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2	"Positive Psychology" Positive Psychology and Mindfulness
3	Kidney disease! 50% of Australians live with a chronic illness or condition. What is the difference between an illness or a condition? Answer:- Symptoms
4	The question is…? Why me? or Me, now what do I do aboot it, Complain, React, Or Respond?
5	Boyle’s Law What ever you do, don’t do what makes the situation worse.
6	Boyle’s Law Part the Second You can always count on human beings to do what makes the situation worse.
7	Not Defined By Integrate the illness into your life with the intention of making life as meaningful, productive and fulfilling as possible. Meaning gives us satisfaction and protection from feeling that “I just can’t go on”.
8	Alexander Humboldt I am more and more convinced that our happiness or unhappiness depends more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves.
9	We Are But Such Things As Dreams Are Made Of The supposed trajectory of our lives is deflected by a serious illness. Do not, I repeat, do not, give up on dreams and goals, if necessary find new ones, but have something to strive for.
10	Why Do We Need Our Little Dreams? Our dreams are for the future, we need to invest in the future emotionally, because that is where we will spend the rest of our lives.
11	The power of optimism is in its effect
12	Been There, Done That The past is ok to visit, not a place to live. Focussing on what you perceive as lost, looking at the auld lang syne, is quite an obstacle to being in the here and now, in the moment, and what golden moments there are!
13	The Role Of My Illness Is To Upset Me Kidney disease will bring many things to your life, most not wanted, but…
14	Challenge That Immune System! The infections that a child and adolescent experience build the responses of the immune system for later life.
15	This May Hurt A Bit… Just as challenges to the physical body produce immunological strength, psycho-emotional challenges build robustness in coping, in the capacity for taking pleasure in life and in experiencing joy.
16	There Are No Lives Free Of Problems People who cling to the belief that their life should be problem free become double distressed when life disagrees and doesn’t love them much. Illness is the biggest catalyst to change, some resist the invitation and cling to their beliefs and unhappiness.
17	The Illness Has To Be Managed Kidney disease has to be managed and integrated into your life and lifestyle. Let go of what you think you were and focus on intentionally living. Focus on your life, not your illness, on your strengths, not on your weaknesses.
18	Self Limiting, The Psychopathology Of Everyday People What have you assumed you can and cannot do as a consequence of kidney disease? Do you now see yourself as limited in ways you didn’t before? Are you damaged goods, a second class citizen in your own life?
19	Innocent, Your Honour, Failing That, I Will Plead Guilty Don’t be feeling guilty and apologetic for displaying the symptoms of your condition. Stop apologising for being in the world.
20	Hands up all those who chose to have a chronic illness, be tired, on dialysis and / or in pain?
21	Burden Of Illness There are days when you will achieve very little, if you want to convert that into reason to spank yourself, well it beats me!
22	What To Do? Develop a battle plan. Don’t go to battle without a battle plan. That includes ways of achieving support and accepting it. Recruit those who believe in you and will stand with you.
23	Develop a Wellness Plan After the initial diagnosis, many people want to find ways to reduce the impact of their disease or minimise any deterioration. Some worry that something they have done, or what they eat, or stress, or some other behaviour, may put them at risk.
24	Damned If I Do - Damned If I Don’t Making changes in the way you eat, exercise, and live your life does improve quality of life and a sense of being in control.
25	Try to die as healthy as you can!
26	If Its Not One Thing It Is Another Making changes and looking after yourself can help you feel better and may also lower the chances of developing other health problems. (People do die of things other than their delinquent kidneys)
27	Alameda County Study Don’t smoke. Exercise. Eat your breakfast. Responsible drinking. Adequate sleep. Don’t eat between meals. Don’t be more than 5% over your ideal weight for your height.
28	Cancer Council Of Australia Position Statement (Abridged) Don’t be a porker! 30 mins exercise / day 2 fruits, 5 vegies / day Eat bread and cereals 100 gm red meat 3-4 / wk Limit saturated fat intake Low salt Limit alcohol Micronutrients in whole foods
29	Why So? Because there are few enough psychologically and emotionally healthy, mature adults around. People are not perfect, they get it wrong.
30	Adulthood? Self care Self management Self responsibility Self motivation Self correcting Self comforting Self love Etc.
31	Is Adulthood What You Are Striving For? Whilst I would PREFER that people look after themselves, are you all going to do it? No.
