What is the best way to deal with stress?

❖ What is the best way to deal with stress? ❖
~ by Ajahn Jayasaro ~

Given our responsibilities and the pressures upon us, feeling a certain amount of stress is probably inevitable. It is not always a bad thing, and hard to imagine how making positive changes in our life, abandoning old unwise habits, could be possible without any stress at all. If we are unable to deal with stress or feel we should not have to deal with it, we may fail to realize important goals in our life.

Nevertheless, it is possible to radically reduce the amount of stress we experience. It helps to simplify our lives as much as we can and learn to slow down a little; trying to fit too much into a day is needlessly wearing. 

Bringing attention to the quality of our actions and speech reduces stressful interactions with others. A more judicial use of resources reduces stress over personal finances. Regular exercise, especially yoga and tai chi (because designed to affect the nervous system), alleviates much physical tension, and teaches us to breathe more naturally.

Regular meditation practice gives us the skill to recognize and let go of the toxic moods and thoughts that underlie chronic tension. 

Unrealistic expectations of ourselves and those around us, for instance, can be crippling. In daily life, taking regular short breaks to calm and center the mind prevents stress from gradually accumulating throughout the day. 

These breaks might take the form of a sixty-second breath meditation in front of a computer or simply taking a few deep grounding breaths before picking up a ringing phone. 

Developing the ability to come back to the present moment and re-establish a state of calm alertness on a regular basis throughout the day can make significant changes to the quality of our life.

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To read the ebook, please visit ‘Without and Within', by Ajahn Jayasaro:

https://cdn.amaravati.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/11/Without-and-Within-by-Ajahn-Jayasaro.pdf