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How I deal with stress


How are you doing guys? How do you feel about the current situation? I will share my experience below 👇💜
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To tell you the truth, I am not stressed about the current situation. On the contrary, I feel somehow relieved and happy, cause now I have plenty of time to do the things I didn’t have time for before.
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My opinion about the current changes in the world is this: yes, the situation is complicated, and very soon radical changes are going to happen in all the aspects of life. However, I cannot influence these bigger changes, so I choose to keep calm and be ready to act when I need to.

⠀ So what can we do right now?


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First and foremost, take care about yourself:
✔️Take all the necessary precautions. There is lots of information online. Just do it to protect yourself and others.
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✔️Be conscious about your information intake. Yes, the situation is serious. But spending too much time on social media, reading all the same bad news, reposting it and discussing with friends, just magnifies panic and fear.
So try to reduce your time on social media. Perhaps, make a rule to check it 1-2 times a day.
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✔️My favourite! Bring your awareness back into the body! Do what you like the most: dance, exercise, yoga, qigong. Conscious movement helps you release stress from the body, get happy and calm down the mind.
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✔️Express your emotions, don’t suppress! For example, I write down all my worries, if I’m anxious. I cry, if I want to cry. I do fists of anger from Kundalini yoga, if I am angry and cannot do anything constructive. Dance. Draw your pain. Sing about your sorrows.
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✔️Meditate and cultivate the neutral mind. By the way, meditation also helps to stay present and appreciate the small things in our life, like a cup of tea, a blow of wind, a blossoming flower.
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✔️And this brings us to the practice of gratitude. Take a few minutes to remember the good things in your life and feel gratitude in the heart. Vibration of gratitude takes us from victim mentality to the realization that we’re the creators of our own life.
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✔️Do the things that you never had time for. Any books you wanted to read? Educational courses? Maybe creative projects? What is your desire deep inside?
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I would love to know how you deal with stress. Let’s share our ideas and spread some positivity!
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Love to all 💜💜💜

Photo by Simon Migaj on Unsplash

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Tips for staying sane in challenging times from Thich Nhat Hanh

At one point in my life I got really inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings. I guess it was back in 2011, when I first travelled to Ubud in Bali. I am an absolute nerd about books, by the way 🤓 So very soon I stumbled upon Ganesha bookstore and lost the track of time.
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I was going through all those exciting new books and suddenly one book literally called me. At that time I had no idea who Thich Nhat Hanh was. But I just followed the call and started reading. He wrote about how to stay present and aware in everyday moments of our lives, like cooking, washing the dishes, enjoying a cup of tea. The book had a tremendous effect on me, I actually experienced what it means to be present in the moment. Funny enough, it’s one of my most pleasant memories 🌸

I loved these tips for staying sane in challenging times from Thich Nhat Hanh:
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🌱Guard the morning (and start it gently). Train yourself to begin the day with a few gentle breaths and a smile, 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 even getting out of bed (or checking the phone). Make the vow to live every hour of the day deeply, with compassion.
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🌱Savor your tea or coffee, slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the earth revolves. Follow your breathing, relax the body, look out the window, listen to your heartbeat (this is nothing less than meditation).
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🌱Enjoy every step of breakfast-making. Life is made of small moments. There is nowhere to hurry to, nothing to get done. This is it! Enjoy the presence of your loved ones, and the wonder of having enough to eat.

🌱When you’re ready to work, work. Free yourself from distractions, and cultivate one-pointed mind. But don’t forget to take care of your body while at the computer! Set a bell to sound so you can stretch every 30 minutes or so.

🌱Take time to walk in mindfulness. If you can go outside and get in touch with nature, wonderful. If you’re indoors, no problem: you can practice slow walking meditation, a powerful way to release tension and anxiety.

🌱Take a nap after lunch for 20 minutes, or practice deep relaxation (body scan) while lying down. Even just 10 or 15 minutes of releasing tension can set you free and refresh you before you keep working.

🌱Nourish yourself. Nothing can survive without food. Fear, anxiety and despair may be “fed” by what we read, see and hear. Likewise, our compassion, trust and gratitude can be fed by choosing inspiring books, music, audio & conversations.

🌱Sweat every day. In the monastery, monks and nuns have dynamic physical exercise every day. It’s essential to circulate our energy, stay healthy, and release tension and feelings that are stored in every cell of our body.

🌱Reach out to loved ones. Let them know you are there for them. Ask what their deepest hopes and fears are. Write them a love letter. Forgive those who need forgiving. Do not miss this stark opportunity to heal wounded relationships.

The source: https://plumvillage.org/…/a-zen-masters-tips-for-staying-…/…