Want a quick tip to help rewire your brain to not be so stressed and anxious? Want to be more of a visionary?
Tell me how do you feel right now?
Here is the deal, when you are stressed your Amygdala is activated. This is keeping you stuck in fight, flight, or freeze mode. One way to begin to shift is to simply name the emotion you are feeling. (AKA Affect Labeling or Mindful Emotions)
When you name what you are feeling the Amygdala begins to deactivate which allows you access to your Pre-frontal cortex so that you utilize higher levels of executive type thinking.
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER if you seek to be a visionary. BUT… so many people are out of touch with what they are feeling and are only focused on doing and on achieving results. If you really want to make an impact you need to use the part of your brain designed for it.
Pause, breath, notice your body, name the emotion you are feeling. Simply acknowledging without judgement and without trying to fix anything insures your emotions don’t control you. In time your practice will deepen but for today just try it out.
Amy McCae is a Life and Executive Coach as well as Mindfulness Meditation Teacher who helps leaders gain clarity, confidence, and satisfaction. She is passionate about wellness and raising consciousness. Amy offers coaching, mindfulness meditation, and energy work. You can read Amy’s story and view her credentials at http://www.creativewellnessomaha.com
When someone smiles do you smile back? The energy of a smile :).
After a long winter with far too much snow shoveling, I welcome the sound of birds chirping, the smell of rain, the green grass, and the way the warm sun feels on my skin. While winter seems to be a time to reflect and hibernate, spring brings a vibrant energy that makes me smile and motivates me. The energy of winter feels different than the energy of summer and I feel different.
Have you ever walked into a familiar room or into a meeting in a bad mood and suddenly be uplifted by the positivity you feel? Is there someone in your life that every time you are with them you walk away feeling drained? We often refer to this as the “energy” of a room or being “empathetic.”
Google defines energy as the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity. (1st definition) Quantum physics states that absolutely everything in the Universe is made up of energy. Einstein said that energy could not be created or destroyed it could only be transformed. Everything is energy including your emotions.
There is a phenomenon referred to as emotion contagion. In it’s simplest terms this means that you unconsciously mimic another person’s non-verbal clues and feel the reflection of those people’s emotions. You can “catch” emotions.” Think of a time when someone was crying and you began to cry, they may even stop crying when you start. Imagine a time you were sitting at your desk angry and a co-worker walked in and knew to walk out without you saying a word. How about when a child was sad, how did you feel? Spouse have a headache and suddenly you do to? You are designed to be empathetic so that you can develop compassion.
“Compassion is the basis of morality.” Arthur Schopenhauer
Mirror neurons are brain cells that react both when you perform an action as well as when you observe someone else performing that same action. When you watch someone get pricked with a needle you know what they are feeling but you don’t physically feel the same pain in your finger. You may even almost move your hand but you won’t because of your brain circuitry. Mirror neurons enable you to view another’s state from a virtual reality standpoint and you become empathetic. This allows you to feel compassion which will motivate you to action. Isn’t the world a better place when you are compassionate?
Empathy and compassion are vital skills in personal development, professional successes, and all relationships. Below are simple MINDFUL ways to practice.
Practice a body scan (Mindfulness Meditation)
Listen to understand not to reply
When overwhelmed by emotions and unsure of where it is coming from start asking; “Is this mine?”
Practice Affect Labeling (Mindful Emotions)
When in a challenging situation notice your breath, practice the pause
Make a list of ways you can influence energy
Make a list of actions you can take related to being compassionate
The simple act of meditating cultivates compassion for yourself and others!!! Meditate today 🙂
Sending you all the joy, peace, and love you can imagine!
To learn more about how Amy can support you please set up a complimentary 20 minute phone focus https://amymccae.as.me/
Amy McCae
Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher and MORE
Amy specializes in helping leaders overcome self-doubt and overwhelm so they can have clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. She offers Mindfulness Matters an accredited online course with or without Life Coaching to individuals and corporations. Amy also as offers classes, presentations, and seminars as well as several types of energetic healing.
Mindfulness Matters is an accredited, neuroscience based, emotional intelligence program created for developing visionary and conscious leaders. Many leaders struggle with self-doubt and overwhelm. This course insures you gain clarity, confidence, success, and will even help improve your relationships and health!!
Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her mother die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.
One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.
Through that experience Amy rediscovered a passion for helping others. She is committed to excellence and to making a difference in the world.
Not for one second do I believe that “time heals all wounds.” This catchy, all too often used phrase, intended to pacify someone in pain simply isn’t always true. True healing requires truth not time; truth about who you really are, truth about how you feel, truth about your relationships, and truth about your choices. Healing requires an entirely new level of self-awareness, a willingness to be honest, and a capacity to be receptive to change.