32	Boyle’s Law Every single human being on the planet has the inalienable right to foul up their life in the manner of their own choosing, timing, and design as long as it doesn’t foul up mine. Defend the right! Foul up your life!
33	Boyle’s Law (Part the second) There are some rights we have that it really doesn’t make sense to exercise, like tap dancing in minefields with clogs on, poking angry bulls in the bum with a sharp stick when drunk, or continuing to refuse to behave like an adult in the face of serious illness.
34	Are you trying to reduce the burden of illness? According To Miller "Personal accountability means making better choices in the moment with the objective of eliminating blame, complaining and victim thinking from one's life."
35	Personal Accountability If there is no reminder system as to what you want for yourself, then bad habits will always triumph over good intentions. You will lose sight of your goals and dreams, they will be obscured, displaced by the demands of the mundane and the burden of illness.
36	Personal Accountability What are you going to do tomorrow and every next day of your life to create the life that you want given the limited degrees of freedom in your world?
37	Do You Have the Discipline of Asking Yourself the Question:- “Am I going to love my life today and create what I want, as best I can, or am I going to continue to believe that I don’t make a difference in my own life, that I am helpless and that the situation is hopeless?”
38	It’s A Goal! Think about what you want out of the day. Plan how you are going to get it. No plan no get.
39	Just Driftin’ Do you have any idea how many people have no idea what they want out of the day, out of the year, out of their career, out of their relationship, out of their life, or out of their illness?
40	Repeater And every day they make that choice. The choice not to ask the question.
41	Celebrate Success Few of us are going to split the atom, win the Nobel prize or get the Oscar (no matter how much of a drama queen you are).
42	"Our successes are on a..." Our successes are on a different scale. they are about trying each day, giving it our best shot, for no other reason than we are still alive and choose to because we can. “and everywhere life is full of heroism”.
43	Look At The View From Here! Do you have a goal of managing the journey with equanimity? No matter what goes wrong, do you ask the question “What can I gain from this experience?” It’s a choice.
44	Just Make the Decision to Make the Most of Today There are just as many ways to help yourself feel better as there are ways to get ill. Get involved, positive emotions create positive responses in the mind and body, negative emotions create negative reactions.
45	Think Aboot It What you do all day in your attitude, in the psycho-emotional state that you generate makes a difference. You have become an expert in creating your emotions, in which emotional state are you most practised?
46	Mindfulness Is… A state of being in the present, accepting things for what they are, meeting the world as it is. It is definitely not aboot distressing yourself with a phantasy aboot how the world should be!
47	Mindfulness Is Becoming More Self Aware It is about being aware of what is happening in us on a moment by moment basis, and not making judgements about whether we like or don’t like what we find. It does not encourage evaluating or thinking on what has been done in the past, nor does it take our thoughts to future phantasy.
48	We Can All Do It - If We Want To It involves training ourselves to be in the present moment thereby allowing us to disengage from mental clutter and to clear the mind. Mindfulness enables personal accountability thereby improving our decision-making and potential for physical and mental relaxation.
49	One Minute Exercise: Sit in front of a time piece that you can use to time one minute. Your task is to focus your entire attention on your breathing, and nothing else, for the minute.
50	Starting Position Bring yourself into the present by deliberately adopting an upright position, shoulders down, hands cupped, gaze up. Then ask yourself: "What is going on within me right now?"
51	Now Just a Minute Practicing meditation for one minute every hour will enhance the quality of your life. Are you worth it, or too busy?
52	Carlos Castenada And so to finish with some tales of power
53	Journey to Ixtlan “ Every warrior has a place to die. A place that is soaked with unforgettable memories, where powerful events left their mark, a place where marvels have been witnessed, where secrets have been revealed.”
54	"“One day when your..." “One day when your time on earth is up and you feel the tap of death on your left shoulder, your spirit, which is always ready, flies to the place of your predilection, and there the warrior dances to his or her death.”
55	"“In your last dance..." “In your last dance you will tell of your struggle, of the battles you have won and of those you have lost; you will tell of your joy and of your bewilderments.”
56	“Your dance will tell of your wonderments and of the secrets you have stored.”
57	“The dying sun will glow on you without burning, as it has today. The wind will be soft and mellow and your hilltop will tremble.”
58	“As you reach the end of your dance you will look at the sun, for you will never see it again in waking or in dreaming and then your death will point to the south. To the vastness.”
59	"" Life is always pointing out the vastness of it all. Enjoy your wonderment.