Stress

Waipoua Forest, North Island, New Zealand

Many experts teach us how to manage stress. They assume that there will always be a certain level of stress and that is a good thing as long as it is not too excessive. We try to make sure that our stress levels do not become so high as to be debilitating. We should not be managing stress, but eliminating it. No amount of stress is good. Stress literally kills. It can cause an otherwise healthy heart to shut down in a moment. Or it can kill us slowly over a period of years. 75% of doctor's visits are stress related. In addition to its adverse physical effects, stress makes us unhappy, frustrated and unfulfilled. Our relationships suffer. We are unable to communicate with others. We lose touch with our spiritual selves. Our lives are out of balance.

Stress is caused by the accumulation of "negative" thoughts (mostly fear) reinforced by our present thoughts. The only value stress has is to give us a shot of adrenaline when we are being chased by a sabre tooth tiger. We do not have to live with stress. When we surrender our thoughts and feelings and bring our attention without judgment to them, they will start to dissolve under the light of awareness.

Let's release our fears and replace them with love for others, for animals, and for ourselves.