This is a new book I’m reading and I’ve already found something interesting to share. Its written by an author who has done his MD in Homeopathy.
“We all desire to minimize our stress and suffering; we desire peace. We try to find the solution to the problem we see as the cause of the stress. We may try to avoid situations that are stressful. We attempt to change our job, our partner or our location. We try and change ourselves. We read self help books, we meditate. We talk to people about our problems.
When we have an argument with someone, when we feel hurt in a relationship, when we are having difficulties in our work or when we suffer a business loss, we tend to see the problem as being outside us, something we need to solve. We analyze the issue, find logical reasons and explanations why such a situation has occurred and what we should do about it. None of these attempts to solve the issue has lasting effect. The reason is simple, we have not got to the root of the issue.
For example, if your neighbour parks in your parking place. You have talked to him about this politely but he has done this too often At one level you will know what needs to be done and this level is matter of fact. There is no stress here, only calculation. But there is another level. “What does he think of himself? how dare he?” This level is stressful, your nerves are excited, and your mind is working overtime. When you look into the situation you will see that the stress doesn’t come from the situation, it comes from your perception of it. IE, your innermost experience of it, of anger, your feelings of being victimized, trapped, caught, helpless against a stronger opponent in your struggle to survive. Or your experience of apprehension that you will lose the parking space. Or your experience of fear of facing the rudeness of your neighbor when you confront him, your desire to avoid the rudeness because you are lazy or sensitive. This experience is who you are, that is the stress for you; it is the source of constant stress.
At some point we do realize that stress is not outside us, but in the way we perceive and react to reality. And this is unique to each one of us. In fact it is the way each one perceives and reacts to reality which makes him unique, gives him his individuality. Thus our stress is inseparable from our individuality. This experience is not emotional or intellectual; it is a sensation felt in the body and mind simultaneously, one that is constant; one that colours our whole experience of life. This sensation is our constant companion, the other song that keeps singing with the tune of our existance.










