.

This more mild type of road rage is very prevalent, and very harmful. Besides the obvious safety hazard that it poses, it is unhealthy and un-enjoyable for the Rager and his terrified passengers. The driver in a fit of traffic-inspired rage has high blood pressure (which has both immediate and long-term safety hazards), musculature tension, and high levels of adrenaline and cortisol. All of these things are a genuine hazard to a person’s health.

Some people have reported having nightmares, experiencing excessive irritability after driving, and excessive anxiety because of these episodes. It is apparent that the person experiencing road rage is harmed in a significant way.

The good news is that road rage doesn’t have to happen. There are ways to calm down and relax and deal with the stresses associated with driving in a healthy and productive way. Here are five tips that I’ve used to reduce my automobile related outbursts:

1) Breathing Techniques: I take a deep breath, hold it for a count of five, and release. Doing this several times actually reduces the tension that one’s body is holding. While I’m doing this, I imagine that stress, anxiety and tension filling my lungs, and being blown out of my body when I exhale.

2) Avoiding the aggravating situations: For me, traffic is aggravating, but it is more aggravating when I am worried that it might make me late. Therefore, if I’m going to be driving somewhere that is likely to have traffic, I’ll leave up to a half hour early, and bring a book or some work to do when I get there. Thus, my mind is put at ease and the traffic is easier to deal with. I also plan alternate routes that are less likely to get me caught up in a traffic mess. Each person has their own triggers for road rage situations, and it can be useful to sort through these triggers and try to avoid the stressful situation.

3) Posting Affirmations: I post affirmations in my car (one on my dashboard, and one on the wheel, right where I would press the horn. One of them says, “I am calm and cool because that is good for me. The one on the horn says, “I think before I speak”.

4) Preparing for the critical time: I have two stress balls in my glove compartment, a CD with relaxing music, and a bottle of water in my car at all times. When things get tough, I put on the CD, get out the stress balls (both of which can be used during stop and go traffic), and take a drink of water. This is an excellent way to being the breathing exercises.

5) Changing the mindset: I have seen a hypnotherapist, and I continue to practice self-hypnosis to deal with anger issues in my life. I’ve done a lot of work with the triggers that I identified in tip #2. Now, a lot of the things that were bothering me, simply don’t.

These five tips can take the edge off of your driving experience. The important thing to remember is that the rage is in you: it comes from you, it hurts you, and it torments you. You may be angry at someone or something else, but that anger is an internal thing. You owe it to yourself to address it properly. It isn’t much of a safety issue for others—it is your own safety and health that is at stake. If you can change the way you react and the things you do, you can regain that happy experience of relaxing during your commute.

The Art of Breathing - Your First Key to Unlimited Energy

Yes, breathing is an art, and it is a very scientific art. The act of breathing is much more than inhaling and exhaling air. It triggers off a whole chain of physio-biological reactions, spanning each of the billions of cells that make up our bodies. Extra oxygen in the blood stream stimulates the excretory system, thereby clearing the body of harmful toxins. Extra oxygen in the brain provides additional energy and vitality. Deep meditative breathing is a kind of reminder to the body that all is fine and in control.

Breathing has always been a part of our wellness arsenal, but somehow as one grows older, breathing becomes less and less scientific. It becomes shallow, and we begin to breathe in the chest, rather than the stomach.

So, what is the correct way of breathing?

Have you ever seen a baby breathe? In and out, deep and even, slow, easy and calm. If you look closely, you will see that it is not the chest that is rising and falling, rather it is the stomach. To put it more precisely, it is the diaphragm, the muscle between the chest and the abdominal cavity, which moves.

Now, compare this with your own style of breathing. Chances are that you will find that it differs. If you are like most people, your upper chest expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale. Over the years, you have learned to hold your stomach in.

The trouble is that this has become something normal in most people’s lives. Over the years, life in a crowded city, with chronic pollution problems and a lack of fresh air can result in the gradual shift from abdominal breathing (also called Belly Breathing) to chest breathing.

