You're running late, you cram in the last mouthful of toast, dash out to the car, and screech off to that important meeting. You take a wrong turn. Within minutes the car's grid-locked and you know you are doomed. Your mind spins through a hundred morbid scenarios - they'll cancel the deal, you won't get another chance, say goodbye to that promotion … buzz buzz buzz. By the time you arrive you are exhausted. Your head's thumping like a base drum. You feel sick. You forget their names, you drop your carefully ordered prompt cards on the floor and wish that same floor would swallow you up. It is truly amazing what physical effects thought can create. Only, thankfully, it works positively too. This is not a new discovery. Throughout history philosophers and teachers have spoken of the power of thought on the physical. How we cognize the world creates biochemical events which lead to biochemical consequences. Such understanding is the basis for hypnosis and a host of therapies: "As man thinketh, so he is," says Yogananda, founder of the Self Realisation Fellowship, "Thoughts are things." Scientific research bears this out. Some findings are remarkable. For example, a Harvard study a number of years back demonstrated a reversal of certain indices of aging in elderly men after a three day immersion experience in which they imagined themselves to be 20 years younger. It is also well known that certain emotional profiles are more likely than others to lead to heart disease or cancer. The link between stress and certain physical ailments is another area that is well researched. This power of thought on the physical is certainly apparent in the Senssoma process. While working with the process. some individuals have come to the realization that not honouring particular important aspects in their lives actually led to physical ailments. The research in Csikszentmihalyi's book, "Flow" indicates that workers tend to mention three main reasons for their dissatisfaction with their jobs: lack of variety and challenge, conflicts with other people, and lastly, burnout - too much pressure and stress, too little time. The author says that all can be addressed by a subjective shift in one's consciousness. Saying that "stress exists only if we experience it; it takes the most extreme objective conditions to cause it directly." He says that to overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals much become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments. The sooner we realize that the quality of the work experience can be transformed at will, the sooner we can improve this enormously important dimension of life. So how? Says the author, by becoming an autotelic person and learning to experience flow. ie, in essence (abridged from book), someone who: 1. Learns to make choices (from trivial to life-changing) without much fuss, pays attention to the results of her actions and adjusts accordingly. What she does is not random, nor is it the result of outside determining forces. Actions are reliable and internally controlled. _2. Is immersed in the activity. This is done by learning to balance the opportunities for action with the skills you have. Involvement is greatly facilitated by the ability to concentrate. _3. Pays attention to what is happening and is able to sustain involvement. Self-consciousness, the most common source of distraction, is then not a problem. _4. Learns how to enjoy immediate experience. Feeling a breeze on a hot day, watching a child play with a puppy, drinking a glass of water - even the simplest of experiences can become deeply satisfying and enriching in their own right. _Quick tip - flow Consider one activity, at work or at home in which you can totally immerse yourself. Notice the 'ingredients' that allow you to do this - eg, curiosity, fascination, a sense of achievement, a sense of increasing complexity etc. Explore ways that you can bring these ingredients more into your work life.

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