Positive Attitude – Keeping Serene in A Stressful World

What is the major malady that people complain about?  What is the ailment that brings most of my clients to me for Reiki sessions?  If you have guessed “stress” then you are absolutely right.   Stress and its negative effects are a challenge to much of modern society.

We are all incredibly crazy-busy — multitasking throughout our daily lives, trying to juggle and balance all aspects and facets that fill up each day for us. Between all this time management of home/family, business/work  — our lives are PACKED!  Theoretically, technology should make things easier — but often it only serves to add more complex and time consuming tasks to our day-to-day reality. Yes, I refer to smartphones, tablets, iPads, computers, etc!  We are a nation consumed by stuff to do and stuff to keep up with on our devices — because of this we never truly have any “time off.” I am reminded of this every day in my own personal world view.  And I am certainly not immune to all the emotions that this encompasses.

Do you see yourself in this picture of total “full-plate” day-to-day living?

We used to speak about the optimistic perspective of looking at life with the glass “half full.” The current reality is that we look at life with the glass as “over-full” — little time for stillness or downtime. Quietude sometimes appears to be a thing of the past.

If you check out the actual definition of “stress” in a dictionary, there are varied meanings.  However, in terms of physiology, stress is a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.

To me, stress is a buildup of extreme tension within ones body and energetic field, causing an imbalance or state of “disharmony”.

Let’s face it, when one is stressed, you feel anxious, uptight, tense — basically feeling not-so-good — and this results in negative thought patterns as well.  When these negative thoughts remain with you for a prolonged period of time, the emotions surrounding them lodge even further in the physical/mental body and cause the manifestation of symptoms such as digestive issues, psychological imbalances, and even serious diseases…

So basically, you want to release stress — the feeling and thinking of it!  You need to strive to be in the flow of peacefulness within — and if that sounds next to impossible, then just aim at being in the flow of “semi-serenity.”  Living a peaceful modern life is a bit of an oxymoron… But for your own well-being, it is essential to adapt a “mindset of mindfulness” and personal quietude with an ability to go within when things outside you and surrounding you fall into disarray and turmoil.

Realistically, it is never truly possible to quiet every thing in your external world — life these days is pretty noisy. So it is so critical to quiet your internal world when you need a break from the frantic pace that life sometimes morphs into.

Meditation is a classic, timeless practice that can certainly help with this.

The attitude of mindfulness — of being truly present in the now moment — can help with this.

Just closing your eyes and focusing on your breath while taking some long, slow cleansing belly breaths can help with this.

Five to ten minutes of simply going into stillness and tuning out the clamor and clutter of a busy environment can be utterly rejuvenating.

And sometimes you just have to develop the determined outlook that in your heart, you are going to remain serene, no matter what discord people “throw” at you, no matter what hectic happenings crop up in your little corner of the world.

You do not have to allow stress to overtake you. You can choose to create your own unique perspective of tranquility. And that doesn’t mean you have to go meditate on a mountain top or follow a ritual of silence in a monastery…

You can always access the peace within — that beautiful, glorious inner light that reminds you of your Divine or Universal connection, that reminds you that at your core, you come from a place of serenity and clarity. And if you can connect in with this, you will be more in tune with your soul purpose here on Planet Earth…as well as more joyful and of course, more in that radiant stream of well-being…

Affirmations:

• I tune in to my inner rhythms to remain peaceful, especially during challenging or turbulent times.
• Despite what happens around me, I remain tranquil within my heart and mind.
• I make a conscious choice each moment and each day to embrace an attitude of serenity!