mindset

A mantra is a simple yet powerful tool to calm your mind, reduce stress, and improve focus. Originating from Sanskrit, the word “mantra” combines “manas” (mind) and “tra” (tool), making it a tool to train your mind. Repeating a mantra—either silently or aloud—can help bring you back to the present moment, quieting distractions and fostering a sense of peace.

The Science Behind Mantras

Studies show that mantra meditation can help reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and boost immunity. Repeating a mantra slows your breathing, promoting a state of relaxation and improving mental clarity. When combined with deep breathing, mantras help engage “resonant breathing,” which has been shown to synchronize the body’s systems for maximum efficiency.

Mantras Across Cultures

While mantras are often linked to religious practices—such as the Hail Mary in Catholicism or Sat Nam in yoga—they can be used by anyone. Simple phrases like “I am enough” or “Just this moment” can be just as effective in grounding and calming your mind.

How to Start Your Own Mantra Practice

1. Choose Your Mantra: Pick a word or phrase that resonates with you—something calming or empowering.
2. Match It with Your Breath: Slowly inhale for five counts while repeating the first part of your mantra, then exhale for five counts with the second part.
3. Use a Cue or Location: Repeat your mantra at specific times—during meditation, walking, or even while driving.
4. Be Patient: The goal is not to rush, but to stay present and connected with each repetition.

Benefits of Mantra Practice

• Stress reduction: Helps calm your mind and lower cortisol levels.
• Improved focus: Trains your mind to stay in the moment.
• Increased relaxation: Slow breathing promotes a balanced nervous system.

Whether you’re looking to reduce stress or enhance your meditation practice, using a mantra is a simple and effective way to bring calm and clarity into your life.

Your thoughts shape your reality more than you may realize. The way you perceive the world around you is largely influenced by your mindset. In fact, your perspective is the filter through which you experience life, and this filter is something you can change. Here’s how understanding the power of your thoughts can transform your reality.

The Power of Perspective

Have you ever noticed how two people can experience the same situation completely differently? For example, a lottery winner might expect happiness but find that old worries and insecurities persist. The same applies to any situation—a couple on a beautiful vacation might feel blissful, while another couple in the same place might be frustrated or upset.

This difference stems from cognitive biases, such as:

• Negativity Bias: Focusing on the negatives, even in positive situations.
• Emotional Coloring: Our moods affect how we see things.
• Beliefs and Expectations: Preconceived notions shape how we interpret events.

These biases can distort your reality, but you have the power to reshape them.

How to Transform Your Reality

Cultivate Mindfulness

By being present and observing your thoughts without judgment, you can begin to identify and change negative thought patterns.

Practice Cognitive Reappraisal

When faced with negative thoughts, reframe them. Instead of focusing on the anger someone cut you off in traffic, think about other possible reasons behind their actions—like rushing to an emergency.

Embrace Gratitude

Focusing on the positive aspects of your life can shift your mindset from scarcity to abundance, helping you feel more fulfilled and joyful.

The Benefits of Changing Your Thoughts

By shifting your perspective, you’ll experience:

• Less Stress: Reducing negative thinking helps manage anxiety and stress.
• Better Relationships: Positive thinking fosters compassion and deeper connections.
• Increased Happiness: Focusing on what’s good in your life makes everyday moments more meaningful.

There is a lot of cultural focus on the New Year being “happy” and ‘looking forward to the New Year.’ But, what if you aren’t looking forward to 2025? What happens if you feel difficult emotions, while all around you people are celebrating the New Year? Here are some ideas of how to cope with painful, difficult emotions:  

1. Reflect on some of the reasons you are feeling painful emotions and label them. Dread? Fear? Ennui? Helplessness?
2. Remind yourself that it is okay and very authentic to not be excited about the New Year.
3. Focus on self-care and self-compassion. You don’t need to make resolutions. You don’t need to “celebrate”.
4. Focus on not trying to fix or judge your feelings. As kids, most of us have been taught by peers/parents/teachers to ‘shut down’ or ‘solve’ our feelings, rather than sitting with them and honoring them in a productive, kind way. By shutting down and silencing ourselves we are taking care of everyone else. By allowing ourselves to sit with our difficult emotions and giving ourselves permission to feel differently than the group at large we are taking care of ourselves.
5. ‘Judge and Observer’:  I teach my clients, a way to view two ways of addressing our feelings;
   

Judge: a harsh reaction to how we feel (i.e.: should-statements, shutting down, telling self “I should be happy”; “I need to stop crying”; “What’s wrong with me”)

Observer: seeing our feelings through a neutral lens, as if we’re a camera and simply viewing and narrating how we feel (i.e.: using the Emotion Wheel to identify and neutrally call out “I feel sad and that’s okay”; “I feel angry and scared, and it’s okay to feel both”)

6. Engage in tools and apps and other resources:

Emotion Wheel: I love handing out the Emotion Wheel to clients who are building emotional regulation and mindfulness skills, reminding them to not try to fix/judge after they identify them, but rather see how our values can line up with actionable goals (i.e.: I feel sad and scared for my community, I value my sense of togetherness and support with them, I can go volunteer, talk to friends, donate, etc)

‘Both/And’ statements: to manage mixed emotions in the new year (i.e.: “I feel sad that I’m going home, and I am looking forward to getting back into my routine”)

The “Finch” app: (mood tracking and habit-building) is one of my favorites to suggest to clients who are learning to be kinder to themselves 

“Headspace” and “Calm” meditation apps: for moments of ‘negative space’ 

(disconnecting from screens and taking breaks from overstimulating environments at work, school, and social media – a time to just sit and breathe and notice what you’re thinking)

Here Comes A Thought song for distressing thoughts & utilizing mindfulness

Have a grounded, present, and authentic New Year.

