Five Habits That Saved My Life

- Meditation- Visualization- Actualization (physical follow-through)- Routine Adherence - Mindful Awareness

by Ben Ahrens (2.0)

Building a New Operating System

My story in short:

• Athlete, Trainer, Surf-camp Director • Crippling Neuro-Lyme disease• “Cured” but not Healed• Exhaustion persists without a cause• Search to uncover the discrepancy between

perceived abilities and actual abilities. • Re-synching perception and reality.

The Anatomy of Self-fulfilling Prophecy

As it relates to a VCD

Symptoms

Adrenalin

worry & resistance

increased inflammation

Creates a Negative Feedback Loop

The Anatomy of Self-fulfilling ProphecyAs it relates to Pain & Suffering

Pain

Suffering

resistance

exacerbation

* Pain is not the cause of suffering; it is our resistance to pain that brings about the experience of suffering.

The Paradox: • Letting go of resisting the negative

sensation will lead to it’s disappearance

• The trick is not to try and make the feeling go away, but to learn to be comfortable in its presence. - Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself

• Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

How do you break the cycle?Tools & Techniques

• Meditation• Visualization (potentiation)• Physical follow-through (actualization) • NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming• Routine (to mitigate the unexpected) • Mindful awareness throughout the day

(for when the unexpected happens)

Put into Practice

• Visualize my morning routine • Do it exactly as “seen” in my mind’s eye • Meditate 20~30min. If symptoms or anxiety persists then:• Identify the source• Identify the triggers• Rewrite mental script with affirmative statement • Use Gupta’s “Amygdala Retraining” NLP technique to “de-

condition” physiological responses • Divert attention & get absorbed in daily life• Maintain mindful awareness throughout the day

First thing upon waking I:

“The human body cannot tell the difference between something real and that which is vividly imagined.” - Maxwell Maltz

The Results:

From 3+ years debilitated condition, to full time work, physical strength, social participation, and healthy active living!

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Three Takeaways to Remember:

• Awareness is key - Being mindful is easy… remembering to be mindful is difficult.

• Resistance = Persistence - Letting go is what is required to dissolve the the source of discomfort.

• Never look at what you’re trying to avoid! - (Rule #1 of defensive driving - applied to life)

Related Articles

www.TheLimitlessSelf.com

• Rewiring The Brain to Ease Pain, Wall Street Health Journal, Nov. 15th.

• Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?, NY Times, Aug. 17th. • Ashok Gupta’s, “The Amygdala Hypothesis”, Medical Hypothesis Vol. 59, 2002.

• Experiment showing 22% muscle-strength increase using visualization ONLY! , The Power of Imagination, - Doidge excerpt from The Brain That Changes Itself

My Blog