Understanding Thinking to Stop Stress

Modern-Day Stress

When you sit down at night to watch the TV show or news broadcast, settling in for a few minutes of relaxation, do you find your gut clenching at what you see, at the stories of natural and man-made disasters? It could be the depictions or reports of brutal crimes that tighten your throat in sadness or anger or put your nerves on edge. Pictures of the devastation of an earthquake and the desperation of grieving parents in far-off lands bring our emotions to the surface; we often clamp down on those feelings because we can’t bear to let them get too close to our own sadness or worry.

Are you just plain worn out? Are you restless and sleepless at night? Has your short fuse gotten shorter?  Do you forget to pick up the groceries you had written on your list and have to go back to the market again? 

Perhaps you experience just one of these symptoms, noticing that you have changed in a way you didn’t expect. Perhaps you are anxious and worried much of the time, trying your best to hide those feelings and never talking about them, only to find them spilling out in frustration or anger or tears?

The results of modern-day stress are inevitable. The stress that we internalize has a major impact on our age-old defense systems. While we are good at facing the immediate threat, we are not good at long-term situations that drain our energy, such as caring for a loved one who is ill.

Our bodies unconsciously react to  juggling financial obligations to make ends meet and managing multiple demands from our work or home settings in the same way as if we came face-to-face with a grizzly bear in the mountains.

The Big Picture of Stress

We all experience pressure from our commitments and obligations. Whether we are working in fast-paced corporations or drive a truck for a freight delivery company, we all have deadlines and the unexpected add-on’s. The stakes to get the job done are very high; in today’s bottom-line budgets, we never know who is next in line to lose their job.

Perhaps you have chosen to work at home, as a parent, or as an entrepreneur. No matter—it’s either three little munchkins fighting over a cookie or a toy or perhaps it’s three return phone calls with complaints at the other end. 

How do we keep these relationships healthy and happy when we really feel like shouting at someone, or just getting up and leaving the house, slamming the door for a little relief? Is that impatience that you are feeling a regular guest in your family of feelings? Has irritability moved into the spare bedroom of your mind?

Stress has gotten the upper hand and it’s time to take charge.

The Brilliance Connection

The connection with our Brilliance is similar to that of a cell phone that uses natural waves of energy to connect us to another person who might be hundreds of miles away. Our Brilliance works the same way, without need of microchips, a network of towers, or a monthly plan for minutes. And, connecting to Universal Brilliance is free, with unlimited access, 24/7.  Are you ready to sign up for this plan?

It doesn’t take long to learn to relax, breathe deeply and listen softly. And that is all you need to do. When a troublesome situation appears, slow down, center, and then ask a question, ask for clarity. The answer is available. Like a text message, it usually comes quietly, without special ring tones or fanfare. If you are feeling stressed, it’s time to sign up for the biggest giveaway of the greatest gift ever – your Brilliance. Then every day  feels like your best vacation ever.

A Vacation From Stress

Do you ever take time to relax? And do any of us remember what we love doing that is relaxing? Go back a few months or years, or more. Did you like to: 

Turn up the music and dance like crazy in front of a mirror? Be quiet and listen to the sounds of nature - the  ocean, the gulls, the birds in the forest? Rumble around in your garage and pound a few nails into something that you wanted to fix?

Head to the kitchen to cook or bake? Do nothing more than put your feet up and stare into space, without the eternal to-do list harassing our mind? We need to find the ways we love to relax and take that time to allow our bodies to rest and rejuvenate. It’s really important.

It’s even more essential that we learn to take that vacation from stress, even though we are very busy. No matter how well we take care of ourselves, with good food, relaxation and rest, there is one more step to living stress free. 

That step is to shift from our worried and anxious thoughts, which create the feelings of stress, to thoughts of possibility, hope and gratitude inspired by our natural brilliance. This is the solution to eliminating most stress in our lives.

The Speed of Life

We are quite simply surrounded by a world that just won’t stop. It seems natural for us to take our electronics with us everywhere - laptops appear like clockwork on planes and cell phones would be zinging there too if it weren’t for restrictions. What would happen if the transmitter towers just took a vacation and shut themselves down? We would be surrounded by a silence that was absolutely deafening.

Did you know that our bodies and minds and spirits were not created to be bombarded by sound, sensation and stimulation full time? It’s more than amazing that our minds have survived that never-ending stream around us, and that our internal physical alarm systems have not burned out from the adrenaline we produce in order to respond to everything that happens in our lives.  The results of the full-time stress many of us experience are similar to the results of standing at the wrong end of a driving range. We find ourselves bruised in no time flat, ducking and dodging the barrage of golf balls coming our way.

