The Age of Stress as a Precedent

The cover story of Time Magazine on June 6th, 1983 declared America “In the Age of Stress”. It depicted us as a society consumed by demands for our resources and threats to our well-being.
Since that time in 1983 when the official diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was first categorized by the Board of Medicine and Psychology there has been little effort made to define the parameters of stress, thus leaving us (the lay-person) to define ANYTHING with an overwhelming effect…. as stress.
Because stress is a natural form of physical reaction to our environment, I feel it vital to understand the nervous system, its fundamental (base) response, and its contradictions.
The word “stress” has been so overly used and emphasized, as to describe everything from marital discord to juvenile delinquency, that I find it prudent to discuss the implications of typical (physical) stress vs. the “stress scapegoat”.

Stress has now become a way to blame our fears and psychological malaise on every unpropitious occurrence. These situations could easily be handled if we understood our personal reactions and childhood traumas, and knew the difference between a natural Fight/Flight response or an overly stimulated psyche.

From time to time, I run across some pretty amazing (simple) practices that I for one, can appreciate. Keeping my spiritual practices simple, consistent, and SHORT….has become my way of staying connected. I like what Dan has to say here (below) and how easy it is to experience a “moment” of what some try to achieve hourly, or even worse….expect YOU to do all the time! Pressure is the worst of all experiences. Take the pressure off…and have a moment.

“Take your keys, a piece of fruit, or any handy object, and go outside. Throw the object up into the air. Staying relaxed and easy, catch it. (Be sure to catch it.) Then come back inside, and continue reading this exercise.

Consider the moment the object was in the air. At that moment you weren’t thinking of what you’d have for dinner or what you did yesterday. You weren’t thinking of anything else, either. You may have been attending to thoughts before you threw it or after you caught it, but during the throw, you were pure attention, reaching out, waiting for the object’s descent. In that same moment your emotions were open, and your body was alert and vitalized–a moment of satori.” ~ Dan Millman from Body Mind Mastery

Got yours?

The belief that perfection can be achieved affects the lives of countless numbers of people. Many people are obsessed with achieving perfection to the point that it affects their physical and psychological well being. These individuals are commonly referred to as “perfectionists.” They seek the perfect mate, the perfect job, the perfect body, and they are often unhappy in their quest.

Even the most mundane task can become an ordeal since the task must be performed to an exacting standard. These people experience disappointment and dissatisfaction and are often unable to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. They believe that perfection is attainable; they experience falling short of the goal as failure. These individuals spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make certain that they will avoid making mistakes.

Perfection is meant to be an abstract ideal toward which we strive in an attempt to gain proficiency and to excel. It is a concept designed to spur us on to greater heights. The meaning of the word perfection is illustrated by the phrase “striving toward perfection.” Few people who adopt seeking perfection as a value (as opposed to achieving perfection) expect to achieve it. Seeking perfection merely connotes that process of moving closer to an abstract ideal.

The British have a saying that encourages people to show their skills while mocking the universal “fear of failure”:  Do your worst.

If you can’t tolerate your worst, at least once in a while…… how true to yourself can you be?

“Why can’t this be easy!”
“When will I ever get it”
“Is there really a GOD?”

There’s got to be an answer out there that will satisfy your personal disappointments and ever spiraling out of control addictions, compulsions, and loneliness. Even if it’s not as bad as all that, you still need to know you are a part of something… albeit anything! We have all read everything we can get our hands on about “being connected, manifestation, power of belief, etc” but theorizing, hypothesizing, and therapyzing have already left you (or soon will) frustrated and angry.
continue reading…