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Faster Deeper Calm
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Faster Deeper Calm
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© 2015 Tom Cronin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by
any information or retrieval, without prior permission in
writing from the publisher. Under the Australian
Copyright Act 1968, a maximum of one chapter or 10
percent of the book, whichever is greater, may be
photocopied by any educational institution for its
educational purposes provided that the education
institution has given a remuneration notice to Copyright
Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
First published in 2015 by The Stillness Project
33 Hall St
Bondi NSW 2026
Editing Miriam Sanua
Photography Tessa Tran
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DISCLAIMER
The content of this book is to serve as a guide to assist
in the relief from anxiety and panic attacks. The author
of this book is not a medical practitioner and is not
qualified to offer medical advice. This book is a
collection of steps the author embraced to overcome
anxiety and panic attacks. You should carry out your
own research and/or seek your own medical advice
before acting or relying on any of the information
displayed in this book. The author, Tom Cronin, and his
related entities, shall not be liable for any damage,
sickness or ill–health that may arise out of your reliance
on the content of this book. You accept sole
responsibility of the outcomes if you choose to embrace
or use these ideas, concepts or steps within the content
of this book.
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Faster Deeper Calm
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Introduction 6
Chapter 1 What Causes Anxiety? 20
Chapter 2 Keep Calm with Meditation 27
Chapter 3 Stretch and Soothe 39
Chapter 4 Work Out to Wind Down 50
Chapter 5 Technology Shutdown 56
Chapter 6 Body Massage & Bath 63
Chapter 7 Bed Time Stories 67
Chapter 8 Lullaby Nightcap 72
Chapter 9 Super Supplements 76
Chapter 10 Things to Avoid 83
Chapter 11 Mindfulness 91
Chapter 12 Nourish and Nurture 97
Conclusion a Calm Life 104
About the author 108
Acknowledgements 110
Personal Message from Tom 112
Path to Peace 114
Spirit and Soul 114
Faster Deeper Sleep 114
Insights Book 114
Faster Deeper Calm
Table of Contents
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Introduction
“I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it
seems. Nothing is worth diminishing your
health. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself
into stress, anxiety and fear.”
― Steve Maraboli
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Y ou are probably reading this because you have
experienced the crushing feeling of anxiety or
panic attacks. No doubt you are all too familiar with the
overwhelming feeling of dread, nausea and loathing. It
is difficult for those who have not ever felt anxiety or
panic to fully grasp the sensation of the debilitating fear
that sweeps through your body. But for those of us that
have, you are not alone. Anxiety and panic attacks affect
many people‟s lives. In fact you have something in
common with nearly a third of the population!
The Anxiety and Depression Association of
America states that anxiety disorders cost the US more
than $42 billion a year. In Australia it is estimated by
Beyond Blue, that 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men will
suffer anxiety. In the United States, anxiety disorders
are the most common of all mental health disorders. So
as you can see, you are not alone in experiencing anxiety
or panic.
As common as anxiety is, it doesn‟t mean you
don‟t feel lonely going through it. I was just like
thousands of others who have suffered with anxiety - I
kept it to myself. There is a great deal of stigma attached
to anxiety, and for this reason the majority of people
Introduction
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don‟t share their experience with it. For the many years I
suffered anxiety, I didn‟t dare tell anyone for fear of
being judged. Interestingly, when I started talking about
it publicly, people approached me and felt comfortable
enough to share their experience of suffering with
anxiety as well. It‟s time we release the stigma
associated with anxiety, and bring this out in the open.
This is how change is inspired. The first step in the
process is to acknowledge that it‟s there. This is the key
to healing.
Some people can be experiencing anxiety
without even knowing they have it. I was one of those
people. I had no idea what a panic attack was. All I
knew was that I would feel waves of dread and nausea,
be short of breath, and experience tingling skin. I wanted
to withdraw and hide away from the world, and the
anxiety zapped my confidence. It wasn‟t until I was
diagnosed and had a name given to this condition did I
truly understand it. For that reason I have outlined some
of the symptoms of anxiety and panic:
Feelings of panic, fear or uneasiness
Poor sleep or insomnia
Fidgety, or unable to sit still
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Heart palpitations
Tingling in the hands and body
Nausea
Dizziness
Short of breath
Dry mouth
Hot flushes or chills
A common belief for those who are finally
diagnosed is they believe they are destined for a life of
anxiety. Well I have some very good news for you! You
can overcome anxiety and panic, and experience a calm
and peaceful life in a very short period of time. YES!!
It‟s true.
How do I know?
Not only did these methods mentioned here in
this book cure my anxiety and panic – they have cured
hundreds of students as well. This book is a simple,
practical guide sharing a holistic approach to living
calmly. Within this book is the key to a life without
panic and anxiety. It‟s important to understand that we
aren‟t curing anxiety and panic in this book – we are
restoring balance to your mind and body. When mind
Introduction
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and body are balanced, the imbalance of anxiety and
panic will dissolve.
I personally battled severe anxiety and
eventually panic attacks for many years. At the time I
was working in a high–pressure job as a bond broker.
Each day I traded millions and sometimes billions of
dollars in swaps and bonds on global markets. Trading
was fast and furious!
I worked for the world‟s largest interdealer
company called ICAP. The job involved split–second
decision making that if wrong, could cost the trader
millions of dollars. I was on a trading floor of over 100
people, 90% men, yelling and screaming to buy and sell
bonds, swaps, bills or currencies. By day‟s end, my
mind would be racing at a million miles an hour. My
nervous system was frazzled and my body hyper–
stimulated. When trading day came to a close, night
after night we hit the bars and clubs until the early hours
of the morning – celebrating our successes or drowning
out our failures. Let‟s just say, I became super–stressed,
and the symptoms of imbalance started to show.
It began with insomnia at night, feeling restless
during the day, with some mild anxiety. Most nights it
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took me one to two hours to fall asleep. I would
periodically wake up around 2 or 3am most nights and
struggle to go back to sleep. Little did I realise the
impact this was having on me. As time went by, my
emotional and mental state started to deteriorate. I was
constantly fidgeting, and found it hard to sit still. Little
things like doors slamming, or a sudden surprise would
make me jump a foot high.
Eventually waves of dread, loathing and fear
began to consume me. I had no idea what it was other
than the fact my mouth was dry, I was nauseous, tingly,
had a knot in my stomach, and would curl up in a ball on
my bed or the floor waiting for it to pass. Sometimes
episodes lasted a few seconds or minutes, other times it
would be with me for hours.
This continued on for a few years without my
seeking any professional help to resolve the issue. I
would wait for the dreadful experience to pass, then get
back to doing more of the same as if nothing had
happened. The attacks would come at random times;
either at my parents‟ farm, on holidays, or sitting on a
plane. Episodes began to increase, becoming frequently
more common in the mornings when I woke up.
Introduction
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Eventually attacks came with greater intensity and
regularity every single morning before work. This wave
of fear would sweep over me while I was lying in bed.
The idea of getting out of bed, leaving the house and
going to work on the trading floor was excruciatingly
fearful. Still, I climbed out of bed and pushed myself
through it.
That was until one day. One day something happened
that changed everything. I call it my bifurcation point.
This is an engineering term where something either
breaks down, or evolves to a new level. I had arrived at
a juncture in my life. What was about to happen next
was the most significant moment of my life.
That day was in February 1996. I woke to a
balmy summer‟s morning. The air was warm and thick
with moisture. I felt clammy, hot with pins–and–needles
tingling all over. The anxiety that I woke to was stronger
than usual – stronger than I had ever felt before. I
crawled out of bed, made my way to the bathroom, and
while brushing my teeth, I recalled that I had a huge
client lunch that day with 5 traders from a large foreign
investment bank. I thought to myself in that moment,
“How will I get through that lunch without one of those
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waves of panic?” Then it hit me! A tsunami of fear and
dread washed through my entire body. My vision went
blurry. I couldn‟t breathe. My body went cold, and I
began to sweat. I felt weak and needed to vomit. I
couldn‟t stand up and collapsed onto the cold hard tiles
of the bathroom floor. Was I dying? There was a weird
sensation, part of me afraid I was dying, and part of me
hoping anything would happen to stop this unbearable
experience. A desperate plea welled up from deep inside
– please, let me die right here and now. I couldn‟t take it
anymore.
Well, I didn‟t die. Although I didn‟t make it to
the client lunch that day either. In fact I didn‟t make it to
work for a while after that day. With some help, I
managed to get to a doctor that morning. The doctor told
me that I was experiencing panic attacks and having a
nervous breakdown and that he would send me to a very
experienced psychiatrist that day. What? Me?? Nervous
breakdown? ?? I couldn‟t believe it. This sent me down
deeper into a spiral. I remember leaving his clinic that
hot summer morning, and walked into a side lane in
Bondi. I sat at the kerb of the street, put my head in my
hands and cried for about 30 minutes. A mad–man,
babbling incoherently and uncontrollably in the street,
Introduction
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would be an apt description of how I felt and how I must
have looked to passers–by.
The leading psychiatrist in Sydney suggested I
take anti–depressants called Zoloft. After the second
session he said I had a stressful nature and increased my
dosage. After my third session with this gentleman – his
room filled with plaques and certificates of
accreditation, I decided not to go back. I felt deep down,
maybe at a soul level, that this was not the path for me. I
felt there had to be another way other than being told my
nature is stressful and I need drugs to exist! There HAD
to be another way.
Einstein once said that insanity was “doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting different
results.” Well that‟s what I was starting to
experience…insanity! I realised it was time to live my
life differently. I had to change my paradigm. I couldn‟t
keep living like I was and expect anything to change.
With a series of adjustments to my lifestyle, very
quickly amazing results began to appear.