This shift in breathing pattern, however, is not a natural feature of growing older. Many experts are of the opinion that this is simply a bad habit. They also believe that by breaking the habit, and returning to a style of breathing like that of an infant, we can help rid ourselves of chronic complaints headaches and fatigue. Moreover, by adopting a proper breathing technique, we may be able to ward off stress, lower our blood pressure, and strengthen our hearts and much more.

"The way we breathe can have a profound effect on the way we feel," says psychologist Dr. Phil Nuernberger, author of ‘Freedom From Stress.’ "Many stress related ailments, whether physical, mental or emotional, may be caused by improper breathing, and fortunately, they can be easily reversed by adopting scientific breathing mechanisms."

Apart from the health benefits, deep breathing also results in a much better feeling of well-being. It encourages creativity, stimulates memory, and calms emotional extremities.

Practicing Belly Breathing

Find a comfortable place to sit down. Make sure you are wearing thin and comfortable clothing. Now, place your right arm on your stomach, and breathe in the following manner.

1. Breathe in through the nose, counting two.
2. Hold, counting up to four.
3. Breathe out through the mouth, counting three.

As you breathe in, feel your stomach fill up with air and expand outwards, and as you breathe out, feel your stomach deflate.

Do this ten times, three times a day for the next one week and see how your health improves.

Happy Breathing for a Healthy LIFE.

Hypnotherapy for Personal Development – Is the Truth Within or Without?

Hypnotherapy for personal development? - I hear you ask. My answer, why not? There is no reason that hypnotherapy cannot help you become a better person. Most of us today are under constant pressure to perform better, to look cool, and to be successful. There are hundreds of forces working on us at all times to shape our own identity in our own eyes. Today, there are millions of people who suffer from low self confidence, low self esteem; there are thousands of youngsters who live with a negative self image for years, and worse still when they grow up those ideas that they have harbored all those years become so inimitable that it is almost impossible for them to overcome it.

Here’s where hypnotherapy for personal development comes in. Recent research has found that hypnotherapy is a very effective means of personality development, and that it affects virtually every aspect of human lives. Through hypnotherapy you could cure yourself of anxiety and nervousness; you could work towards thwarting self doubt and become more confident. You can use hypnotherapy to lose weight and look better; you can use hypnotherapy to increase your creativity and improve upon your public speaking skills. Doesn’t it seem like that hypnotherapy is actually too good to be true?

Its actually not. Once you realize the potential of hypnotherapy for personal development, you can work wonders with it. With the help of a qualified hypnotherapist, you can begin your journey to the centre of your subconscious mind. Most hypnotherapists provide individual consultations; some provide group consultations as well to address issues like weight loss or smoking. You could also purchase books and audio tapes on hypnotherapy or join a reputed hypnotherapy class to get into the groove.

You ask -What are the areas that hypnotherapy for personal development can help me? I answer; it depends upon what areas you want to improve upon. Hypnotherapy’s arena is nearly limitless, because it deals with a magnificent mechanism in our body called the brain. If you can train your subconscious to think a certain way, there is no end to possibilities of what changes you can bring about. It can help you in increasing your mental and emotional wellbeing, as well as physical health. It can help you get better scores in your pop-quizzes, or help you crack more deals with your clients. It can help you have a more enriching relationship with your spouse, or increase the level of your creativity.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say that going through hypnotherapy for personal development is like going deep sea diving. I am sure most of you are fascinated by it, even though you might never have indulged in it. Like deep sea diving, hypnotherapy takes you to the deepest recesses of your mind to find your true self. In diving you jump in to witness the exotic marine life, explore the sea bed and if possible come back with a treasure. Similarly hypnotherapy takes you on a dive to discover yourself, see the way your mind functions, and come back with a brighter, newer you!

How to Use the Power of Visualization to Control and Conquer Anger

Visualization is not idle wishing or daydreaming. It is a practical method to discover and achieve all you want from life. Visualization trains your mind to focus on what you truly want, and helps in marshalling all your available resources, which may be used for the accomplishment of your objective.

