Can you think of at least 3 things that stress you out? I’m sure this is an easy request, since we live in such a taxing world. It fills our minds with bad news and all sorts of fears on a regular basis. If you fall prey to all this toxic energy, you’ll feel its effects on a physical, mental, and emotional level.
So what can you do to create a more peaceful and joyful life experience? I’d like to share 5 tools that have often helped me move beyond the stopping points created by stress and fear.
The first one, of course, is developing emotional flexibility. If you are too attached to your ideas or agendas, your experience of this world will feel like an emotional battlefield: disappointment, opposition, and discouragement will be recurring patterns. You must learn to be flexible and find creative solutions to accomplish your goals, instead of getting fixated on what you think things should look like.
Likewise, nurturing an attitude of acceptance and gratitude for what comes your way is key. Sometimes blessings come disguised as problems or difficult situations to help you discover the hidden strength to overcome them or your intuitive voice to find a better route for the life path you’ve chosen. Accept what is while holding on to the vision of what YOU want, and let go of what gets in your way.
Since the ego-mind relies on the illusion of permanence to exist, it will always try to make you see a current situation as fixed: it’s either black or white; my way or the highway; now or never. Life is in continuous fluctuation, and nothing—and I mean nothing—is permanent. So don’t let your mind immobilize you in stressful situations, filling you with uneasy thoughts. There is always a solution waiting to be uncovered, a meaningful silver lining. All you have to do is keep moving—mentally, emotionally, and sometimes also physically.
To find peace amongst your confusion, it’s necessary to cultivate your spiritual resources. Do whatever resonates with you to harness the divine power within: prayer, mantra, meditation, yoga, qigong, chanting, walks in nature, or anything that strengthens your faith and trust in something bigger than your little ego-mind—the inner bully pushing you to identify with the physical senses and fixate on the emotions they create.
And finally, see any setbacks or discomfort as temporary (remember, nothing is permanent) and be willing to take action, no matter how imperfect, to counteract your stress or fear. The longer you get stuck in their grip, the more power you give them and the more of your energy they will suck up. Where your attention goes your energy follows, expanding what you’re focusing on with your inherent creative power. So anchor yourself in yourself and remain light and playful, looking forward to a better future!
Stressful times are opportunities to discover new aspects of yourself and tap into the inner resources you didn’t know you had. Breathe deeply to remain centered, trusting that you’re being guided to learn more about yourself as you take spiritual responsibility to create a higher reality and experience life from a more peaceful place. Sometimes you need those challenges to finally hatch into who YOU truly are. To learn how to remain centered in yourself, contact me today and get started on a journey of emotional freedom and self-empowerment!
© 2014 Yol Swan. All rights reserved.