Author: Barry
Company: Hewlett-Packard Company

The Greatest Stress Buster of All!

By Rev. Barry King

For many of us, it seems that life is out of control. This sense of helplessness can be very stressful. What do you do to counteract it? How can you take charge again and be happy? The answer is actually very simple but you must transform your awareness to access the tools that you need - tools that you already have. 
This transformation begins with a truth. It is that even through you are surrounded by a physical world, the world that you really live in is a world of thoughts. Once you embrace the fact that it is your thoughts that shape the world that you live in, it is easy to see how they can have so much power over your life. It is also much easier to take back control of your life when you accept the basic truth that you are what you think. Thoughts are the foundation of our reality. When our reality is shaken it is because our thoughts are shaken. It is because the world within does not correspond to the world without. This causes confusion and uncertainty. 
It is important that we understand that our thoughts are far more concrete than we give them credit for. This means that if we give a thought enough energy - enough power - it will happen. Another way of saying this is "as you think, so it is." If you believe the world is an unfriendly place, it will be. If you believe the world is full of joy, you will find joy at every turn.
Many of us spend a great deal of energy trying to calm the storm - the chaos that surrounds us. We focus on all the things out there that have to be fixed: relationships, finances, work, etc. One of the things that we forget or maybe try to avoid is the fact that it is often the storm within that causes us the most distress. It is also the one which we can take the greatest responsibility for. It is this storm which only we can still when it rages out of control. 
Have you ever noticed that when you are troubled you are most sensitive to and affected by those things that are happening around you? We are most likely to be impatient, angry, unhappy or irritable when we are feeling unsettled. It is not the world around you that you should be trying to control and shape, it is the world within. 
One of the things that often feeds the storm within is fear. It is not what has happened that causes the most worry but that which might happen or could happen. We spend hours fearing things and worrying about things that are not real. They have no reality except in our thoughts. They could happen, and yet rather than take what action we can to best ensure that they don't happen, we worry. We rob ourselves of our strength when we need it the most. We fill ourselves with self-doubt and we take away joy. Fear is the mind killer. It is fear that can take away your clarity, your balance, your potential. It is fear that is the source of the stress that you feel. 
To reject fear there is a simple rule - do what you can and then let go. React only when there is clarity and try not to spend your time dealing with imaginings. Try not to give things that have not happened presence in your thoughts because to worry about something is to give it strength. Worrying gives the thing you fear reality and increases the possibility of it manifesting in the physical world - the world without. 
If you are unhappy and looking for a change, it is not your actions that will change your life. It is your thoughts - thoughts that are translated or manifested through action. There are no kind or compassionate acts without kind and compassionate thoughts. We have all seen and experienced the emptiness of action where there is no intent.
It is also important to realize that we measure ourselves not by our deeds but by our thoughts. If you do something out of fear of what will happen if you do not do it, then you gain nothing from it. It becomes a lie and fills you with self-doubt and insecurity. Whatever you do must be done because you feel it is right and not because of fear of the consequences if you do not do it. 
To those of you who pray to God for intervention or help, every thought is a prayer. It is not only when you call a thought a prayer that God listens. God hears your thoughts whether you call it a prayer or not. As mentioned earlier, treat every thought as if it will become a reality. That means that when you have a negative thought you must learn to transform it into a positive. Today is not a difficult day - "It is a wonderful day to be alive. Thank you for the challenges which have given me the opportunity to grow." Affirmations are important because they work. 
So to change the world you live in, you must change your thoughts. Most people fail not because they lack ability but because they did not believe they would succeed. Reprogram your mind. Expect good things to happen. See the positive in life's challenges and understand that they are not burdens. 
One way that you can do this is with affirmations. Many of you have heard about affirmations. If you use them you can program yourself to be more positive just as you can program yourself to be more negative by using negative affirmations. A negative affirmation is when you are given a task and you tell yourself that you cannot do it. You might say, "I can't do this because I am too tired, or too inexperienced, or too stressed, or too important, or too clumsy, etc." Be assured that if you believe that you cannot do it, you will not do it. A positive affirmation is just the opposite and works best when stated as an event that has reached a positive conclusion. If you are quitting smoking, your affirmation might be "I give thanks for being a non-smoker." 
When you go to bed at night, instead of thinking about all that went wrong during the day, you should do an inventory of all the positive things that happened and give thanks for the challenges that you faced. Affirmations can be used effectively to change your behaviour and your thought patterns. 
In closing, I would like to remind you that you are your greatest gift. Love yourself. Know that you are one of God's children and that life is purposeful. Celebrate each breath and rejoice in your new awareness.