This article explores and explains the Power of Visualization and suggests a practical technique to overcome anger and reinforces the belief and confidence in us that any problem of any size or magnitude can be conquered.

We all get angry sometimes due to something or the other. Most of the time we become victims of our own anger. Our anger leads us to say or do something that we repent later. It causes harm to us as well as to others to whom we direct our anger.
The following visual sequence will not only control your anger, but also motivate you to turn things around.

Picture your anger as a ball of fire next time when you are angry. The angrier you are, the bigger is the ball of fire. It can be as big as football or even the size of a mountain. Picture the ball of fire as big as your anger.

Notice the distance of the ball of fire from you. If it is too closer to you, put it away at a safer distance. Now, inspect the ball of fire carefully. Do you see the flames dancing around it? What is the color of the flame? Do you feel the heat of your anger? Does it make you sweat?

Anger makes us feel helpless over a situation. You feel helpless because all your power becomes centered around your anger. You feel it like a fiery lump, burning you head and heart. The idea is to picture this lump, and take back the power that it has taken from you.

Command the ball of fire to return back all the power it has taken from you. If you get no response, then demand from it. You might see a ball of pure gold smaller than the ball of fire emerge from the flames. Command it to go to either your head or your heart.

Do you feel the power in your heart? Do you feel the power return back to your head? Good! Sometimes, just separating the power from your anger makes the flames of anger die.

But, if there is any flame left in the ball of fire, roll it out mentally to a large reservoir of water. It may take a lake. Or it might even be an ocean.

Now, push the angry ball of fire into the water. Do you hear the hiss of the ball of fire when it meets water? See the white cloud of steam that arises. Slowly, the hissing sound subsides. The steam disappears. The angry ball of fire disappears completely. You have drowned your anger. And you have done it without harming yourself or others.

On the other hand, you have taken the power away from your anger and kept it with you. You are now POWERFUL.

In fact you are VERY VERY POWERFUL. Use your Power to your advantage.

How to Use the Power of Visualization to Control and Conquer Anger

Visualization is not idle wishing or daydreaming. It is a practical method to discover and achieve all you want from life. Visualization trains your mind to focus on what you truly want, and helps in marshalling all your available resources, which may be used for the accomplishment of your objective.

This article explores and explains the Power of Visualization and suggests a practical technique to overcome anger and reinforces the belief and confidence in us that any problem of any size or magnitude can be conquered.

We all get angry sometimes due to something or the other. Most of the time we become victims of our own anger. Our anger leads us to say or do something that we repent later. It causes harm to us as well as to others to whom we direct our anger.
The following visual sequence will not only control your anger, but also motivate you to turn things around.

Picture your anger as a ball of fire next time when you are angry. The angrier you are, the bigger is the ball of fire. It can be as big as football or even the size of a mountain. Picture the ball of fire as big as your anger.

Notice the distance of the ball of fire from you. If it is too closer to you, put it away at a safer distance. Now, inspect the ball of fire carefully. Do you see the flames dancing around it? What is the color of the flame? Do you feel the heat of your anger? Does it make you sweat?

Anger makes us feel helpless over a situation. You feel helpless because all your power becomes centered around your anger. You feel it like a fiery lump, burning you head and heart. The idea is to picture this lump, and take back the power that it has taken from you.

Command the ball of fire to return back all the power it has taken from you. If you get no response, then demand from it. You might see a ball of pure gold smaller than the ball of fire emerge from the flames. Command it to go to either your head or your heart.

Do you feel the power in your heart? Do you feel the power return back to your head? Good! Sometimes, just separating the power from your anger makes the flames of anger die.

But, if there is any flame left in the ball of fire, roll it out mentally to a large reservoir of water. It may take a lake. Or it might even be an ocean.

Now, push the angry ball of fire into the water. Do you hear the hiss of the ball of fire when it meets water? See the white cloud of steam that arises. Slowly, the hissing sound subsides. The steam disappears. The angry ball of fire disappears completely. You have drowned your anger. And you have done it without harming yourself or others.

