I just got back from something called the Wisdom 2.0 conference. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s where thousands of people talk about the interplay of three main topics: meditation, business, and technology. This is a place where spiritual teachers such as Byron Katie and Jack Kornfield rub elbows with Linked In CEO Jeff Weiner, or rock star Alanis Morissette. Needless to say, it attracts a fascinating group of people.
I went there partly because I wanted to know whether or not there was hope for humanity. I’m glad to report that there is. Despite all the problems the world faces, and despite how fast everyone is rushing around nowadays, people still have hearts. Sure, our hearts are often buried beneath our smartphone screens, but humanity’s deeper heart is an irrepressible force. At the conference, I met a lot of good people sincerely looking for ways to bring more peace on Earth.
Being that I’m a gadget guy, I’m always looking for simple things that can help me to be kinder, more relaxed, and more aware. At Wisdom 2.0, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I talked with a dozen app developers who created apps to help with meditation, or ways to remind yourself to do an act of kindness. Anyway, what I got from the conference, (other than some new friends), was a sense of the importance of daily spiritual practice.
In an age when there is always too much to do, and too little time to do it in, most of us feel pretty stressed. In fact, studies suggest that 40% of Americans report they are “severely stressed.” If you’re not doing some daily practice to reduce stress and find peace within, you’re basically screwed. We all end up taking in a daily megadose of stress. Therefore, it’s necessary to “flush” your past stress down the “toilet.” Imagine not going to the toilet for several days. You would surely end up feeling very stressed! Being that stressed sure doesn’t feel very good.
So if we need to handle stress on a daily basis, a good question to ask is “How?” More specifically, how can we get the most de-stressing bang for our buck (i.e. the smallest effort). There is no single answer to that. People can let go of stress and find peace within in a vast variety of ways. For example, it can be as easy as taking a few deep breaths or listening to a favorite song. Or, as I mentioned previously, you can now get an app or gadget that can help you de-stress. At the Wisdom 2.0 conference, I bought a gadget called “Spire” that tracks your stress level by monitoring your breath. If you haven’t taken a relaxing breath in awhile, it vibrates and sends you a text to remind you to breathe more deeply. It’s a bit of a kooky idea, but I’ve been trying it the last few days and it really helps!
While gadgets can help, I’ve see that there are also a lot of simple methods that immediately lead to more relaxation, happiness, and peace. As a psychotherapist, I’ve seen that the best practices for finding peace seem to be those that take under two minutes to do. Sitting down to meditate or do yoga are good practices, but not many people will do them everyday to handle their daily stress. Yet, I’ve seen that people will use something that only takes a minute or two to do if it feels good and it really works.
In my book “Find Happiness Now” or my audio program, “Deeper Happiness,” I offer a lot of such methods. Once you find a technique or two that truly works for you, you’ve got a friend for life. I use one such method many times a day and it has made an immense positive impact on the quality of my life.
At the conference, I had a chance to have a one-on-one talk with spiritual teacher Byron Katie. She is known for her many bestselling books and for a method she developed called “the work.” I asked her, “What can people do to help change the world?” Without hesitation she said, “They can work on themselves. That’s the way the world will become a more peaceful place—by each person finding it within.” I couldn’t agree more. So my question to you is simple: “Do you have a quick method you can use daily to help you de-stress and find peace within?”
It’s a rainy, sleepy afternoon, and you’re stuck in front of your computer. Your bones are weary, your eyes 
Perhaps the most important thing a human being can learn is how to quickly let go of negative thought patterns and emotions and quickly return to the peace and love that’s hidden behind our turbulent minds. Once you can do this well, everything in your life changes. In my exploration of how doing this effectively, I’ve tried a lot of things. One of my absolute favorite ways to quickly return to a place of peace (after being upset) is to use something called “The Sedona Method.” What follows is a mini-course on the Sedona Method. If you try this out and like it, I recommend that you get the book “The Sedona Method,” so you can get a better understanding of this truly effective and simple technique. 
