Practice Tip Of The Week -- 5-4-98 .. Dr. Dennis Perman .. Masters9@aol.com

Fears

If I had to pick the single greatest impediment to creating the optimal practice and lifestyle,  I would 
say it was fear -- sometimes fear of confrontation,  sometimes fear of rejection,  sometimes fear of 
failure or fear of success,  but most usually,  some form of fear.

What is fear,  anyway?  Dennis Waitley tells us that fear is "False Evidence Appearing Real" -- in 
other words,  that we have misinterpreted what is before us,  and decided to be afraid of it.  Tony 
Robbins,  in Awaken The Giant Within,  says that fear is "the anticipation that something that is 
going to happen soon needs to be prepared for."  I like this meaning for fear -- that it implies that 
we need to prepare for something,  and that once we have prepared properly,  the fear either goes 
away or at least no longer affects us as much.

Here is a simple three-step process for dealing with fear.

First,  if fear is a feeling of unpreparedness,  start with mental preparation -- in other words,  
decide which mental and emotional states you would want available if you were going to feel 
prepared for whatever you are anticipating.  For example,  would you need confidence?  courage?  
focus?  determination?  passion?  Think of specific times when you demonstrated these qualities,  
and reconnect with those sensations by making mental pictures,  using supportive self-talk,  and 
choosing movements,  postures,  facial expressions and breathing patterns like when you were in 
these empowered states.  Practice being able to gain access to these feelings at will,  and see if you 
can link up a signal to these feelings when you are feeling them strongly.  (This process,  known 
as anchoring,  helps you manage your neurophysiology and choose the sensations you want when 
you want them.  See Unlimited Power,  also by Tony Robbins.)

Once you have practiced gaining access to the qualities you need,  you'll feel more prepared 
mentally,  and now you can take the second step -- procedural preparation.  This means to think of 
exactly what you're going to have to do to handle the situation you have been fearing,  and plan out 
the steps of doing it.  For example,  if it's a confrontation with a patient,  write out or think through 
the interaction,  saying your part and imagining the other saying his or hers.  By playing the 
scenario in your thinking,  you'll get more comfortable with what may happen.  You'll feel much 
more prepared by doing this,  since you can usually figure out most of what's going to happen in 
advance.

Once you have prepared mentally and procedurally,  it's time to put it all together with the third step 
-- mental rehearsal.  This means to get yourself into the empowered state from step one,  and then 
to run the procedural preparation from step two while you are in the resourceful state.  This creates 
an inside-the-skin experience of doing what you were afraid of,  and feeling well prepared for it.  
Run this mental rehearsal numerous times,  until the situation seems natural and comfortable.  This 
will reduce or eliminate most feelings of fear -- see how it works for you.

And when you've done all you can to prepare,  and some fear still remains,  Tony recommends the 
antidote to fear -- faith.  Expect the best,  even in adversity -- it really helps.

Practice Tip Of The Week -- 5-18-98 .. Dr. Dennis Perman .. Masters9@aol.com

If you have never had the pleasure,  check out the work of George Leonard,  author of thirteen 
books and countless articles about human potential.  The editor of Look Magazine in the late 
Sixties,  he was a popular trend-setting journalist before he discovered and began practicing the 
martial art of Aikido,  a graceful,  non-violent way of using and redirecting an attacker's energy to 
subdue him without unnecessary brutality.  

For over thirty years,  Leonard has studied and developed methods of applying this peaceful,  
centered Aikido philosophy to other aspects of life,  like education,  peak performance in sports,  
relationships and spirituality.

I first heard of his research from CJ Mertz DC,  who had mentioned some interesting personality 
typing information that can be found in Leonard's book Mastery.  I was intrigued with the 
distinctions Leonard made,  and I invited him to present at our Masters Circle event this past 
weekend in Kansas City.  When he strode into the seminar room,  very tall,  very thin,  white 
haired,  with perfect posture and gleaming blue eyes,  he cut a majestic figure,  eighty years young 
and truly present in the moment,  full of life and vitality.  

