Dear Millie,

So many things to be grateful for! 

Like many of you reading this e-note, I have a house to live in, food to eat, people who care about me, am not afraid of being arrested if I speak my mind…the list could go on.

Yet, even with this abundance, I – like you – have tough days, challenges.

Last month when an executive asked me to offer a short retreat for her leadership group, I asked, “What do your people need?” She paused, sighed, then said, “It’s crunch time. Myself and others are facing cuts…We have to make tough decisions… we need clarity and calm…”

I hadn’t offered an in-person presentation since pre-Covid so I needed to refresh myself. Would the Oasis strategies still work in turbulent 2023? I picked up the 2^nd edition of my Oasis book, felt the soft cover, went slowly through the pages, got to the end, and marveled, “Geez, this is really a good book!” I’ll admit I’m biased. I recalled when I was working on the final draft, a colleague said somewhat sneeringly, “Mil, there are books with 96 strategies. You have only four!” My reply? “Yes. That’s why I have only four. I want people to know them, do them, remember them.”

The retreat afternoon came. I brought my bowl of stones to the event. We took time to say what we wanted, I led the 14 folks through the four Oasis Strategies as they practiced them with each other. Their written comments after our time together assured me that they got it:

-          “All useful. Skills are very practical”

-         “…helped me achieve peace”

-         “Strategies I can practice at home”

-         “Simple techniques for returning to present moment”

Yea, Oasis is still useful! A relief for me after taking the year off to deal with cancer (I am healing!)

Oasis will have another opportunity to help people this month. I’m the lead-off speaker via zoom for the Annual Conference of Kappa Gamma Pi. The topic they chose? Tips for Staying Sane in a Crazy World.

Wherever you are now, whatever your personal overwhelm may be, take a few minutes to stretch, breathe, and acknowledge what you are grateful for. When you finish that, do the Preventive 3-Breath-Countdown in today’s Oasis Sanity Tip.

I am grateful for my life and for my connection with you. Keep on taking good care of you.

Oasis Sanity Tip

Preventive 3-Breath Countdown

1. Take a minute to look around you, wherever you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re inside or outside, whether you’re in a “beautiful” place or an ordinary place. Let your eyes take in the colors, the objects around you.
2. Find one object or one color that – for whatever reason – appeals to you. Let your hands rest on your belly. Then, as you inhale softly and deeply, focus on this color or object. Invite the color, the texture, the form to come into you. Inhale and exhale three times, inviting the beauty, the “rightness” of the appeal, to come into your breath and into your being.
3. When you have finished the three breaths, take a little time to absorb what has just happened. You may notice that your heart rate has slowed, that you feel calmer than before, that your mind is less busy. Give yourself time to appreciate this. Allow your physiology time to integrate this window of spacious calmness.

Do as often as needed. It’s free! Doing this strategy will help you avoid knee-jerk reactions. It will build your emotional muscles to respond with calm and clarity when you are in a tough situation. Enjoy!

P.S. If you want a copy of Oasis in the Overwhelm™, 2^nd edition, here’s the link. 

Millie Grenough discovered her own Oasis after a near-death accident shook her out of her fast and furious lifestyle. During her months of recuperation Millie developed the 60-second Oasis Strategies that have helped thousands of people around the world. Millie's Oasis Training Program has graduates throughout the USA and in the Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico and New Zealand.. Her books, trainings, international presentations, and coaching have helped people ranging from Casino VPs, US Army Officers and University Deans, to overworked health personnel, prison inmates, and harried parents. 

Millie is an International Coach Federation Professional Coach, a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is certified in EMDR-Level II with a specialty in Performance Enhancement. Her trainings are authorized for CCEs by the International Coach Federation.



These occasional Oasis e-notes are for you: to offer little sanity tips, stories from life, and simple invitations to make your life healthier and happier. Please let us know if there is a special topic you would like addressed.

©2023 Millie Grenough. All Rights Reserved. Oasis in the Overwhelm™ is a registered trademark.

Written and produced by Millie Grenough.

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please email: millie@milliegrenough.com