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Twelve Days of Giveaways Day FIVE With Consuelo Saah Baehr!


I'm so excited to have amazing author, Consuelo Baehr! Sometimes the holidays leave us stressed out! Consuelo has some great ideas that will help us get through that stress!


That continuous loop of repetitive thought. Begone!

Yesterday I spent much of the day in “thought purgatory.”  Thought purgatory is when the same useless scenario plays on a continuous loop in your head.
Holiday stress sometimes brings it on.  Being trapped in a continuous loop of repetitive thoughts is horrid (I love that word). After a few hours of this I turned to my old pal, Eckhart Tolle for advice.  I went to his free meditation and tried to steady my mind so I could take it in.   It was tough going for a while but finally I really heard what he was saying.  “When you identify with the voice in your head that never stops speaking, you become the voice and it is a dreamlike state.”  Yep, that’s it.

When that happens you can’t have a clear thought.  Everything is seen through the judgment of the mind.  Halfway through the meditation I was able to have a clear thought.  Here’s the process I used and golly gee, it worked.

I asked myself:
Why are you so strangled by this situation?
What would be the outcome if the situation continued as you imagine it?
How would the outcome impact your life?
How would that affect your day-to-day well-being going forward?

Just by isolating all the facts and writing them down, my anxiety level was reduced by two thirds.
Then I examined the answer to the last question:  “How would that affect your well-being going forward?”  I found that while the worst outcome (an outcome of my own imagination) would be frustrating, I could live with it.” 

Then I did the one practice I’ve learned from Tolle that I find brilliant and effective.  I took possession of the situation.  I said quietly: “this thing is mine” but I didn’t JUDGE it as good or bad.  It was just there - something to be acknowledged: “ Yes, okay, I see you there and you belong to me.”   Immediately the sting was gone and I was able to dissipate the “thinking loop.”  Throughout the day, the old thoughts tried to get some traction but each time they had less and less strength.

Now here’s the bonus of this process.  When I stopped judging something as good or bad, I let the thing out of the prison of negative thought and it become neutral. Sometimes, it becomes good. I stepped back and allow life to flow on.  I didn’t keep the situation in irons. I was interested in the outcome but not dependent on it.  It sounds hard to do but letting go of the judgment boosts your ability to step back.

This is exactly what happened to me yesterday and I wanted to share it.



Be sure to leave a comment to win an ebook copy of   Nothing To Lose AND this Christmas necklace! The winner will be announced at the bottom of tomorrow's post!



23 comments:

  1. Writing down your thoughts can certainly help with anxiety. I recently did CBT, and had to write down and think about how I was feeling during certain situations and how I can help myself in the future. It has really helped me for the future.

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    1. Once I wrote over 35k words in a "fiction" novel about a real LIFE STRESS that has been in my life for about. . .um. . .SEVEN YEARS! It was meant to be published, and it made me feel sooooo good writing it. Mysteriously my computer went crazy and completely erased it! I had the IT at my husband's work try to recover it, but he couldn't! He said that he had never had this happen to him...I guess it wan't meant for publication, but it made me feel amazing and let it go. That was four years ago and I haven't looked back :) Writing it down was great medicine!

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  2. Cute is not the word for this necklace. Stunning, as well are the books written by this author too. Happy chrimbo. Manda xx
    mrsajward@hotmail.com

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    1. Thanks, Manda! I made it, so it might not be so cute up close;)

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  3. I took Tolles' classes and LOVED them. It was a couple years ago and to this day I still go back and re-read my notes. Thanks Consuelo!

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  4. Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas we have 5 trees up in our house.

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    1. Jill and Toyna,
      I am really impressed with 5 and 7 trees, wow! I'm doing good to keep my 3 year old of the Two we have;) So, one is decorated with his toys ( trucks, stuffed animals, tractors) :) Happy Holidays!

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  5. I've never tried meditating, however I've found writing out the thought that keeps repeating in my brain helps, so maybe the writing out is a form of meditation as well.
    I liked the post!

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  6. I have found meditation helpful and writing things down really does help too. I already have a necklace from you and love it. Thank You for the post :-)

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    1. I need to do better at meditating! I call it sleep :) since I don't sleep much. We can do a different necklace if you win :)

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  7. Never tried meditation, or maybe I just need to listen to you Tonya, more sleep might help:)Love the post and the necklace!
    allysonbrann06@yahoo.com

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  8. that book sounds awesome and I NEED that necklace. Tonya you know how to reach me my dear.

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    1. The book is GREAT!!! Necklace...well...I made it so the jury is still out;)

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  9. I love home made gifts because I am person who enjoys making things. Adorable necklace Tonya!
    I also agree with writing things down. I have found it very therapeutic in the past. I don't do it enough.

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    1. I don't do it enough either, Jean. It's a great post to bookmark and come back to. Thanks~my little homemade necklace is cute.

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  10. I should try meditating. That is a great idea writing things down to help with anxiety, i'll have to try that too. Great ideas.

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    1. Kim, I vowed to do it a little better to after reading this!

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  11. When thoughts come into my mind I allow them to breeze by. They float right by. "See ya" If I have too many worries, I put them into a red balloon and send the balloon up into the sky, if I can, I p-o-p the balloon. After my mom passed away, I found little positive sayings and prayers in her purses and sweater pockets. It was amazingly uplifting! I laminated one and keep it in my own purse. Her hope is with me. Thank you for reminding me of this.

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    1. WOw!!I absolutely love this!!! I write on my bathroom mirrors with wipe off markers positive quotes, tape them on my computer, and everywhere. I have never asked my kiddos what they thought about this...i must do that.

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  12. Consuelo, Tonya,
    I printed your post and will keep it in front of me... Now to share with my stressed-out friends.

    Thank you!

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