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March 2009 Compass
 Vol 2, Issue 2
In This Issue
Join the New "Talk Your Heart Out" Forum and Win a Dinner at Ruth's Chris
The Biology of Belief
Awareness Test
Journal Software
Welcome to Compass!
Keith MillerHere are some interesting things that came my way last month that I found worth sharing.

First, I have to admit I never thought I might give away steaks in my line of work, but I guess there's always a chance for something new! Starting an online forum requires people, and one thing I know about people is that they tend to show up when they know that other people are going to show up. And there's just something about free food to a great restaurant that can get people to show up and have conversations.

So whether you want to be part of the action and win a chance to eat a great dinner or just want to connect with others, I hope you get a chance to join the Talk Your Heart Out online community.

Keith
Join the New "Talk Your Heart Out" Forum and Win a Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House
Talk Your Heart Out is a new online forum for people to talk intentionally about a wide range of topics related to the mind, body, and soul.

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
To kick off the start of the forum and encourage participation in this great resource, I will give away three Ruth's Chris Steak House gift certificates ($100, $50, & $25) to the top three forum contributors in the month of April. You must be registered in the forum by midnight April 7th and contribute at least ten posts (5 of which must be new topics) by midnight April. 30th. All posts must comply with the forum rules and posting guidelines. The winners will be identified only by Username on the forum to protect privacy.    

ABOUT THE FORUM

I will moderate and contribute professional articles on relationships and mental health from time to time.  It is not online counseling but is designed to encourage participants to think of what advice/experience/knowledge they have to contribute to others in addition to being a place to ask questions.   
 Fun moment
The forum has three major sections: "Between Your Own Ears," "Marriage and Relationships," and "The Lounge." You'll find discussion boards dedicated to the specific content areas, respectively: (1) Depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviors & addictions, mind & body; (2) Communication skills, addictions in your relationship, recovering from infidelity, sex in marriage, couplehood as a spiritual path, dating, tying the knot, divorce, and parenting; (3)  Social topics, controversial topics (politics & religion et. al), the arts as inspiration and healing, and last but not least, a board just for "What's going right."
 

The forum guidelines are intended to hold the space for respectful and open interactions, which I will moderate. The forum is brand new and is still mostly quiet at the moment. Especially at the onset, I am looking for active participants who would: A) Believe you have experience or knowledge to contribute in board discussions, and B) Be committed to set the tone for respectful and supportive communication.
 
HOW DO I GET STARTED?
 
Click on the link above and look for the "Register" link. You'll be asked to select a username and password and an email will be sent to you to activate your account. Only your username will be visible to others in your profile and you may use initials or a pseudonym for registration if you prefer. Your email will never be public or visible to other forum users unless you change the default setting.   
 
Besides participating, another way to support the Talk Your Heart Forum is to let others know about it. I appreciate if you would forward this to other message boards you are on, church groups, facebook contacts, or social bookmarking sites like Digg or Delicious.
 
Talk Your Heart Out...then eat your heart out!
The Biology of Belief
Research has been piling up for some time that meditative practices and prayer changes the mind. Even if you aren't religious, the popularity of contemplative practices give us some indication that people find something useful about it.
  The Biology of Belief 
This Time Magazine article from February 12, 2009, explores the role of our beliefs inside our body and mind.
 
From the article:   
 
"Few people think of religion as an alternative to medicine. The frontline tools of an emergency room will always be splints and sutures, not prayers - and well-applied medicine along with smart prevention will always be the best ways to stay well. Still, if the U.S.'s expanding health-care emergency has taught us anything, it's that we can't afford to be choosy about where we look for answers. Doctors, patients and pastors battling disease already know that help comes in a whole lot of forms. It's the result, not the source, that counts the most."  
Awareness Test

Father with son in FieldHere are two things that caught my eye about the power of awareness and how we tend to notice what we want to notice. Click on the Awareness Test below and see how you do!

Sometimes we need to be humbled at how we may fail to notice important details, and take more time to notice. We also need to know that our perception has limits that will always be there. 20/20 hindsight can be a source of crippling self-criticism or it can be a source of inspiration. You decide. Trust that you have the power to re-direct your awareness when you learn that you need to.

1)  This is a public safety video ad about being aware of bicyclists on the road that is a hilarious use of about 15 seconds of your time. I want to know who gets it on the first try!


2) A story of an informal study the Washington Post did from BradMeltzer.com.

"A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?"

Journal Software
Life Journal
I want to share with you the journal software I have personally used for many years.  There are different versions for writers, educators, staying sober, and for Christians. The feature I appreciate the most is that you can save your journal entry chronologically as well as with "tags." Tags are categories you create for ease of looking up a certain theme or topic later so that you won't have to search through many entries.

I recommend this kind of software, and encourage journaling, while you are in psychotherapy. I encourage people I work with to tape record our session to later access the various "trailheads" we walked down to meet various parts of them that aren't always readily accessible. Journaling after a session is a way to take this further or record some of the thoughts or feelings that may quickly recede behind other parts of you in your normal life.

LifeJournal is $39.95 and you can do a free trial. They offer occasional webinars and tele-classes for journaling and personal growth, so check their website for upcoming dates or get on their newsletter.

You can find LifeJournal at www.LifeJournal.com.

 
Keith Miller, LLC