Stress is now being shown by science to be linked to the initiation and rapid degeneration of many of the major diseases plaguing humanity today from cardiovascular diseases, many cancers and certain dementias. However as I’ve shown in previous articles* it’s not really the ‘stress’ that gets you, rather it’s your response (and more usually ‘reaction’, there’s a difference) to the stressor.
To help you begin to remove yourself from the primitive immediate r-complex reaction to stress that many of us display (much like our non-human animal cousins), we can use mindfulness to develop a quiet mind. Far from just minimising damage from stress reactivity, the new research coming out surrounding mindfulness is demonstrating that it allows us to begin to tap into the miraculous power of our genome, from abilities such as enhanced creativity and vastly increased brain speed and power, to physical performances that we currently only catch glimpses of from our species absolute elite. You, your friends and your family all have this potential, practicing a quiet mind is an essential component to being able to harness it.
Here’s a great group of methods that the amazing people at the University of California San Francisco assembled (annotations are mine) to help you to begin developing a quiet mind; all they ask you to do is regularly BREATHE:
(B)reathe - Take deep breaths and be present in the moment. To help you remain in the present simply focus on your breathing, notice how it feels, not only the breath but also how it affects your entire body and mind.
(R)ealistic goals – One of the oddities of the Human psyche is our over-confidence – ever notice how we are all the greatest driver in the world? The same is true when dealing with, especially short-term, goals, we are often overly confident in our ability to achieve them. There’s a truism that goes ‘we overestimate how much we can do in a day, but we greatly underestimate how much we can do in a year’. Set realistic goals, make a plan and then achieve them. Success is a habit - create success, often.
(E)veryday events – ‘Just my luck, it always happens to me’. Always? I’m willing to bet (of the Gentlemen’s kind) that whatever bad things have happened this year, you’ve probably had at least 100 times as many days where it didn’t. Why don’t we celebrate the fact that today, is actually a good day, for so many reasons?
(A)cts of kindness – The greatest gift is in the giving. In our increasingly consumerist world we often feel that gifts have to be a purchasable item. Yet with all of this ‘stuff’, people are less content than ever. So I’m not sure the solution to happiness will be found in more ‘stuff’. There are other things that we can give to each other though – time, compliments, friendship…I’m sure you can think of many others. We don’t elevate ourselves by pushing people down around us relative to where we are; that only keeps us at the same level. Lift people up around you and you’ll naturally be buoyed up by your surroundings.
(T)urn negative events around – Even in our darkest hours, if we look at it from the right perspective we can always find a positive or useful outcome. Learn to become a seeker of these silver linings, that’s where the growth is.
(H)umour – Humour is Natures stress reliever. See the silliness in it all, especially our artificially created social constructs. Be self-depreciating without taking it to heart. As the saying goes, ‘Don’t take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway’.
(E)nd each day with gratitude – As a culture we often end our days reflecting upon the events that transpired and more often than not dwell upon what went wrong. Using the same thought-pattern as in the ‘everyday events’, focus specifically on what you are grateful for on this day. A little phrase that might help you in this process ‘Appreciation over expectation’.
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