In the wonderful workshop he facilitated for us,  he astounded us with statistics about human 
capability and the brain -- for example,  he said that if you take the number of brain cells,  and 
figure that each is capable of doing at least ten synaptic interactions (most can do many more),  the 
number of possible synaptic interactions would measure something like ten to the one hundred 
trillionth power -- to get an idea how vast this number is,  the number of particles in the known 
universe,  including not only all atoms but all subatomic particles as well,  is estimated by 
physicists to be something like ten to the eightieth power!  The huge potential of each human brain 
implies that we are all equipped to function at the genius level and beyond.

While he covered a wide spectrum of material through stories,  demonstrations,  and interactive 
exercises,  his message was a simple but profound one -- we are all capable of greatness,  and by 
being willing to practice patterns of effective use of our marvelous equipment,  we can reach 
heights of accomplishment that will fulfill us and do great good for others.

He makes the point that our society has been conditioned,  mostly by the sound-bite orientation of 
the media,  to expect life to be a series of thrilling,  climactic events,  and this perspective leaves us 
ill-prepared for the way learning and success really work,  with broad plateaus of practice and hard 
work between the breakthroughs of achievement.  By recognizing those plateaus as a necessary 
and valuable part of the learning process,  we can learn to appreciate and enjoy the practice,  instead 
of only feeling good at the moment of breakthrough.  Knowing that we are on the path to mastery,  
we can be more patient,  and get pleasure throughout the learning curve,  not only at the ecstatic 
moment of goal achievement -- it's a more balanced,  peaceful,  healthy way to pursue your goals,  
filled with joy and self esteem instead of wanting,  striving,  and frustration.

If you are on one of those plateaus,  maintain a great attitude,  work diligently toward improving 
and refining your craft,  get some coaching,  and be persistent -- tap into your awesome resources,  
and your patience,  consistency and self-discipline will be rewarded.


Practice Tip Of The Week -- 5-26-98  .. Dr. Dennis Perman .. Masters9@aol.com

Winners

What does it take to manifest our own success and fulfillment?  Success philosophers like 
Napoleon Hill tell us to set a goal,  write it down,  make a plan,  and take action.  Spiritualists like 
Deepak Chopra tell us to formulate our intention during meditation,  release it into the silent gap,  
and let the universe handle the details.  Identity engineers like The Masters tell you to grow 
yourself into the kind of person who can do what teachers like Deepak and Napoleon Hill say to 
do,  and then act consistently with your self-concept.  You'll find there to be more than one right 
answer to this question,  and yet there are some key qualities that overlap each approach -- and 
none more important than decisiveness.  

Tony Robbins,  in his landmark book Awaken The Giant Within,  says "It's in your moments of 
decision that your destiny is shaped."  The question is,  how do we become more decisive,  and 
make better decisions?  Tony tells us that all decisions are based on three questions,  powerful 
questions I refer to as the three questions that guide all internal processing.

First,  we ask,  "What do I focus on?"  What information is pertinent to this particular decision?  
What should I pay attention to?  What should I ignore?  This narrows down the playing field so we 
can understand the crucial factors affecting this decision.

Next,  we ask,  "What does it mean?"  How do I organize my thinking around this set of 
information I've noticed and compiled?  What do I now know as a result of analyzing my current 
field of focus?

Finally we ask,  "What do I do?"  What behaviors are appropriate under the circumstances?  What 
is my best course of action to accomplish my outcome?

This Robbins model is an excellent way to orchestrate the thought process of decisiveness -- now,  
add to it the physiologies of decisiveness.  In other words,  don't only look at decision-making as 
an intellectual process,  but also get your body and heart into it by recalling times when you were 
very decisive,  making pictures of being there,  and stepping into those pictures,  standing in a 
decisive posture,  saying to yourself in a decisive tonality what you'd say if you were going to 
make great decisions.  By creating this optimal internal environment,  you make it more likely that 
you will follow through on making your decisions effectively.

There is yet another model that may be helpful for you,  a model I call the DECIDE Model.  There 
are three steps to making and following through on a decision:

D ynamic
E xclamation -- passionately state your decision,  and commit to following through
C onscious 
 I ntervention -- monitor your progress and self-correct to stay on course
D etermined
E xecution -- persist in the new patterns so new habits develop supporting the decision