Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Mind, Body, Technology | "Buy the Way?" Insights on Integrated ...

bSelf-development, stress management, mood consciousness and help for finding happiness are traditionally addressed on a couch across from a therapist. However, now thanks to smart-phone technology, self-help and spirituality are as close as your iPhone.? It?s common knowledge that self-help literature is a money maker.? Just take a look at the New York Time?s Best Seller?s list and notice the large selection of books devoted to advice and self-growth. ?Therefore it?s no surprise that self-help applications are among the most popular purchased in the iTunes and Android market. ?These applications are especially popular among professionals, academics and graduate students. ?Forget about $150 sessions with your therapist, now insights to a better you are just a click away on your phone.

Oprah Winfrey has famously said that keeping a gratitude journal changed her life and the makers of Gratitude Journal agree. ?It was an instant hit when it debuted and became the #1 lifestyle app on?iTunes.??For $0.99, you can keep a daily list of 5 things you?re grateful for, protected by pass code, in a bulleted list on your phone.? You can easily flip through the days, email your list, and even add photos.? The app even has a feature that records how you feel each day so you can keep track of how your life is improving as you keep up with this daily practice.

gratitude_journal_app

Earl Nightingale said,??We become what we think about all day long?, and the creators of My Thoughts+ ?agree.? For $1.99 ?this app delivers over a thousand affirmations. ?You customized the background and watch as a slide show of affirmations plays with soothing music in the background.? You can also add your own custom affirmations or choose by category: General, Health and Well-Being, Relationships, Success, Wealth and Confidence.? If you can?t escape to your own private zen garden, this may be the next best thing. ?Check out the free option of this app that holds 100 affirmations.

my thoughts

Speaking of zen gardens, ?iZen Garden is a digital version of a soothing zen sandbox without the sand.? For $4.99, you can enjoy all the benefits of a zen garden without having to clean up the mess. ??Choose from 100s of objects, plants and creatures to place in your garden, with options for the sound of crashing waves, fluttering butterlies or forest sounds in the background while you rake the sand. The app allows you to share your creations via Facebook, Twitter or email.? ??Chosen as one of the top 500 apps in the world by The Sunday Times of London, it is considered an ?App Store Essential.

iZen-garden

LiveHappy is an application based on the book, The How of Happiness, by UCR professor Sonja Lyubomirsky. ?This app puts her ideas into practice by helping you evaluate your goals, keep track of happy days, keep a gratitude journal, encourages you to thank people, and helps you remember acts of kindness. ?There is also a built-in personality test as well as plenty of tips and tricks on conceptualizing a happier you including information about the science of happiness.

livehappy-3-phones

This last app reminds us that stress is serious business.? Not only does it block opportunities for happiness and well-being, but it is also a health risk factor for a number of illnesses including heart attacks to strokes. iStress was developed by professionals who work with individuals under stress in their daily lives. The feedback provided by clients was incorporated into this comprehensive stress management application which features a number of helpful exercises aimed at reducing stress and increasing positive thinking. This app provides several stress management activities including reading an inspirational poem, encouraging sayings, a humor page that features ?stress? jokes, and an option to rate your feelings. There?s also a relaxation exercise to help you reduce your stress levels when you feel overwhelmed.

passionate-leap

While none of these applications promise mental health and wellness or are meant to take the place of an actual therapist, they serve to remind us to be mindful. ?Smartphones and tablets help us with our work and school productivity, however, through the various self-help technology available, these devices can also provide us a portal to find a little balance, some self actualization and even quite possibly, happiness. After all, when you change your thoughts, you change your destiny. ?(That last line was courtesy of My Thoughts+) ?Namaste.

Source: http://buytheway.uscannenberg.org/mind-body-technology/

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