Chapter 3 Reducing Stress and Anxiety It has been estimated that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related problems.
Scientific American has reported that stress is proven to reduce the number of positive antibodies and immune responses that we need to stay healthy.
Under stress,
Heart rate and blood pressure soar to increase the flow of blood to the brain and improve decision-making,
And blood sugar rises to furnish more fuel for energy.
When we travel,
We are vulnerable to a great amount of stress and are exposed to dangerous viral and bacterial infections.
Many people believe that it's impossible to travel without stress,
But I have found that it is possible to reduce stress while traveling.
Focusing on the breath is one of the most important ways to do this.
Breathe consciously and fully.
Breathe in deeply to the count of four.
Hold your breath for four counts.
Breathe out for four counts.
Hold your breath out for four counts.
Now repeat.
Breathe in deeply to the count of four.
Hold your breath for four counts.
Breathe out for four counts.
Hold your breath out for four counts.
Take a cleansing breath.
Take a deep breath.
Hold your breath,
Then push all of the air out of your lungs.
Feel the tension release as you breathe out.
Hold your breath for a second and then repeat.
Take a deep breath in.
Hold your breath,
Then push all the air out of your lungs.
As you continue to do this cleansing breath,
You'll find you need to focus on your breathing.
So you're not only cleansing your lungs,
Oxygenating your lungs and your mind and your body,
But focusing your mind on what you're doing.
Outbreaths.
Kundalini yoga practice is what is known as breath of fire.
This breath is a series of short forceful breaths out.
It feels like bellows.
Focus on the lower abdomen as you breathe short staccato breaths out.
And do this rapidly for 20 breaths.
It's similar to panting.
You may need to blow your nose after you do that for 20 short breaths.
You can repeat that after a moment.
Give yourself time.
One sure way to create havoc and stress is to not have enough time.
So give yourself lots of extra time.
It's much better to have more time than you need,
Than not enough.
Never assume that there won't be lines at the airport.
You can always find a way to hang out at the airport,
But you're asking for trouble if you don't give yourself enough time to negotiate your way to the gate area.
Don't cut times between planes too short.
When you don't have enough time between connections,
You're asking for stress.
For example,
It can be a major cause of stress to hear that your plane is circling the airport due to fog and you only have a half an hour between connecting flights.
Or that your plane has been canceled or delayed and you have only a half an hour to get to that next flight.
It's also very important to give yourself plenty of time to go through customs.
Do your best to allow a few hours between flights.
It's better to spend an extra hour or two waiting in the airport than to miss your connection.
Give yourself a day before and after your trip.
This is one of the harder things to do for people,
But if you have a day to yourself before your trip,
You can let go of the stress of having to get ready and put yourself in a place where you're ready to enjoy what's going to come.
Packing and getting ready and doing last minute errands can be very stressful.
And if you have an unscheduled day when you come back from your trip,
You can unpack,
Organize any notes,
Go through your photos,
Send thank you messages and digest what you learned from your journey.
A couple of days on either side of your trip can make a big difference in how you feel about your experience.
Overwhelmed?
You can be a little overwhelmed by your travel experiences and it's helpful to remember this moment is as perfect as you allow it to be.
Can you let this moment be perfect?
Can you release anything keeping you from a blissful now moment?
Imagine the perfect presence in this moment.
Just be in that perfect presence of now.
Can you feel bliss?
Can you feel happiness?
Can you know everything is going to work out just as it's needed to be and that there is no reason to be overwhelmed?
Your secret go-to spot.
There's a place within that can be your go-to spot when you need to retreat and be quiet or inspired.
It's like having a base camp when you're trekking.
It's the still point within your soul.
A place you can be quiet and meditate or pray from.
There you can find the inner connection to God or Source.
It's a place where you can plug into yourself and all the energy of the universe.
It's a very important resource to develop for inner and outer traveling.
Take time to discover that go-to place inside yourself.
Allow yourself to connect with that spirit within.
Develop a relationship with that inner self,
The soul.
Everything can be a great time to do that.
Quiet the mind.
Still the thoughts and be in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Let the wings of the angels protect you and hold you and embrace your weary body.
Merge with that moment,
The eternal moment of now.
Allow yourself to let go and merge with the all and with nothingness and just allow yourself to be.
Quiet the mind.
Light.
Light is a powerful tool that you can use for sending and receiving energy.
It can also be used for protection.
When traveling,
Put a brilliant white light around yourself.
Visualize it as if it were like an egg surrounding you and you were in the middle of this egg-like shell.
You have an energy field around you that can be energized by putting light there.
You can also put white light around the entire plane.
I do this on every trip I take.
Take a break from electronics.