After a few weeks of embracing these changes,
the anxiety and panic attacks would fade away. It was
incredible! I felt calm, restful, happy and healthy! The
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insomnia went away. The panic attacks abated, and the
dark depression lifted. After a few weeks I returned to
the very same job as a broker in finance. Sure there was
some stress and some anxiety at times, but it was a new
world for me. I was never going back to that way of
living again. My life continued to change and become
lighter, calmer and happier. I even continued on as a
broker doing the same job for the same company for
another 16 years! No drinking, no drugs, going to bed
early and very little stress. I became one of the leading
bond and swap brokers in the Australian finance market
and left at the height of my career as a healthy, happy
and successful person to create The Stillness Project.
It sounds too good to be true I know. Yet it is
true. Of course, it required some discipline, and there
were times when I fell down, times that challenged me,
but as time progressed, so too did my life. All it took to
correct the imbalance was following a few simple steps
for the anxiety and panic attacks to depart. It wasn‟t the
job itself that was stressful, it was decisions that I was
making while I was in the job that were leading to a
stress response in my body.
Introduction
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Now I live an incredibly peaceful, vibrant and
dynamic life. I travel the world as a keynote speaker.
Can you imagine; from panic attacks and agoraphobia,
unable to leave my house, to travelling the world and
speaking on stage in front of 400–500 people! I host
retreats, run meditation workshops, and provide
corporate coaching programs. All of this can be put
down to the steps outlined through the following pages.
You too can experience a shift in your life if you follow
these few simple recommendations outlined in this
book.
In the chapters ahead, you will explore the
changes I made in my life that led me to completely cure
myself of anxiety and panic attacks. Many of these steps
have been supported by scientific research and will lead
you to a life that is confident, vibrant, calm and happy.
Of course, embracing all of these in one go is near
impossible. Let‟s face it, we are creatures of habit, and I
understand how challenging it is for us to embark on a
path of change. With this, I will outline many things that
you can do to remove your anxiety and panic. You may
take up one or two of them, and over time you may
embrace them all. Either way, the guidelines are here for
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you to refer back to whenever you feel compelled and
ready.
In this book you will explore:
Deep Calm, using meditation to calm that
monkey mind and restore balance to the nervous
system
Stretch and Soothe, how yoga and stretching
will calm your nervous system and release daily
tension
Work Out And Wind Down, how physical
exercise will burn up excess adrenalin and assist
with calming the body
Technology Shutdown, why turning off your
computers, phones, TV‟s and games by 10pm
will help calm the mind and body
Body Massage and Bath, how to prepare for
bed with this self massage and bath sequence
Bed Time Stories, why reading positive
uplifting books before bed are great for the mind
Lullaby Nightcap, an ancient bedtime drink
formula that is sure to put you to sleep and calm
the nerves
Introduction
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Super Supplements, why these supplements
will be key to freedom from anxiety
Things To Avoid, why certain things in our
diets are causing havoc on our body and mind
Mindfulness, how to master your mind and
reshape the way you think
Nourish And Nurture, why keeping your body
nourished and satiated will help prevent anxiety
As you already know, anxiety is an incredibly
debilitating experience. It can affect every area of your
life; from your career, relationships, finances, health and
much more. Many people feel there is no hope, that they
are sentenced to a life of experiencing anxiety, and “it‟s
just the way they are.”
The wonderful news is that you‟re here now
reading this, which would mean that you are ready to do
something for yourself. You are now ready to enjoy a
life without anxiety, without panic, and where you move
through each day fearlessly and calmly.
The biggest challenge you will face is embracing
change. Know that you are already leaping over that
hurdle by the mere fact that you are reading this book.
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You are saying to yourself: “I am ready for change, and
I know I can do this.”
AND YOU WILL!
Anxiety is the cue you needed to make
adjustments in your daily habits, and this book is a
simple no–frills guide to the transformation that will
empower you to live a calm life.
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CHAPTER 1
What Causes Anxiety?
“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life,
live in the moment, live in the breath.”
― Amita Ray
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T he interesting thing about a calm life is that we
can‟t make ourselves live calmly. We can‟t force
it or talk our body into it. Calmness is a spontaneous
result of your body effortlessly doing what it does when
it is restored to balance. This effortless way of living
will occur when the mind is calm, the nervous system is
relaxed and the body is healthy. The guidelines ahead
will help you achieve that state of being.
Most people are treating or masking anxiety with
tablets while ignoring the state of the mind, body or
lifestyle. Anxiety and panic attacks are the symptom,
and treating the symptom is not the answer. This book is
about going to the cause. When we treat the cause, the
symptoms will naturally fall away. What needs to be
addressed is why the nervous system, the mind and body
are not functioning calmly.
The primary cause of anxiety and panic attacks is
stress. The World Health Organisation says stress is an
epidemic of the 21st century. Dr Bruce Lipton of
Stanford University Medical School, wrote in a paper in
1998 that stress is the cause of 95% of all sickness.
Today‟s world is so frenetic and hectic that our mind
and body are struggling to cope with these demands. To
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get through the busy–ness of each day, our body has to
pump us with activity enhancing biochemicals like
adrenalin, cortisol, and norepinephrine. These
biochemicals are usually released into our system under
fight–or–flight circumstances, like running from a sabre
tooth tiger or fighting a marauding tribe. However in
today‟s world, the same result in our body can be caused
by running late for a meeting, deadlines at work,
skipping meals, going through a relationship break–up,
working out too hard, or we simply stay up too late
consistently tapped in to technology.
To cope with these demands, our body has to
release these biochemicals so that it can stay alert and
safe. The design of the body, although complex with its
trillions of cells and neural pathways, is also very
simple. It‟s either in fight/flight response or rest and
digest response. Rest and digest is when the body
restores balance and repairs from the intense demands
that have been placed upon it. This is known as the
sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic
nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system mode
is a state our body goes into when it is in a life–
threatening situation. This is a function designed for
What Causes Anxiety
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self–preservation – one of our inbuilt survival
mechanisms.
The parasympathetic nervous system is when the
body winds down and restores balance. In the past and
in ancient times, we would spend a lot more time sitting
around in nature resting during the day. Come nightfall,
most tribal cultures would go to sleep and rest through
the night. This provided ample time for the body to
operate in parasympathetic nervous system mode
restoring balance. In today‟s world however, we are
spending less time in this restful state, and increasing the
level of stimulation in our lives.
Adding to these huge demands placed on our
body is an increase in mental stimulation. Never before
have we had to process as much information as we do
today. From the moment we wake up to the moment we
go to bed at night, we are consuming data through smart
phones, tablets, computers, TV, and newspapers. We‟ve
only had access to smartphones since 2007, which isn‟t
long for our minds and nervous systems to be exposed to
a whole new phenomenon of processing information
available wherever we go. Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, emails, sms, Whatsapp, Voxer, newsfeeds,
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after newsfeeds, are continuously stimulating our minds
each and every day now. You only have to watch people
on trains, in parks, on beaches, even walking down the
street these days, to see how addicted we have become
to our smartphones.
We are entering into a whole new realm of
mental over–stimulation, and the consequences are
minds that simply don‟t know how to stop or switch off.
Because of this, anxiety is at an all–time high as
reported by the National Institute of Mental Health, with
over 40 million Americans alone being affected by it.
Anxiety and panic is a function of the body
operating in fight/flight mode when there is no need for
the body to be in this state. Fight/flight is a relevant
function for life–threatening situations; however running
late for a meeting, breaking up with a partner, or dealing
with deadlines for work doesn‟t warrant that level of
fear in the body.
When the body is in the fear state, incredible things
begin to occur. Some of the changes that happen in the
body during fight/flight are:
The blood starts to thicken to prevent it gushing out
if you are stabbed or bitten
What Causes Anxiety
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Your breathing becomes fast and shallow to absorb
more oxygen into your body
Your body will store fat cells in case you are unable
to eat food for a period of time
Your body releases cortisol, adrenalin and
norapenephrine to enable you to move quickly
Blood sugar levels increase to fuel your body for fast
activity
You reduce biochemicals like melatonin; the
chemical that supports sleep, seratonin for
happiness, and oxytocin for love
Your digestive system shuts down to conserve fuel
These bodily responses are all perfectly designed to
help you escape from danger, however this can also be
occurring in your body when you are caught in a traffic
jam and running late for work. When we have extended
periods of fight/flight, this can eventually develop into
anxiety and panic attacks.
Our body starts to misinterpret circumstances
and we experience these symptoms every day. Small
things like going to a client lunch, getting a gas bill,
being in a shopping mall, or even a family dinner can
trigger symptoms.
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Technology isn‟t going to go away. The pace of
life isn‟t going to slow down. Our lives aren‟t going to
return back to roaming the open plains and resting most
of the day and night. We can however, function
successfully, calmly and without anxiety and panic. And
it‟s going to require some changes. It is going to require
a restructuring of our day. Experiencing anxiety is a
symptom, it‟s not the cause.
The cause is what we are addressing here in this
guidebook. You can take all the pills in the world, but if
your nervous system is hyper–stimulated, your body
stored with pent–up energy from stress, and your mind
like a crazy monkey jumping from branch to branch,
then the cause of the anxiety will remain.
So this guidebook is about getting to the source
of the problem and correcting the imbalance. I went
from extreme panic attacks to living a dynamic,
successful and calm life by making a few changes to my
day. Like I said, the steps ahead may seem challenging
to implement all in one go. As you implement them,
notice how you feel. Perhaps you might like to add one
change per week, and build it up by adding more stages
to your life when you feel comfortable. Or if you are
What Causes Anxiety
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ready and find embracing change easily, then try
incorporating all the changes at once. It‟s up to you. See
how you go. If you need to do it bit by bit – that‟s fine.
