Inspiration, resources, & tips for stress management, personal development, and optimal well-being from Dr. Shelly P. Harrell. WHAT IS "FOCUS AND FLOW"?
Focus and Flow is a meditation-centered and culturally-adaptive stress management and well-being enhancement approach. The approach emerged as an effort to integrate what I have learned from my over 25 years of being a therapist, mentor, teacher, and scholar, as well as from my own life journey and its lessons. The primary goal of the approach is to move from being "stressed out" to "energized wi
thin". The essence of “Focus and Flow” is captured by the saying
"Where your focus goes, your energy flows". The core idea is also expressed beautifully in this quote on meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh: “Meditation is not to escape from society, but to come back to ourselves and see what is going on. Once there is seeing, there must be acting.”
The "Focus and Flow" approach to enhancing well-being is about BOTH seeing (focus) and acting (flow). I have often shared the idea with my students that "seeing without acting is paralysis and acting without seeing is ignorant". What is meant by “Focus”? FOCUS is an active and engaged conscious awareness that involves both process and content. It is directed and open attention to "what is". It is an intentional, and integrated awareness of self, others, and situations that is grounded in wisdom and/or spiritual understanding. What is meant by “Flow”? FLOW is the culturally-syntonic engagement with life that emerges organically from the integrated consciousness associated with the practice of focusing. The "Focus and Flow" approach and strategies are grounded in ideas from the theory and research that most influence how I work. These include humanistic, existential, and transpersonal psychologies, multicultural and culture-centered psychologies, community psychology, third-wave behavioral therapies, and the most recent scientific research from interpersonal neurobiology. The Bottom Line…
*Focus and Flow can be thought of as a way of life that acknowledges and enhances the interconnectedness of our personal, relational, and collective well-being.
*Focus and Flow is about learning to release and let go of the illusions, hype, and drama in order to see the truth of ourselves and our situation.
*Focus and Flow is about increasing our conscious awareness by directing our attention in a purposeful way to both internal and external experience.
*Focus and Flow strategies draw upon various meditative and contemplative strategies that reflect diverse cultural traditions of wisdom, spirituality, and healing.
*Focus and Flow is about living a full and engaged life that turns our conscious awareness into action.
*Focus and Flow is about utilizing the collective wisdom expressed through quotes, sacred passages, music, song lyrics, poetry, and proverbs to trigger the inner voice of our own wisdom and direct our attention and action.
*Focus and Flow is multicultural, flexible, and individualized because the things we need to focus on and the path to finding our flow will vary from person to person and will always be related to our cultural and experiential diversity.
*Focus and Flow is about living life in a way that is authentic, liberating, and empowering. Ultimately it is about achieving our highest individual and collective potential and optimizing the time we each are given on this earth.
*Where is YOUR Focus?*
*How do YOU Flow?*
Our page provides inspiration and general resources to support you in developing and maintaining a “Focus and Flow” way of life.
01/16/2019
Excited for the first SOULFULNESS MEDITATION program of 2019! Spread the word to your LA friends!
DID YOU KNOW…
Meditation can reduce stress reactivity and promote healthy behaviors? improve focus and memory? enhance mood and positive relationships?
*Learn to meditate in the Inglewood/Baldwin Hills/Ladera Heights area of Los Angeles!
*Time provided to learn core principles of mindfulness and “soulfulness”, as well as spend time meditating in a peaceful space in the community
I'm going to be "refocusing" my energy on my new Soulfulness4Life initiative and phasing out "Focus and Flow". Don't worry... Soulfulness4Life absolutely incorporates what Focus and Flow has been about. Please consider "Liking" and "Following" . I will be posting similar content and much more! Thank you for your support of my work!
"Soulfully" Yours,
Dr. Shelly aka Shelly P Harrell Phd
01/04/2018
I'm soooo excited about my newest and most personal venture yet... Soulfulness4Life!
My nearly 30 years as a psychologist-mentor-professor-therapist-healer (and my own lifetime of triumphs and struggles) has convinced me of the power of SOUFLFULNESS! Everything has led me here and I am sooooo excited to share it with you!
For more info, content previews, and updates on the formal launch:
*Follow this FB Page ()
*Follow me on my new Twitter (),
*Join my existing Linkedin network (drshellyharrell).
Your support is truly appreciated! Wishing everyone much in 2018! Stay tuned…
01/29/2017
In a time of destruction, CREATE SOMETHING. ~Maxine Hong Kingston
What will you create?
01/24/2017
As I rise this morning, I am thankful for this new day which presents another chance to live better and be better. I will treat this day as the precious gift that it is. -SPH
ultimately, we will be saved by love and awakening to our interrelatedness
01/16/2017
01/07/2017
“There are no endings that aren’t also beginnings of something else. Life is all about cycles and everything is in a process of ongoing evolution. We must be proactive and influence what we are cycling into and the nature of our own evolving. Every ending is also a beginning that transforms into a becoming.” ~Shelly Prillerman Harrell
beginnings (A FOCUSandFLOW QuotePic)
“The world is round and the place that may seem like the end may also be the beginning.” ~Ivy Baker Priest The FOCUSandFLOW Life Question: What endings are cycling into beginnings in your li…
01/01/2017
What will you build in 2017?
01/01/2017
What offerings of tomorrow will you start seizing today?
01/01/2017
SPH says: “repurpose the pain”
“The pain of what has been taken away can be repurposed. We can seize our power to transform the losses of yesterday into the triumphs of tomorrow. Hope lives in the truth that every tomorro…
01/01/2017
Be an enlightening presence...
light new light (A FOCUSandFLOW QuotePic)
“Let your presence light new light in the hearts of others.” ~Mother Teresa The FOCUSandFLOW Life Question: Does your presence bring light to others? SPH says: “Be such an enlightening…
12/31/2016
What are you willing to risk in 2017?
unexpected miracles (A FOCUSandFLOW QuotePic)
“We have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” ~Paul Coelho The FOCUSandFLOW Life Question: What is one risk you are willi…
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