Welcome to My World

I'm a big fan of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and I'm a little surprised by it. I'm surprised because Mr. Fallon does something that I usually don't like--he makes every show about himself. But he does it so well that I enjoy it.

I like to get to know celebrities. Don't we all? After all, celebrities are very successful and interesting people, and we might learn something from listening to them, right? 

There's another reason I like to get to know, especially actors. Many actors seem to share my thoughts, my attitudes, and my values on the subject of how we should treat others. In other words, they seem more accepting and less judgemental than the general public.

You may not agree. I know that many don't, and that's ok. Agree or not, you probably understand why I usually expect the guest on the show to be the center of attention. But that doesn't happen on the Tonight Show.

When Fallon is alone on the set, it's all about him, and why not? It's his show. But when he's joined by a guest--shall we say, Taylor Swift, it's never all about her. It's about Jimmy and Taylor. 

It's different with Jimmy because he's created a wonderful little world that's all about playful, non-judgmental interactions. Jimmy has fun, the guests have fun, and I have fun watching. When I say I enjoy watching the show, I'm understating the facts. I don't just enjoy the show; I get completely caught up in all that positive emotion.

I don't only enjoy watching; I want to be like Jimmy Fallon. I want to have a little world of my own where I can, just for a little while, forget about war, disease, natural disasters, and the inhumanity of mankind. I want to enjoy everything right with life. I hope you enjoy this world with me.

Princess Amy

"Off with his head!"

-- Queen of Hearts, Alice in Wonderland


Deep inside the brain, there is a region that's known to be the center of intense emotion or, as I like to call them, the emotions of survival. Known as the limbic system, its job is to identify potential threats and then kick-start responses to deal with them. 

Princess Amy


The amygdala (uh - MIG - duh - luh) is just one of the named regions of the limbic system and its job is to work with other structures to regulate mood. For example, the amygdala interacts with the prefrontal cortex to generate and process the major emotions of anger, happiness, disgust, surprise, sadness, and particularly fear.

My amygdala can be quite dramatic. I think of her as a spoiled little brat who throws tantrums when she doesn’t get her way. I call her Princess Amy. Amy has a lot in common with the Queen of Hearts in the Lewis Carroll story, Alice Through the Looking Glass. 

That queen is the ruthless ruler of Wonderland. She is happy only when she wins and she always plays by her own rules. When she disapproves of someone's behavior, she yells, "Off with his head!" Once when Alice was running as fast as she possibly could to escape the chess pieces chasing her across the game board, the queen challenged her to "Run faster!" 

Princess Amy does the same. "Run for your life!" is one of her favorite commands. And just like the Queen of Hearts, she screams “Off with their heads!” In every case the only person in danger of losing his head is me.

The Queen of Hearts is despised and avoided by all the inhabitants of Wonderland because they live in fear of her. But I know that Princess Amy isn't really a despot. She actually has my best interests at heart. It's just that, like me, she's afraid that we're going to fail at life too. Instead of fearing her, I try to remember to show compassion. It helps in this regard to think of her as a frumpy little bluebird who is cute and funny even when she's hotted-up to the point of incandescence. Then I can simply say, "Chill, Amy. Everything is OK. I've got this."

Qigong Laughter

Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.

 -- Mark Twain

Of all the power principles I use to combat debilitating emotions, my favorite by far is qigong laughter. And just like mastering the craft of writing, the more I practice laughing at life–especially daily frustrations and the myriad regrets of the past–the better I get at it. I soon discover that I'm able to breeze through situations, conversations and complications that used to baffle me.

Laughter is another way to put some distance between you and your feelings. When we are anxious or fearful about how a situation may turn out, we tend to expect the worst, but when we can distance ourselves from those feelings, we can remain in control and not be carried away.

Depression, fear and anxiety carry with them a huge lie. The lie that life is always like this and that we somehow attract these things to us. When we accept this lie as truth, we sink further into despair and it becomes easier and easier to believe the lie. The truth is that emotions are feelings and feelings are fleeting. When we intentionally find a way to laugh into the face of our fear and anxiety, the emotions lose their power.