Some of you have already thought of several explanations and justifications for being so busy and for never leaving the house without your phone. Others of you may respond like we did, just shaking our heads in disbelief that our environments were really that stressful. After all, most of us are certainly “used to” the noise and the speed of life.

See Brilliance in Action

It is a good practice to begin observing your mind and which station you have tuned into.  It is also good to widen our circle of attention away from our minds and our thinking.  Paying attention to what is going on around us often gives us opportunities to contribute in small but powerful ways.

While driving home I became aware that a lawn crew member was standing on the grass with his leaf blower and just looking down the street. A Mother and her little one, with dog in tow, had stopped to adjust something; he was waiting until they passed by before continuing his work.  At the Library a man opened the outer door for me; my plans to open the inner door for him were thwarted when another person leaving the library held the door for both of us.

Who needs an open door to pass through? Who needs a kind word or a big smile?  When I pay attention to what is going on around me I can often find the inspiration to listen closely, speak softly and not give up. It’s not hard to see Brilliance in Action when we pay attention. With Brilliance in play on the inside and the outside, we can give up the habit of stress and live a more joyful, fulfilling life with those we love.

Tune In To Your Brilliance

Why not change from your worry to your wisdom? Our bodies have a wisdom so grand and automatic that we’d be hard pressed to get all the systems to work well if we had to think of each one, organize the order, and instruct the right part of the body to respond. We’d probably not make it through one minute of life if our thoughts had to “think it done.”

The same is true of the mind. We do have that computer mind that records and stores each event for future use as necessary. But we also have a much grander mind, the Brilliant Mind, the wisdom, the Universal Mind, whichever name you use, that is available to us from the minute we are born. For every story of the global condition that  gets our concern, for every seemingly seismic quaver in our personal life, there is an inborn treasure chest full of answers and new ideas just waiting to be unlocked.

The stress we experience from our worries, judgments or our old beliefs about how life should work quickly morphs into a relaxed viewpoint when we tune our station toward the Brilliant Mind. This mind gives access to the wisdom of the Universe, more than enough by far to handle any situation or stress that occurs in our lives.

Shift Into Your Brilliance to Stop Stress

With so many activities and responsibilities in our lives, it’s hard to take in all the events and calamities we hear on the news. The political machinations, the cyclones and earthquakes, the summer schedule change in children’s lives, the price of gas, the uncertainty in career or business. All of us could make a list of 50 items that tend to cross our minds on a regular basis.

It’s not that these events shouldn’t cross our minds. The secret to living life stress free is to pay attention to which side of these events we are viewing. Are you worried about what we can’t control—that’s a stress maker for sure. Are you worried about what you can control—now that’s a waste of time. Are you worried about why your lawn crew didn’t get every last leaf into the bag? Are you worried about saving money for your two-year old’s college fund?

Why not change from your worry to your wisdom? We have discovered that we all possess an innate Brilliance that is our ticket to stress-free living. Once you understand how to shift from your patterned thinking into your Brilliance, you can do so at any moment.

The keys to Brilliance are easy to learn and promise a life free from stress. Check out our website for more articles and information: www.backtobrilliance.com

Too Much Thinking is Stressful

When we have an accumulation of worried thoughts that continue for hours, days or weeks, these thoughts create an unrelenting stress that can create headaches, stomach pain and more. In some cases our thoughts eventually affect the outcomes that we had worried would occur. Simply worrying about your child’s grades can send you toward a cycle of behavior that stresses you and your child to the point of anxiety and failure in the classroom.

Our thoughts create an energy that pushes our behavior and actions toward whatever we are thinking about. Wouldn’t it be easier to think about all the resources that your child can utilize to enhance the classroom and learning experience? Wouldn’t that train of thought make your interactions with each other more pleasant, safer and more encouraging?

Thought Can Be a Wonderful Thing

We all know there are two kinds of stress. The first is the stress that occurs when some kind of trauma occurs to ourselves or someone we love. The second is the stress that comes from thinking stressful thoughts about the events and eventualities in our personal world.

Thought can be a wonderful thing. Like every other “wonderful thing” it can make us sick if we do too much of it. Too much candy, too many green apples, and too many hours in a car—all of these can tend to make us not feel well. When we think the most positive of thoughts the outcome is usually good. However, hours of mental stimulation, even on the most intriguing or beneficial topics, leaves us exhausted and weary. Just like the body, the mind needs to rest.

Most of us haven’t been aware that our thinking is powerful beyond what we can see. We may be aware that it creates our attitudes and thus our way of interacting with others. We seldom reflect on the fact that our thoughts create our very lives themselves, stressful or stress free.