Neill Neill, Ph.D.

I am tickled that someone nominated Practical Psychology for Capable People for the Blog of the Day Award and am so grateful to have been selected for the award for January 29, 2007. Thank you to my readers. Thank you to the reviewers at Blog of the Day Awards.

The Blog of the Day Award  furthers the big goal, the mission, of Practical Psychology for Capable People, which is to provide practical psychological and spiritual nourishment, guidance and tips for self growth daily to thousands of visitors from around the world, so that we can all achieve more peace and fulfillment in our lives. This is my vision.

If you share my vision and want to help, send your questions, comments and suggestions. Tell your family and friends about the blog. Join my email list.

And above all bookmark the site and come back often.

Blessings, 

Neill

Dr. Neill Neill

Here I sit in the Vancouver International Airport terminal preparing a post while I wait for my flight to Chantilly, Virginia via Washington, DC. I am on my way to the ninth annual conference of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP).

I’ve been deeply involved in the energy psychology movement and ACEP for seven years now, and I always come away from the annual conference recharged with innovations, insights and joyful reconnections with old friends. Energy psychology is the cutting edge of modern practical psychology. As I have said before, I believe it will drag mainstream psychology kicking and screaming into the 21^st century.

This year the plenary speakers are Dr. Rupert Sheldrake (The sense of Being Stared At), Dr. Christine Page (Spiritual Alchemy) and Her Holiness Sai Maa Lakshmi Devi who will speak on "The Art of Forgiveness." (Several of the experts featured in the movie, The Secret, have been past speakers at the ACEP conference.

The rest of the conference will be a smorgasbord of expertise and experience, the very latest stuff. The hardest part will be choosing among lots of excellent options.

I hope I’ll have time during the conference to report back to you on some of what’s happening. Stay tuned.

Psychologist Dr. Neill Neill maintains an active practice on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. He focuses on healthy relationships and life after addictions. He is the author of Living with a Functioning Alcoholic - A Woman’s Survival Guide.
www.neillneill.com
www.ConquerAlcoholism.com

• Someone enters your space and you sense their presence. They have penetrated your bio-field, your aura.
• You have a persistent craving and your doctor recommends acupuncture. The acupuncturist inserts tiny needles in certain places to unblock the "flow" of energy in your body. He or she has addressed the meridian system of subtle energy in your body.
• You place your hand in the middle of your chest as you offer condolences to a friend who has lost a love one. You are instinctively using one of your body’s energy centres or hotspots. They are part of the body’s chakra system.

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Neill Neill, Ph.D.

I have long argued that more optimistic people live happier more fulfilling lives. This is basic positive psychology. We maximize our sense of wellbeing by focusing on what we want, not on what we don’t want. Optimistic people seem to have a brightness of the future. Their more pessimistic compatriots worry about the future.

Today I read an interesting New York Times article about mortality among optimistic versus pessimistic older adults. It was entitled "Yet Another Worry for Those Who Believe the Glass Is Half-Empty." It starts off with, "Now, it seems, pessimists may really have something to worry about: their health."

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Neill Neill, Ph.D.

I just read an inspiring post on a friend’s blog: "50 Ways to Find Serenity During The Holidays (when serenity is the last thing on your mind!) ". This is a good time of years to think about reducing holiday stress, or to put it in positive psychology terms, enhancing calm and serenity.

The topic is a bit unusual for Coach Maria; she typically writes about business topics. Maria Marsala is a business coach who calls herself "The Resource Queen." If you are in business, her sites are a goldmine of practical information about being successful with your business, so do get on her mailing list.She leads her article with

In the normal course of living, we sometimes feel "overwhelmed", "burnt out" or "stressed-out". I know I do, which is why I created this special list of things to do when I’m feeling less than peaceful. And around holiday time those feelings sometimes feel even more unmanageable.

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Friends and family sometimes tell me I work too much.

It’s true I spend a lot of time at what conventionally would be called work: seeing clients in my private practice, teaching and seeing clients in alcohol and drug rehab, writing regular columns for two newspapers and a magazine, and writing for my very active website, Practical Psychology for Capable People. None of this feels like work, but it does demand a lot of time just like "real work" does.