I’ve been reading recently about how important a good night’s sleep is for feeling happy during the day and being productive in life. Unfortunately, about 30% of Americans suffer from chronic insomnia and/or sleep deprivation. In our fast paced world, many people try to do with as little sleep as possible, but then end up suffering emotional and health effects from getting too little sleep.
Too much to do, and not enough time to do it. Your boss yells at you for something that wasn’t even your fault; by the time you make it home, you’re fed up and stressed out. You slam the door, and then walk past your partner without saying a word. Your mate asks you about your day and why you slammed the door. Just the fact that they say anything to you makes you even more annoyed. You tell them, “I didn’t slam the door. There’s nothing wrong. Why do you always have to question me?” You spend the rest of the evening upset.
If your life is at all like mine, it’s both busy and stressful. Most people handle the onslaught of stress they face by taking periodic vacations to recover from their life. While vacations are a good idea, you can’t take one every time your life becomes hectic. In addition, taking a weekend or a week off to go to Hawaii doesn’t help you to know how to relax when you’re back in the rat race. What’s needed is a simple way to let go of stress and know how to relax that can be done while you’re still in the stressful situation—not five days later. That’s why I created the One-Breath Technique. In twenty to sixty seconds of doing this powerful method, you can experience how to relax bodily tensions, as well as let go of negative emotions and useless anxiety. It’s a wonderful gift to give yourself.
I created the One-Breath Technique when I noticed how frequently something makes me impatient, uptight, or annoyed during the day. Without something to interrupt my stress, my minor upsets often snowballed into a momentum of negativity. Rather than using a technique that required taking several minutes away from the situation at hand, I saw the value of learning how to relax right in the moment. The One Breath Technique can be done almost anywhere and, with practice, won’t even be noticeable by others. Despite its brevity, it can effectively interrupt the build-up of stress and frustration that can so easily happen in modern day life.
The first step in doing the One Breath Technique is to become aware that you’re stressed, upset, or could benefit from a mini-relaxation break. Next, observe the location in your body that you feel the most tightness or discomfort. For many people, they feel stress most noticeably in their shoulders, their chest, or their stomach area. Some people feel tension in many parts of their body simultaneously. Wherever you feel stress the most, imagine inhaling pure, soothing air into that area. Breathe as deeply as you can, first filling up your abdomen with air, then your chest. Once you’ve taken in as much air as you can, hold your breath for ten seconds.
During the time that you’re holding your breath, attempt to tighten all the areas of your body that feel stressed. For example, if your shoulders are tight, tense them even more —perhaps by bringing them closer to your ears. If your stomach feels uncomfortable, tense the muscles in that area (while you hold your breath)—as if you’re preparing for someone to hit you in the belly. At the end of your ten count of tightening muscles and holding your breath, it’s time for you to fully relax. How to relax is key. Let go of your breath with a long, slow sighing sound (if you’re in a place where making a sound is okay). While you’re letting go of your muscles and your breath, think to yourself, “Let it all go,” or some other simple phrase that works for you. When you relax your muscles and your breath, you’ll notice a warm feeling of relaxation traveling through your body. Focus on the tingling warm sensations as they move through you. Notice if there are any parts of your body that still feel tight, and if so, try to let them go as well. Although it’s called the One-Breath Technique, you’re welcome to do it once or twice more if you need to, and if you have the time.
Part of the beauty of this technique is its simplicity. In less than a minute, you can interrupt your stressful reactions that can lead to a bad day, bad health, and ultimately, a bad time in life. Fortunately, because it is brief and can even be invisible to the people around you, there is no good reason not to use it. In fact, why not try it right now? I mean it. If you like it, perhaps you’ll get in the One-Breath habit. It’s one of the healthiest habits you’ll ever have. Right now would be an excellent time to begin… Once you’ve mastered that, check out all my other