You can think of your ‘I’ aspect of self as the General who is constantly scanning his or her computer screens and charts to ascertain the latest facts about what is going on in the theater of operation. Strategies to achieve the major or overall aim of the operation must be outlined. Tactics to achieve the specific end of the immediate conditions must be planned and implemented. Remember, your ‘I’ aspect of self operates in the conscious, willful, and objective processes of your brain (the organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull and functioning as the coordinating center of sensation and intellectual and nervous activity). In this sense, your ‘I’ aspect of self is always in the process of trying to cognitively figure things out. It functions in the realm of cognition (the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses). In our scenario, as the computer screens quickly change from one set of data to another, the General is challenged to keep up with all of the information coming at him or her. Stress mounts! And in reaction, the General determines to pay attention only to what is deemed the most important objective information. As a result, other possibly relevant information is overlooked. Not to mention the fact that some of the relevant information that the General needs has to be acquired, aggregated with other ‘intelligence’, and processed before the General will see it.
Once the tactical orders have been given and become operational and once the tactics have put the overarching strategy back on target, if the General is wise, he or she will go and take a rest (meditate or sleep). It is during meditation, meditative exercises, and sleep that the other magnificent qualities and attributes of the ‘me’ aspect of self come into action. Your ‘Me’ aspect of self operates in the subconscious, subjective, intuitive, and passive realm of the mind, and is responsible for inspiration and insight. The mind is the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think and to feel. It is the faculty of consciousness and thought. It is the term we use to speak of the mental processes of the brain in contrast to its physical form and neuro-physiological processes. During meditation or sleep the General’s ‘Me’ aspect of self will take all of the information associated with the General’s command and generate associative links between it and all of the General’s related knowledge and experiences. And in the process the ‘me’ aspect of self will nurture latent ideas and new insights into maturity to address some of the concerns that underlie the General’s stress. He will return from his brief period of meditative exercises or she will awaken from her sleep with new tactics to confront the opposition and assure the success of the strategy. Think of field operatives, Black Ops teams, and spies on the ground gathering facts, observing links, and making well-grounded assumptions about bits and pieces of information. This is what your subconscious, passive, intuitive, and creative aspect of mind is doing while you are in the state of meditation or sleep. Another good reason why ‘I’ need to take care of ‘Me’!
Everyone takes their turn at struggle and no one escapes those circumstances that bring stress flooding into their lives. From going to buy some apples to taking the children to visit the zoo, life is filled with predictable and unpredictable experiences that can stress you out. Some stress is good and necessary! But constant attacks of acute stress, or chronic stress (continuous high stress over an extended period of time) is more than not good. They are bad, dangerous, and life threatening. Learning how your body-mind communicates the need for a time-out is one of the most important things you can discover about yourself. Knowing how to manage your stress in ways that also invigorate your entire body-mind-spirit is a treasure that will serve you for the rest of your life.
Who is the Boss? You are! And my goal in writing this monthly Blog is to help motivate you, your family, your organization, and your company to Take Stress Seriously! If Sharif Enterprizes, Inc can assist you in enhancing your quality of life we look forward to hearing from you! Remember, your questions and comments on my Posts are welcome and appreciated!
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Article of the Month: July 2011
