Find your remedy

In his book Hardwiring Happiness, Rick Hanson writes that “a problem requires a solution that’s matched to it. If you have scurvy, you need vitamin C.” What is your vitamin C? For example, if you are mostly worried about issues related to security and survival, you need to seek out, embrace and absorb positive experiences that make you feel secure, protected and safe. Those experiences don’t need to be grand – simply acknowledging and reveling in the safety and comfort of your bed before you go to sleep, or embracing your friend when she says “I got your back”, and so on. Your goal is to uproot the negative associations you have with a particular area and encourage your brain to notice and embrace the positive ones.

The Chakra Model can be a useful guide in identifying the area that needs to be addressed, and potential remedies for those areas. If you are feeling resentful (Anahata chakra), which experiences make you feel compassionate? If you are feeling powerless (Manipura chakra), which experiences make you feel strong and capable?

HOW-TO: Identify a recurring issue that keeps draining your energy and resources right now. Which chakra is this issue mostly related to? Which specific small experiences in your life provide psychological nutrient for this chakra? Cultivate those experiences daily, take time to acknowledge them, feel them and absorb them. Notice how it makes you feel.