Getting The Most Out Of Your Stress

If you have explored our web site and newsletters then you have already learned a lot about stress. You have also learned about Social Change of the Fourth Kind. You also know that we are experiencing this level of social change at this very moment. And that means most of us are experiencing high and in many cases chronic levels of stress. Loss of jobs brings financial stressors, family tensions, self-esteem issues, and other worries and concerns that seem overwhelming. Having to lay off or fire workers who you have known for years gives rise to empathy and compassion mixed with a good measure of guilt, just enough to make your heart feel heavy and for you to feel helpless. Seeing the cost of all of the things that you need to survive go up as your real income seems to go down creates its own set of anticipatory fears as you wonder how long our fragile security will hold up. Wondering what kind of future your children will face as you watch the world churn into new and unfamiliar configurations. There are no shortage of stressors for you to manage.

Of course all of these everyday concerns are taking place in the context of the stressors emanating from larger neighborhood, municipal, state, national, and global shifts in the social fabric that also ultimately find their way into your consciousness. Mass murders, terrorist threats, immigration issues, political tensions, international uprisings, economic instability, health care access and cost, food and product safety, unsafe drivers, identity theft and Internet security, and let us not fail to mention global warming and other environmental issues. Unless you live in a cave or the woods, or have decided to turn off your television or ban the news in your home, you are probably bombarded with hundreds of auditory and visual images of this fragmented world of nightmares everyday. You have also learned as a friend of Sharif Enterprizes, Inc. and a visitor to our web site that Stress Kills! That is the worst-case scenario but some of the chronic debilitating effects of stress can make your life a real drag. So ask yourself, Got Stress? If your answer is yes, then you need to do something about it!

Getting The Most Out Of Your Stress begins with recognizing that the term stress represents and refers to a real set of bio-chemical and psychological changes that occur when you are confronted with persons, places, things, or events that trigger your Fight-or-Flight Response. This is a subject that the Mysterious Dr. M. covers thoroughly in the Handbook On Being Human, Vol I. (Preview) Here is another fact to keep in your mind. You may remember it from grade school. Energy is neither created nor destroyed only changed from one form to another. Now put the two ideas together! Yes! Stress, the stress that can present a problem for you is a transfer of energy from those persons, places, things, or events that trigger your Fight-or-Flight Response and you must somehow convert that energy into a non-toxic form or release it through a healthy and beneficial outlet before it can have its detrimental effects on you. Since these negative stressors have an affect on both your both and your mind (your thoughts, attitudes, emotions, mood, level of enthusiasm, etc.) the methods you use to transform and utilize the energy must satisfy the needs of both your both and your mind.

Qigong (Chi Kung) practice is an excellent method for managing your stress. Qigong is an ancient form of exercises practiced fervently throughout China for centuries. It is both similar to and different from East Indian Yoga. Qigong involves breathing exercises that help to balance heart rate, blood flow, respiratory rhythm, and blood oxygenation. It also includes postures and body movements that help to relax the muscles, stimulate the vital organs and systems of the body, and enhance flexibility and coordination. Qigong exercises are generally referred to as a moving meditation referring to the Peaceful Space (Preview) one enters into while practicing the exercises. You can learn more about the Benefits of Qigong Training by clicking on the link in the Seifu-Sharif.com Library. (Preview)

Don’t waste your positive energy fighting with the negative energy that emerges in the course of everyday life. In stead, take that negative energy and transform it into positive energy by doing something beneficial to yourself or helpful to others. That is part of the Prime Directive of the Human Family.

Peace and Health!

Preview The Handbook On Being Human, vol I

Article of the Month: February 2011

Navigating the Currents of Cultural Forces