When Brilliance Is In Stress Is Out

Have you ever asked yourself, is stress normal? Does stress just happen to us? Can we eliminate it? To answer these questions, we must understand what stress is. In most situations, stress is a negative feeling showing us that we are attached to our thinking. Like all feelings, stress is a messenger, letting us know whether we are in our center and experiencing our brilliance or spinning in our thought patterns.

There are so many demands in our modern world that our thoughts can go in a million directions: We have too much to do, don’t have enough time, don’t know how to fix a problem, or are having trouble with our computer—again. We tend to get caught up in deadlines, relationships that aren’t working, and kids who are in trouble. What’s the common denominator? Our thoughts telling us things are not as they should be.

We resist what is happening in the moment in our lives because we wanted something else. Instead of focusing on a way out of our problems, we ignore them, hoping they’ll go away, or we sit and stew, waiting for a magic cure, allowing them to grow. Our problems appear monumental because we have attached a lot of thought to them, spending much of our time thinking about them. And our time disappears, with no solutions in sight.

Although people have become accustomed to stress for periods of hours, months, or years, it is not normal. If it were, our bodies would thrive with it instead of experiencing heart attacks, immune disorders, and fatigue. Small amounts of stress for limited times can energize our bodies; extended periods of stress limit our health, success, and happiness.

Not only is feeling stressed not normal, it does not “just” happen—it originates in our thinking habits. Stress is about interpretation and focus. The habit of seeing a glass half full or half empty can either decrease or increase our stress. Looking at what is or isn’t working for us is a point of focus that either limits or builds stress.

Long-Term Stress

Can we eliminate long-term stress by just changing our mind? Yes, we can, when we understand that feelings always follow thought. Every thought we have leads to a feeling. When we experience the feeling of stress we can know that our thoughts created it.

The first key to eliminating stress in our lives is to understand how thought works. Brain research shows that each half of our brain supports a unique function. The left brain is analytical, sequential, and organizes our lives. The right brain is associated with intuition and creativity. Author Richard Carlson gives the mind two distinct functions which correlate. The computer mind is that part of our mind which organizes and stores information. It collects all of our experiences, everything we have observed, and generations of family and cultural beliefs. It also stores our behavior habits, like brushing our teeth or driving the car, without our having to think much about it. Our transmitter mind connects us to our natural brilliance and creativity. It provides new answers and insights that move us to a new level of expression.

We can eliminate stress by just changing our mind. We’ve said that feelings follow thoughts. By simply shifting our attention away from the thoughts creating stress, they lose their power. Then we can give our power to what we want to create in our lives.

Short-Term Stress

Often our life events trigger physiological stress reactions. Examples include the shock of a near accident while driving, the death of a loved one, a medical crisis (either our own or that of a loved one), or a disaster. We cannot avoid the stress we feel in these situations. Our bodies and minds automatically react when life brings the unexpected. To prevent these short- term feelings of stress from building into long-term stress, we can begin to recognize that our thoughts diminish or increase our level of stress. We can see the difference between focusing on the danger of a near accident and the incompetence of the driver who caused it, and instead focusing on our gratitude for avoiding a crash and the resulting injury. In every situation we have a choice to place our attention on stressful or stress-free thoughts.

Outside In or Inside Out

It is important to distinguish between outside-in and inside-out thinking. Stress comes from outside-in thinking, which is anything that engages only our computer mind. When we interpret events through old meanings, old beliefs, and ingrained patterns and habits, the computer mind tends to create major thought attacks, stress, and anxiety; we’re engaging only half of who we are.

The whole idea of inside-out thinking indicates that we have moved to a new level of thought in which new answers are available. We have shifted to our innate wisdom, our natural brilliance. When we combine innate brilliance with the best of our computer-mind functioning, we take the facts of our present situation and view them through our brilliance, bypassing worn-out thought patterns and opening to new levels of awareness. This awareness is coming from inside of us, from the wholeness of our being, bringing solutions to our outer life circumstances.

Life Without Stress

Knowing that long-term stress can be eliminated by shifting our thoughts, would you choose to stop the cycles of stress in your life or keep them? Just think for a minute what your life would be like without stress. Here are some of the comments we’ve received over the past few years in response to this question: “I would have a lot more energy to pursue the things I enjoy the most.” “There would be more of a sense of ease in my life; I would roll with the punches instead of taking things seriously.” “I would be much more present, more able to enjoy whatever is going on around me.” “Life would have more joy, vitality, happiness, and expression—my higher expression would be available.” “I would be more relaxed, with a real sense of freedom.”

Living Sress-Free

What actions or behaviors can we use to disconnect from stress in our everyday lives? What can we do to shift from worry to peacefulness, from fear to action?

It is important for us to be conscious. We worry when we don’t know what is going on around us. To live stress-free we need to be aware of our thoughts and feelings and connected to our natural brilliance. When we have a plan that comes from our wisdom, we relax and follow the natural flow of energy, trusting that we can accomplish all that is needed at the right time. All is working together for the best.

One strategy for connecting to our brilliance and reducing stress is to take a really deep breath that relaxes the body. When we relax we become willing to let go of a “problem” and take the first step toward a solution. Each step leads to another when we trust our brilliance to guide us.

If you love music, go to a concert, play an instrument, or create a song. If you are an artist, paint or draw. If you love sports, run or play soccer or another game. If you like to repair your car or build furniture, do that. Going for a walk, getting involved in other physical activities, playing with a pet or a child—all of these can prevent stress. Spending as much time as possible in the present moment, enjoying the simple pleasures that surround us will always give us the positive feelings and experiences that keep us free from stress.

When we understand that most stress is just a result of a thought we have taken seriously, when we understand that we can always invite our brilliance to inform us, then we know that stress does not have to be our reality. The more we create peaceful havens for ourselves, peaceful moments, experiences in nature, times to reflect, the greater our reservoir of strength becomes. Then we are able to get through even the most difficult situations in life with ease and grace.

When we are doing what we love and when love is involved in all we do, there is no stress. Communicating with the people around us, sharing fun and humor—this is an expression of love. Expressions of love and gratitude come from our natural brilliance.

The world reflects who we are being. If we want a better world, we must learn to live from the wholeness of who we are, tapping our inner brilliance in every decision we make. As we awaken and respond to the power within each of us, we have the opportunity to create a new world. Once we do this, we gain lifelong freedom from stress.

Excerpted in part from ACTIVATE YOUR BRILLIANCE, Back to Brilliance ©2007