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Is This Thing Still Flying?

What else are those of us with a hyperactive amygdala supposed to do to live in less fear? One technique neuropsychologist Rick Hansen talks about is distinguishing between real and paper tigers—ie stopping to assess whether you’re reacting to… Read more

So I’m Wired This Way…Now What?

There are many successful techniques for dealing with a hair trigger amygdala. Today we’re going to look at one: retraining our brains through mindfulness meditation, which in the words of Daniel Goleman, is “an attention-training method that… Read more

Is Your Brain a Prickly Motion Detector?

The folks in Kagan’s study I referred to in my last posting are in their 20s now and those who were labeled as highly reactive at birth, “remain anxious just below the surface, their subconscious brains still twitchy, still hypervigilant, still… Read more

We’re Just Born this Way

Ever wonder why you jump at the slightest noise and your spouse, friend, or colleague barely registers it?  Why you might worry or feel anxious a lot of the time while others seem so carefree, even when facing challenges? I’ve always attributed… Read more

Hardwired to Worry

  In case you wonder why you worry even  though you know it does no good for your  mental, emotional, or physical health, it’s  because your brain is hardwired that way.  And there’s a good reason why. Your  amygdala is trying to save… Read more

How Anxious Are You?

I’ve always called myself a worrier and have worked for years on worrying less. As far as how successful I’ve been, the operative word is “less.” I am less worried that I used to be. But I had a powerful experience recently that showed me… Read more

I was on Daily Dose by Debra with Fox

“Attitudes of Gratitude” by M.J.Ryan I read this book and all I could do was smile as it was so relatable.  Attitudes of Gratitude reminds us of all the little things we take for granted like waking up every morning, the sounds of birds… Read more

The Truth Is….

I was working with a leader who had just taken a job with  lots of responsibility but very little structure or guidance.  She  was about to have a meeting with her staff for the first time.  “What should I say?” she asked me in a panic…. Read more

The True Dangers of TMI

Last time I wrote about how the vast proportion of our brain is dedicated to unconscious processing and when we allow ourselves to put things on the back burner, we tap into this well spring of creative thinking and come up with our best ideas. … Read more

Surprising News You Can Use on the Brain-Body Connection

  If you’ve read any of my books or blog entries, you know that I often incorporate the latest in brain science. My analytic mind loves to understand the “why” of everything. So for the next few entries, I will be sharing the latest on… Read more

We can all be happier and in this book of daily reflections, MJ Ryan shows how with a wide variety of simple spiritual, emotional and practical suggestions.

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