Whatever level of commitment you take, and
when you are able to follow these guidelines, you will
notice that the anxiety and panic will fade away out of
your life. You will discover a confidence and vibrancy
to life. All those barriers you put up out of fear will
come down. You will live with an exciting fearlessness
that will open up so many amazing experiences. There is
nothing in this life that you can‟t handle. An
empowered, courageous and flowing life is the life you
are born to live.
So let‟s get to it and begin your journey into
living magnificently, calmly and fearlessly!
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CHAPTER 2
Deep Calm with Meditation
“Our anxiety does not come from
thinking about the future, but from
wanting to control it.”
― Kahlil Gibran
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T he first step to living calmly and peacefully in life
is meditating. I tried many things to eradicate
anxiety and panic attacks, however it wasn‟t until I
learnt to meditate, and started meditating twice a day,
did any real deep change occur. It is for this reason I
have meditation as the first step to your life of freedom
from anxiety.
If your mind is running at a million miles an
hour, then your body is going to be hyper–stimulated.
The laws of thermo–dynamics state that as excitation
increases, so too does disorder. On the flip side, as
systems de–excite, then correspondingly, order
increases. Anxiety and panic is a result of disorder, and
for the anxiety to dissolve away, order is required. One
very effective way to return order back to your mind and
body is through experiencing the deep rest achieved in
meditation.
You‟re probably thinking, "Oh no, there‟s no way I
could meditate or still my mind…doesn‟t he know I
have anxiety?” Which is like saying: “Hey, I‟m not
going to the gym, I‟m far too unhealthy!”
It‟s ok though – I was exactly the same. I
thought there was no way I could meditate because my
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mind raced continuously. And yet within one week of
learning a particular style of meditation, I was already
noticing changes in my life! I believe learning this one
deep transcending style of meditation was the most
successful thing I ever did to cure myself of anxiety and
panic.
Meditation isn‟t something we do when we have
a calm mind – meditation leads to a calm mind. I am
starting with this as Step 1 for a specific reason. Einstein
once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same
thinking we used when we created them.”
Our body is a print–out of our mind. Each day our minds
are analysing, processing and digesting copious amounts
of information. The level of data that our minds have to
absorb is increasing at an exponential rate. This is the
prime reason why anxiety is at an all–time high.
Never before have we faced the amount of
mental stimuli than we do today. It was only in 2007
that we had access to a world wide web of information
in the palm of our hand with the advent of the iPhone.
So wherever we went, the information load went with
us. We became addicted, and now wherever we go, on
buses, trains, between meetings, or just sitting in a park,
Deep Calm with Meditation
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we are drawn to and distracted by consuming
information from our smartphones.
Let‟s roll back time. We could go back 1000
years, 500 years, 100 years, or even 20 years ago. How
much information did people have to digest back then?
The Internet or mobile phones didn‟t even exist. You
were not contactable walking out the front door of your
house each morning, until you arrived at work or your
next point of call.
Yet today we fill in all those spaces in our day
with data. Our minds are like mice running the treadmill
scurrying at a rapid pace. We have lost control of the
mind and we don‟t know how to slow it down. With the
mind active – the body is active, and this leads to
imbalance and stress. Mind and body work in tandem,
and in an interconnected framework and state of being.
One affects the other.
Meditation is the tool that will give you control
over that monkey–mind. When the mind becomes still,
your body, being a print–out of the mind, will also drop
into a deep state of rest. It has been proven that with
some meditation techniques, the level of metabolic rest
experienced was up to four times deeper than sleep. It is
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this level of rest that activates a powerful healing
process in the body. In this deep level of rest the body
restores balance and switches out of the sympathetic
nervous system into the parasympathetic nervous
system.
I have my own personal experiences to draw
upon and validate this as you‟ve heard, however I also
have numerous meditation students who have written to
me to share their life–changing experience with the
meditation they learnt with me and how it cured their
anxiety.
Here is one student who wrote to me after using my
meditation program:
“Hi Tom, I want to say a deeply heartfelt thank you for
the meditation journey. During the first days and
weeks I felt a strong difference in daily life– I felt more
at peace and even my anxiety was almost gone. The 20
minutes are peaceful and beautiful and they help me to
calm down and I feel less energy rushes and anxiety.
Thank you so much!” Sarah
I also received an email from Clare, a mother who had
been suffering post–natal depression and anxiety for 2
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years, and she had cured herself after just a couple of
months meditating twice a day. As she says:
“I purchased the 21 Steps To Faster Deeper
Bliss program a couple of months ago and have been
practising meditation twice daily ever since. I am SO
THRILLED with the difference it has made to me after
suffering from post–natal depression and anxiety for
the past two years. I am finally enjoying life again.”
Clare
Then finally this from Brigette. She had been
experiencing extreme panic attacks that were starting to
seriously affect her work as a nurse. She was at a
complete loss and had nowhere to go. This is what she
wrote after completing my meditation course:
“Prior to attending the meditation course with
Tom, I was searching for anything that would cure my
anxiety. I just wanted to enjoy all the beautiful things
in life but felt so consumed by anxiety that I became
too scared to engage with new people or activities. Tom
showed me that there was no need to live in fear. With
the meditation and with Tom’s ongoing guidance and
support, I am now experiencing a life full of light and
harmony. Meditation is for everyone and anyone who
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wants to bring more love and light in their lives, who
want to be able to encounter life pressures with ease.”
Meditation played such a powerful role in
healing me from anxiety and panic attacks that I became
inspired to study to become a meditation teacher, and
pass this on to other people. I studied in India, Bali and
Australia. During my studies, I researched the effects of
meditation on anxiety and panic and found some
incredible results.
In 2014, Dr Madhav Goyal M.D., M.P.H., from
John Hopkins University School of Medicine,
researched the effects of deep relaxation therapies or
meditation on patients suffering with anxiety and panic.
The results were published online in Jan 6, 2014 in
JAMA Internal Medicine, and indicated that patients
saw a reduction in their symptoms while they practiced
meditation.
Goyal said: “In our study, meditation appeared to
provide as much relief from anxiety and depression
symptoms as what other studies have found from anti–
depressants.”
So now we have established how important
meditation is, the next step is to look into how we
Deep Calm with Meditation
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35
meditate. The first step to clarify here is that meditation
is not some woo–woo religious or spiritual practice. You
don‟t have to shave your head, join a religion, and wear
robes or bow down to a shrine. Meditation is a simple
exercise for your mind – just like going to the gym, or
what a jog is for your body.
There are many types of meditation techniques
from breathing, chanting, contemplation, and then the
deeper transcending style meditations. I have been using
deeper style transcending techniques for 20 years, and
found these to be the most effective in helping cure
anxiety and panic. In my travels I have met many people
who have told me they tried meditation on their own and
couldn‟t seem to get the results they were looking for.
Learning to meditate is an important step in your
journey to living a peaceful, restful, happy life. Ideally I
recommend learning the deeper transcending style
meditations using a mantra or sound through a course
with a trained meditation teacher.
If you‟d like to find out more about where or
how you can learn the deeper transcending styles of
meditation, you can head to the back of this book and
watch the three free videos where you will learn more
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36
about it. I also hold weekend courses in Sydney
Australia each month.
If you‟d like to try something really simple though to get
started here are some tips:
1. Sit comfortably upright in chair.
2. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths.
3. Allow your breath to flow naturally, not forced –
just your effortless breath.
4. Draw your attention to the air as it moves through
your nostrils, and slightly cools the skin around the
rim of the nostrils.
5. Keep your attention there for 5–10 minutes. The
mind will wander and drift away, but keep
bringing it back to this single point.
6. After your time is up, just sit for a few moments
and then slowly open your eyes.
This is a very simple meditation exercise that will
help calm the mind. You may find this meditation a bit
challenging as it is not the nature of the mind to be still
and focus on one thing. This is why the transcending
meditations with a mantra are deeper and easier to get
into. However, it is still very beneficial for you to use
this if you‟d like to.
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Once you learn to meditate, it is recommended you
meditate twice a day: once in the morning before
breakfast, and once in the afternoon or early evening
before dinner. Ideally meditate for 15 to 20 minutes each
time.
It‟s important to remember that meditation is as
much a prevention as it is a cure. I don‟t experience any
anxiety or panic in my life now, yet I still meditate twice
a day. Meditation takes a high priority in my life
because it makes the rest of my day so much better.
Now you may be saying to yourself right now,
“There‟s no way I could find the time to fit that in my
day!” Well I understand. I was the same. But that‟s why
I developed my 72/20 method. I realised that each day
has 72 twenty–minute segments to it. Each of those 72
segments are allocated to certain activities like eating,
working, sleeping and playing to create a balanced
fulfilling life. However my 72 segments weren‟t
creating a fulfilling life. In fact the 72 twenty–minute
segments were actually leading to a life of chaos, stress
and panic. Which is why I needed to do something
different with some of those segments. I decided that
each day I would set aside just 2 of those segments to
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meditate, which allowed me to still have another 70 for
all the other activities. I found that not only did the
anxiety and panic go away, but in addition I actually
became more productive, more energised, less stressed
and more successful.
This is the key to experiencing a life without
anxiety. Learn to meditate and set aside 2 segments of
20 minutes each day to meditate. Try this for 21 days
and see how you feel at the end. That‟s just three weeks
of research to discover how it works for you. Like I said,
meditation played the biggest role in my living a calm
life, and that‟s why I put it here as the number 1 step.
However, we are taking a holistic approach here,
and I don‟t believe there is one quick fix. We have some
more recommendations to go through that will really
help you not only eradicate anxiety and panic, but take
your entire life to amazingness! So let‟s get going to the
next recommendation.
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CHAPTER 3
Stretch and Soothe
"Worrying is carrying tomorrow‟s load
with today‟s strength– carrying two
days at once. It is moving into
tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying
doesn‟t empty tomorrow of its sorrow,
it empties today of its strength."