I tell others all the time that they need downtime to relax, recuperate, recharge and expand their perspective. I tell them to pursue something they are passionate about, just so long as it has nothing to do with work and lifts their spirits and leaves them feeling positive.

After all, taking downtime and using it well is a piece of positive psychology.

But does Dr. Neill practice what he preaches? You be the judge.

One of the ways I get that positive charge when I want to be completely off the work radar is going for a ride on my motorcycle. And the longer the ride, the better!

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On a sunny summer day you tend to have many happy thoughts.  Whether you realize it or not, you are putting those feel-good thoughts out to the universe, thereby attracting more good.  You are unconsciously celebrating life. And you feel great!

Unfortunately, when you are unconscious of what you are doing, how you feel will tend to vary with the weather or with the crowd.  You are a victim of your environment.

Perhaps it’s time to take charge. To become more conscious of the celebratory thoughts you are putting out to the universe on a good day, begin by deliberately pausing to feel the appreciation you have for the good in your life.  Focus on something about the day that you particularly appreciate.  Then raise your eyes upward and say something exclamatory like "Life is great!"  Say "Thank you God!" if you are so inclined.

Do this when you are feeling the sun or see the flowers.  Do it when you meet other happy people.  Do it as you see children playing.  It’s easy on a day like today.

Then do it again tomorrow and the next day.  It may be harder when it’s raining, but you can always find things you appreciate.  As you put your appreciation of the good out to universe, your mood will stay up or pick up. 

Over the next month as you follow this practice of taking frequent "appreciation breaks," a couple of things will happen.  First of all by practicing appreciation breaks every day, you develop the habit of doing it.  That is to say, remembering to express appreciation is no longer an effort.  Secondly, you begin to realize that you have control over your feelings of well-being.  You still feel good on a great day, but now you are feeling good on most of the days in between too.

You have taken over control of your sense of well-being.  Now life really is great. 

Lives — millions of lives — have been transformed through this simple self growth process.

It has been a beautiful couple of weeks here by the ocean: sun, warm breezes, barbeques, a deer in the garden, two eagles in tree, happy friends and passing cruise ships silhouetterd against the distant mountains. Now pause and let yourself feel the euphoria of days like these.

Yet we’ve both been around long enough to know that some days it rains. So the question becomes, "How do you extend these good feelings to the days when the weather is dismal, people are anything but enthusiastic, and your feel the zing slipping out of your own life?”

The answer comes from positive psychology. It lies in taking conscious control of something that you are already doing on a ’sunny day,’ and then extending that action to every other day until it becomes a habit.

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A new website is about to launch. It could be big and it is already multinational. It’s called "School Made Much Easier" and it’s designed for students, parents, educators and EFT practitioners. The website is www.SchoolMadeMuchEasier.com. Check it out and get your name on the advance notice list. The expected launch is in a couple of weeks.

School Made Much Easier is the brainchild and passion of Paul Widdershoven, an experienced EFT practitioner.

Emotional Freedom Technique, commonly known as EFT, is an energy-healing technique developed by Gary Craig (my teacher) in the 1990s. It has been so effective in reducing emotional distress that it is now used by psychologists, counsellors, medical doctors and educators around the world. What’s even more exciting is that tens of thousands of non-professionals use EFT as a valuable self-help tool.

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Dr. Neill Neill, Ph.D., R.Psych., D-CEP

Welcome to Practical Psychology for Capable People, for secrets to a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

Practical Psychology for Capable People is your place for practical tips, insights and wisdom for a better life. Whether you want some marriage advice, are struggling with alcoholism in your family, facing some midlife changes, or simply wanting more peace in your life, this is your place to pause, reflect… and change.

I regulary post new articles here, often as a reflection of your questions and concerns. So bookmark this site and return often and leave your comments and questions.

For starters my gift to you is a free download of a short, very practical ebook I wrote, The Personal Change Manifesto.  I will send you an e-mail, entitled Practical Psychology[/tag-tec] for Capable People each time I publish a new article.

Enter your first name and email address in the box on the left and watch your inbox for instructions.

Neill