Practical Stress Management - Seven Spiritual Solutions

Awareness makes stress disappear...

Here are seven proven ways you can get a new handle on stress:

1. Control your REACTION with these 7 simple words - "I have nothing to say to that." - We are often bombarded by negativity. So the first step is to become alert when people are trying to weigh you down with their nervous comments and attitudes.

When people throw negative words at you, reply to the attempted attack with: "I have nothing to say to that." This cuts off the contagious effect of the stressful assault. It detaches you and blocks the tendency to accept and imitate depressing words from others. Your nature does not fall down to the level of the anxious remark, but remains high above it.

Negative people WANT to get you involved with their defeat, (misery loves company) and this is a major method they use to do it. By stating: "I have nothing to say to that" you prevent them from drawing you in as their victim.

Inner life author, Vernon Howard writes, "An attitude of defeat in another person cannot touch you unless you carelessly accept it as yours. And there is no need at all for you to accept it. A quiet refusal to enter the battlefield is the perfect reply."

2. Let go of painful grudges by living in the present moment. - Hating someone is like drinking poison yourself and hoping the offender will die from it. (It doesn't happen that way.) We must grant to others the same opportunity for change or we shut the door on our own development. It is our responsibility to release those who have caused harm (real or imagined) to the providence of a higher power.

The secret to successful life without stress is to realize your newness in the present moment many times each day. NOW is so alive and energetic, so tangible and real, that painful grudges cannot "live" here. Grudges can only stay around when fueled by unaware and unproductive mental visits to the past. Let go and be here now.

3. Observe negative thoughts with the aim of understanding them. - Stop trying to suppress negative thoughts.

Self-Observation is a master key to stress-free living. Instead of claiming stressful thoughts and feelings as your own, observe them and understand them. This understanding will set you free!

Self-observation is practical spirituality at its best. Marcus Aurelius, the ancient Roman Emperor said, "Those who do not observe the movement of their own minds, must of necessity be unhappy."

4. Pause and breathe deeply. - People are often so tense with stressful thinking they barely breathe!

With consciouse breathing, we can do something highly beneficial and intelligent. We can take brief breaks many times a day, even if for only 30 seconds! How? By pausing and taking a deep breathe. And in that moment, looking around and relaxing.

You can learn to instantly fall into internal relaxation by breathing away your tensions. Your habitually anxious and resentful attitudes will fall away like leaves from a tree. To be replaced by a clear mind that reveals what is best for you.

5. Realize you have far better things to think about! - Your old way of thinking has its favorite grooves. For example, negative mental film clips that loop over and over and pull you away from the present moment. When you detect yourself involved in one of these internal movies, pause and say to yourself, "There are better things to think about." This instantly snaps the spell and moves you to higher ground.

You'll feel much less stress and an abundance of new vitality as you reclaim the energy once consumed by these negative mental film clips. Suddenly wake up and come home to yourself by enthusiastically declaring, "There are better things to think about!"

6. Stay clear of negative zones of influence. - Our society is rampant with negative influences. They come from so many places, like frantic people, advertising and untruthful politics on talk radio. Never forget:  Unaware people want you to vibrate on their stressful level.

It is your duty, your greatest mission in life, to live in harmony with your Heart - YOUR AUTHENTIC AND INTELLIGENT SELF. Though, physically, you may be in a stressful place, once you connect with your Heart, you have the spiritual power to stay free inwardly. No law says you must fall under stressful zones of influence.

It can be entertaining to listen to the talking heads on TV and radio. But if they are lying to you and constantly emphasizing the negative - they are hurting your emotional well being and increasing your stress. TURN THEM OFF. Breathe, listen to a book or music. Take control of what goes into your brain.

7. Refuse to make stressful or angry comments. - Stress spills out into the world. It is like a snowball rolling down a hill. It starts small, then gathers size and momentum. We must stop stress from spreading in its infancy, and the best place to do so is BEFORE it leaves the mouth.

Here's a good way to dissolve stress in your life:  This insight exercise is called SELF-SURPRISE. Here's how it works. You are about to say something angry or hurtful to another person. The statement has formed in your brain, it is traveling at the speed of light toward the mouth. Then your AWARENESS steps in and a higher choice is made; a switch is thrown and you do not say what you were about to say. You say something helpful and cheerful instead!

You'll instantly feel the trueness of practicing this exercise. Your anger or stress did not succeed in dictating your speech. Your power of choice lifted you above its arrows. This is not the practice of phony niceness. It is the expression of true strength and authentic self-command. It can only occur when your awareness is active, like the presence of a lighted lodge in the dark forest.

Conclusion:  The one supreme power that guarantees personal happiness is personal right thinking. This "right thinking" is based on practical wisdom. Try these seven methods and you'll see a huge difference in your life. You'll have LOTS of energy!

Bio: Tom Russell is the author of several eBooks, including "The Power of Vertical Thinking" and "7 Secrets to Light Up Your Essence." He is the host of www.SuperWisdom.com and the editor of the SuperWisdom E-zine, read biweekly by more than 20,000 people in 42 countries. He assists professional salespeople and entrepreneurs to live with greater energy, focus and spiritual insight. He has been interviewed on more than 200 radio and TV talk shows.

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