Post-its work great, but I'm all for simplifying things even further. By choosing to make a certain behavior a trigger for a particular thought, we can skip paper and adhesive and get right to important stuff.

The trick is to be intentional about it. We tend to hop in shower and let our minds wander to all stuff we're supposed to do. We go about process of soaping, shaving, and shampooing without paying much attention to what we're doing. We jump into our cars each morning, absorbed by our thoughts. We wash dishes, sort laundry, wait in line at gas station, stand at grocery counter, and vegetate during commercials without noticing what we're thinking. By incorporating some simple mindfulness techniques into our daily routine, we can focus on our intentions and create lasting changes in our brains.

We've already learned that in order to get our brains to work for us instead of against us, we must come up with present-tense statements that we would like to be true, and we have to repeat them to ourselves daily. Spend some time coming up with two or three one-sentence statements about how you want to feel.

No fair using numbers. This isn't about setting sales goals or salary amounts or even number of pounds you want to lose. Make a statement that simply describes how you want to feel about your life right now.

Here's a list of possible statements:

"I am filled with joy and excitement each day." "I feel confident, relaxed, and open to whatever day may bring." "I have plenty of time to accomplish whatever I need to do." "I have plenty of energy to enjoy my free time." "I attract plenty of money for all my needs." "I am surrounded by loving people who want only best for me." "I am fit, healthy and active." "I am calm and mindful of all that arises in and around me."

Your brain needs to hear these positive statements, even if you think YOU don't need to. Humor your brain, okay? Give it some happy food to chew on. Allow your mind to mull things over subconsciously.

Brain research tells us that we need to see it, say it and hear it. If at all possible, say your statements out loud if only in a whisper. Watch yourself in a mirror while you do it. Hear your voice saying words. Visualize what it looks and feels like when each statement is true. The more senses you engage, more quickly your brain will absorb your statement.

I didn't dare mention it to my fellow underage drinking mates lounging with me on grassy knoll in park. Am I making this up? Projecting it somehow into my vision? Forcefully, I shook my head back and forth in an effort to free my mind of its strange perception.

But view of two police officers remained in my sight, as they sauntered closer and closer to our drinking den. In fact, to my further astonishment, I saw a much wider perspective as I swiveled my gaze within picture before me. I can see myself!

Frantically blinking my eyes open and shut trying to erase this impossibility, I still found myself staring at my own physical body on ground next to my beer buddies. The place from which I was viewing was about forty feet in air! As I shifted my attention to look at looker, I saw an airborne body in form of a luminous shimmer, much like a ghost is portrayed in a movie. Then, with ease of a mere thought, I discovered I could shift my point of view from my physical body on ground back to my ethereal light body in air. Using my eyes in my subtle body, I surveyed scene again from my perch in air.

Am I making all this up? Do I want to impress my pals so much, I'm concocting an extrasensory perception to allow me to warn them of an oncoming bust? My frenetic self-questioning came to an abrupt halt as I heard one of officers whisper to his colleague, "Do you hear that noise? There are some kids in park."