The following is a press release for a workshop I will be conducting at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego on Saturday January 16, 2010.

San Diego Press Club Sponsors workshop to jump start your career:

Here’s a big idea to take very seriously: we can – and do -- send ourselves uninvited messages that may be negative or limiting enough to impede our lives and progress.

That’s the theory proposed by psychotherapist, author and television personality Dr. Adrianne Ahern, who will expand on this theme at “Snap Out of it - NOW!” on Saturday, Jan. 16 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park, sponsored by the San Diego Press Club.

“Ever have a goal that you can’t seem to attain or a habit you can’t break?  That’s because the hard-wiring of your brain is sabotaging your efforts and controlling your physiology, “ says Dr. Ahern.

Dr. Ahern’s “Snap Out of it - NOW” Four-Step method will help attendees remove barriers to reaching their goals, respond positively and effectively to change, reduce the negative impacts of a stressful life, and more. Her book will be available for sale. She will be assisted by clinical psychologist Marian Edelbrock, Ph.D, and Brandon Moreno, a Human Resource consultant and executive coach.

Reservations, free to S. D. Press Club members and, as a service to the community, $20 to non-members, may be made via www.sdpressclub.org, or by phoning Executive Director Terry Williams, 619-231-4340.  A complimentary continental breakfast will be served.

Jump Start Your Career!

Choose to attend the San Diego Press Club's first event of the new year on January 16, 2010. 

I have been asked by the board of SD Press Club to help their members snap out of attitudes of doom and gloom  that their profession is going down the tubes.  I will be showing workshop attendees how to retrain their brain for success -- so that they can start seeing opportunities and creative solutions where they've been seeing only roadblocks and dead-ends.  

At this workshop you will learn how to turn your internal saboteur into a pep squad!  You will be guided in uncovering and changing your limiting beliefs, and unleashing your creative powers!  This workshop will be interactive and is geared for communications professionals.  Hope to see you there!

Details of Event: 
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Date: January 16, 2010
Location: Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park
Cost: Free to SDPC members, $20 non-members
To register, please email the San Diego Press Club directly: sdpressclub@cox.net

What is your Mohini?


Where in life do you feel “imprisoned” or are you “settling” for less than you really desire?  
Listen to Dr. Adrianne Ahern as she shows her audience, at Congregation Beth Israel in La Jolla, CA,
how to identify who you are AND who you are not!  Register online at Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego. 

Event Details:

Keynote:  Who Am I Now with Dr. Adrianne Ahern Date: TODAY, Thursday, November 19, 2009 Where: 9001 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego, CA 92122 Time: 1:30 pm

Listen to Dr. Adrianne Ahern as she shows her audience, at Congregation Beth Israel in La Jolla, CA, how to identify who you are AND who you are not!  Register online at Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego.  
Event Details:

Keynote:  Who Am I Now with Dr. Adrianne Ahern Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009 Where: 9001 Towne Centre Drive S.D. 92122 Time: 1:30 p.m. Cost: $5 for Adult

Science has figured out that repeated thoughts actually carve neuro-pathways into the brain. The thought becomes hard-wired into your brain. Think about it -- when a self-limiting thought is carved in like that, it doesn't just affect your thinking. It affects your entire physiology and determines how you act and react to the situations in you life. 

The GOOD NEWS is that you can consciously re-wire your brain so that your conditioned beliefs and attitudes support you, embrace positive change, help you feel empowered in challenging times like these.  And when you feel empowered? You come up with brilliant ideas, effective strategies, innovative solutions.


Join me at Warwick's Books in La Jolla, California on October 14th at 7:30pm and hear me explain how you can get "Back in Charge!" and start living your life by choice, no longer by automatic reactions that keep you stuck unable to reach your goals.

Times are tough.  Things are changing and often we feel as if the sand is shifting under our feet and everything feels unstable. Most of us are resistant to change. Join me at Warwick’s Bookstore in La Jolla, CA on October 14th at 7:30pm and I will explain why that’s so.

On the beach at Kohala Coast Fairmont Orchid on the first day of the
Energy Psychology Seminar with Dr. George Pratt. In the photo, Dr. Pratt is muscle testing my new friend Joanne, after clearing an old negative pattern from her childhood that has been blocking her for years. Amazing stuff!

What is Energy Psychology?

Essentially, it is an emerging area of
psychology where anceint wisdom meets modern science. The work of Dr. George Pratt is an exciting blend of Cognitive Psychology and
Acupuncture. It offers an effective and efficient way to clear
anything off our brain's hardwiring that no longer serves us--e.g.,
those persisting negative thoughts & emotions that are the saboteur of
our goals. AND, this is why I am here -- to incorporate these
seemingly "too good to be true" new and effective tools into my Snap
Out Of It NOW! processes! I want to make it as easy and effortless as
possible for my clients to cleanse the old conditioning that no longer
serves them in order to wire in more positive and empowering thoughts,
beliefs, and feelings that support all they want to do, be, and have
in life.

