Stress

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Stress

Just half a million years ago we were discovering fire. Another serveral hundred thousand years after that we figured out how to grow crops and raise livestock. We adapted.

And then came war after war and the technology to support it.

With it came medicine to heal the war wounds.

Then Bang! Money! Taxes!

And then Bang! Electricity!

Bang! Radio! TV! Telephone! Computers! A.I.! Smart phones!

We are not adapting well to these intrusions. We forget where we came from. We are distracted by trying to keep up with technology and relationships. We are caught in the grinder of trying to ‘make it’.

We are part of Nature. We originally knew what to eat, how to chill, how to walk on the earth, naturally. And then comes the culture you have grown up in- culture meaning:

• what you wear,
• your language and how to talk,
• how to think properly,
• your values - what is right and wrong,
• What to eat and drink,
• your music,
• your behavior,
• your beliefs - how the universe works,
• your expectations - supposed to marry, have kids...,
• your gender and how it is supposed to behave...

And then Bang! Time! Bang! Death!

Whew! That is a lot to deal with. I never received the manual about how to deal effectively and appropriately with all this. I’m guessing you didn’t either. We muddle through going on what our parents and friends have shown us, and then when confronted with questions we query the internet hive mind which is generally infected with various biases and imperfections like our own brain and culture.

We deal with this pressure:

• Self-medication - tried and well-practiced in Australia, England, America, Western and Eastern countries - actually, now that I think more about it, everywhere. The problem is your body is being severely damaged, and the ‘cure’ creates more problems and stress.
• Back to the country - returning to a more rural environment works for a lot of people.
• Meditation, sports - also works for a lot of people. Slow movement like Tai Chi and Yoga are fantastic healers,
• Walk in nature
• Art - writing, painting, music.
• Spiritual path like Sufism or Buddhism. One which has professionaly trained teachers and can vouch for its authenticity through a clear chain of transmission. Anything else is a cult.

The point is, you are a Great Experiment. Your primary job is to find out what works for you, what brings you back to your ‘Neutral’ or ‘Nominal’ state. Discover what activities, places or people Nurture your heart. My advice is to seek out where you feel the most safe, secure, trusting and loved.

You are your own self-help book. There’s great ideas and inspiration in there. You just need to learn how to read it. How to attain inner literacy?

Stop looking outside yourself for the answers. You already know enough. The truth is there, in your heart. Determine what is interfering with hearing your heart’s true desires. Your heart knows what will bring contenment. You just need to shut your brain off long

Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners,

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