LET IT GO

BASIC MINDFULNESS FOR HANDLING STRESS.

WRITER: NIKO BERRY

The world constantly barrages everybody with more stress than can sometimes be handled. Between bad jobs and an inundation of bad news from all over the world, it’s a small miracle everybody hasn’t just thrown up their hands in collective surrender.

The bad news is, there is no way to get rid of it. The good news is you don’t have to give up. Much has been said about the popular song from the movie “Frozen” called “Let It Go,” but that could be your theme song for coping with stress. You are stronger than you think. You are strong enough to survive the presence of stress, and even to thrive with it.

The first step to understanding how to handle stress is to accept it. Common wisdom argues if something causes you pain, you should avoid it, and if you enjoy something, seek it out. This is not necessarily the case. To take a spiritual look at things, the Buddha Siddhartha noticed people disliked the things that hurt them—when chased by their demons, they try as hard as they can to either fight or escape them. However, the Buddha noticed that this tendency just puts them in even more pain. One of the secrets of life is the things that hurt you are part of living, and although there is no way to stop or escape them all, there are ways to come to terms with them.

One way to help subdue stress and make the best of life is to practice mindfulness. Built on many of the meditative tenets of Buddhism, mindfulness is also supported by modern psychological research. The American Psychological Association notes a wide range of studies showing the mental health benefits mindfulness provides. Researchers theorize that mindfulness meditation promotes metacognitive awareness (active control over the cognitive processes) and enhances attentional capacities through gains in working memory. Making these cognitive gains contributes to effective emtional control.

What is mindfulness? Quite simply, it is awareness of yourself and how you experience all aspects of life. Whether those aspects are negative or positive, mindfulness acknowledges them without judgement.

Mindfulness is hard to master tling into this position and finding a natural pace for your breath, you will notice thoughts flow into your head. Again, this is not a good or bad thing—it simply is. Observe those thoughts, whatever they may be. If you notice worries, do not judge them. Worry, anxiety, and fear are unpleasant, but they are also natural. They are a part of who you are. Do not judge them. As you notice the existence of your worries, other thoughts may drift through your mind. Perhaps memories come to your attention. Say hello to your memories, whatever they are. Maybe you think about what you had for lunch today or what you’re having for lunch tomorrow. Neither of these thoughts is are bad or good, they simply are. Notice them. but easy to start. Take a seat, cross your legs, and hold your back up high with the strength you wish to find. Now, breathe. Do not focus on your breathing. Instead, accept what comes naturally to you. Breathing, like all things in life, is just something that happens, neither positive nor negative.

This is the first step to mindfulness: accepting all your thoughts, paying attention to your inner world, and not fighting the flow of your mind. Fighting yourself, trying to think only positive things, or denying and hating negativity, only hurts you. Instead, accept all facets of yourself. Don’t rush; pay attention to your inner world until mindfulness comes naturally.

After you spend some time set-

As you become more mindful about yourself, doing the same with the world around you will slowly get easier. You will eventually take the whole of the world, good and bad, and accept it for what it is. While you’re going about life, taking 30 minutes to meditate is rarely an option. That is why it is important to reach a point where you are passively mindful of all of the things happening in your daily life.

Life is made of highs and lows; stress is part of the package. Instead of trying to cut it out of your life, try using mindfulness and acceptance to feel more at ease with all parts of your life.