Stay tuned! Today, I swim with the magnificent spinner dolphins of
Hawaii, who I anticipate may be my greatest teachers.
With an open heart,
Adrianne

Let's see how your brain operates to discern subtle information.  Here are two videos of the same person. In one, he is telling a story which is true. In the other, he is telling a lie. I have the sound turned off, so just by looking at him, see if you can guess which is which. 

By the time we become adults, we're all unconscious experts at body language, so pay special attention to his eyes, his gestures, his breathing and see if you can tell who's the liar?

How many of you think that he's lying in the one on the right? 

How many think it's the one on the left?  

If you thought it was the one of the right, think for a moment, "why?"   

And, if you thought he was lying in the one of the left -- think of your reasoning for making this decision.

Okay.... so, now that you've come up with a very good rationale for your opinion, let me just tell you that the only liar in this situation is ME!  This guy in the video was actually reciting poetry, the same poem in fact.  But because I convinced you that one was a lie, your brain pulled itself together and gave you concrete, well-thought through evidence for one or the other.  You actually "saw" things differently.  

Pretty amazing, huh?

Let's see how the brain operates to solve problems...  If you want to experience this exercise, it is very important that you do not skip ahead and read the material below where you are at the moment.

I’m going to show you two sets of puzzles.  This isn't a test where you get graded on how well you do. But I want you to pay attention to how your brain approaches these puzzles. The first set is very easy and almost everyone can solve it with no problem. But, however you see it, don't worry about it. Just pay attention to your process. 

Take just a few minutes with this set of puzzles:

1) What common 3-letter word can go into every blank below to make another word?

                        NIS

S                        CIL

KIT                       

2) What number goes in the blank box so the 4 numbers in both sets total the same number?

The next set of puzzles is much more difficult. I've seen Mensa members who couldn't solve it. The problems may look obvious on the surface but they aren't. Even when you think you've got the right answer, you probably won't. But still just work on the problems and see what you come up with. And notice how your brain is trying to tackle them.

Take a few moments with these puzzles:

3) Cross off 4 letters in this word to come up with a vegetable:   

CHLORINE

4) A deli has 2 types of bread, 3 kinds of cheese, and 3 kinds of meat. Customers can choose one type of bread, one cheese and one meat for their sandwich.  How many variations of sandwiches can there be?

• 17
• 18
• 24
•  27

Now, think about for a moment how those two experiences were different for you.

Before we go any further, let me confess that the second set of puzzles was not really harder. Both of these come from an elementary school level puzzle book. But what happened to your ability to solve the puzzle when you believed it was impossible?

How many of you saw the moon-walking bear the first time through?
How does that relate to us right now? Well, if you’re conditioned to focus on how bad the economy is, how many businesses have closed in your industry, how many other people have lost money…well, that's what you are going to see. Your brain will not let you see the moon-walking bear or that unusual opportunity or that potential solution to your situation. But if you re-wire your brain—your internal authority—to start looking for the moon-walking bear, your brain will let you see it.  
Start confronting the limiting beliefs and attitudes that are holding you back from achieving all you want to have, do, and be in life!

Science has figured out that repeated thoughts actually carve neuro-pathways into the brain. The thought becomes hard-wired into your brain. And when a thought is carved in like that, it doesn't just affect your thinking. It affects your entire physiology.  

For more info, call your local Public Television Station (click the link under the video monitor) and ask them about "Snap Out Of It NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern."

I will be doing a radio interview tomorrow morning with “The Coaching Show with Christopher McAuliffe.” Find out more and listen to archives from the show.

As I think about the interview, I think about the most often asked question I get these days – about why I claim that affirmations, goal setting and positive thinking do not work?

I often get heat from clients when I say that repeating affirmations is a self-improvement tool that doesn’t work!   This is NOT because I believe affirmations and positive thinking can not be powerful tools in manifesting our dreams.  It is because I know that unless we acknowledge and release our underlying negative thought or belief that is currently directing our entire system – brain, heart-rate, perceptions, behavioral reactions, blood pressure, breathing, etc… -- we will continue fighting ourselves:  “I have all that it takes to be successful” vs. “I’m doomed to fail!”

There are ways, however, to make affirmative statements effective. But just plopping a happy, fluffy, shiny thought over grimy, nasty, negative one does not work.  The way to make affirmations effective is to unearth the negative belief that’s fighting it before attempting to rewire yourself with a new truth that you want to start living by.

Here is the way to make those affirmations start working for you!  