” Until you heal the wounds of your past, you are going to bleed with food, with alcohol, with work, with cigarettes, with sex; but eventually, it will ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them.” Iyanla Vanaznt
My chosen career field arose out my own suffering. I am no stranger to pain and my stubbornness and perfectionism have often proven to be less than ideal in numerous situations… Being in the business of helping people I still find myself seeking to help people feel better through inspiration and positivity.However, the truth is sometimes the truth hurts.
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.” Carl Jung
Carl Jung is/was a famous psychologist and psychiatrist who made numerous contributions int these fields of study. Jung proposed that everyone’s personality includes four Jungian Archetypes that help you understand your behaviors and they also influence the way you think and act. One of those aspects is referred to as “The Shadow” or the “the dark side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown.” (learning-mind.com) Jung believed in the power of the unconscious mind and understood that repressing your desires or qualities you stifle your growth.
Uncovering your “darkness” will lead you to healing. These are aspects, ideas, beliefs, attitudes, traits, behaviors, and feelings that you are not aware of, have avoided or refused to acknowledge. It is through your acceptance of yourself wholeheartedly that you will find true healing, peace of mind, happiness, and freedom. AND you will be able to make conscious decisions!
As always, I am going to suggest meditation and mindfulness. You have to quiet all the chatter in your mind to get the truth. Silence speaks. ALWAYS. Mindfulness at its simplest means to pay attention on purpose and be at peace with the moment despite any “chaos.” They both lead to self-awareness which is an aspect of emotional intelligence desperately needed in our society.
In meditation you can ask for the answers. If you simply stop, notice your breathing for a few minutes, focus on your chest and then your heart, gently bringing your awareness back each time your mind wanders, notice how you feel, think of situations and then notice how you feel, think of certain people and ask questions and notice what comes to you. The idea is not to pass judgment on what you are feeling, thinking, or experiencing. Journal about these experiences!!! Please note that sometimes things or feelings come up that are bothersome if that occurs always ask for help.
During the day you can practice mini moments of mindfulness. How do you feel when you see a meme or post on social media? How do you feel when talking to your boss? How do you feel while cooking dinner? How do you feel in traffic? How do you feel when home alone? Are you emotionally reacting or consciously choosing your actions? What are the thoughts in your mind during these experiences? Sometimes when you can not get in touch with the feeling knowing the thought will lead you to the feelings. My awareness of my thoughts has often lead me to understanding my beliefs and my judgments. Not always easy… but so worthwhile.
Never fear the “shadows” as they remind you that there is light nearby. Remember that what you resist persists. Forgive yourself for what you didn’t know at the time. It is in your acknowledgement of ALL OF YOU that you will find healing.
Thank you,
Amy S McCae
Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher AND MORE!
Amy specializes in helping leaders overcome self-doubt and overwhelm so they can have clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. She offers Mindfulness Matters an accredited online course with or without Life Coaching to individuals and corporations. Amy also as offers classes, presentations, and seminars and even energy work.
Mindfulness Matters is an accredited, neuroscience based, emotional intelligence program created for developing visionary and conscious leaders. Many leaders struggle with self-doubt and overwhelm. This course insures you gain clarity, confidence, success, and will even help improve your relationships and health!!
Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her mother die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.
One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.
Though that experience Amy rediscovered a passion for helping others. She is committed to excellence and to making a difference in the world.
A favorite quote of mine that screams emotional intelligence and hints at what it means to be mindful…Even as simple as writing this blog I have had to pause and reconnect with my heart to remember my purpose and revise in order to stay true to myself and my intentions of doing good and helping people.
So often I see clients that are exited to take skills assessments and personality tests. While these are fantastic and I encourage them, seldom is anyone thrilled to dig deep into their emotional processes nor are they initially exited to quiet their minds and listen. In fact they often resist or avoid both because they feel vulnerable.
Emotional intelligence will lead you to being authentic but it will require you be vulnerable.
Authenticity requires knowing yourself to such a degree that it no longer shakes you to admit your flaws, your mistakes, your feelings, or any of your imperfections. You can stand in your truth with equanimity. This also means admitting and accepting the deep and dark aspects of you that you have denied exist.
Vulnerability is the much feared “dirty” word in the world of power and success. It requires a strength that few will be willing to master. However, the reality is that being vulnerable is a profound and beautiful experience that will lead you to everything you seek.
How would it feel to be passionate about your daily life, to do things you love and are naturally good at? How would it feel to have meaningful relationships and heart felt connections with people that genuinely care about you flaws and all? How would it feel to make a difference in someone’s life or in the world? Can you imagine these?
What are you doing that prevents you from these experiences?
Below are three practices that if you do them consistently have the potential to transform your life.
*Meditate!!! There is no wrong way to do this besides not doing it. The silence you will discover will lead you to answers. EVEN JUST paying attention to your breath. Your breath is wired to your nervous system!
