Such a small word…stress! Only six letters and yet it is the most powerful active energy on the planet. We have used it to describe many things. Bridges are built to hold tremendous weights over large spans by the appropriate distribution of stress…and roofing trusses that hold up almost every roof that covers the world and generally designed from that same concept. Distribute the stress to several points so that it will not overcome a particular point of pressure. However, if the stress of a great weight…like the current snows that fell in the northeast…cause cracks in the structure…”stress fractures”… then it will actually compromise the design and cause the entire structure to collapse.

In the Bible,Koran and every other “Holy Book” you will note that almost every apparition of Angels begins with the words…”Fear Not”! This is not simply a statement to reduce anxiety about the appearance of celestial beings. It is the most crucial life advice that we can offer. So is it not interesting that in the structure of the human body, stress is designed to function and manifests itself in the same way as a building structure and it is essentially the body’s response to fear. By now, almost everyone has heard that stress was originally placed in the human DNA to respond to life threats, in the “fight vs. flight” theory and this is a very good explanation of some aspects of stress. But let us discuss it further. Fear originates in the heart chakra. It is triggered by a situation that makes the human feel that it is being removed from love. Love is remembered by the unconscious mind…through its connection to the universal connected consciousness… as the essence of the creator. Therefore it is perceived as being removed from the creator…the source of en-lighten-ment. So ones energy then moves to a space of lack of enlightenment…better known as darkness or fear.

Fear is in itself not a negative reaction in the structure of the body. It transmits instant messages to the neurotransmitters of the brain to send chemicals throughout the body that will allow it to heighten its senses so that it can locate the “light at the end of the tunnel”.
When this experience subsides then the body returns to its original state and the framework of the body is left in tact.

But here is where it gets tricky. For most humans fear is a constant condition fueled by a constant state of worry about the unknown. We seek out that which is familiar…because we have the belief that the unknown is a scary and unpredictable place. So humans will stay in bad jobs and bad relationships and allow themselves to be in bad health because it is what they know. By “bad” I do not judge or ascribe a meaning like “evil”. I mean “painful” or that which causes pain.

Just like the heavy snowfall…constant fear creates “stress fractures” in the human form and psyche. As the body tries to distribute the stress from the brain…it sends it to the shoulders…the neck…the back…the legs…the stomach…the bowels. It tries to send it to places where it can be dissolved or attended to. But the human condition is such that stressful thinking occupies almost every waking…and most sleeping thoughts. Will I get fired from my job…how will I pay the bills…will I ever find love…will I ever leave him or her…will they ever leave their spouse…will my kids be ok…and finally…the most humorous of all the stress-full worries…I wonder if my health is OK? I should drink more water…I should get to the gym…I should try to eat better…why can’t I sleep?

The answer to all of these questions is quite simple…Everything you are thinking or feeling is the result of the fact that YOU HAVE ALLOWED YOURSELF TO BE CONSUMED BY STRESS!

“But I try to fight stress” you respond…I try to get to the gym 3 times per week, I do yoga when I can fir it in…I try to eat well…except at the office…
And to all of this I say…please dear ones…RELAX!

You cannot reduce stress by fighting it with more stressful situations. Have you all not heard of the person who runs at 5 in the morning…eats vegetarian…doesn’t drink or smoke and yet has a heart attack? All of those things will not reduce stress if you do not change your thinking about the root cause…

FEAR

…There is only one way to fight Fear and that is to expand Love. And the only way to expand love is Gratitude. Your lives are filled with hundreds of little things that happen to you every day that is the evidence of love in your life. The person who holds the door at the store…or says bless you when you sneeze. The person who works at the electric company…braving all types of weather so that you will be able to have your lights and heat and your TV and computer. Be thankful for the person who discovered this technology and all of those who make it and support the back end of your Face book friendships and the ability to have all types of knowledge and products at your fingertips. Every day there are thousands of people who are doing things that makes your life easier without an ounce of love or thanks…just because it is what they do. Give thanks for the clock that wakes you…the shower that warms you…the coffee that starts your day…the train, or car or bus that brings you everywhere you need. Give thanks for the person who gives you unkind words because that means that you have the gift of hearing. Give thanks for the smelly person on the subway…for you have the gift of smell. Give thanks for all of the parts of your body…who for years have been distributing the stress throughout …so that you would not collapse under the weight of your worry.

I would challenge you to think in this manner. Make it a game with yourself. Rather then the crossword or Sudoku, challenge yourself to find something wonderful that is touching your life everyday. The radio program that makes you laugh…the $1 menu…the surprise phone call…nothing discouraging being said at the office.

To recognize wonder is to realize your connection with the creator…which expands the love in your heart…which sends love hormones…rather then stress hormones…throughout the body and which repairs the “stress cracks” that were already created when you reacted to some “idiot” who most likely accidentally cut you off in traffic.

There is a human phrase that I love which goes…”It’s all Good”. If you can begin to think in this way…even 50% of the time…you are well on your way to “embracing” stress as just the right amount of pressure that is holding everything together.

Go in peace,
Margaret