The word, “stress” comes to us from the field of physics. Coined over 100 years ago, it means enough force to bend or break an object. Apparently the word stuck. If you have ever felt stressed, then you know exactly what this word means. Stress is often described as a “perceived threat” and once you introduce the word “perceived,” you invoke the mind’s thought processes. For eons (and still to this day) the abstract concept of the mind is often compared to more tangible things. Hence words like stress from other disciplines, like physics, are often used to help make the abstract tangible.
Over the years, we have borrowed a few more terms from the field of physics, including the ideas of resonant thinking, dissonance, coherence and even the term entrainment. Over the past several decades, research into the mind has once again knocked on the door of physics, particularly quantum physics, to gain a better foothold of understanding about what stress is (negative energy). In the quest to understand the concept of energy, specifically healing energy, thoughts are recognized (by some) as energy. The HeartMath Institute has conducted several studies that look into the energy produced by both the head and the heart. When the two areas are in harmony with their energies, it is described as coherence. Simply stated, stress is the opposite of coherence.
Stress Tip for the Day:
How is your heart today? Can you feel its rhythms, not just it’s beat, but the frequencies of love and compassion? Or does fear closed the door to your heart? How is your head today? In addition to eavesdropping on the thoughts of your mind, can you feel the rhythms that your head is sending out? While we may not always feel our own mental rhythms, we can often feel others (as in, “the tension was so think you could cut it with a knife”). Today’s stress tip invites you to learn to become aware of the rhythms of both your head AND heart. Learn to discern if these rhythms are in synch (also known as harmony, or if there is a dissonance (negative vibrations). Anything less than a perfect harmony is detrimental to mind, body and spirit. To bring the heart and mind in synch begin by focusing on your breath.
Links, Books and Movies Worth Noting:
Here are a couple of links to HeartMath….enjoy
http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/nov1/hmath.htm
Even if you have seen the movie, What the BLEEP Do We Know, it’s always great to come back and preview it again. The scenes where the character realizes that her thoughts are amplified via water is perhaps one of the most important messages of the movie.
Quote for the Day:
“ Love is a vibration that ripples out over the waters of the universe.” —Anonymous.
Photo for the Day:
Anette and Christian (my friends from Copenhagen) came to visit this summer. Pictured here is Anette, posing for this photo in Rocky Mountain National Park. Thanks Anette. Takk!
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 10 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (7e) and the forthcoming, A Beautiful World: The Earth Song Journals. He can be reached through his website: www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.