1) Acknowledge the negative thought

2) Breathe with attention directed toward the feeling.  Experience how that thought makes you feel—whether the feeling is physical (tight neck, jittery stomach) or emotional (frustrated, angry, panicy),

3) Cleanse that negative thought and it’s associated feeling from your brain and physiology. Breathe in – acknowledge the thought and its associated feeling.  Breathe out – release it from your system.

4) Rewire in a new truth that you want to start living your life by. 

Using these 4 steps you are paving the way for your affirmation to take root and start supporting all you want to have, do, or be.

Matt Liebowit, a journalist with the Rancho Santa Fe Review, the Del Mar Village Voice, and the Carmel Valley News, called me last week to interview me about my KPBS-TV Special and my recent return to full-time therapy and coaching private practice in Del Mar and Carmel Valley.  Matt's article came out today in all three papers.  I've copied a bit of it below and if you're interested, you click on the link at the bottom to read more!  I feel so grateful for the exposure to my work now that I am back home building my private practice.

Local psychologist Dr. Adrianne Ahern takes breakthrough ‘Snap out of it NOW!’ approach to national spotlight

By Matt Liebowitz


In matters of psychological health and well-being, often it’s the simple solution that warrants the most focus. Such is the case with the Dr. Adrianne Ahern, whose groundbreaking approach to psychology—simple and deeply scientific at once—is gaining widespread, national attention.


Ahern, a clinical psychologist who lives and practices locally, is the author of two books, Snap Out of it NOW! (2007), and Back in Charge, which came out in June 2009. Both books outline Ahern’s techniques of how to “rewire” the brain, as she puts it, to break out of conditioned habits and thought patterns and use the brain’s intrinsic physiology to achieve personal and professional success.


read more here....

I want to share a bit a feedback that I just received from a San Diego business woman about "Snap Out Of It NOW!" that aired in San Diego on KPBS August 8th:


"I was going through all the channels on Saturday evening and stopped when I saw your show on Channel 11 PBS.  I had not heard of you before.  I started Facebook about three weeks ago and started Twitter a couple of days ago and I signed up for both with you.  I would like to have a private session with you sometime in the future.  I sell real estate.  In this economic market, do you have room to schedule sessions for all 21,000 San Diego County real estate agents?  Ha, Ha.  Did you ever think of contacting SDAR--The San Diego Association of Realtors to put on a seminar.  Here is my psychological assessment of your program.  Assessment of you--I expected you to be intelligent so I will not mention that, but what came through on the television program and was most impressive was your "sincerity."  There is a new era coming soon in personal development and you are in the right place at the right time."

My in-studio interview at KPBS on Saturday night was really fun!  Thank you to all of you who watched and to those of you who set your DVR or Tivo to watch at a later time.

If you recorded "Snap Out Of It NOW!" and didn't have the chance to call in to join or renew your KPBS membership, you can do that NOW! online by clicking here.  Make sure to select, "Snap Out Of It NOW!" in the "Search by Program" drop down menu and choose the "thank you" gifts you would like.

The DVD of the special is only available through pledging your support to KPBS.  And, remember that my second book, "Back In Charge!" was written to support the material offered in the Public Television special, so the combo package will be the best way to begin rewiring your brain to start supporting your efforts at self-improvement!

Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind!

Feeling depressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed out?  

Here's the a solution – Snap Out of It NOW!®. I will be in-studio at KPBS-TV on Saturday evening--that's tomorrow night!---answering questions about my new American Public Television special. 

Tune in Saturday August 8 at 7 p.m. on KPBS TV, San Diego Channel 11, to learn how you can get your efforts at self-improvement to start working for you, and unleash your maximum potential. 

I am pleased to announce the opening of my therapy private practice’s new location in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego, CA. Click "play" on the image above and it will let you cruise around my office. You can even zoom in to check out the books I read and the artwork on the wall. 


I will be offering both in-person and telephone consultations (including via SKYPE). So now, no matter where you live, you can make an appointment and begin working with me on breaking free from negative conditioning NOW!  


To schedule an appointment, please call my office in San Diego, California at 858.764.2422 or toll-free at 1.800.753.1417.

Please remember to watch "Snap Out Of It NOW!" if you live in the San Diego area, and if not, please share this info with family and friends who do!

Learn how to make your efforts at self-improvement start working for you! Snap Out Of It NOW! puts you back in the driver's seat, gives you the tools you need to face challenges with confidence, and provides the key to unlocking and rewiring the brain so you control it instead of it controlling you.

Be sure to watch on August 8 at 7p.m. on KPBS-TV! 

Call in (Toll-free: (888) 399-5727) or go online and make a pledge to support KPBS, and make sure to reference "Snap Out Of It NOW!"

