Code to Joy by George Pratt, Peter Lambrou and John David Mann is another wonderful book by the two doctors who created Instant Emotional Healing. And what better way to open the New Year with a reading that summarizes some of the main habits that implement joy and happiness in one’s life and it takes the reader through a productive process of self-analysis?
One of the main points to retain is gratitude. The authors suggest the compilation of a gratitude list. As simples as this may seem, reading this list every day and adding points to it means that the reader is exercising one’s gratitude muscle and that can “prodoundly change your brain”, because you are programming a portion of your brain to look at the bright side, to observe what’s right about your life. According to Code to Joy, it’s the reticular activating system (RAS) and it filters all the sensory information our brains draw from the world and as you work it, your brain makes a shift on priorities, meaning: you become more aware of those things in your life that are positive.
Code to Joy takes the reader through a process which basically consists in the following:
- Identify painful events from your past
- Replace your limiting beliefs with empowering beliefs
- Use neuromuscular feedback and breathing exercises to explore your subconscious mind
- Retrain your brain to be more grateful
- Enjoy nature to bring calm and renewal into your life
The book opens by explaining the fog of distress that most of us face without knowing, generally given to the impact of a small early event that becomes a definition of our way of being or acting in the world in an effect defined as traumatic resonance.
It also takes the reader through the seven limiting beliefs:
- I am not safe.
- I am worthless.
- I am powerless.
- I am not lovable.
- I cannot trust anyone.
- I am bad.
- I am alone.
And one can access these beliefs and the true unconscious imprints by testing the body using neuromuscular feedback.
“Conventional modern medicine, with its basis in physiology and anatomy and its repertoire of pharmaceuticals, surgery, and other allopathic interventions, fundamentally treats the physical body. Conventional psychology, on the other hand, fundamentally treats the mind: through talking, behavior modification, and so forth, it seeks to modify how you perceive experiences and think about things, and through this, how you structure your behaviors.
But these two approaches in themselves fail to fully address our new understanding of human health. This new model sees the human being as an organism composed of three aspects: body, mind, and biofield—a conductive medium that overlaps and integrates body and mind together.”
The book also explains why human beings were designed and created to be happy. So no more fog: nothing but blue skies!
To finalize, here’s a list of action steps according to Code to Joy:
- How would you describe the fog of distress in your life?
- Think back to your childhood or teenage years and write down those negative events that made a strong impact on your life. While making the list, enlist the help of family and friends who knew you when you were younger.
- Make a list of three limiting beliefs that hold you back the most in life. Next, counter those with three empowering beliefs.
- Think back to the dreams you had as a young person. Which ones have you realized and which ones did you never attempt to reach? Write down some of the things that held you back.
- Begin your own gratitude list. Each day, add at least one thing you are grateful for.
- Make a list of images of the life you want to be living, the life you describe in your empowering beliefs. Use descriptive words that will evoke the positive feelings related to the images. Keep this list nearby for when you need it most.
- Pen your own personal code to joy and take a pledge of self-acceptance on a daily basis. To further cement the meaning in your life, write it out, decorate it and keep it visible.
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