― Corrie ten Boom
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I n today‟s world, we have become very sedentary
beings. That is, we engage in very little movement.
We lie in bed all night, then we sit in a chair all day, we
go home and sit on the sofa, and go back to lying in bed
all night. Our bodies have a very limited range of
movement from lying down, sitting upright and walking.
For most of us there isn‟t a lot of variety in the way our
bodies move. As a result we develop blocked points in
our body, which is like junk that fills a river and blocks
the flow.
Yoga and stretching is a way for you to unblock
your body and open it up so that it is supple, lithe and
flowing with good healthy energy. We tend to have tight
shoulders from hunching over computers, tight neck and
back from built up stress, locked hips and shortened
hamstrings from sitting all day. This tightness in the
body will play a big part in your inability to feel calm.
When your body is soft and relaxed, you reverse the
symptoms of fight/flight and dissolve the anxiety.
Scientific studies have proven that yoga and
stretching greatly assist in the reduction of anxiety and
panic attacks. Researchers in Germany performed a
study on 34 women suffering from anxiety, and had
Stretch and Soothe
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41
them perform a yoga class twice a week for two months.
The result of the study was that the participants had a
significant reduction in perceived levels of anxiety.
Embracing yoga and stretching in your day is
simple and doesn‟t have to take long. I know some
people who do 6 yoga classes a week at a yoga centre,
and I also know people who simply do some stretches a
few minutes a day at home. The choice is yours, so do
your own research as to what works for you.
The key to yoga and stretching is to bring your
mind to your breath during each pose. It is pointless
being able to touch your toes when you are thinking
about all the work you have to do, or whether your
finances are going to be ok. Commit this time to rest and
repair. Surrender the need to think about anything else
other than being here right now in your stretch. By
placing your awareness on the air moving through your
nostrils, you will experience a lot more benefit after
your stretch and feel a lot calmer.
If you‟d like to start out with a gentle stretch
each day I‟d recommend 5–10 minutes before your
morning meditation to unblock some of those stiff joints
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from your night in bed, then 5–10 minutes at night time
before bed.
Your morning session would be a more
invigorating series of stretches, like the sun salutation
that enlivens the body with energy. Each stretch would
be a shorter movement – held for only one or two
breaths before moving into the next pose.
If you‟d like to stretch outdoors in the park, by
the beach or on your deck, and facing the sunrise, you
will feel clearer, awake and more energised very shortly.
You can find my 10–minute morning yoga
sequence by going to www.stillnessproject.com/ store.
This is a vinyasa flow sequence that warms up the body,
tones and stretches all in one. You can do it anywhere as
long as you have a flat surface.
As for your evening session, I would recommend
some gentle stretches before bed for 5–10 minutes. This
is what‟s called yin yoga. These gentle, calmer series of
stretches are held for longer periods of time, again with
your focus being on your breath as you release the
tension from the day. Try turning off all the lights, and
doing it in the dark or with a candle on your lounge
Stretch and Soothe
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43
room floor. If you‟d like to, play some soft peaceful
music while you do this.
Here are 6 poses that will help soothe your mind and
body and lead to a relaxing deep sleep.
1. Butterfly Pose:
Sitting on the floor bring your two soles of your feet
together with knees out wide. Clasp your feet with your
two hands and gently lean forward opening up your
groin. If you‟d like to sit on a blanket to elevate your
body then you can do so. Take deep long breaths. As
you breathe out, slowly lower further into the stretch.
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2. Head to knee pose:
Again remaining seated on the floor, tuck your left foot
into the groin and straighten your right leg. As you
breathe out, reach forward with your two hands leaning
down over your right leg and holding onto the foot. If
you are unable to reach the foot, then use a belt or strap
to wrap it around your foot and hold the strap. As you
release your breath, slowly lower forward each time.
Then swap legs and work the other side.
Stretch and Soothe
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3. Wide Angle Seated Forward Bend:
Sitting on the floor, extend your legs out wide into a „V‟
in front of you. Support yourself by placing your hands
behind your back as you do this. When you are
comfortable, lean forward with your arms extended out
in front of you. Take deep breaths and slowly lower
yourself down.
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4. Seated Forward Bend:
Sitting on the floor, bring your legs directly out in front
of you. Keeping spine upright, take a deep breath in and
slowly on the out breath, lower your body forward and
reach out to hold your feet with your hands. If you are
unable to hold your feet you may use a strap or a belt.
Lower your head down into your legs and slow your
breath down.
Stretch and Soothe
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5. Reclined Twist:
Lying on your back, raise your knees with your shins
parallel to the floor. Place your arms out wide and drop
your knees to your right, while twisting your head to the
left. When you have held this pose for a few minutes,
change sides.
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6. Legs Up The Wall Pose:
Move close to a blank wall, lying on your back and
getting your bottom as close to the wall as possible.
Then raise your legs up the wall and remain still for up
to 5 minutes.
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These poses are gentle and soothing, designed to
calm your nervous system. If you‟d like to take your
yoga to the next level, then look up your local yoga
centre online and search for their yin yoga classes. If
they aren‟t currently offering yin yoga, ask if they would
consider putting some yin classes on. Yin yoga is
becoming more popular as our society becomes more
stressed and anxious.
Ok, so we have meditated and we have stretched,
now it‟s time to get things moving and energised!
Sounds like the complete opposite to what we have just
been going through, and in a way, it actually is. Let‟s
move on to the next step where we are going to burn off
some excess built up energy!
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CHAPTER 4
Work Out to Wind Down
“We only live a few conscious decades,
and we fret ourselves enough for several
lifetimes."
― Christopher Hitchens
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W e‟ve mentioned a lot about being still and
stretching – well now we are going to go to the
other end of the spectrum. It‟s time to get active! Like I
mentioned in the previous chapter, in today‟s world we
have come to live very sedentary lives: we go from bed
to work, then from work to home on the sofa and then
back to bed. Even getting to and from these places more
often than not involves sitting down and not moving on
public transport or in our cars.
This level of immobility is leading to pent–up
energy that has little to no release. With the increased
stress in our lives comes an increase in adrenalin and
cortisol in our body. A great way to release this buildup
of stress chemicals in our body is to exercise. Putting
your body through a healthy physical work–out is
beneficial not just for eliminating anxiety, but also on so
many other levels.
1. It burns up and removes toxins in the body
2. It reduces blood pressure
3. It builds the heart muscle
4. It strengthens the lungs
5. It develops muscle tissue
6. It alleviates stress
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7. It enhances moods
8. It boosts the immune system
Our bodies are a 200,000–year–old design that was
built for movement. We were made for moving across
plains and fields foraging for food. The immobile
lifestyle we live today has had an effect on our bodies,
and studies have shown that some exercise each day can
help alleviate anxiety.
Jasper Smits, PhD, Co–Director of the Anxiety
Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, wanted to test whether regular
workouts might help people prone to anxiety become
less likely to panic when they experience those fight–or–
flight sensations. They tested this idea using 60
volunteers with sensitivity to anxiety. Subjects who
participated in a two–week exercise program showed
significant improvements in anxiety sensitivity
compared with a control group (Depression and
Anxiety, 2008). The findings suggest that physical
exercise could help to ward off panic attacks.
Some simple exercise routines can be a brisk walk
outdoors, swimming, bike riding, or if you are confined
to indoors due to cold or wet weather, try squats,
Work Out to Wind Down
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pushups, dips on the back of the chair, and lunges.
Another option is to set up a chin–up bar in your door
jam and do some chin–ups every few days. If you find
the chin–ups too challenging, then place a chair under
your feet and support yourself while you perform them.
These are all simple exercises that don‟t require
personal trainers, gyms or fancy expensive equipment. If
you‟d like to take it a bit further you can join a gym and
seek professional help with a personal trainer.
Either way, setting aside a period of time each day
or every second day for some form of physical exercise
will do wonders for your sleep. This doesn‟t include
running for a bus when you are late for work. (This is
hyper stimulation and adding stress to your system.)
What we are talking about here is a set period of time
put aside in your day to burn up some of that excess
nervous tension, cortisol and adrenalin that causes
anxiety.
So give it a try, and set yourself a schedule each
week. It doesn‟t have to be hours of exercise; it can be
as much as 20 minutes in the morning or afternoon. One
thing to remember, try to avoid exercising late at night.
After dinner the body is digesting and then preparing for
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54
bed. So exercising at night will stimulate your body and
can affect your sleep cycle.
The ideal time for exercise would be in the
morning when you have lots of energy, or early evening
before dinner. If you are going to exercise first thing in
the morning, be sure to have some fluids and possibly a
small snack. Otherwise the body will be forced to
exercise when it is thirsty and hungry, which confuses
the body, which may interpret this as a stressful
situation. So upon waking have a large glass of warm
water (ideally with a dash of apple cider vinegar or a
squeeze of lemon or lime in it), and a small snack of
fruit, avocado, or a boiled egg. This will provide the
body with some fuel for your workout, and prevent the
body from panicking due to being hungry.
So far we have talked about meditation,
stretching and exercise, and I bet you‟re wondering
„where am I going to find the time for all this?‟ Well I‟m
sure you have a busy life just like I do, and I know how
challenging it may be for you to find the time to add
these recommendations to your day. Here‟s the
interesting thing though; by changing your routine just
slightly (and when I say slightly, these previous
Work Out to Wind Down
Faster Deeper Calm
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recommendations could be as little as 20 to 30 minutes
of your time), and adding just a little bit more into your
day –– morning or evening; you will start sleeping
better, have less to no anxiety, more energy, and you‟ll
be a lot more productive. This next step will help you a
lot with finding more time in your day! Let‟s face it, we
all have 24 hours in our day – it‟s what we do with that
24 hours that counts. Let‟s move on to the next step and
see how effectively we can make our day.