Show details:

Event: KPBS TV Special, "Snap Out Of It NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern" "Face it or get chased by it!"
Date/Time: Saturday, August 8 at 7:00pm
Where: KPBS-TV Channel 11 for cable , but please check your local listing

Want to watch clips from this Show?  Click here!


Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind,

 

The power of the brain has much more effect on our health, wealth, and general well-being than any external circumstance. Most of us have it backwards because we haven't understood how the brain works – and how we can consciously re-wire it to support our goals.

So many of us have been hit hard by this economy, and we are doing all we know to do to keep afloat and repair the damage to our lives. But all of our activity will be fruitless unless we get our brains on board.

The intrinsic power of our brains holds the key to surviving and thriving during these difficult times—not outside forces.

Though it's great to understand how the brain works, just understanding the science of the brain won't change your life. During my KPBS-TV Special on Saturday, August 8th at 7pm, I will show you how to apply this science through simple and practical tools designed to:

    * Reduce stress and relieve anxiety related to financial and career issues

    * Re-wire neuropathways that hold limiting or counter-productive beliefs regarding money, occupation, what is possible and impossible

    * Enhance creative problem-solving mechanisms and tap intrinsic wisdom to address current challenges

    * Reclaim our identity as strong, capable, and resilient

Reminder: Watch "SNAP..." on KPBS!

Please remember to watch "Snap Out Of It NOW!" on KPBS if you live in the San Diego area, and if not, please share this info with family and friends who do!

Learn how to make your efforts at self-improvement start working for you! Snap Out of It NOW!® puts you back in the driver's seat, gives you the tools you need to face challenges with confidence, and provides the key to unlocking and rewiring the brain so you control it instead of it controlling you.

Be sure to watch on August 8 at 7 p.m. on KPBS TV! Call in (Toll-free: (888) 399-5727) or go online and make a pledge to support Public Television in San Diego!

Show details:

Event: KPBS TV Special, "Snap Out Of It NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern" "Face it or get chased by it!"
Date/Time: Saturday, August 8 at 7:00pm
Where: KPBS-TV Channel 11 for cable , but please check your local listing

Want to watch clips from this Show? Click here!


Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind,
Adrianne

Move over Dr. Phil – Dr. Adrianne Ahern teaches you how to rewire your brain to confront life’s challenges for greater success and wellbeing.

Feeling depressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed out? Clinical psychologist Adrianne Ahern has a solution – Snap Out of It NOW!®. Dr. Ahern, renowned for her pioneering work in developing human potential, has developed a breakthrough methodology to help train the brain to support optimal health, success, and wellbeing. Ahern can teach you how to rewire your brain to meet and conquer life’s challenges.

In today’s uncertain economic and social climate, people want to relieve anxiety, regain control of their lives and find positive solutions, but many are bogged down by years of negative conditioning. The proven Snap Out of It Now!® method, developed by Ahern during her over 15 years of private practice and organizational consulting, integrates the disciplines of psychology, psychophysiology, neurofeedback, and personal achievement analysis. Dr. Ahern provides unique strategies and concrete tools to rewire the physiology of the brain so it works for us, not against us.

The negative conditioning of our brains controls us, and sends us messages that have emotional and physiological control over us – it’s a powerful force that holds us back – but we can take charge and rewire our brains to unleash its power in positive directions. Dr. Ahern teaches simple yet powerful techniques to train the brain to support what we really want in life – more fulfilling careers, optimal health, and satisfying relationships. Her method helps us identify and rewire negative conditioning in order to meet life’s challenges with confidence, reduce the impacts of stress, and experience more energy and joy in our lives. Ahern, a respected bestselling author and national speaker, follows in the footsteps of great motivational gurus such as Leo Buscaglia, John Gray, Suze Orman, and Wayne Dyer, by launching her national television debut in the public broadcasting arena.

Learn how to uncover counterproductive brain conditioning, snap out of mental mediocrity and unleash maximum potential. Snap Out of It NOW!® puts us back in the driver's seat, gives us the tools we need to face challenges with confidence, and provides the key to unlocking and rewiring the brain so we control it instead of it controlling us. Filmed before a live audience, the interactive, fun and engaging Dr. Ahern will teach you how to breakout and breakthrough to reach your goals and enrich your life!

Be sure to watch on August 8 at 7 p.m. on KPBS TV! Call in (Toll-free: (888) 399-5727) or go online and make a pledge to support Public Television in San Diego!

I decided that to support Public Television and my pledge special I needed to do my best to spread the word and boost viewing numbers for the KPBS special on August 8th at 7pm.  To do this, I thought a flyer would be good to distribute at the talks I'll be giving over the next few weeks.  Also, I could post the flyer in various public places around town. Actually, my friend who owns the Pannikin Retail Store on Girard in La Jolla triggered the idea for this!