On the other hand, you have taken the power away from your anger and kept it with you. You are now POWERFUL.

In fact you are VERY VERY POWERFUL. Use your Power to your advantage.

Hypnotherapy: Be Your Own Master and Commander

Hypnotherapy, as a word has been associated with a lot of mumbo-jumbo over the years. Whenever we think of hypnosis, we think of evil characters manipulating the actions of innocent individuals for their own selfish motives. But in the recent years there has been a lot of researches on the subject of hypnosis and the findings have been startling. Did you know that on an average almost all of us are in a trance/hypnotic state everyday without being aware of it? Did you know that hypnotherapy is not something restricted to mankind, but that even animals practice some form of it? Did you know that the ancient Egyptians used hypnosis as early as 3rd Century BC?

In the last few years hypnotherapy has emerged as a major tool for personality development and psychological healing. Everyone, yes everyone can benefit with the use of hypnosis in altering some personality traits or areas of concern in our lives. Hypnotherapy is in some sense like art, the more you practice, the better you get at it. That is why the old adage “practice makes perfect” fits hypnosis so well. I have always believed and instilled in my clients that hypnosis is a natural state, it is something as normal as breathing. We all get into trance like states everyday…remember those summer afternoons when your boss was talking nonstop in a meeting, and you found yourself drifting into a world of your own? That’s exactly what the state of hypnosis is like.

Hypnosis is a relaxed state of mind, where we connect with our subconscious mind; it is similar to meditation but the difference lies in the fact that with hypnosis you do not disconnect with the present world, but are aware of it completely. A person who is being hypnotized is in control of the process all through, and no, you cannot be hypnotized against your will. Neither will you ever get stuck within a hypnotic state; all that might happen to you is that you might doze off in a particularly effective hypnotherapy session.

Just imagine what the future could be like if you realized that you had the power to change it. Does the idea seem like something out of a fantasy? There is every reason for you to feel that it is impossible to miraculously change things about yourself, and create a new you. You are not to be blamed; it is the way we have been conditioned in society. It makes us think that the power to change ourselves and our lives lies not with us but with some mysterious entity. But I am here to tell you that the power lies within you, all you need to do is search for it inside. Hypnotherapy is a tool which can help you reach that power, and help you unleash the true potential of your subconscious mind.

Hypnotherapy can be used to help you work on your confidence, to increase your intuitive powers, for a positive self image, to cure you of smoking or drinking and to gain insight amongst other things. You can help realign and re-educate your subconscious mind through the use of hypnosis.

Hypnosis-Imitation is a Powerful Force for Hypnosis

We know that human social conduct is reinforced through emulation. Your senses feed your habits. The input to habit comes from sensory perception. Our thoughts and actions respond to:

What we see
What we smell
What we hear
What we taste
What we touch

The human mind works like a computer, absorbing information through the senses. Reactions are fed back to the muscles, nerves and reflexes.

As a child grows, he learns that certain words evoke specific responses. Throughout the rest of his / her life, each word he hears, each sight he sees, every event his senses absorb elicits images and reactions. This response is called output.

Your mind is constantly concerned with input and output.

For example, the word "animal" brings to mind a positive or negative image, depending upon previously acquired impressions. To a child once frightened by an angry dog, it would present memory of a playful pet.

Reflexes are trained to behave in a ritualized pattern by the process of image-recall. Our brain is constantly flashing images for our consideration. Not only old images, but those we pick up from our immediate environment. This is why it's important to develop the ability to sort out the wanted from the unwanted impressions / habits.

The most encouraging characteristic of a habit pattern is that the repetitive activity can be interrupted when the min is turned to other interests. Hypnosis causes a break in the continuity of a habit, thereby acting as a wedge to weaken its hold on the mind. This is the key that can help change a harmful habit into a helpful one.

Hypnosis doesn't just take away your habits. Rather, it is a tested method for exchanging bad habits for good ones. It trains you how to maintain a relaxed body and tranquil mind, prerequisites for a strong and attractive personality.

Love and good wishes,