Introduction

I love seeing the looks on peoples’ faces when I say contentment is my true nature and stress is merely a big distraction that prevents people from realizing this is true for them as well. Stress, illness, disappointment and frustration create such a spotlight, one might not notice the elements of peace, happiness and joy that compose the stage upon which one’s life is unfolding. While it might seem difficult to believe this is the fundamental basis of human nature, I have observed many people attain that experiential truth. My hope is that this book, through its commentaries, explanation of physiological functions and instructional exercises, permits the reader to understand why I can say this so confidently and how my approach can work for anyone.

I developed this program from years of working with clients suffering from anxiety, depression, emotional wounds and painful medical conditions. I used a combination of biofeedback, mind-body medicine techniques and meditation practices to help my clients discover and unleash the power of a personal inner truth that their discomfort had effectively hidden.

Meditation has often been referred to as soft science. Therefore its use has not progressed as effectively in the counseling and psychotherapy fields as other methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy. But more recently, meditation has become hard science due to volumes of research studies now being conducted using MRI and SPECT imaging of meditators’ brains, physiology, cardiology and immunology. We can now say truthfully meditation is medicine. Suddenly something very old is becoming something very new.

I did not begin my professional life with a career in psychotherapy. I came to it in desperation to manage the stress I saw technology begin to create in the lives of those who had to work with it. I started off as an engineering assistant in an optical laboratory, working for a computer main-frame company struggling to be the first to implement an optical data storage system. We were on the forefront of compact disc (CD's) technology.

Frankly, the labs couldn’t seem to get the systems to work consistently from one day to the next. My team was wading in the brutally competitive territory that spans the worlds of science, technology and corporate solvency. The mandate was clear: be the first to arrive with the newest innovation or die a quick corporate death.  The stress was considerable and many of the engineers I worked with had heart attacks.  Some lived, some did not.

I moved back to the east coast, pursuing technology in the form of software engineering and networked computer systems. This field was as frustrating as the labs had been. Whenever I needed to unload the stress and continual demand I faced as a woman; to be quicker, better, and more cheaply compensated in any field that competed with men, I went to the ocean as a form of meditation practice. I found the tension in my body completely vanished when I simply focused on the sound of crashing waves, the tingling warmth of the sand and infinite vastness of the sea and sky. I learned about the relaxation response and the use of visualization.

I came to realize the entire field of technology was rapidly driving the consumers of that field over the cliff of stress. Nowhere in our grand systems planning and engineering was the impact on human physiology taken into consideration nor did it appear that would ever become part of the infrastructure strategies.

I will always remember the day I returned to my office and documented my efforts on a system conversion. I looked at my fading amber monitor screen as I powered down and, without regret, decided to leave the field of computer technology. I could not help any more management teams cut their overhead at the expense of valuable human resources. I needed to go back to school. I needed to learn how stress impacted human health and what could be done to ameliorate the damage I knew would soon accompany rapidly advancing technology.

Eight years later, I graduated from a series of academic studies culminating in a Master’s Degree and licensing in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I completed my internship in the Behavioral Medicine and biofeedback department at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston Massachusetts, having completely stepped outside the range of typical specializations within the mental health-counseling field.

I devoted myself to understanding the physiological effects of stress and went beyond mainstream clinical psychotherapy to learn the cutting edge techniques of mind body medicine. Finally, I came full circle when learning how biofeedback could help people reduce stress. Ironically, it meant hooking people up to a computer and sophisticated medical monitoring equipment. For me, it meant using technology to heal rather than harm.  I based my clinical practice on helping people to transform stress into meaningful and intentional living, 

My private practice and a web based company called Mindstream Biofeedback and Consulting has been in business for more than twenty years. During that time I have focused almost entirely on the use of biofeedback, mind body medicine and meditation practices to treat many mental health conditions. The majority of clients I treat experience a reduction of the symptoms that brought them to me. Some have experienced complete cessation of symptoms and were able to move forward in their lives.

Imagine the impact of no longer qualifying for the diagnosis of anxiety, panic disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder. Imagine no longer needing medications for high blood pressure, headache, irritable bowel syndrome or gastric reflux. Imagine no longer needing to take an anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medication because one’s body automatically responded with its own anti-anxiety and calming bio-chemicals.

Most general medicine practitioners and fellow psychotherapists know very little about the benefits of a mind body approach, therefore do not refer people for even the most treatable of stress related conditions. It is my sincerest hope that this book changes that lack of understanding.

I developed the program outlined in this book from my clinical work with clients from all walks of life. What worked for them can work for you. My clients ranged from corporate executives and business leaders around the world, to athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and professionals in finance, law, medicine, and government. Readers working in corporate settings who are struggling with career destabilization, workplace bullying, or in positions of management who wish to advance their leadership skills will find these techniques valuable. This book is of great benefit to anyone suffering with discouragement and wishes to live a more connected, purposeful life.

All of the guided visualizations, exercises, and practices in this book have been tested with biofeedback in my office for many years. They are proven to induce physiologically significant levels of relaxation, stress reduction, alertness and insight.

The approach I use in this book is a non-linear process; a spiral presentation that enables me to present new learning to the reader using a repetitive contemplative theme. Each chapter offers a key insight that creates a gradual recognition of what it means to implement these tools and techniques in one’s life. This acknowledgement occurs gently over time using daily practices that are easy to integrate into a modern lifestyle. While I often combine these practices with biofeedback, one can easily benefit from these instructions without it.

Putting the program to work enables one to change the story one’s body and mind are living in. These stories are powerful. They shape the way we view the world and the possibilities that are either magnificently open to us or painfully shut. These stories are at the center of our illnesses, relationships, successes and failures. Learning to identify the story you are living in means taking responsibility for the reality of your life’s potential. It is both empowering and illuminating.

This book functions as a workbook as well!

1. 
   Each chapter has a breakout section like this which offers exercises and practice techniques.
2. Record your observations when practicing the techniques you are learning and your meditation experiences in a journal.
3. The e-Book edition of this book has direct links to the streaming audio and video exercises.

4. The print edition has a password to janetdoucette.com where you can practice the exercises listed in each chapter.

To learn more:

✔Visit janetdoucette.com to view the book portal website which will include all exercises

✔ Try out a relaxation technique from the book

✔ Support the GoFundMe with one chapter left to write!

✔ Listen to the author’s interview on Podcast.The.Mindstream

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✔ See more options at Stormview Mountain Press