“Let us start our process of reawakening with just a few simple concepts: Thoughts increase by being given away. – The more who believe in them the stronger they become.” A Course In Miracles (T-5.1.2.1-4)

Certainly an excellent reason to be mindful of the thoughts we entertain and “give away” in this world today. (And a wonderful guidepost to determine if we will enjoy reaping the consequences of a thought.) Ray and I are gathering and sharing good karma for the thoughts we will be “giving away” today because we have as our guest Dr. Eric Maisel, who will be talking about his new book Ten Zen Seconds; a book that introduces a powerful approach to living a more centered, grounded, and meaningful life.

Eric, Ray, and I will focus on how to use the techniques in his book to apply mindfulness when going through a major life transition such as a separation, divorce, career change, etc. – and of course how to use Ten Zen Seconds to inspire more creativity and passion in our everyday lives!

Ray & Bernadette: Hi Eric! We are so glad that you could be with us today to “give away” thoughts worth increasing!

Eric Maisel: Thanks for having me!

R&B: What is Ten Zen Seconds all about?

EM: It is actually a very simple but powerful technique for reducing your stress, getting yourself centered, and reminding yourself about how you want to live your life. It can even serve as a complete cognitive, emotional, and existential self-help program built on the single idea of “dropping a useful thought into a deep breath.”

R&B: We like the idea of of keeping it simple. Tell us how it works.

EM: You use a deep breath, five seconds on the inhale and five seconds on the exhale, as a container for important thoughts that aim you in the right direction in life – I describe twelve of these thoughts in the book – and you begin to employ this breathing-and-thinking technique that I call incanting as the primary way to keep yourself on track.

R&B: Where did this idea come from?

EM: It comes from two primary sources, cognitive and positive psychology from the West and breath awareness and mindfulness techniques from the East. I had been working with creative and performing artists for more than twenty years as a therapist and creativity coach and wanted to find a quick, simple technique that would help them deal with the challenges they regularly face; resistance to creating, performance anxiety, negative self-talk about a lack of talent or a lack of (more…)

“Centered and uncentered are useful words that conjure a way of dividing our experiences into the kinds that we want to nurture and the kinds that we hope to avoid. We prefer to feel less scattered, chaotic, distracted, anxious, nervous, irritable, and unsettled. We would like to marshal our inner resources, focus our attention, make strong decisions, and act when action is required.”  

Eric Maisel, author of “Ten Zen Seconds”

If you’ve participated in one of my workshops or had me in your home as a Feng Shui practitioner or organizer, you have heard me talk about the importance of centering within your space. You have heard me use words like “awareness,” “mindfulness,” and “intention.” And you’ve been encouraged to see yourself as an intrinsic part of the equation when taking any action to create a more centered – and centering – home or workplace.

When you are not centered, you do not get to be part of the equation. Everything and everyone else does!

On Wednesday, May, 16, 2007 – coincidentally the center of the week – Dr. Eric Maisel will be visiting our blog to answer questions about his new book, Ten Zen Seconds, in which he offers simple yet powerful approaches to centering.

Simple approaches. Nothing mysterious. Nothing high-maintenance. And yet … (more…)