I often find myself incorporating Nelson Mandela’s story and how he approached life, his attitude, into the Calm Living Blueprint because I think it offers a wonderful example of taking committed action even in the face of fear, pain and discomfort.

So that’s what I want to examine in this podcast episode – five lessons I’ve learned from Mr. Mandela’s example.

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Is it ever too late?

The other day one of my clients said, “Maybe it’s too late for me.” She felt defeated, like things had never gone right for her and she felt hopeless that things would ever go right for her.

Now, this wasn’t a one-time thought. This particular person had this thought before. I’ve had other clients share similar hopeless thoughts and feelings before. I myself have had these thoughts before.

Maybe you have, too. Maybe you’ve gotten to a place where you start questioning yourself…

Are my best days behind me? Is it too late? Have I missed out on my life? Have I missed my big opportunity? Is the rest of my life just more of the same old same old?

Well, as I told my client: nothing could be further from the truth. And I actually know that to be a fact. And in this podcast episode I’ll share how I know that to be fact and I’ll offer some tips to handle these types of hopeless thoughts and feelings so that they don’t inhibit you from doing what you want to do.

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

What do I mean by the seeds of calm lie in anxiety?

Well… the idea for today’s podcast episode came to me as I was reflecting on how to better help people open up and make space for feelings of anxiety rather than continuing to struggle with them. That’s something we’ve talked about in previous episodes, however it’s also one of those things that can be easier said than done.

So upon reflecting on my own experience I realized that the biggest shift for me in regards to being able to make space for anxiety came when I shifted my perspective of anxiety – when I changed how I viewed anxiety.

In today’s episode I’d like to share how I shifted by perspective on anxiety, how I shifted my consciousness and how I came to look at it as a gift.

Yes, I said “a gift.”

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Ever wonder how to stop ruminating?

Have you ever gotten stuck thinking about a past trauma or negative event, a problem or really any kind of setback… over and over again… you just can’t stop thinking about it… like a hamster running in a hamster wheel in his cage your thoughts just seem to run around and around and around…?

Yeah, that’s called rumination. And the results of a massive study just came out that show rumination – dwelling on the negative – may be the best predictor of depression and anxiety, as well as determining the level of stress people experience.

So in today’s episode we’re going to discuss the results of this study, what the results mean to you, plus we’re going to beyond the results and I’m going to teach you how you can turn rumination in to something to your advantage, a technique you can use to actually lessen anxiety and improve your mood.

• 32 827 people from 127 different countries took part in this online stress test. Here is a link to the study: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/24451567

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Have you ever blushed?

Of course you have. We all blush.

There’s nothing wrong with blushing however blushing can become a concern when we feel anxious about blushing. We’re afraid of blushing or when we blush we get anxious about blushing and that just further adds to our overall anxiety.

So this episode is devoted to blushing – specifically how to deal with blushing so that it no longer causes anxiety for you.

You can download the blushing meditation .mp3 here.

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

So, how have you been sleeping? What changes have you made since the last episode to improve your sleep?

In episode 19 we tackled the environmental and behavioural factors that can affect our sleep and what we can do to overcome them and improve upon them to optimize our sleep.

In this episode we’re going to continue to cover the top tips and strategies to help you sleep like a baby, even if you experience anxiety… and we’re going to tackle more of the psychological factors that can affect your sleep.

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Do you sleep like a baby?

Or… Have you ever found yourself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and wanting to scream out in frustration because you just can’t fall asleep?

You peak at your alarm clock out of the corner of your eye and it reads 3 o’clock! 3 in the freaking morning… And you have to be up at 6! Now you get even more anxious about not falling asleep, thinking, “I have to fall asleep. I’ve got to get those three hours!”

Yeah, I’ve been there, too.

Insomnia can seem hard to cope with and it can be especially draining when you suffer from anxiety.

So in today’s episode we’re going to cover the top tips and strategies to help you sleep like a baby, even if you experience anxiety.

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Would you like to know more about superfoods to boost your mood?

Last episode we talked about how our gut bacteria can affect our mood, including anxiety, depression and how we react to stress. So I thought it would be a good idea to carry over that theme into today’s episode and build upon the specific foods that can help calm anxiety and boost mood.

We’re going to go even one step further than we have in previous episodes and discuss superfoods.

What are superfoods and which ones have mood-boosting properties?

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.