Joseph Emet - Buddhas Book of Stress Reduction: Finding Serenity and Peace with Mindfulness Meditation

I f you think of stress as one problem among many, please consider the following:

Major psychological challenges such as burnout, depression, and anxiety all have a stress component, and burnout in particular is thought to be caused directly by excessive and prolonged stress.

Stress contributes to accidents and to suicide as well as to illnesses that are the primary causes of death, such as heart disease, cancer, lung diseases, and cirrhosis of the liver. Because it interferes with the functioning of the immune system, it aggravates most infectious diseases.

It is a factor in sexual disorders and in conjugal violence, and it erodes relationships. It fuels addictions and substance abuse. It aggravates sleep problems.

Perhaps in recognition of its import, some prominent translators of Buddhist texts now often render the key Buddhist word Dukkhawhich is usually translated as sufferingas stress.

This book proposes to take you all the way from stress to well-being.

It starts by making you aware of how you are creating extra stress in your life with your attitude and your reactions. No, it is not all in your head: life is stressful, and some lives more so than others, and different people react to similar situations differently. Yet there is a part of stress that is in your head. That is the part that all stress books address because that is the part that you can control. Recognizing the difference between what we can control and what we cant is crucial for stress managementand is a sort of awakening in itself. Are you barking up the wrong tree, the tree of other people and what they are doing? Are you spending your energy wishing that others would change their ways? If so, change trees, because this will only serve to tire you out. Become more aware of your own reactions to things, and how your reactions contribute to your stress. Come back to your own tree and take care of it. Enjoy its shade and its fruits. You will get more out of life that way. This book shows you how to achieve this with a series of exercises at the end of each chapter. Some of these exercises are guided meditations and some are meditation themes.

As much as stress constricts our field of vision, a relaxed attitude and good feelings broaden it.

As much as stress is associated with negative emotions like fear and anger, well-being is linked with positive emotions like love, inspiration, and serenity.

As much as stress tends to act like blinders so that we see only the negative side of events and circumstances, positive feelings expand our perspective so we see a more complete picture that takes account of the good things as wellwhich are everywhere around us, in the blue sky, in the bloom of flowers, and in the joy of simply being alive.

As much as stress makes us aware of possible danger, positive emotions take stock of opportunity. A direct result of this is that stress can get us stuck in inaction, whereas positive emotions like hope, inspiration, and interest help propel us forward toward success.

And last but not least, as much as stress is associated with ill health and a shortened lifespan, research shows that positive feelings improve our health and make us live longer.

If stress is one side of the coin, well-being is the otherliterally. While one side of most coins may have only numbers (the bottom line), the other side has a human face, a natural symbol, or a reminder of our national heritagea broader vision of life. Stress is woven into the fabric of our life, and in order to reduce how much stress we feel, we need to examine all aspects of our life. During this process, we gain more intimacy with ourselves and more wisdom. This, in turn, brings a sense of well-being and contentment. Stress reduction can lead to growth if done right, and to do it right we need to keep in mind that our goal is not only moving away from stress, but also moving forward toward well-being.

Positive feelings of joy and gratitude are themselves an antidote to stress. In addition, as discussed in chapter 6, living by values that are personally important to us leads to fulfillment and a sense of well-being. Values influence our actions in the present moment. In contrast, goals are in the future. The pressure to achieve goals may bring extra stress. Living by cherished values brings contentment.