When you travel,
You have a golden opportunity to turn off those electric devices.
Be prepared.
You may go through some withdrawal,
But what an opportunity to stop your addiction to texting and being constantly checking messages and photos and images.
Take the time instead to go within.
Be on a retreat.
Be still.
Stop the mind.
Stop everything that is distracting you and just relax.
Breathe and be still.
Be with that inner sense of who you are and just be.
Peace.
Feel the ease of peace.
Just let all the struggles go.
All that you've been fighting for is worn down,
Your weary soul.
Feel the ease of being right here in this moment.
Let all the work of life slip from your shoulders like a silken shawl.
Let it fall.
You are here in spirit.
You are in this space.
Let the light of the presence heal you with its saving grace.
Open up your heart and open up your mind.
Breathe in the ease of being here and let it calm your mind.
There is a peace that passeth understanding.
Be in that peace right now.
Feel the ease of peace and let all the struggles go.
Remember this,
My friend.
All is well.
All is well.
Soul smiles.
Take a moment and imagine your soul smiling at you.
How would you smile back?
Smile with your body.
Smile with your mind.
Smile with your emotions.
And bring that smile to your state of mind.
How would it feel right now to embrace yourself with happiness?
And let yourself be a soul smile.
Share that smile with others.
Share it with yourself.
A smile can really work wonders.
And it's free to use.
So let yourself just smile.
Check your energy level.
You may not even realize it,
But you put out a huge amount of energy simply to navigate to where you're going and you also receive massive amounts of sensory input when you're traveling.
The plain sounds,
The bad air you breathe,
The junk food you eat,
The caffeine you drink,
Any alcohol you consume can deplete and exhaust you and potentially make you sick.
Imagine the gas gauge on your car.
Now if you were going to check that gauge for your energy level,
Where would it be at?
Would you be full,
Half full or near empty?
Take some time to breathe,
Relax and bring your level to full.
Focus.
Before you get off the plane,
Take a few minutes just to focus.
Check to see if you have everything that you brought with you.
So often headphones,
Power cords,
Cell phones and even wallets are left behind.
Make sure you have your tickets,
Your ID and passport.
Do a mental check.
It's almost impossible to retrieve those items once you've left the plane.
So focus.
A talisman.
How about thinking of carrying a talisman,
A crystal or some small rock across,
A Buddha,
A tiny statue or maybe worry beads.
And if you find yourself getting in a spin and losing focus,
Hold the talisman.
Focus on it,
Not on something that's bothering you or causing you to worry.
Let the energy and prana of this piece bring you to your center.
Let it help you to come back to the now.
Let it help bring in the presence of your being.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Ask yourself if this will matter a year from now.
Richard Carlson,
Author of the bestselling book Don't Sweat the Small Stuff reminded us that it's all small stuff.
He passed away,
But he left a legacy of positive thinking behind.
It's so easy to lose perspective of the bigger picture and not to treasure what's truly important that we have.
You really don't have to sweat the small stuff.
And remember,
Most of what you're going through is small stuff.
Beginner's mind.
When we travel,
We have great opportunities to see the world with a brand new perspective.
Embrace the new places and people you encounter.
Zen teacher Suzuki Roshi wrote a book called Zen Mind,
Beginner's Mind.
How can you have a beginner's mind?
Can you let go of a jaded point of view?
Can you let go of thinking you know it all?
How would it feel to see things brand new?
Can you see the world with a beginner's mind?
The point.
At some point on your trip,
You come face to face with a moment of inspiration.
You reach a realization that helps you find who you are,
What you are doing,
And you remember what you came here for.
At some point on this journey,
You understand something of great value.
Recognize those special moments.
Write them down.
Remember them.
Digest them and welcome them.
Watch for them.
Remember,
At some point on your trip,
You will come face to face with a moment or two of inspiration.
Practice acceptance.
Whatever your situation,
You can bring yourself into being accepting of it.
Let go of any frustration,
Impatience,
And know that you and your spirit can survive anything.
There is no right or wrong.
There's just this now moment.
Accept this moment.
Accept what you're going through.
Be grateful and accept the gift of being alive and being here now.
Inner child having a temper tantrum?
Under the stress of traveling,
Sometimes our inner child throws a temper tantrum.
Are you feeling frustrated,
Controlled,
Angry,
Moody,
Insecure,
Ignored,
Afraid,
Indignant,
Belittled?
Notice where those feelings are coming from.
Most of them might be coming from your ego.
Surround those feelings in a place of love and understanding,
Compassion and light.
Hug that inner self that feels frustrated.
Can you allow yourself to forgive yourself in whatever caused this situation to occur?
