HOW TO CALM DOWN EVEN IF YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY NUTS
By
Fred L Miller
Copyright _ 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009 by Fred L. Miller
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in literary articles or reviews.
Published by Namaste Press at Smashwords
See Fred at
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/FredLMiller
and
http://www.howtocalmdown.com/
email Fred at
info@howtocalmdown.com
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
"In a warp-speed world, Fred is the man to calm you down." Mark Victor Hansen,
Co-Author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Have questions or want more information regarding
HOW TO CALM DOWN EVEN IF YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY NUTS? Email: mailto:fred@howtocalmdown.com
http://www.howtocalmdown.com
Praise for
HOW TO CALM DOWN EVEN IF YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY NUTS
"This simple yet practical book shows you how to calm down, become clear and then perform at your best. It's truly amazing!"
Brian Tracy, World's Foremost Sales Trainer & Author of Focal Point
"One of the very best books on relaxation, stress management, and concentration available for real people." John W. James, author of
The Grief Recovery Handbook & When Children Grieve
"The wisdom of the east in user friendly English. A powerful guide to stress reduction" Larry Payne, PhD, Co-author of Yoga for Dummies and Yoga Rx. Director, International Association of Yoga Therapists
"A pocket-sized book that offers big rewards. Miller has a gifted teacher's knack for down-to-earth explanations. Five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night can become a life-changing stress-busting practice." - NAPRA Review
"Fred is a wonderful teacher. You will greatly benefit from his ideas!"
Roger von Oech, author of A Whack on the Side of the Head
"Fred's work is like having the ancient wisdom of Deepak Chopra summed up a la Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion." Robert G. Allen -
Co-Author of the One Minute Millionaire and NY Times Best Selling Author.
"Your skills taught my young doctors how to take care of themselves so that they can take care of their patients." David Diehl, MD,
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine
"Your excellent presentation gives doctors life balancing methods to use with their patients and, gratefully with themselves." Dr. Charles Blum -
President of SOTO-USA, Chiropractic Association
"All of the attorneys who attended were very impressed with your presentation. They are using your techniques to hone their skills." Jackie Kaminski
President of In-Harmony Fitness -- Continuing Legal Education Seminars
Dedication
This book is dedicated to everyone who checks their watch two minutes after checking their watch, who flies through two dozen TV channels during one commercial break, or whose mother always said to them, "Slow down! You're gobbling your food."
Acknowledgments
Thank you to those who have helped me from the beginning, as well as along the way: Mildred and Lyle Miller, Kim Mandernach, Sidney Galanty, John Cholakis, John W. James, Marshall Karp, Gary Kraftsow, Ellen Kleiner, and Sharon Trocki-Miller. Most recently, Amye Dyer, Jackie Joiner, Noah Lukeman, and Molly Chehak, thank you!!!
Contents
Foreword by Mark Bryan
An Introduction Worth Reading
Part One Starting Out
Chapter 1 - Shifting Gears
Chapter 2 - The Here and Now
Chapter 3 - Countdown to Peace and Quiet
Chapter 4 - Head Movies
Part Two Finding a Point of Focus
Chapter 5 - Your Mind Thinks It's You
Chapter 6 - Touch, Scent, and Taste
Chapter 7 - Sound and Sight
Chapter 8 - Living Breath
Chapter 9 - Welcoming Words
Chapter 10 - Practice Until You Want to Practice
Part Three Going Deeper
Chapter 11 - What Else Is Cooking?
Chapter 12 - The "M" Word
Chapter 13 - The Stuff of the Universe
Chapter 14 - Your Place in It All
Chapter 15 - Tune into Your Life
Foreword
"Fred's
teaching meets you where you are and before you know you have been
taught a thing, you're responding to the world differently."
Mark Bryan, author of The Artists Way At Work
I first met Fred Miller ten years ago when my longtime mentor and dear friend, Julia Cameron, introduced him to me as a friend of hers. We spoke briefly, and I remember being particularly impressed by two things: one, that he was a yoga teacher, which surprised me because he looked more like a banker than an Indian mystic, and two that he possessed a refreshing candor, saying what needed to be said in the immediate moment instead of reciting or expecting rote answers. It was Fred's character that first led me to him as a friend, and then as a teacher.
The power of How to Calm Down lies in its simplicity, as well as in Fred's uncanny ability to bring us to a new place before we realize we have left the old one. Because of this, I keep it on my desk for those days when a nasty blowup is lurking just beneath my emotional horizon, when I am living in the past or the future instead of the eternal moment, or when I need to flip my gratitude switch from a glass half empty to one half full.
I also find it comforting that Fred's techniques are thousands of years old and part of every major spiritual tradition, not just a modern psychological quick fix. As a result, they can be used and reused and somehow always remain fresh. It is the practicality and universality of the techniques that first attracted me to this book, and the kindness underlying each message that keeps me coming back for more. Compassion, as they say, is the highest value - and indeed, this book will introduce you to your more compassionate self.
As a teacher myself, I am acutely aware of other teachers. In fact, it was while watching Fred teach that I discovered endearing aspects of his character. He has the humor and compassion to guide students past their fears, and the confidence and strength to "stand in the fire" of students' doubts without relying on dogma to get them through the rough spots-all this while gently inviting them to become more fully who they really are.
Fred's combination of strength, grace, and commitment to "walk his talk" are why I asked him to join my teaching team years ago. Now, whenever possible, he takes part in the regular curriculum of The Artist's Way at Work seminars that I teach around the world. How to Calm Down . . . Is much like Fred's teaching: it meets you where you are and guides you easily through the experience of change. Before you know you have been taught anything, you are responding to the world differently from when you started, even if you were "absolutely, totally nuts" when you began.
Now take a deep breath, and enjoy.
Mark Bryan
An Introduction Worth Reading
If you're anything like me, you never read the introductions to books. Instead, you scan the table of contents looking for the chapter that tells you how it's done, the secrets, the answers, the keys to the kingdom. Why? Because you want answers now! No use wasting time with "I was in the darkest night of my being when suddenly I saw the light."
Would you like to feel better in less than ten seconds?
If so, try the following exercise, called 'Three Deep Breaths.'
As you do, keep your eyes open, and don't stop reading.
Inhale.
Now exhale.
Feels good, doesn't it?
Inhale again - a little deeper this time.
Now slow down your exhale. Stretch it out.
One more time - a long, slow inhale.
Watch your breath as it fills your lungs.
Now the exhale - feel it, watch it.
Exhale completely.
So there's your answer. You now know How To Calm Down and how to use Three Deep Breaths to bring peace of mind. In fact, this breath exercise will work for you anywhere, at any time.
Try doing it ten times in the next twenty-four hours - at work, on the phone, in the so-called express lane at the supermarket, in traffic, in an elevator, at a restaurant when your three-minute egg hasn't arrived after ten minutes. And don't worry, no one will know what you're doing.
* * * * *
STARTING OUT Part One
1 -- Shifting Gears
At any given moment during a typical day, does your blood pressure rise, your pulse rate hit 10 percent over normal, and your breathing seem to stop? Sound familiar? If so, read on.
Once upon a time, I worked all day at a hamburger stand and went to school at night. It wasn't a bad job, but after eight hours of dealing with customers and coworkers, I was in no mood to concentrate in class. I had one hour between the end of work and the beginning of school. I was agitated and needed to calm down, to shift gears. I just didn't know how.