Having just returned to San Diego, I didn't have the resources I had in Nevada and I knew I didn't have much time to get this done.  So I contacted KPBS to ask them for suggestions and after a series of emails I ended up with a terrific company named EyeMotive (contact info below).  I love their work, their efficiency and their professionalism.  And, I love the flyer! What do you think?

Scott is a delight to work with and I highly recommend giving him a call should you need a graphic designer.  

Scott Birdsall

Creative Director

Eyemotive

949-645-4536

scott@eyemotive.com

www.eyemotive.com

Check out KPBS and their promotion of Snap Out Of It NOW! -- read what is being said about my work and my public television show!

"Move over Dr. Phil – Dr. Adrianne Ahern teaches you how to rewire your brain to confront life’s challenges for greater success and wellbeing.

Feeling depressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed out? Clinical psychologist Adrianne Ahern has a solution – Snap Out of It NOW!®. Dr. Ahern, renowned for her pioneering work in developing human potential, has developed a breakthrough methodology to help train the brain to support optimal health, success, and wellbeing. Ahern can teach you how to rewire your brain to meet and conquer life’s challenges."

....to read more, click here!

Just got a call from KPBS - the public television station in San Diego - to schedule "Snap Out Of It NOW!" for their membership drive on  August 8th at 7pm! I am excited that my family, friends, colleagues and clients will be able to see my 90-minute pledge show, distributed by America Public Television, that we filmed last fall in Reno, Nevada.  Watch my show and discover why your efforts at self-improvement are not working! And, learn to rewire your brain to start working for you, not against you!

Show details:

August 8, 2009

KPBS San Diego, CA: Snap Out of it NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern 90-Minute Pledge Special

Saturday evening  August 8^th at 7:00 pm (Check your local listing!)

Be sure to watch!  Call in and make a pledge to support Public Television in San Diego

Call 619-594-6983 or send an email to members@kpbs.org.

Toll-free: (888) 399-5727
http://www.kpbs.org/

Check out my new office -- click "play" on the image above and it will let you cruise around my office.  You can even zoom in to check out the books I read and the artwork on the wall.  Last week a few members of my web team, Darin and Lisa McClure, came to see my psychology private practice office.  In addition to teaching me a bunch of new tricks with my Twitter and Facebook accounts, they also took a bunch of photos of my new office.  Then using this cool new tool (for me!) called "Microsoft Photosynth" they showed me how to embed the link to all the photos right here into my blog.  So, you can check out my office - all the books, water fountain, my diplomas, etc..., and rather than imagine what it would be like to sit down with me, you can check it out for yourself before even picking up the phone to call for an appointment.

Check it out!


The office is centrally located in Carmel Valley next to the Ruth Chris SteakHouse, right off the 5 freeway and just south of the 56 freeway.  

NEW office address is:
11622 El Camino Real, Suite 100,

San Diego, CA 92130

NEW office telephone: 858-764-2422.

It doesn’t matter whether the direction or information your brain is given is TRUE or FALSE: your brain is totally obedient and activates all of your physical systems –your visual perception, your heart rate, your glands, your hearing, your emotions -- to act according to that direction or belief.

Your brain responds to external direction, but more importantly, your brain responds to your internal direction or beliefs. This internal authority will always over-ride the external. So for instance, if I tell you a puzzle is impossible, but your internal authority says, "Hey, I'm terrific at puzzles. I'll ace these!" that's the direction that your brain will follow. If I tell you that the puzzles are easy but your internal authority says that you are hopeless at puzzles, your brain will still respond as if they are difficult. This internal authority, these internal beliefs, whether you are aware of them or not, and whether they are true or not, run your life. These are your internal conditioned beliefs or your conditioning. It's this conditioning, this internal authority, that you need to re-wire in order to create the life you'll love!

Now, some of our conditioning is appropriate for certain times but destructive in others. Think about an automatic sprinkler system. It works great when all the settings are right. It just does its thing without your attention. But what if its settings are for winter: no water, 7 days a week? Great, during winter. Maybe even okay for spring. But once it hits summer, your sprinkler's settings are no longer so great. Unless you can re-set your sprinkler to deal with its new circumstance, your lawn is lost!

The conditioned beliefs you have had about career and finances may have been fine for normal economic times. "I'm not smart enough to start my own business" was okay back then. "This is the only career I'll ever be good at." Or "My broker will watch out for my interests" or "I could never live in a house with roommates" was okay back then. But circumstances have changed -- dramatically. It's summer. You may need to change your conditioned settings.

The good news is that we can consciously condition our brains to operate in directions we choose – to change its settings now that it’s summer.  

If this makes sense to you check out my new book “Back in Charge!” 

Are you aware that your brain, not circumstance, controls your outcomes? I know many of you are doing all you can think of to find work, increase income, deal with your finances, etc. But even if you are "doing all the right things," you may not be getting results. 