By recognizing your feelings,
You can deal with them as you would deal with a little child with lots of love and maybe a candy bar.
Somehow it will all work out.
If you find yourself feeling stressed while you're traveling,
Remember that things will work out.
You will get where you're going and you will be okay.
The rest is just dealing with what comes up in the moment.
If we remember that things will work out,
We can let go of all the anxiety in a moment where we think things are out of control.
It's so important to remember that things will all work out.
All is well,
Though in life there are no guarantees of what will happen on the road.
We can always find the journey back to the place inside within the mind where all is well.
All is well.
All is well.
Can you go there?
Just be there and believe it so?
All is well.
All is well.
All is well.
Take a moment in that very clear moment.
Intentionally breathe in a restorative breath,
A breath full of complete and total calm.
Let this breath come into your body,
Mind and emotions.
Let it fill you with complete and total peace.
Be in the stillness.
Breathe in three complete breaths and say to yourself,
I am calm.
I am at peace.
I am restored and renewed.
I am aligned with the power of God's light and love.
My mind,
My body and my emotions are completely restored.
I am completely renewed.
I feel the light from the source of God filling my body and my cells with a beautiful healing light.
I thank God for the power to restore myself and renew myself when I need to.
Power words.
Our thoughts have great power and when we dwell on what we're worrying about,
We do nothing but harm to ourselves.
When we start to worry,
It's like doing that Google search asking ourself what could go wrong.
Now we know we can reprogram our mind.
How about having go to power words that work for you?
You can keep a little tool box of these words handy.
What is your go to power word?
Maybe words like love,
Relax,
Peace,
Happiness,
Success,
Good relationships,
God,
Beloved,
Angels,
Joy,
Christ,
Buddha,
Miracles,
Family or friendship.
Whatever words make you feel good,
Write them down.
Let those words be your go to words that bring you back to yourself.
Whenever you start spinning out of control,
Connect with the essence and power of those words.
Put those words in your heart.
Say them.
Let them act as a focal point in your mind.
Use them to bring you back to your center.
If you start to be drawn into worry,
Anger or fear,
Just say love or God,
Whatever your power words are.
Let those positive words bring you back to positive energy and your center.
Lessons learned.
Every single trip has some lessons that are very valuable for you to learn.
Some of the most important lessons may be lessons you don't even like at the time.
But take a few moments on your journey back or maybe after you arrive home to reflect and think was there a recurring theme or observation or certain lessons that came to you on your journey?
Ask yourself,
What did I learn on this trip?
You might be amazed that what you learned was the most important part of the trip.
Be still and know that I am God.
It's so valuable to know that you can be with the presence of the Divine Holy Spirit.
You can go to the still point within and find total peace in the silence.
There is a peace that passeth all understanding.
There is a place in that still point that holds that connection to your soul.
Dwell there in the light of the soul.
Be still and know that God is there.
Be still and know that God is within.
Be still and know that I am that I am is God.
Buttons pushed.
What pushes your buttons?
When you travel,
You will find out what pushes your buttons.
There's going to be something or someone who will cause you to get upset,
Bothered or angry.
Your ego will stare you in the face.
Stop and let the ego speak to you.
Recognize what it is that you can learn to overcome the situation or how you can better deal with it when your buttons get pushed.
Recognize these are your buttons and they're getting pushed.
Maybe you can even laugh about it and then let it go.
Make your flight a retreat time.
You have the power to choose how you perceive the opportunities you're given in any time and space.
Think of the plane as a retreat space,
As a temple.
Make your flight a time where you meditate,
Do yoga,
Write in your journal,
Read,
Relax,
Do breathing exercises and meet people.
Be inspired by your favorite music you listen to.
Pray for people and send them blessings.
You can transform your experience into a retreat time.
There's an app called Insight Timer and the app will give you ways to time your meditation but also gives you hundreds of spoken meditations you can listen to.
Make your flight a retreat time.
You may find it is an extremely valuable part of your trip.
The magical power of a smile.
No matter where you go in the world,
There's a universal language that shares a blessing of light and love.
It's a smile.
A smile shares more than words can.
It is the recognition that we all are one.
It shares the humanness between you and another.
A smile can bring you joy even when you're only with yourself.
You can have an inner smile.
So remember to smile and enjoy the magic it brings.
Dr.
Wayne Dyer said,
By changing your inner thoughts to the higher frequencies of love,
Harmony,
Kindness,
Peace and joy,
You'll attract more of the same and you'll have those higher energies to give away.
So change your thoughts.
Change your thoughts to love,
Peace,
Kindness,
Joy,
Harmony.
Direct them towards God and enjoy your journey.
