Congratulations – know that you have made a good start

What I believe is that when somebody recognise a life challenge, or issue which is creating disharmony then they are 50% of the way through the challenge. The next 25% is saying - Yes, I want to do something about it. The remaining 25% is doing it - that's what my methods help with and I always encourage daily meditation. Positive self talk is of the utmost importance and being grateful for some of the good things in life.

Whatever is advised by CALM does not take the place of advice from your own Medical Specialists. If in doubt about using anything that CALM recommends please consult your medical team. This guide contains practical advice and includes the recommendation of guided imagery which will assist in dealing with and overcoming depression using active meditation techniques. The first “Building Block” of the CALM techniques is offered free below so that you can gain an experiential perspective. If you would like to find out more about CALM and the techniques taught by Sandy MacGregor, please visit our about section.

There are many different kinds of Depression which can be caused by a variety of reasons. If you are unsure if your doctor will allow you to meditate, then please ask your doctor first. Generally, Active Meditation is an additional tool that will prove extremely useful in dealing with past actions or hurts and emotional numbness. When you use Active Meditation you are dealing with the deeper subconscious mind in such a way, that with continual use over 30 days, you will create new supporting habits.

It is important to understand the power of self-talk. We talk to ourselves 50,000 times a day and if it’s negative, then it will affect us negatively and only assist in a downward emotional spiral. The key is to become aware of negative self-talk and change it to the positive. Know also that positive self-talk will affect us positively.

Within the deeper inner mind, the subconscious mind, are all our memories, habits, personality and self-image. The job of the subconscious mind is to keep us where we are by creating doubt and negative self-talk. The job of the conscious mind is to implant thoughts (creating new neural pathways, that is, new habits which we want) into the subconscious mind and it can do that using visualisation, goals and active meditation.

Why is this possible? Because the subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. For instance, look at a dream about falling. In the dream you really think that you’re falling and yet it’s not true. The power of imagination within the subconscious mind will work for all of us just the same way that great sports people are taught to use their mind to achieve fantastic results.

Many life issues such as fear, worry, negative thinking, negative experiences, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, etc... can be stressful and lead to depression and anxiety. I know that regular meditation is certainly beneficial and the benefits are cumulative.

A good starting point is to take the following 6 steps daily:

1. Do the Active Meditation “Moving Through Depression” every day. It will be greatly beneficial and only take less than half an hour of your time. The starting point is the first CALM Building Block offered to you as a gift and is described in Taking Action Part 2 below. The actual meditation is available as a download or on CD and you will find more information in Taking Action Part 3 below
2. Exercise for 30 minutes every day
3. Take Zinc and Fish Oil
4. Watch a humorous movie or other for at least one hour every day
5. Do something different every day, eg:
   • Walk a different way
   • Drive a different way
   • Go to a new Coffee Shop
   • and other New Things
6. Use positive self talk
   Keep self-talk positive. Awareness is the key - as soon as you become aware of the negative way you talk to yourself it is possible to nip in the bud any thoughts which are not positive.

An experiential perspective of the CALM Active Meditation methods can be gained by listening to the Guided Imagery Track “Building Your Peaceful Place” – offered to you below for free.

1. Find a quiet, comfortable location where you won't be disturbed and listen to the guided imagery audio called Building Your Peaceful Place by clicking play on the bar below. Every time you listen to this track you should feel immediate stress relief. This is the first building block taught when using the CALM methods

Having read the discussion above and experienced the guided imagery of Building Your Peaceful Place, the next step is to do the Active Meditation “Moving Through Depression”. You can purchase the download here or the CD here.

Please take some time to check out the Moving Though Depression section of this site where you will find related Articles, Success Stories and Frequently Asked Questions

Importantly – the following seminars may further assist with overcoming depression

• Active Meditation Seminar on 2 DVDs
• The CALM Life Skills Seminar on DVDs and CDs
• 5-Day/4-night Live-in CHI Seminar held in Sydney, Australia