By: Betsy Pownall

Institutional betrayal is a term that refers to a betrayal of trust or harm by an organization or institution upon the individuals it is responsible for. It can occur at work, school, religious institutions, or any organization. UO Professor Psychology Emeritus Jennifer Freyd developed the theory and defined it as “a wrong perpetrated by an institution upon an individual dependent on that institution”.

Institutional betrayal can take several forms that include:

Negligence

Negligence or failure to prevent abuse is one of the most common forms of institutional betrayal. For example: when a school fails to address bullying or harassment which can deeply affect a student’s sense of self.

Punishing Victims and Whistleblowers

Institutions that take action against individuals who report wrongdoing or abuse perpetuate a culture of silence and fear within the organization. This behavior can range from victim-blaming to firing, retaliating, and pressing charges against employees who speak out about unethical practices.

Cover-ups

Institutional betrayal can involve efforts to cover up wrongdoing to protect the institution’s reputation at the expense of the victim. For example: property owners living near toxic landfills prior to them being labeled a Superfund Site, such as Rocky Flats Plant in Boulder, Colorado, or the Love Canal Niagara Falls, NY.

Failure to Respond Adequately

If an organization doesn’t respond promptly to allegations of wrongdoing or abuse, it can make individuals feel betrayed. Inadequate responses could involve ignoring complaints, skipping investigations, and giving minimal assistance.

Normalizing Abusive Content

This includes institutions downplaying or ignoring abusive behavior or practices, making them seem acceptable or routine, which will create a toxic environment. For example: the abuse that has occurred within religious organizations in the name of god.

Some general characteristics make institutions vulnerable to institutional betrayal. These characteristics include:

• Membership requirements: a clearly defined group with strict requirements for membership often precedes institutional betrayal, as conformity is valued and members have the potential to self-police.
• Prestige: When institutions or their leaders play an elevated role in the community, their potential to perpetrate abuse may be deeply hidden. Leaders may lead with an assumption of trust and dependency which can be problematic when abuse is occurring, as to report the abuse would mean breaking an important relationship
• Priorities: If Performance and reputation are valued over the well-being of members, the potential for abuse and the cover-up of abuse is high. Institutions may emphasize “maintaining appearances” above all else.
• Institutional Denial: This is best described when an institution has had allegations of abuse waged against it and it  “others” the victims, casting doubt on the truthfulness of the allegations of abuse.

Coping with institutional betrayal can be challenging. Here are some strategies:

1. Seek support
2. Tell your story
3. Advocate for change: many survivors become advocates for change to prevent future abuse from happening.
4. Self-care
5. Legal recourse: consulting with a lawyer can help victims explore their rights and choices

The impact of institutional betrayal can be deep and long-lasting to the individual. It can cause emotional distress, mental health issues, a diminished sense of trust in the individual, and social anxiety. 

Advocating for change and holding others accountable can give individuals a sense of agency and empowerment and has the potential of restoring trust in institutions that are meant to protect and serve others.

The Center for Institutional Courage (CIC), founded by Jennifer Freyd, PhD in January 2020, is a non-profit dedicated to research and education about institutional betrayal and how to counter it through institutional courage. CIC believes, “courage sees a figure where our institutions act courageously: with accountability, with transparency, actively seeking justice, and making changes where needed despite unpleasantness, risk, and short-term costs”.

Sources: 

“What is Institutional Betrayal and How can it Affect You?” (2023) ImPossible Psychological Services. 

 Center for Institutional Courage, https://www.institutionalcourage.org/

Our state of mind plays a pivotal role in how we perceive and interact with the world around us. 

You can learn to optimize your state of mind to suit the situations and challenges you face.

 Here are a few strategies to help you make this shift:

Mindfulness and Meditation: Practicing mindfulness or meditation can help you become more aware of your current state of mind and learn to shift it intentionally. These practices foster a sense of presence and awareness, allowing you to recognize when you’re falling into a narrow mindset and gently guide yourself back to a broader perspective.

Exposure to New Experiences: Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things can naturally broaden your state of mind. Whether it’s learning a new skill, visiting a new place, or meeting new people, each new experience adds to your repertoire of knowledge and helps shift your perspective.

Gratitude Practice: Regularly acknowledging and appreciating the positive aspects of your life can foster a broader, more positive state of mind. Gratitude helps shift your focus from what’s lacking to what’s abundant, encouraging a more expansive and optimistic outlook.

By actively working to broaden your mental perspective, you can enhance your creativity, improve your mood, and become more open to new experiences.