Qigong laughter is my way of deliberately laughing even though I don't feel like it. I laugh just because I can. I may be deeply depressed or I may be angry or overwhelmed with grief. It doesn't really matter--I laugh anyway.

How does it work? Simple. I take a deep breath, tilt my face up and let go. "Ha, ha, ha!" is all it takes. "Hee, hee, hee; ho, ho, ho!" 

Yeah, it sometimes seems silly and I sometimes think that it's not going to work this time, but I keep it up anyway. It doesn't take long. In a minute or two I find that I feel better and that I'm laughing, or chuckling, or smiling because I actually feel like it. 

Qigong laughter releases stress, lifts the spirit, strengthens the will, and fends off negative thinking. Best of all, it works instantly! Imagine that! Not only will you feel better but you will receive a boost in physical and mental health. Go ahead. Try it right now. Even a smile will make you feel better.

George Takei Believes in Me!

Life comes hard and fast and if we aren't prepared, we can be overwhelmed by it. It doesn't have to be that way. Fierce Living keeps me free of the tyranny of emotional overload that used to plague me. And I'm convinced that it will work for anyone willing to try it. 

 

Sharing my personal life with the general public is more than a little scary. But this morning, I feel better about it because I've been reading George Takei's blog. That's right. George Takei navigated the Starship Enterprise to destinations where no one had gone before, and he didn't stop there. He continued to chart new paths on his own. 

George believes in the power of people to change the world. He's convinced me that he believes I can reach my goals if I just set a course and don't waver. 

Several years ago I met a man who understood the pain and hopelessness that filled my life. He suggested a different way of living, one that had completely transformed his life. I told him that I was afraid to try. What if it didn't work for me? I'd be hopeless. What would I do then?

He told me that I didn't need to be confident in myself alone. If I could only believe his way of life worked for him, then it could work for me too. It's a path that many people have successfully walked, he said, and if I would only walk the same path, I would come to the same destination.

I followed his suggestions--not because I believed in myself but because I believed in him--and it worked! Today, I'm free of the limitations of yesterday. Now, I want to share my experiences with others who may benefit just as I have. It is a bit scary, but hey! I believe in George Takei, and he believes that I can do this, so…I know! I know! Life is great! 

I'm Out There, Jerry!

I'm writing a book in which I describe precisely how I have managed to recover from the catastrophe of my own mood disorder without the use of mood stabilizing drugs. I'm convinced that the techniques I use will work for anyone willing to use them.

I am one of the almost 70% of people for whom the drugs just don't work. And through my own efforts to regain control of my life, I have learned that we just don't need the drugs to live stable, productive lives.

The problem for me is that I don't know how to write a book. I'm not new to writing, however. I've had more than 80 non-fiction articles published in magazines and newspapers, none of them related to mood disorder, but I do know how to organize and present information--but only in a very short form. I've found that writing a book is very different. The book I'm writing is a short one but it's still much longer than the 2500 words I write for periodicals. I've been working, on and off, on this book for a year now and the draft still isn't complete.

 I've learned from past experience to do what others do to overcome similar problems. Sticking with the winners I call it. I recently read Austin Kleon's book, Show Your Work. I highly recommend it to any creative type who struggles to get work noticed. You can find it here.

In that wonderful, little book, Mr. Kleon suggests that if we're in the middle of a project, it's helpful to share through social media about our methods or works in progress. He suggests that we share imperfect and unfinished work that we want feedback on.

"The act of sharing is one of generosity," he says, "you're putting something out there because you think it might be helpful or entertaining to someone on the other side of the screen."

He quotes Bobby Solomon, the man behind The Fox is Black, who said, "Put yourself, and your work, out there every day, and you'll start meeting some amazing people."

This idea frightens me a little. Still, Austin Kleon is someone that I consider a winner, so I've decided to follow his advice and start showing what I've got.

All this talk of "being out there" reminds me of a Seinfeld episode in which Kramer decides that jockey shorts are too confining and boxer's are too baggy. That leaves only one option and Jerry, shocked at Kramer's decision says, "Oh no! Tell me it isn't so." Kramer responds by saying, "Oh, it's so. I'm out there, Jerry, and I'm loving every minute of it!"

So, with this blog post, I'm announcing that I'm out there!