Why?

If you’re focusing on how bad the economy is, how many people have been laid off in your industry, how many other people have lost money…well, that's  exactly what you are going to see. Your brain will not let you see that unusual opportunity or that potential opening in your field.

Some of you are walking around knowing that the sky is going to fall and you'll be lucky to survive at all. Others are seeing this time as an opportunity to change business as usual and create a more positive world.

Here’s the thing:  your brain doesn't care which is right, but it’s directing your emotions, heart rate, breathing – all of your systems – to prepare for a future event (whether it’s filled with positivity and inspiration or doom and gloom) that it believes will happen.   

Stay tuned for my next post – “The Internal Authority that Runs Your Life!”

Darin McClure, social media Guru, and his lovely wife, Lisa, are in my
new office on El Camino Real teaching me all sorts of new and exciting
things about twitter, Facebook and more!  I'll be tweating from iphone.
Coming soon -- Dr. A Video Blogging!

As I move my clinical and consulting psychological office back home to San Diego, my friend, Renee, Process Improvement Coordinator for the Scripps Green Hospital and famous book artist from Escondido,  recommended a book that I should read as I prepare to return to working within the Scripps Hospital culture.  This book, "Why Hospitals Should Fly," not only defines the changes needed to arrive at a "culture of safety" within our country's hospitals, but it is a really good read! 

Get a copy today and start reading the story of St. Michael's, the fictional hospital used by the author, John Nance, to show what a culture of safety looks like in hospitals. St. Michael's transformation to a culture of safety should be the model for our hospitals today! 

I am reading this book as I want to understand the current challenges presented to healthcare employees as they face the enormous changes required in creating a 'culture of safety' within their own hospital.  Did you know that nearly 90,000 people die from hospital acquired infections along? (This is the number currently estimated by the CDC.)  As Nance illuminates for us in his book, the problem is not one of expertise or resources, it is one of relationships.

I look forward to reconnecting and working in collaboration with my Scripps friends, and doing whatever I can to facilitate this cultural transformation.



Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind!

Adrianne

We're always being told how powerful the brain is.  Nearly every day we hear on television how we can change our brain and change our life.  We are being told that our brain is plastic.

In my talks and workshops I demonstrate this power to the people in my audience – and I explain how you can consciously re-wire your brain so that it directs its power on your behalf. Scientists and psychologists call this hard-wiring, conditioning. I often refer to conditioning as "the internal authority," the neuropathways in your brain that tell the rest of your brain what to do!

So what is conditioning?  Click here and hear me tell a true story, "Free the Mohini," about the power of conditioning.

I want to explain to you why all of the effort you have put into self-improvement has very little chance of ever, ever working. You know the programs--you've tried the programs!

• Get thighs like Cameron Diaz in 30 days!
• Lower your golf handicap by 10 strokes in two days!
• Be debt-free and a millionaire within 6 months?
• 3 easy steps to improve your sex life!

You know what? Many of these programs are valid and could really be effective. Except for one critical point: your brain will reject them. Let me repeat: your brain will reject them.
Similar to the way a body will reject a donor organ that is not compatible, your brain – the most powerful muscle you have – will reject thoughts, ideas, or possibilities that are incompatible or foreign to it. Why? Because your brain is "conditioned." And, that conditioning holds the key to your success or failure.

(What's conditioning? Click here to watch a video clip: "Free the Mohini!")

So... how do we overcome this conditioning? Well, I'll tell you a couple of methods that don't work so well. One is affirmations. Now before you jump all over me, there are ways to make affirmative statements effective. But just plopping a happy, fluffy, shiny thought over a grimy, nasty, negative one does not work. That's like spraying your nasty gym shoes with Eau de Cologne – the stink is still there and the combination is almost worse!

Another method that usually doesn't work in the long run: will power. Will power has a stronger voice, but it still has to argue with the voice of your conditioning which is why it takes so much effort.

So enough about what doesn't work--want to know what does? Aligned focus works. Aligned focus means that your conditioning is aligned with what you want so that any action you take toward that goal becomes effective. You need to re-wire the neuro-pathways of your brain so that it uses its power for you, not against you.

You want to loose weight so you wire your brain with the message: "I'm naturally slim and healthy" not "I've always been fat!"  If you want to break the record in the downhill slalom, your brain needs to be aligned with that goal so it will direct the blood flow to the right muscles, deepen your breathing, let you see opportunities for cutting time, etc, etc. If you want to stop yelling at your kid, your brain needs to be on board to keep your adrenalin from flowing to your vocal chords when you find out she hasn't done her homework.  Does this make sense?

If this makes sense to you -- get "Back In Charge!" and start rewiring your brain so that it starts supporting all you want to do, be, and have in life!