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CHAPTER 5
Technology Shutdown
“I have always felt that fear possesses such
great power, enough to paralyze and quake an
individual. Pondering this, I realised that the
source of fear‟s power comes from within me.
So I ask myself, does that not make me the
powerful one?"
― Richard E. Goodrich
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I f you are a Facebook addict or love staying up late
at night playing computer games, there is a good
chance you may not like this step. It‟s time to put a
curfew on technology in the home, and guess what, it
starts at 10pm! Hey, I‟m being kind – ideally it would be
best if it was 9.30pm!
It has been scientifically proven that if we go to
sleep for 8 hours between 10pm and 6am we have more
energy and feel more rested than if we had 8 hours sleep
from 1am to 9am. Why is this? Circadian rhythms.
Circadian rhythms are explained by Wikipedia to be:
“Physical, mental and behavioural changes
that follow a roughly 24–hour cycle, responding
primarily to light and darkness in an organism's
environment. They are found in most living things,
including animals, plants and many tiny microbes.”
Each day has a rhythm, which is like an energy
flow. It starts just before sunrise with a burst of energy
as life starts to stir. Animals and birds are waking up,
the sun is about to rise, and dawn appears. This is a
wonderful time of the day to rise up and get moving.
Energy flows as the day progresses. By around 2 or 3pm
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the day starts to slow down. You will find that you may
feel sluggish, heavy or tired around this time of the day.
It‟s the time where office workers all head down to the
coffee carts to get some caffeine and sugar to lift their
energy levels. In some countries it‟s when they actually
take a rest and replenish their energy levels in the form
of a siesta.
Then between 4pm to 8pm a new burst of energy
will come through and you will feel the fatigue pass
away. This is a time for exercise and eating dinner. Our
digestion is strong, our body is enlivened and we are
wide awake.
As the sun sets and the night is drawing upon us,
our energy levels will start to drop off again around 9 or
10pm. This is the ideal time to go to bed. Our society
has changed dramatically in the last 10–20 years with
technological developments. Now we have a saturation
of information that keeps us constantly stimulated and
engaged with things like Facebook, emails, Twitter,
computer games and chat rooms.
Many of us have switched off to our body‟s
needs, and are ignoring the fatigue that is telling us to go
to sleep. Our minds are addicted to the quick fix of
Technology Shutdown
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59
information. This constant digestion of data habitually
stimulates our nervous systems and minds, leaving us in
a state of anxiety. Our minds and bodies aren‟t made for
that high level of stimulation. There is a correlation to
the huge increase in anxiety and panic, and the increased
usage of technology.
You will require a great deal of discipline, and if
you adhere to this routine of turning off all technology
(i.e. internet, TV, radio and music) by 10pm and going
to bed, you will notice a vast improvement in your sleep
patterns and correspondingly your level of calm. If you
are still awake much after 10.30pm, you will find you
move into the next phase of the cycle and experience
what people call „a second wind‟. The reason for this is
that you are again moving into another phase of the 24–
hour cycle, and surprisingly there is more energy in this
cycle again around 11pm–2am which will keep you
awake.
Your body loves routine. If you keep to the
routine of going to sleep around 10pm each night and
waking around 6am, you will find that your sleep
becomes regulated and consistent. Avoid sleeping in as
much as possible. Our bodies prefer to wake up as the
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sun rises. As much as this may seem like a real
challenge at first, once you establish a routine of going
to bed early and waking up early, you will sleep a lot
better, be calmer, and also feel a lot more energised
during the day. Like I mentioned, this will be a
challenge for many who have been pulled into the lure
of surfing the net all night long, or watching late night
movies and then sleeping in until 11am!
I used to stay up late partying and entertaining
clients. I would be awake in noisy stimulating
environments way past midnight – sometimes till 2 or
3am. I would have 3–4 hours‟ sleep then get up and go
to work again. This level of fatigue was one of the main
reasons for my anxiety and panic. When I made a
commitment to be in bed by 10pm most nights, a big
shift occurred in my life: I slept better, woke up feeling
refreshed, had more time to meditate and do yoga, the
anxiety dissolved and my overall life improved
dramatically.
Try this out for a few weeks, notice how you will
be sleeping a whole lot better and feeling much happier
and healthier in life. Be consistent with your daily cycle.
Go to bed around the same time each night, and notice
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61
how you fall asleep a lot more easily. The catch is, yes,
you will have to pull yourself away from those
Facebook feeds and switch off all technology by 10pm
at the latest.
If you do leave your phone on for your morning
alarm clock, then switch it to silent or airplane mode.
This is essential for a deep sleep where the repair to your
nervous system occurs. Those messages will be there for
you in the morning. Your high priority during the night
time is that you sleep well. You know what life is like
when you don‟t get enough sleep, right? Tired, stressed,
anxious, unhealthy...the list goes on. This is your life
and you are worthy of feeling great every day! Your
friends and colleagues will just have to understand that
you didn‟t need to respond to their message at 2.30am! I
understand how challenging that might be for many
people; even I feel compelled to answer just one more
email or post one more tweet, and I also know that if I
stick to my schedule, I feel great the next day!
Ok, so that was the part that most people won‟t
enjoy. This next step, however, is a lot more enjoyable.
Think of this next step as your reward for turning your
phone and computer off at 9.30pm! It‟s time to soak into
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a deep warm bath and pamper yourself! Let‟s check out
Step 5.
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CHAPTER 6
Body Massage & Bath
"Each moment of worry, anxiety or stress
represents lack of faith in miracles, for they
never cease."
― T.F. Hodge
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A dmittedly this may sound like a strange
combination, however it is a very with
lavender oil drops. This wonderfully relaxing
combination of massage sooths your nervous system,
and the lavender bath takes you into an even deeper
relaxation.
Ayurveda is an ancient science of the body and
life. In Ayurveda they use a process of self–massage
each day with sesame oil to calm the nervous system
and keep grounded. This is called „abhyanga‟. By
performing abhyanga just prior to a warm lavender bath
at night time, you will find that your whole body
becomes soft and relaxed before bed. This will be a very
powerful step in your calming process.
To perform abhyanga, ideally use a cold pressed
organic sesame oil. You can also try ordering abhyanga
massage oils online. Most supermarkets sell organic
cold pressed sesame oil these days.
Before you begin your massage start to fill your
bath with warm water. Add a few drops of
lavender oil into your water while it is filling up.
Some studies have been performed on the effect
of lavender oil for relaxation, and it has been
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proven to be beneficial. Professor Lewith, from
Southampton General Hospital, investigated the
effects of lavender aromatherapy on depressed
mood and anxiety in female patients being
treated with anxiety. The effects of aromatherapy
were measured using the Hamilton rating scale
for anxiety (HAMA). Lavender aroma
significantly decreased the mean scores of
HAMA, suggesting an effective means of
treating patients with anxiety.
Back to the abhyanga: Standing on an old towel in case
you spill some oil, pour small doses of oil into your
hand and start to massage each section of your body
while your bath is filling up. Work the oil over your
arms, legs, torso, neck, shoulders and face and scalp. As
you apply the oil, be sure to give your muscles and
joints a good thorough massage. Once you have covered
and massaged your body then it‟s time to soak in your
bath.
For best results, keep the overhead lights of your
bathroom turned off, and light a single candle to keep
the stimulus low. Remember, everything we do before
bed is designed to reduce stimulation of our nervous
Body Massage & Bath
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system and mind. This warm lavender bath and
abhyanga will sooth your muscles and nervous system.
What a great way to finish your day! By the time you
slide in between the sheets, you‟ll already be on your
way to a deep restorative sleep!
If you don‟t have a bath, then the oil massage and a
warm shower will also work. The hot water and steam
on your skin will help the softening effect of the oil on
your skin and nervous system.
Now if you can still keep your eyes open at this stage,
you may like to consider reading before lights out. This
takes us to the next step…Bed Time Stories!
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CHAPTER 7
Bed Time Stories
“There is a time for many words,
and there is also a time for sleep.”
― Homer
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B y the time you‟ve meditated, stretched, turned
off your internet and had your delicious massage
and bath, you may want to just slide into bed and roll
over into a deep sleep. However you may also feel like
reading a book to help your eyes and mind become
sleepier. Reading before sleep time can be quite
effective for helping you to drift off into deep sleep. I
read most nights before sleep, and I find after about 3
pages I‟m already nodding off to sleep!
One thing I need to mention here about reading
before bed, is that it‟s not recommended to read a scary
or action–packed novel that will have your body pulsing
with energy and excitement! Remember, this is about
reducing the level of stimulation in your mind and body.
So you will need to be selective about which books you
read.
Buddha once said: “The mind is everything.
What we think we become.” So where your mind goes
before bed is a very important way to end the day.
Choose books that will leave your mind with positive
impressions before it goes into a deep sleep. I
recommend self–help books, or books that will improve
your life in some way, like spiritual texts and
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motivational books. For some recommended reading
refer to our store at www.stillnessproject.com/store.
Other things to read could be a set of
affirmations that you have written. This reprogramming
of your mind with uplifting thoughts will help you feel
more positive, confident and enthusiastic for life. Our
mind is like a software and often it runs with very
outdated data. When old thoughts that are filled with
fear and worry travel through our brain, it leaves
impressions in our body that result in anxiety. Now is
the time to upgrade the software and operate with more
positive thoughts. This re–programming takes time. Our
mind can become very conditioned to think negatively.
This habitual way of thinking is known in sanskrit as
vasanas. Vasanas are tendencies of the mind or habitual
patterns of thinking. Some of this programming can
come from your parents, your peers, colleagues, or it
might just be a pattern that you developed yourself.
