A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranged from 8oz to 20oz. She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed–incapable of doing anything.” It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses…don’t carry them long…remember to put the glass down!  Source: Science is Madness

When we slow down and pay attention to how we are experiencing our lives, we are more likely to make wise decisions and act from a centered and calm place. When our intentions arise from such a place, we create less stress and more harmony in our lives and the lives of those around us.

What is a stress or worry you can let go of today? Through observation and awareness we learn to be more calmly responsive and less emotionally reactive.

“Pour out all your worries and stress upon Him and leave them there, for He always tenderly cares for you.” ~ 1 Peter 5:7 TPT

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How do you deal with stress & strong emotions? How do you discharge the energy? There are 3 general ways…
1. Numbing: alcohol/drugs, food, sex, shopping, gambling, technology/screen time, anything excessive
2. Lashing Out: expressions of anger, aggression…physically, emotionally, verbally…especially to those we love & trust the most
3. Lashing In: negative internal dialogue, self pity or blame, depression/anxiety…Anxiety is owning a crisis before it arrives & focuses on the improbable. Do not worry about your life.

What’s your “go-to” emotional release?
Honestly listen to the story you are telling yourself.
Receive it without blaming, shaming or judging.
Let it filter through the soft gaze of awareness & grace.
Change can only come through observation & awareness.

What are some healthy stress management techniques that work for you?
Choose one or two that come to mind and incorporate them into your life this week. Remember to put the glass down!

~ Let’s turn our pain & sadness into compassion.

~ Our anger & aggression into motivation; aggression is often stuck energy wanting to move forward.

~ Our anxiety & worry into healthy concern which focuses on the probable and produces positive action.

~ And turn our apathy & unfocused thinking into passion & purpose.

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Burn the Rope: by Danna Faulds

Burn the rope of
past conditioning,
or slice right
through, awareness
like a blade that
cannot be stopped
by any obstacle.
Without the history
of who you’ve
been, what is the
essence of your
soul’s expression?
When you allow
the moment to
offer up its perfect
response, what is
the free and true
experience of you?

 

It’s time to give yourself some space to explore. When’s the last time you were quiet and undistracted—maybe outside in nature or in a cozy spot in your home with devices off—and allowed yourself to JUST BE, daydream and wander? Allowing thoughts and ideas to arise and travel from one to another without hesitation. Feeling nudges and Spirit-longings come to the surface to be exposed and nourished? We need time and space to hear promptings, to receive insights, direction and inspiration. We have to gift ourselves this time. You are worth it. Yes, the laundry and emails will still be there, that’s OK. You need this dreamy space to receive, adjust, change, grow—and become the best version of YOU!

Absorb these song lyrics from Limitless by Colton Dixon:

Oh wake up you dreamers
Become make-believers
This is who we are

We are limitless, limitless
Limitless, limitless
The power of love
Alive in us
Is limitless, limitless
Unstoppable and nothing less
No nothing can hold us down
We are limitless

Doubt sees a mountain, no way around it
Faith sees a victory, no doubt about it
Fear sees a ceiling, hope sees the stars
Love be the light inside of our hearts

“Awaken to the storyteller within and share your story with the world. Tell it with joy and flair. Commit to telling it with love and passion. Tell it through living your life fully, doing your work well, and creating the best life you can. Be who you are and love being that. Live your life from your heart. Share from your heart. And your story will touch and heal people’s souls.” ~ Melody Beattie

“… ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets.” ~ 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 

Hear the deep secrets. Awaken to the storyteller within. Remember you are LIMITLESS = without end or boundary.

 

5 Most Beautiful Things Meditation:

What are the 5 most beautiful things in front of you right now? They could be precious people, prized possessions, powerful symbols or words, or priceless moments.
Picture them clearly in your heart & mind.
Feel all the emotions.
What sensations do you feel in the body?
Where do you feel these sensations?
Label your emotions with one word.
Label the sensations felt with one word.
Tuck these words deep into your memory account of beautiful experiences. ❤️

“That’s what we do with beautiful things. We tuck them away. We use them when we need them, in our bear like way. We use them as fuel. We breathe them. We give them away. We remember them as long as we can. What if we walked around looking for beauty instead of looking for things to be stressed about or offended by? What if we became beauty hunters? What if we told more beautiful stories? Our lives need beauty. Relentless, unremitting beauty.” ~ Jennifer Pastiloff

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I fall in love regularly,
with each person whom
passes me in the streets,
or who sits beside me on the bus.
Not in the romantic way;
No, we hardly even speak
a word to each other.
But I sit, quietly observing
all of their body language and all of
their expressions.
Their smiles, and gestures;
the way they lift their coffee,
or smile as they read
that new text message,
or count the change in their hands.
I watch vigilantly, tracking
the manners and movements,
and appreciating all that
these people are.
I spend some time thinking about
their families and lives,
and the lives that they lead.
I consider what they might do
for work, and what they
went to school for.
When they woke up that morning, and
how they did their hair.
I study the details of these people,
that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Researching each of them,
noticing our similarities, and
rejoicing in
the beauty of human nature

~ Author unknown

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Philippians 4:8-9 The Message (MSG)

^8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

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“I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable and beautiful and afraid of nothing, as though I had wings.” ~ Mary Oliver