Wishing you focus, fitness, and flexibility in body and mind!

Snap Out of It NOW! is now available in Audio


At the beginning of 2009,  just as I was putting the finishing touches on "Back In Charge!," I spent my evenings recording my first book, Snap Out of It NOW!  And, now it is available to purchase on my website store!  Just scroll down the page and click on the link: "Buy MP3 Audio Download."

Snap Out of It Now! will be your guide to do-it-yourself fulfillment — whether you want more self-confidence, wealth, love, or just more fun!

The Snap Out of It NOW! Method is ideal for people who: 

• Say yes to the wrong relationships

• Let stress cloud their judgment or block their career 

• Let anger lead them down the wrong path

• Fail at diets

• Lose ability under performance pressure

• Believe they are not good enough, smart enough, rich enough, thin enough, or young enough

“Back in Charge!” is in the bookstores, “Snap Out Of It NOW! with Dr. Adrianne Ahern” is airing nationally through American Public Television. I am moving my home and office in Reno, NV back home to San Diego! 

My real joy has always been to be in service.  Private practice will give me the one-on-one opportunity to guide and support individuals in snapping out of negative conditioned thinking and rewire their brains with more empowering thought patterns.

I have found a wonderful and centrally located office in Carmel Valley, right off the 5 freeway and just south of the 56 freeway.  

NEW office address is: 
11622 El Camino Real, Suite 100,

San Diego, CA 92130

NEW office telephone: 858-764-2422.

To check out the inside of my office, click here!

Just finished an excellent discussion on 'Generosity & Passion" with Jordan Mercedes on her BlogTalk Radio Show, Thrive In Balance. Jordan is a fantastic host and the experience was amazing for me. She is tackling important issues and providing an excellent forum for such discussions. Listen to Jordan and me talk about my new book, "Back in Charge!" and how to move through the resistances that keep us from living our passion.

Today, I rehearsed for a new ESPN show, SportsNation, airing July 2009. Host Colin Cowherd wanted to discuss overreaction in the sports world (in relation to the NBA Finals). The producer saw my Public television show and knew I counsel athletes and teams, so I took 5 minutes out of my day to chat with Colin.

A sample of the ESPN interview:

CC: What is it about being down 0-2 that makes it so hard for teams to come back?

Dr A: When a team is down 0-2 the players begin to recycle all the negative experiences they’ve had when they’ve been down. It takes something like MADONNA coming into that locker room and saying, “Boys, Be men!” Madonna appeals to their emotions—to their heart. And, when a team is down 0-2 it takes a lot of heart to turn it around…

CC: David Ortiz struggles this season has been well-documented. If Big Papi walks into your office - what would you say to him?

Dr. A: I’d spit in my hands, rub them together and say, “Big Papi, let’s talk!” Here’s how I work, we acknowledge what we’re going through. So, Big Papi what do you need to acknowledge?“ You see people don't want to acknowledge self-doubt, self-consciousness, or fear. They think that by ignoring, denying or avoiding these feelings they'll just go away, but they don't go away--they continue to build and eventually sabotage our efforts to succeed. What we acknowledge, we have power over. So, as I always say to my clients, "Face it, or get chased by it!"

Chatting with Colin was fun--hope the producer calls me back!

The Facts. Period.

“There are three constants in life… change, choice and principles. ”

Stephen Covey

It’s the third week of January and how many of us have already discarded our New Year’s resolutions? Obviously, I’m going to tell you that it’s due to the hard-wiring of our brains! But this year, there is even more pulling us away from becoming who we wish to be and our potential. Every day we’re bombarded with never-ending bad news about the economy. Reports on how many thousands have lost jobs, or fears expressed around the water cooler, or even chipper little articles on “Great Style in Lean Times!” Anxiety seems to be in the very air we breathe these days.

So I want to share a very simple, incredibly powerful exercise to help you stay in a place of choice – not a place of anxiety. I call it The Facts. Period.

Whenever you hear news or experience something that usually throws you into a whirlwind of anxiety, pause, restate the facts, and add a forceful “Period” to the end of it. For example, you hear your company has lost a big client. Don’t let your mind flip into your normal anxiety story: “So they’ll probably have to lay people off, and my boss has been cold to me lately so it will probably be me, and I’ll never find something in my line of work, and we might lose the house which will make my spouse resentful. . .” Instead, pause, take a deep breath and say, “Our company lost a big client. Period.”

Or take the example of faltering New Year’s resolutions. You realize that you haven’t been to the gym in over a week. “Here I go again, flaking out on getting fit. I have absolutely no willpower! Now I’ve wasted all that money on a gym membership and I’ll never. . .” No! Pause, take a deep breath, and state the facts neutral: “I didn’t go to the gym this week. Period.” Make sure that your “Period” is firm and non-negotiable!