*Practice a body scan. Sit quietly and slowly sense from the top of your head to your feet. Ask questions, be curious. your body speaks. Don’t try to fix it or judge it. Just listen.
*Get in the habit of naming the emotion you are feeling. This actually rewires your brain!
Let me know how it goes!
Sending many blessings to you,
Amy McCae
Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher AND MORE!
Amy offers Mindfulness Matters an accredited online course with or without Life Coaching to individual and corporations. She specializes in helping leaders overcome self-doubt and overwhelm so they can have clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. Amy also as offers classes and seminars and even energy work.
Amy McCae is a Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in Omaha, Nebraska. She is passionate about healing and helping others. Amy holds numerous certifications allowing her to support individuals and organizations.
Mindfulness Matters is an accredited, neuroscience based, emotional intelligence program created for developing visionary and conscious leaders. Many leaders struggle with self-doubt and overwhelm. This course insures you gain clarity, confidence, success, and will even help improve your relationships and health!!
Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her mother die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.
One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.
Though that experience Amy rediscovered a passion for helping others. She is committed to excellence and to making a difference in the world.
So you survived the stress of the holidays, your challenging co-workers and even your crazy family. In December I shared a skill set to help you reduce stress, create a healthier and happier life, and think more positively. I also shared that your power always lies in the present moment. It is in this moment that if you have enough self-awareness and emotional intelligence that you can make conscious choices inline with your values and save yourself a lot of headaches and regret later. AND obviously be less stressed.
Below I give you 3 specific, simple practices you can easily begin today that will help you develop greater self-awareness/emotional intelligence so that you can take better care of your needs, improve your relationships, and be a conscious, visionary leader.
Almost four years ago I was asked by a doctor in Arizona to participate in an online summit and to speak about relationships. I was in the middle of a nasty divorce and did not feel “worthy” of the opportunity. I decided to dig deeper into the five skills I had been teaching and speak on those. I ended up ranked #6 out of 40 speakers some of which were rather well known. I have shared/taught these practices to corporations, spiritual communities, non-profit organizations and to people from all walks of life. The title changes but the skills are the same include; Awareness, Acceptance, Attitude, Action, and Acknowledgment each with specific practices.
Relationships are always the heart of our daily lives. The people in your life are a reflection of you. The relationship you have with yourself will dictate and impact every facet of your life. 
Stress Less Now is really about mindful self-care so that you can live an empowered and extraordinary life. The transformational practices inspire authenticity, confidence, compassion, and emotional intelligence fostering visionary leaders that create a better world.
AWARENESS is the topic for today.
Awareness is first simply because if you do not know who you are or what you are dealing with you simply can not make a conscious choice. As it turns out ignorance is not bliss. You need to be mindful of what lies beneath the roles you play and why. You need quiet and space to explore these. The truth can never be hidden for long.
Self-awareness begins with attention training. (AKA “Mindfulness”) There are several simple mindfulness practices that you begin now. One would be to become mindful of your breath. Just notice without judgement occasionally throughout the day and begin taking a few minutes each day to just breath. You can add more time when you are ready.
Another practice would be a “Loving Kindness Meditation” which is done by simply mentally repeating phrases such as “May I be loved, may I be well, may I be at peace, may I be at ease. You can also hold your hand on your heart when you do this and even send it to others! Notice your body when you do this. Begin to notice what you sense when you practice. Emotional intelligence may be the greatest gift you ever give yourself.
Another way to gain self-awareness is through discovering your core values. You can find lists on the internet or set up a free phone consult with me at http:// https://amymccae.as.me/ and I will send you a free copy. The idea is to narrow it down to your top five. These are your deal breakers. Knowing them will allow you live authentically and confidently. AND it is always eye opening.
Please take the time to journal about your experiences. Taking the time to be kind to yourself and to develop new levels of self-awareness leads to improved wellness, better choices, healthier relationships, greater business success, and peace of mind. Just do it.
Enjoy the journey of learning about you. May you gain the confidence, self-awareness, and tools you need to believe that you are worthy and can create anything you desire. You just have to be willing to look deeply.
Thank you,
Amy McCae
Certified Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher
Mindfulness Matters is an accredited 8-week online course rooted in science and inspired by Google’s emotional intelligence program.
Amy McCae is a Life Coach and Mindfulness Meditation Teacher in Omaha, Nebraska. She is passionate about healing and helping others and especially about mindfulness and emotional intelligence.
Amy spent her childhood dreaming of being a doctor only to watch her other die of cancer when she was 20. Her life took an entirely different direction after that and she spent much of her 20’s sick with chronic illnesses.
One day Amy was too sick to take care of her newborn baby and she had to crawl to the phone to call for help. Amy then went on a quest to heal and looked in places she never knew existed before that day. AND she healed largely through fitness, nutrition, and meditation.