Now is the time to correct these vasanas and
create new habits of thought. Make your new patterns of
thinking positive, courageous and inspiring. Your daily
meditations will help you with this process. Meditation
helps clear the static and old thought patterns. A lot of
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our belief systems are buried deep in our
subconsciousness and hard to access. By meditating we
can get down deeper into that realm of thought and
upgrade these old patterns. That‟s why saying
affirmations after your meditation is another very
effective time to be doing them. The mind is now clear
like a blank canvas and you are ready to paint a new
picture for your life.
Affirmations are always statements about the
NOW. When you say the affirmations, spend a moment
there and go deep into the feeling of what it is like to be
that right now. Some examples would be:
I am abundant
I am fearless
I am healthy
I am calm
I am love
I am light
You could come up with your own affirmations
and keep them by your bedside to go over each night
and each morning.
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By now you will be well and truly on your way
to a calmer happier life. However, if you‟d like to try a
couple of extra steps to really help you get across the
line, the next 2 steps could be the thing for you. Firstly
in step 7, this bedtime drink is not only great at helping
you fall asleep, but it soothes the nervous system and
also tastes ridiculously good! Check it out in Step 7…
Bed Time Stories
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CHAPTER 8
Lullaby Nightcap
“Remain calm, serene, always in
command of yourself. You will then
find out how easy it is to get along."
― Paramahansa Yogananda
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N o no! I‟m not talking about a shot of whisky
here! A warm hearty milk drink with specific
spices before bed will soothe your body and help it
become grounded and relaxed. Researchers have found
that when milk is heated and drunk with herbs and
spices before bed, the milk‟s bioactive peptides support
deep healthy sleep, help with restoration of the body and
promote relaxation. Admittedly some people, myself
included, try to avoid dairy as much as possible, so some
other alternatives will be nut milks or rice milks.
Making nut milk is really simple as long as you
have a good high–powered blender. Try using organic
almond, macadamia or cashews for your nut milk. For
almond and cashew nuts, I soak the nuts in water
overnight, then rinse and blend them with water the next
day. This is done to firstly wash the phytic acid, which
is a toxin, out of the nuts, and also to activate the nut so
that it enlivens the energy within.
Use a ratio of 1 cup of nuts to 3 cups of water.
With macadamia nuts there is no need to soak them, as
they are a kernel and not a nut – add the 1 cup of
macadamia nuts and 3 cups of water to your blender and
blend until it is a smooth liquid consistency. This nut
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milk has no preservatives, so a word of caution here, this
will only stay fresh for about 3 days. When taking your
time limitations into consideration, you could either
make a small batch regularly, or a large batch to freeze
it.
If you are ok with using dairy – that‟s fine too.
You may wish to try organic dairy milk.
Once you have your milk, warm it up in a
saucepan and add these ingredients:
1⁄4 tsp cardamom
1⁄4 tsp cinnamon
sprinkle of turmeric
1⁄4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp honey, chopped dates or stevia for sweetener
1⁄4 tsp black pepper
sprinkle of saffron
tablespoon of ghee
Stir all these together into the warm milk in your
saucepan until it has a lovely blended consistency. Then
your lullaby nightcap is ready for you to drink. This
drink is very grounding and nurturing for your body, and
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will be a very good lead in to a good night‟s sleep and a
relaxed nervous system.
The next step involves two supplements that
have been proven to help alleviate anxiety. In fact
studies have shown that this one mineral is highly
deficient in our society, which is resulting in increased
levels of anxiety. Let‟s check out step 9.
Lullaby Nightcap
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CHAPTER 9
M & M‟s And The Power
of Q96
"A good laugh and a long sleep are
the best cures in the doctor's book."
― Irish Proverb
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I ‟m not keen on recommending popping pills,
however these herbal supplements are certainly
something that you should keep in your house or take
with you on your travels. I‟m not talking about those
colourful chocolate candies; I‟m talking about
melatonin, magnesium and Q96.
Melatonin is a natural biochemical we produce in our
body that enables us to go to sleep and live calmly.
It‟s been proven that we produce less melatonin
when we are stressed and as we get older. So the key
here is to not just pop a pill of melatonin and continue
living a stressed life. This is why we have listed
melatonin all the way down at Step 9. Our first priority
is to reduce the stress so that we will naturally produce
more melatonin and naturally fall asleep and naturally
feel calmer. However there may be times when you need
a little support to help you drift off to sleep with
something natural like melatonin.
This can be useful if:
you are flying and find yourself in different time
zones
you attended a function that finished late at night
and your body is still quite stimulated
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It‟s a full moon. (Yes! This might be an odd one to
mention, but often on a full moon night you may
find it a little difficult to drop into sleep.)
Numerous studies have reported benefits of
taking melatonin, including reversing ageing and
reducing anxiety. Cochrane Research, led by Dr Hansen
M.V., conducted 12 studies involving 770 patients
testing the use of melatonin for reducing the symptoms
of anxiety in patients before and after operations. The
evidence revealed that melatonin was effective in
reducing the severity of anxiety in adults.
You can buy melatonin online or in some countries from
your local pharmacies. In Australia, melatonin requires a
prescription, however there are websites where you can
buy it online. I personally don‟t recommend becoming
dependant on melatonin. I rarely use it even though it
has many benefits. I do keep some at home in my fridge,
and when travelling I use it as a back–up plan.
Another supplement that will help you sleep well
at night and reduce anxiety is magnesium. Studies have
shown that many people suffer from a deficiency of
magnesium, which leads to poor sleep and increased
anxiety.
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“Magnesium deficiency can produce symptoms
of anxiety or depression, including muscle weakness,
fatigue, eye twitches, insomnia, anorexia, apathy,
apprehension, poor memory, confusion, anger,
nervousness, and rapid pulse.” Carolyn Dean MD ND
Magnesium plays an important role in our body
feeling relaxed and calm. You can get magnesium in
almonds, leafy greens and wheat germ; however
supplementing every now and then to keep your
magnesium levels up is recommended. You can find
good quality magnesium at health food stores and
pharmacies, and taking one before bedtime is a good
relaxant for your body.
Finally, when it comes to supplements, one that
has had 26 independent clinical studies with 41
scientific researches reporting its powerful effect on
reducing anxiety, panic attacks and depression is
Empowerplus Q96. This micronutrient supports mood
stability, brain health and improved cognition. Harvard
University found Empowerplus Q96 to be 3 times more
effective than any other mood disorder medication
known.
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Research increasingly indicates that a lack of
vitamins and minerals can lead to increased stress,
anxiety and mood disorders. Q96 works as a powerful
brain food specially formulated to counteract these
deficiencies.
Some of the key benefits are:
Contains 36 ingredients specifically proportioned for
the best uptake of micronutrients in the body.
Supports emotional wellbeing and mood stability,
improved cognition and brain function.
96–hour micronization process that ensures the
minerals are pulverised into a size the body can
effectively absorb.
Chelated for increased bioavailability– this is a
process where the vital minerals are bound to
proteins so the body can better digest them.
Q96 is not only supported by a huge body of
scientific data, but also by numerous testimonials from
the public. Terry from California says:
“I am off all psych–meds and feel right for the first time
in my life.”
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Then Donna from Canada said of her experience with
Q96:
“In just one day, I no longer wanted to die. Stress,
anxiety and depression no longer existed in my life.”
Ideally you wouldn‟t want to fall back on relying
on these supplements to remove anxiety. The key to this
process is to remove stress so that your mind and body
is balanced, sleep naturally arrives each night, and your
nervous system is calm. However there will be times
where supplementing with melatonin or magnesium, and
feeding your brain with much needed nutrients will help
the process a lot. Think of them as your support tools.
Q96 and other supplements are available for
purchase from our online store. Please visit:
www.stillnessproject.com/store.
So we‟ve spent some time looking at things for
you to do and take to help bring about more calm in
your life. And in this next step, we are going to explore
the things that you could well consider avoiding. Yep,
this is the part where you might feel a bit deprived. But,
what you lose in one respect, you gain 10 times!
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Here we go, let‟s see what we can remove from
our lives that‟s causing anxiety and stress….
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CHAPTER 10
Things to Avoid
“Sleep is a symptom of caffeine
withdrawal”
― Unknown
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W e‟ve talked a lot about things that you can do to
experience more calm and less anxiety, and
now it‟s time to discuss what we can avoid. These are
things that have become a deeply conditioned part of our
society, and yet they are having a large impact not just
on our anxiety levels, but also on our overall wellbeing.
In this chapter we‟ll explore recommendations I have for
you as to what to avoid that will make a difference to
your life.
There are 3 main items I suggest avoiding where
possible. I say where possible because I understand how
established these can be in your life, and suddenly
dropping them from your routine and habits won‟t be
that easy. So be gentle with yourself and take your time.
Do your research with this and see how it affects your
life.
1. Caffeine
Simply, caffeine is a stimulant. If you are
suffering from anxiety or panic attacks then remove
caffeine from your life completely. Our lives are already
stimulated enough without taking caffeine. If you feel
you couldn‟t operate daily without caffeine, then I‟d
recommend asking yourself why are you so tired? If our
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bodies are well rested, our minds calm, we eat well and
exercise regularly, we will have more than enough
energy to keep us brimming with vitality through the
day. Due to stress, poor sleep, poor diet and lack of
exercise, we have developed very low energy levels –
hence our addiction to caffeine. You only have to see the
queues in city coffee shops in the morning, as society
needs its energy boost to start the day, to realise how big
our addiction is to caffeine.
