Every day we get violent messages on the news, in our movies or video games, and in interaction with others. All of these messages affect us, in much the same way as small bits of litter can add together to create a real mess.

Without going into seclusion, how can we protect ourselves from this negative energy? What are our options for neutralizing the impact of violent messages and helping to decrease their frequency?

Try this for one week: Notice your physical response to each violent message, and then experiment with how you can response differently so that you feel relaxed and joyous instead.