The experience allowed her to rediscover her passion for healing and helping others. Amy now holds numerous certifications allowing her to be of support to individuals and organizations. Mindfulness Matters is an accredited 8-week online course rooted in science and inspired by her desire to help others develop emotional intelligence (especially leaders and those struggling with self-doubt and overwhelm). Please contact Amy for more information and to sign up!
Being a holistic practitioner I am often curious about the body, mind, and of course, spirit. This curiosity lead me to many experiences in learning about life, death, and spirit. These experiences would transform my life. This past week brought several deep reminders of what death means. The subject of death and dealing with potentially terminally ill family came up at a meeting I host, Evolving Minds. Tomorrow, Saturday morning marks 20 years since my mother left this world. The past 6 months brought two eye opening experiences about my own mortality, and the past 10 years have been filled with surprises from the spiritual world.
I was only 20 when I lost my mother. She was only 41. As I sit here 40 years old and 20 years later I can not imagine being in her place. I can not imagine knowing I was going to die and leave my children. I have no idea how one prepares for such an event. I do not know what she would be like much past my own age now. I often wonder what kind of grandmother she would be and if she would be proud of who I grew up to be. And I even wonder what she would look like since I look so much like her. There is something that changes in a person when one reaches the age of their parent’s death. There is something that changes within a daughter when she loses a mother so young and spends decades wondering what it would be like to have a mother. The pain I felt eventually lead me to peace.
I have never believed in actual death. I have always believed that there was some part of me that would transcend this world. What that may look like or feel like I do not know, but I am receiving glimpses. My 40th birthday was in May and close to that time I had an experience that left me confident that there was an aspect of me that was not my physical body. That part of me was free. I spent the day crying and convincing myself that it was ok stay, I had things to finish here. I vowed to remember those feelings of peace and freedom and to carry them with me in this world. Then, late this summer I had an episode where I lost consciousness and someone had to revive me. I have no recollection of the event. Everything was black. And I wondered if that was what death was like?
Over the past 10 years I have had countless experiences that were not of this world. Some of them included loved ones who have passed. I do not have an explanation for this. I have tried to use science and that helps, but it can not really express the magnitude of such experiences. I am forever grateful to those loved ones that have reappeared reminding me that death is not real. Reminding me that some aspect of them is still with me. Thank you mom, Mr. Hennessey, Felix, and Ben Johnson. I loved you when you were here and I love you now.
These experiences allow me to have a greater respect for life. I take things a little slower, I am a little easier on myself, things that bothered me are easier to let go of, and I love people and experiences so much more deeply. I honor the experiences, even the painful ones like the loss of loved ones. Those experiences remind me of who I AM. Today, take some time to honor your life and your path and to also honor those that may no longer be here with you in the same way. Those loved ones may be closer than you thought.
Considering it appears I shocked some people with my last blog, it seemed appropriate to add the more inspirational side of the story; “Out of the Darkness Comes the Light.“
While writing “Figments of my Imagination” I was expressing some of my deepest, darkest feelings. These feelings are temporary. Emotions seem part of the human existence that most of do not entirely escape. We can try. We can stuff them and they may later manifest as illness. We can suffocate them with alcohol or drugs. We can avoid them by keeping busy and never finding true happiness. However, the feelings may remain within stifling your freedom.
Spiritual teaches often preach that one must be with the emotion, feel it, surrender to it, AND THEN it dissipates. The pain and hurt or anger and frustration will literally melt away if you can just allow those feeling to be what they are: A temporary feeling of emotion as a  spirit has a human experience.
When the cloudy gray sky lifts, the sun shines. There is clarity, peace, and love. It is where the darkness disappears and the light shines. It is from this stand point that you have freedom. Freedom To Be. We should spend our time surrounded by people that support the light that we bring to the world. We should spend our time doing the things we love and using our God given gifts for the good of all.
My experience has been that in the most difficult and challenging situations it was then that I found strength I did not know I had. It was then that I evolved and learned what I really needed to do. In my spiritual quest to understand human suffering, I learned that one must experience that which they do not want in order to know what they do want. You would not know the light if you did not have the dark is a phrase often used to explain such events.
I believe that we incarnate into a body on this earth with a few specific plans. I believe we choose another soul to help us to experience the opposite of what we want so that we can then choose to do something different. Imagine a tragic event, for example school shootings. Because of these event countless people will be inspired to do something good. They will be inspired to help change the world. The darkness will bring the light.
I am sure we have the creative power to create a world through God  that does not require  suffering. However, at this stage of our evolution we have some room for improvement on how to accomplish such a task. I do pray for a world filled with people feeling joy, peace and most importantly love. Perhaps if we all spent more time just Being and feeling those feelings? Maybe then we would not even notice the darkness, maybe then only the light would exists?
Amy McCae 