Caffeine comes in black tea, green tea and
coffee. I recommend avoiding all caffeine. Admittedly
this will be very confronting for you if you have a
caffeine addiction and need your daily hit. I also
understand there is a big social element tied to the
caffeine experience as we sit down in a café to catch up
with friends. A lot of this is social conditioning though
and can be modified with time. Alternatives can be
dandelion tea, herbal teas, fresh ginger and lemon in hot
water, and one of my favourites, which is hot water with
turmeric, ginger and stevia. Across Asia it‟s very
common to simply drink warm water, which is one of
the best things for you! It rehydrates you and cleanses
your kidneys and liver. A slight warning here….if you
have been drinking a lot of caffeine for a long time, you
Things to Avoid
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may want to reduce consumption gradually to avoid
headaches, as your body will experience withdrawal
symptoms.
2. Sugar
I know I‟m totally spoiling your party here! First
with caffeine and now sugar – it‟s like your entire
afternoon break has just been wiped out, right? Well
sugar is not only highly stimulative for the body, but it‟s
just simply not good for you on many levels. Again like
caffeine, sugar is used in a lot of cases as a synthetic
stimulant to boost your energy levels. The problem with
this is you experience an insulin spike as the sugar hits
your blood. The energy rush quickly drops away as you
burn it up and you feel even more depleted than before
you took it. Which is why we develop addictions to
sugar and need to keep going back for more and more.
A study performed in 2008 revealed that rats that
were fed high levels of sugar and then deprived of food,
developed a dopamine imbalance which led to anxiety.
David Gillespie, author of Sweet Poison (Penguin) says,
“Sugar contains fructose, which produces a spike in our
levels of the stress hormone cortisol.”
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Sugar has been added to nearly all of our foods.
It comes in the form of glucose, sucrose, fructose,
maltose, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, fructose,
molasses, syrup, and sugar to name a few. You only
have to look at the ingredients of all the items in your
pantry or your local supermarket to see how much sugar
you are eating and drinking on a daily basis.
What are the alternatives? Nuts, vegetables,
healthy fats, eggs, wild caught fish, and grass–fed
organic meats. Healthy fats are an important factor in
the promotion of overall health. To help you through
this process, try to increase your healthy fat intake. Fats
are a good slow–burning fuel for your body, and come
in the form of coconut oil, ghee, avocado, nuts and fish,
and grass–fed meats. When you decrease your
carbohydrates and sugars, and increase your fats, you
will notice you have a longer sustained energy, and less
of that buzzy fight/flight experience.
I have seen many students remove sugar from
their diets to find once their body has passed through the
withdrawal stage, their energy levels have gone through
the roof, they sleep better and feel a lot more vibrant!
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Some good books to read on this are I Quit Sugar by
Sarah Wilson, and Sweet Poison by David Gillespie.
Ok, I‟ll cut you some slack here though. You
don‟t need to be totally rigid with sugar as life is to be
enjoyed. But at least start to monitor how much sugar
you are consuming daily and be honest with yourself –
are you using sugar to lift your energy levels each day?
You will find once you reduce or eliminate sugar from
your food, you will start sleeping a whole lot better and
feeling a lot more energised through the day!
3. Alcohol
I live in Australia and I spend a lot of time
travelling the world presenting talks. One thing I have
noticed in my travels is how dependent we are on
alcohol for social gatherings. There‟s not an office
function, family dinner, catch–up with friends, or
celebration of any type that doesn‟t involve the presence
of alcohol. Alcohol has become so ingrained into the
fabric of western society, we have become dependent on
it to cope in social situations. Yet this can have a big
effect on our body and nervous system. Admittedly one
big challenge many people face, is feeling like they are
the odd one out by not holding an alcoholic drink in
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their hand at these events. It takes time to overcome this.
Some ways to manage this is to be upfront with people
and let them know that you have decided to take some
time off drinking alcohol. Not drinking alcohol is a lot
more common now with events like Feb Fast, Dry July
and Ocsober – becoming more acceptable to abstain
from drinking alcohol.
You are here to experience the richness and
fullness of life. You are here to explore how magnificent
you are with your intelligence, creativity, radiance and
love. Sure drinking alcohol can be relaxing and socially
fun; however it can also remove us from being more
engaged and connected. My life changed so much more
for the better when I stopped drinking alcohol, started
going to bed early and had a good night sleep. So see
how you go, give it a try.
Are you feeling deprived yet? Avoiding these
three things can be very challenging at first, and I‟m not
suggesting you go cold turkey on it all at once. Do your
own research. See what it feels like when you start
reducing these things from your life. I‟m sure after a few
weeks, like me, you will have a less anxiety and panic
and feel much calmer. This leads to better health, more
Things to Avoid
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happiness, and more love. So what have you got to lose?
Try reducing these three and watch your life flourish!
Ok this next step is an art form that takes time.
But it is certainly important to embrace. What is
mindfulness and what does it have to do with living
without anxiety? You‟re about to find out…
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CHAPTER 11
Mindfulness
"Our stresses, anxieties, pains and
problems arise because we do not
see the world, others or even
ourselves as worthy of love."
― Prem Prakash
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W e started these steps with meditation and now
we will look at mindfulness. Many people
put these two in the same basket, however I prefer to
separate them as I see them as two different things.
Meditation is the process of closing the eyes and
quietening the mind – ultimately experiencing stillness.
This is a structured practice designed to create gaps in
your day where you aren‟t digesting data or engaged in
lots of mental activity. In meditation there is an intention
to slow the mind down using discipline, concentration,
or the powerful effect of mantras. When the mind is still,
a deep level of rest is achieved, and this rest is where
healing in the body takes place.
Mindfulness however, is being aware of the
mind and its thoughts. It‟s a process of being engaged,
aware and observant of what you are doing, how you are
doing it, and where the mind is while you‟re doing it.
It‟s a very pro–active process because the mind has been
allowed to run loose for a long time playing in the future
and the past. A great deal of our anxiety is a result of the
mind being allowed to play in the future, worrying about
things that may never happen, or in the past –
remembering things that no longer exist. However, this
process of mindfulness is all about being present with
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the mind; right here, right now, and engaging in
positive, calming thoughts.
Like we mentioned in previous chapters, the
mind has a tendency to think in a particular way. These
vasanas, or tendencies, lead to a great deal of anxiety as
your thoughts of fear flow into a physical impression in
your body. Now it is time to be aware of your mind,
observe your thoughts and start to exercise some
authority over them. Decartes, the French philosopher
said in the 1600‟s:
“I think therefore I am.”
However there is a consciousness that is able to
observe the thoughts and separate your observer to the
thinking. Thinking is a tool, your mind is a vehicle, it‟s
not who you are. Our thoughts are adaptable, and when
we exercise some authority over the mind by observing
it, we can then start to be selective about the thoughts
that we want to choose. This won‟t be an easy thing to
do at first and will take some practice. Your daily
meditation will help a lot with this process, but now it‟s
about flexing that muscle of control over your mind.
Your mind will have a tendency to run away into
the future and the past as it constantly seeks charm
Mindfulness
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through the thinking process. It will be analysing
everything you went through that day, or start to forecast
and create many scenarios about the future. I know a lot
of my anxiety was a result of my mind projecting into
the future with fear about possible outcomes. What my
mind was doing was creating false scenes of the future
in my head that distorted my present moment with fear.
At this point you need to rein the mind in and bring it to
the present moment. Some ways to do this are to bring
your awareness to your breath, simply ebbing and
flowing through your nostrils; or bring your awareness
to your senses and be in the now.
What are you feeling?
What are you seeing?
What are you tasting?
What are you smelling?
What are you hearing?
Here there is nothing else to be thinking about –
not heading into the future, not going back into the past.
Just be here right now. The only reality is right here,
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right now. Your senses only exist in the present, so to
come to the present, come to the senses.
As the mind drifts away then bring it back.
Observe the mind and be the authority over it. When the
mind is given free rein it will start to create scenarios in
your head, which result in stimulative biochemical
releases that lead to anxiety. Try to keep your mind in
the now, and when you feel it is running away with lots
of imaginative scenes, start to bring it back and keep it
in check.
Each day you will have 40,000–60,000 thoughts.
Now it is time for you to choose what those thoughts
are. For each thought that you are entertaining, there are
an infinite number of other thoughts that you aren‟t
entertaining. Isn‟t it time we do an audit of our thinking
and re–assess what thoughts we could be having?
Think of your greatness, think of your calmness,
think of your invincibility, think of your lovingness. Did
you place your attention on your heart space today? Did
you feel the fiery love in your chest? We spend so much
time worrying about the future and the past, yet we
ignore the most important thing of all…our heart.
Feeling love isn‟t something we need to wait for
Mindfulness
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someone to give us. „Others‟ aren‟t the source of love,
they are triggers that set off a flow of biochemicals in
our body that we have the power to create ourselves. If
you‟d like some help with this, you might like to listen
to my Golden Heart Meditation. This 5–minute guided
meditation will help you bring your mind away from
your worries to the beautiful loving space in your chest.
After doing this meditation daily you will feel calmer,
lighter and with more love in your life. To download
this go to www.stillnessproject.com/store
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CHAPTER 12
Nourish and Nurture
"It‟s not about eating, it‟s about
using the food to deal with anxiety
and stress.”
― Terry Sandbek
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I n our final chapter, and by no means is this the least
significant, we cover the importance of keeping
your body nourished with food and fluids. Many people
find they lose their appetite when they are anxious,
which is an ancient protective design in the body for
self–preservation. If you are running from a marauding
tribe there is no time to stop for food. You can‟t afford
to be distracted, and hunger can be a huge distraction.
So the body takes this out of the equation. Your saliva
glands dry up and your appetite is shut down. You‟ll
notice you have a dry mouth when you have anxiety and
panic. This is to prevent you wanting to stop for food
because of hunger pangs.
This was all well and good when we WERE
being attacked by a marauding tribe or sabre tooth tiger
thousands of years ago, but now you are in the
comfortable, safe environment of the office or home, it
is no longer relevant. Because you have no appetite, you
don‟t eat, and because you don‟t eat, your body is
starved, dehydrated and undernourished. This becomes a
vicious cycle that many people fall into when they start
to feel stressed.
