There are so many different types of meditations out there, it's difficult to know which one is the right one, particularly when it comes to something like stress. You may be feeling like you've "tried everything" and the thought of having to invest any amount of time into another false hope is stressful in itself!
I don't blame you. The fact is, the evidence shows that meditation is a useful tool for stress, but some are going to be more effective than others. We won't be breaking down each individual meditation, if you'd like to do that you can go here and see what they have to say.
What we will do instead is help you understand what stress is and where it comes from, and from there you'll be able to make an informed decision for what you think is going to be the best meditation for you to get rid of stress.
What is stress and where does it come from?
What is stress?
Stress is your mind and bodies response to a particular situation (even before it's happened!) impacting you in a physical, emotional and psychological way. Physiologically speaking, the two chemicals which are released when you are stressed is adrenaline and cortisol.
These are your body's natural responses to fight or flight situation, however, when it gets out of control, it can cause all sorts of issues with your body and mind including:
anxiety and depression
impacting your focus and clarity
tension and pain in the body
issues with the heart
blood pressure irregularity
higher potential for stroke
This makes it a very serious issue.
Where does stress come from?
But hang on, if it's a fight or flight response, why are we getting stressed, more often than not, simply by our own imagination? The answer is because of your mind.
You can think of your body like a 5 senses camera that is constantly recording everything you see, hear, smell, taste and touch - your experiences in life - into your brain and all of your cells. As you go through life, it's just continuously recording without rest!
The problem here is, it's recording the good, the bad, the happy, the sad - it just never stops. This creates 10,000's of thoughts and emotions that are building up in your body and mind, and it's these 10,000's of thoughts and emotions which create the imagination that is creating even more thoughts and emotions! It's on loop and it's running rampant! We cover this in grater detail in this article.
So when you have a situation in the past that created stress, your body and mind took a "picture" of it, and so when anything which even remotely resembles it is either happening, or going to happen, the stress response in your body sets off. This is literally killing you.
How stress impacts ALL of us, even someone like Richard Branson!
Everyone knows Richard Branson as the billionaire founder of Virgin. No one would expect a man of such high calibre to ever be suffering with something like stress. But the fact is, he too has a body that operates like a 5 senses camera.
In his youth, Branson a passionate advocate for student rights and once participated in a speech at a university. In his autobiography "Losing my Virginity" he recalls:
"At Stowe there had been a very cruel tradition. Each boy had to learn a long poem and stand up in front of the entire school and recite it. If you made the slightest mistake or paused for a moment, the master hit a gong, and you had to leave the stage accompanied by great boos and jeers all round: you were 'gonged' off."
He goes on to say that while the people prior to him were making their speeches, the memory above was subconsciously recollected in his mind - not by his own choosing. It was automatic. Remember, this is SIR RICHARD BRANSON, and he went on to say:
I felt the same sickening feeling in my stomach as I had felt when I was waiting to recite my Tennyson piece in the sure knowledge that I would be 'gonged' off stage and loudly booed.
Of course, with these feelings and emotions consuming his body and mind, he failed miserably and was swept away by the moment. From then he has never been comfortable giving speeches or interviews and always gets somebody else to do it for him.
The "pictures" in his body and mind had created the stress and destroyed his potential for speeches and interviews.
So how does our past create our stress?
As mentioned before, the brain and cells in the body store all of these "pictures" (thoughts, feelings, emotions, memories), and we are living according to them. We are entombed to the past.
If you reflect hard enough, you will be able to pint point the moment in your life where stress first came into your life, and from that moment, that experience overlapped how you saw the world.
This is what we refer to as "living inside of your picture world". That world of pictures you see in your mind from your life lived, that only you have, is your responsibility to solve. No one else can fix it for you, and the fact is, it overlaps how you see the world and who you think you are.
Finally, what then is the best meditation for stress?
This meditation is a permanent solution to stress. Many types of meditations will make you feel good whilst meditating and some may even over time wash your consciousness over with a new picture world, but this meditation is all about clearing away the build up from your mind so you can just live as your own true self, free from the stress, pain, burden and suffering of your mind!
We do this with self-reflection, learning how to let go, and repetition. Over time your mind will feel lighter, brighter, happier, and most importantly stress free. By letting go of those experiences (pictures) from our mind, we are liberated from them not just while we meditate, but in everyday life.
Even Sir Richard Branson, if he were to reflect and let go of the pictures, would have no issues at all with making a speech, and I'm sure people would be touched by his vulnerability and sincerity.
So, do you want to keep being a slave to your mind or do you want to take control? Let us help you! Book yourself a free introduction and we can discuss how this method will be a fantastic solution for your own stress.