Dao of Being

Stressful Doing to Sacred Being

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A healthy dose of productive stress (eustress) is beneficial.

Excessive destructive stress (distress), however, drains wellness, sanity, meaning from our lives.

There are three basic ways to handle stress:

  1. Get rid of it (eliminate)

  2. Move away from it (escape)

  3. Shift view on it (enlighten)

The first two are more external state changes to create comfortable distance. Defending and departing are useful in some cases. What if those are not options?

The third requires internal dexterity. It focuses on how our subjective reality (perception) determines our objective response (projection), rather than vice versa. That is, often our objective reality affects our subjective response.

For instance, a failed plan may ruin our whole week or only two hours. Or the same flight cancellation may fully enrage one person while another is a bit sad. Or a diagnosis devastates one patient whereas another heals.

What do these drastic differences depend on?

Biography, trauma, society create our filters, contexts, interpretations. In short, our story. The question is: Can we awaken to our defaults, habits, reactions, which usually direct us unconsciously?

If no, then there is no hope to transform them. If yes, then how?

The latter is the basis for self-help, self-improvement, self-care. My preferred terms are self-cultivation, self-tending, self-alchemy. And by self I include our individual, relational, universal identities.

Thus, most essential is openness to learn, willingness to practice, courageousness to share.

To that end, I was invited back to present on these themes (watch full video above) at a Mindfulness Conference by Niagara University. It was a pleasure to offer memes that address the relevant, relatable, rampant theme of stress.

Stress does not have to rule us. That happens due to a disempowering fracture among our mental, emotional, physical dimensions, as well as how these pieces engage with the cultural, natural, spiritual worlds.

We can, we must, we shall integrate. I trust that truth. That is why Daology exists. Thanks for your support, sincerity, and synergy!

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Authors
Paul C. Wang 玄道