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The dehydration and lack of food triggers the
body to go back into fight/flight. You find yourself in
the trap of not feeling like eating because you are
anxious, which then ultimately cycles back to make you
more anxious. So you need to break this pattern or else it
will take a hold on you. Now is the time to step in and
explore what the body really needs rather than how it is
reacting.
It made a huge difference to my anxiety levels
when I ate healthy, nourishing food and fluids regularly.
(When I say regularly, I mean every 2–3 hours.) This
doesn‟t mean keeping a logbook, but being aware of
your last fluid and food intake is important. Here are
some ideas that will help you stay on top of this.
1. Drink a minimum 2 litres of water a day.
This would include a large glass or two of warm water
first thing in the morning with a dash of apple cider
vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice. This alone has
numerous benefits:
It rehydrates the body after going 8 hours through
the night without fluids.
It helps to rebalance the pH levels on the body with
the apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. It‟s been
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proven that a stressed body is very acidic, which
causes many health issues.
It cleanses the kidney and liver, flushing out the
toxins.
It helps digestion.
Excellent source of potassium.
Improves your immune system.
Throughout the day keep a flask of warm liquid
with you. These flasks can be bought at most department
stores, camping stores, and even supermarkets.
Whenever I am in the car for long drives I always take
my flask to keep me hydrated. You can use herbal teas,
sliced ginger or slices of lemon in the water.
A standard glass or mug is about 8 ounces; so for
2 litres a day of fluids, you would need to drink around
8 glasses or mugs. To break it up into a day, you‟d drink
two glasses when you first wake up, one at morning tea,
one with lunch, one after lunch, one with afternoon tea,
one before dinner, and perhaps one after dinner. This
way your body will feel rehydrated and „safe‟. This
alone will reduce the anxiety symptoms. Remember to
avoid caffeine here as it will stimulate your nervous
system too much.
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2. Snack on food regularly (every 2–3 hours).
Nourishing your body with healthy food requires
a little more preparation, although not too much. Snack
foods are important, however this doesn‟t mean
chocolate bars or packets of chips. When you are on the
run between meetings or travelling, most places like
convenience stores and fast food outlets don‟t offer very
wholesome slow–burning snack foods. They usually
offer snack food with little or no nutritional value, which
your body will burn off quickly, leaving you with an
insulin spike followed by depleted energy.
So to prepare yourself daily, be sure to stock up
on nourishing food you can carry in a bag that will keep
your body feeling safe and grounded in between meals.
Some foods to keep with you are nuts, avocados, tins of
tuna or salmon, vegetable sticks with dips like hummus
and tahini. If you eat meat, then packets of biltong or
jerky.
3. Eat Your Three Main Meals
Skipping meals is common for people with anxiety and
this only exacerbates the situation. It‟s important here to
sit down to your three main meals each day. Start with a
wholesome breakfast, which is the most crucial meal of
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the day for someone experiencing anxiety. This meal is
the platform for grounding your body for the rest of the
day. Try to eat slow–burning food that will keep your
body fueled for a while. If possible avoid sugary cereals,
dairy, processed food and gluten. Some ideas for
breakfast would be:
porridge with banana, coconut flakes, coconut milk
and cinnamon
gluten–free toast with avocado, squeeze of lemon,
salt and pepper
two boiled eggs, avocado and smoked salmon
Cooked mushrooms, tomato and spinach with
organic grass–fed meat
When it comes to lunch and dinner, I try to keep
things simple, and don‟t really have many rules. Some
simple guidelines I like to follow are:
avoid gluten
avoid dairy
sustainably caught fish
organic where possible
local seasonal fruit and vegetables
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These are preferences and not firm rules.
Obviously it‟s not always possible to be this rigid, and
sometimes the stress of being this rigid can be worse
than the food itself. So for me it‟s about having fun. Eat
and drink with love and joy. Life is a celebration and
food is a part of life. Enjoy it. Being conscious about
food is different than being serious about food.
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CONCLUSION
The Calm Life
“The pursuit even of the best things,
ought to be calm and tranquil."
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
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A calm life is yours to live. You can live
without panic and anxiety. If you start to
implement some of these steps, you will find the anxiety
will drop away, and you will be living an incredibly
calm, successful and vibrant life. I went from daily panic
attacks, agoraphobia, depression and insomnia, to
author, keynote speaker, retreat host, meditation teacher,
life coach and film producer. I put that change down to
these 12 steps in this book.
I understand implementing change can be very
challenging. I resisted it for many years. However,
suffering is proportional to our resistance to change, and
my resistance to change led me to a great deal of
suffering in my life.
It takes a great deal of courage to face yourself
and face life‟s challenges. Along with desire and a
greater sense of self–responsibility – you can decide to
commit to the journey and visualize the perfect, positive
outcome. We need to come to the self–realization that
our challenges are our best teachers. How are we going
to acknowledge them? How are we going to align
ourselves with what is, and work towards balance, joy,
wholeness, calm and transformation?
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Anxiety is like getting a tap on the shoulder from
nature suggesting something in your life needs to
change. Einstein‟s definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting a different
result. Well, I was going through the same thing for
years, and yes, it nearly led me to insanity! Once I
embraced change, then the anxiety and panic went away.
Embracing all of these steps at once won‟t be
easy, and you may find that by simply doing two or
three of these steps makes a huge difference. Play
around with it, explore, do some research and see how
you go.
Our journey to self–mastery starts by taking
those little steps. Perhaps one of these quotes will
resonate, inspire and motivate you:
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the
first step”. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a
time.” – John Wanamaker
And some familiar Chinese Proverbs:
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“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
– Lao Tzu
“To get through the hardest journey we need to take
only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping”.
– Chinese Proverb
You are here to discover your greatness, your
magnificence, YOUR BRILLIANCE! Your soul is pure,
it‟s light, and its love. Your essence is calmness. One
day you will look back with gratitude, like I do today. I
see the anxiety was my cue to return home, to get back
into my orbit, back to who I am – the calm embodiment
of love. Along the way I had forgotten, I‟d become lost,
and the anxiety was there to guide me back to
remembering my Truth. You‟re on your way home now,
back to the stillness, the calm, the inner love.
Conclusion
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ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
Tom Cronin is the founder of
The Stillness Project, whose
mission it is to inspire people
from all over the world to re–
discover their inner calm,
creativity, and magnificence
through a holistic approach to
wellness.
Prior to establishing The Stillness Project, Tom led a
very successful 26–year career in finance as a broker
trading swaps and bonds for the banks. In the early years
of his career, Tom suffered extreme anxiety and panic
attacks, which led to a crippling depression and
agoraphobia. The extent of this imbalance was so great
that Tom had to take leave from his employment.
After finding little relief from the medical profession,
Tom began his own research into discovering a way to
not only cure himself of the anxiety and panic attacks,
but also live a life of calm, happiness and success. This
book is a result of that research.
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Now Tom devotes his time to fulfilling his
mission in helping others overcome the same imbalances
he experienced. He teaches meditation, hosts retreats in
Australia, Bali & Hawaii, and is a global keynote
speaker, author and developer of online transformational
courses.
Tom has been teaching meditation to top level
companies in Australia, from CBA, Criteo, Finch
Media, Nova FM, Rivkin Finance and Fairfax Media.
He has been interviewed on national TV (Morning Show
Channel 9), featured in Vogue magazine, The Daily
Telegraph, Business Review, Conde Naste Traveller,
and The Sydney Morning Herald. He has written for The
Huffington Post, Mind Body Green and Finerminds. In
addition, Tom has presented keynote talks on stage in
Mexico, Malaysia, the USA, Bali and Australia.
Tom is an Executive Producer and Producer
developing an upcoming film, to spread the message
globally of the power of daily meditation and untapped
human potential.
About the Author
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I‟d like to offer my love, blessings and gratitude
to Jen, Taj and Lauren, my dear family, for their
constant support, patience and never–ending love. You
are a source for my inspiration.
A big thank you to Miriam Sanua for her gentle
edits and guidance throughout the writing of this book.
You've helped refine and polish the rough edges off.
Thank you!
I also offer endless gratitude to all the Masters,
guides, teachers and students, for their role in assisting
me along in this ongoing quest of life. The lessons come
each day in many shapes and forms, and although I am a
teacher, I am always a student. To all the seekers of the
Truth, together may we see through the illusion and
bathe in the glory of our eternal Light and Love.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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Personal Message from Tom
I want to personally congratulate you for making
the decision to embrace change in your life so that you
will eliminate anxiety and panic attacks. I am delighted
to give you private access to three complimentary bonus
videos to assist you on your path to peace and calm. I
encourage you to watch these videos and implement
what you have learnt.
Video 1 Will reveal how change appears in our lives and
why we experience the stress response of anxiety and
panic.
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Video 2 We explore how to embrace adaptability and
move through change effortlessly without anxiety and
panic.
Video 3 We discover one technique that will be the most
powerful tool to remove anxiety and panic attacks from
your life. This was life changing for me, and here you‟ll
find out why.
Get your three FREE BONUS videos here:
http://stillnessproject.com/fdc/
Personal Message from Tom
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More Books from The Stillness Project
Path to Peace Book
Your complete guide to living in a
constantly changing world with calm,
grace and happiness.
Spirit & Soul Book
A guide to the 7 states of consciousness
and what Love ultimately is.
Faster Deeper Sleep Book
Your complete guide to experiencing a
deep nourishing sleep that will have you
waking up feeling refreshed and full of
energy every morning
Insights Book
Cognitions and insights from Source
presented against a beautiful backdrop of
images of the Universe captured by the
Hubble telescope.
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