Another example: Your spouse forgets to squeegee the shower door– again! Unplug from your normal mental chatter: “He always forgets to do this. It’s as if I’m the only who cares around here. He just takes it for granted that I’ll pick up the pieces and. . .” Pause, deep breath and “He didn’t squeegee the shower door. Period.”

The power in this simple practice is in experiencing it. By just stating the facts neutrally and not allowing your conditioned stories to rev up, you’ll find yourself in a place of choice. You can start looking for another job or come up with ideas for replacing the lost client. You can get yourself to the gym or find a way to exercise that is more fun for you. You can ask your spouse to squeegee the shower or do it yourself. (By the way, my friend who used The Facts. Period. with the squeegee issue chose to ask her husband– calmly and without recrimination– to squeegee the shower. His response? “I’m sorry, hon. I’m always forgetting to do that, aren’t I?” No fight, no resentment – and after years of forgetting, he actually started using the squeegee on the shower without prompting!)

Try this out for yourself: “The stock market is faltering. Period.” “He didn’t call. Period.” “I can’t afford to go out to eat. Period.” By creating a moment of choice, you’ll find yourself responding to life more creatively and positively. And you’ll feel better!
Exciting news!

Our public television show has be picked up by APT, one of the top distributors for public television! Snap Out of It Now! will air across the country throughout March. And our public television station here in Reno, Nevada (KNPB-TV, Channel 5) has chosen Snap Out of It Now! for their special January pledge drive. The program will be shown January 22nd at 7:30 PM and I’ll be there for live interviews. If you live in the area, please tune in. And let your family and friends in Reno know so they can be the first in the country to see the show!
Wishing you focus, fitness and flexibility in mind and body,

When Santa Doesnt Get a Bailout

Ack! The holidays are upon us! Probably like you, I’ve had so many projects in the fire that I’ve barely noticed the passing of time. I finished writing my second book, Back in Charge!, and shipped it off to my publisher – yahoo! — and we’ve finalized the editing on Snap Out of it NOW! workshop due to air nationally on public television in March. Our local Reno station KNPB-TV will air a “first look” of our pledge event on January 22 at 7:30 pm. If you live in Reno, be sure to watch on Channel 5! Presently, I’m working on the CD of guided exercises that will accompany the new book, plus a workbook for the DVD of the workshop. In the midst of that, I’m trying to get the darn Christmas tree to stand up straight, get presents for nieces and nephews, plan holiday get-togethers with family, send cards — Wait! Have the holidays become just another job?

Like many of you, I often have to step back at this time of year and take a deep breath. It’s easy to get caught up in someone else’s idea of holiday cheer. And for many of us, this particular year is particularly unsettling. The difficulties in the economy and the fears surrounding it have affected all of us — if not directly then indirectly as we sympathize with so many who have lost jobs, homes and hope. So it may take a little effort to reclaim the good feelings this season can offer.

The holidays are steeped in traditions and memories, expectations and desires. They bring out the best in us, our generosity, our wonder, our delight in one another. Over the years, we unconsciously connect these warm holiday feelings to certain activities and traditions. And if the activities disappear, the feelings seem to go with them.

This season by necessity, a lot of us are reassessing our holiday traditions. The bountiful gift giving or expensive trips to bring family together are just not possible for many of us this year. We can’t afford the lavish parties or elegant holiday clothes of past years, or simply feel that they are inappropriate. Our whole country seems to be wondering if the consumerism we’ve all bought into over the past decades – especially during the holidays – was such a good idea after all.

So if we can’t do the holiday traditions we’re used to, how do we get that holiday glow back? It’s not just about finding new activities to fill the gap, we’re really seeking those warm feelings behind them. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1) Get to the heart of it. Sit down by yourself or with your family and talk about the feelings you experienced in your holiday activities. Was the joy of shopping for gifts really based on spending time thinking about them and wanting good things for them? Was the big family gathering special because you all reconnected and shared special memories? When you’ve figured out what made that tradition meaningful, see if you can come up with a new tradition that would do the same.

2) Rewire (not just your Christmas lights!) When you feel overwhelmed by what isn’t, take a moment to connect with what is. For instance, you’re stressing with “I don’t have enough money for great gifts,” pause, take a deep breath and allow yourself to feel the feeling. Exhale and let the feeling release, Keep breathing until you feel more relaxed and at ease. Next, remind yourself of what you have: good health, good friends, loving relationships, hope for the future. Breathe deeply and slowly as you let a feeling of appreciation settle in. Even a few moments of this exercise will get your brain (and feelings and physiology) moving in a new, positive direction.

My wish for you is that you find new traditions that are meaningful and that the holiday season and year ahead brings you joy, peace, and fulfillment.
Wishing you focus, fitness, & flexibility in body and mind.