The Straightest Path to Life Without Stress

Lynne Hoft & Vivian Hildebrandt

The straightest path to life without stress is in the resolution of old beliefs and habits of thinking. Although we have been drawing this map for our readers for many years, we know that a large majority of the population is blind to this understanding.

There has always been a struggle between the old ways and the new. When we moved from horse and buggy days into travel by automobile, there were those who remained in the old ways because of their beliefs at that time. Today we are moving into a new world once again. We have seen the progression of technology in our lifetimes. Now we are in a shift of exponential proportions, to a higher dimensional way of being.

Whenever we experience personal or collective shifts, stress occurs. Our minds recycle the old thoughts and beliefs in the face of new situations we are confronted with. A struggle ensues leaving us in fear, worry, or at best, a case of total confusion.

We can move beyond the stress we experience during times of great change. The first step is moving beyond our mindsets. Our mindset is a collection of thoughts from the past. As each generation has moved into the present moment, they have opened to new ideas and creations, and made choices through their wholeness instead of from the mindset of the past.

Stress diminishes when we seat ourselves in the totality of who we are. We are not just mind machines.  We are creative, multidimensional beings who have access to the highest vibrations, to the bigger picture of our capacities and strengths. We can rest in and utilize our Brilliance connection to traverse the sea of changes that are coming into our awareness every day.

The New World we are creating and inhabiting cannot operate at its highest if we maintain our attachment to old thoughts, beliefs and solutions. We can only ascend into higher dimensions when spirit and Brilliance fill us with expanded awareness and higher powers.

There is a lot of focus on “Ascension” in the world today. Many are unclear as to what this means. Those who are Christian make a connection to the ascension into heaven of the risen Christ. This thought is accompanied by trumpets, and a robe-clad man rising into the clouds and disappearing into Heaven.

Are there any commonalities in these two diverse images? Is moving beyond old habits of thinking and old beliefs an “Ascension”?  We could view the ascending Christ as a metaphor for lifting ourselves out of the pit of mistaken beliefs, and moving into a state of Brilliance. It could be that Ascension in current terms identifies a movement from an old, worn-out, unproductive, stressful way of seeing life to an expanded view conceived out of innate Brilliance.

This Brilliance and expanded power is a gift from the Quantum Universe, and also a responsibility. The higher power we inhabit is the resource we use to create the New World, in which love, peace, and unity abound and flourish. In this world the mind’s attention does not align with the past, but gives life only to the present moment.  In this moment we relate to others, express our highest impulses, and co-create a life of meaning and beauty.

Stress is a habit of the past that we transcend through our awakening to the wholeness we embody today, in this very moment. We need look no further than ourselves: indeed, we are who we have been waiting for.

Back to Brilliance © 2011

Stress is epidemic with no relief in sight. Hundreds of books have been written, hundreds of drugs have been developed, and therapeutic programs flourish. We’re lost in the capitalism of stress.

There is a new approach that can stop stress in its tracks. When you understand thought and its creative power you can free yourself from its clutches. Your time belongs to you. Your bruises heal and your energy surges. Hope returns and your heart sings.

How Thought Works

The first step to eliminating stress in your life is to understand how thought works. Brain research shows that each half of our brain supports a unique function. The left brain is analytical, sequential, and organizes our lives. The right brain is associated with intuition and creativity. Author Richard Carlson gives the mind two distinct functions which correlate. The computer mind is that part of our mind which organizes and stores information. It collects all of our experiences, everything we have observed, and generations of family and cultural beliefs. It also stores our behavior habits, like brushing our teeth or driving the car, without our having to think much about it. Our transmitter mind connects us to our natural brilliance and creativity. It provides new answers and insights that move us to a new level of expression.

Our reality follows our thinking. When we’re thinking “aint it awful”, it seems awful! When we think “I’ll never get this done”, we probably won’t!  And when we think “Why are they doing this to me?” we give up our power and feel like a victim. Years ago Flip Wilson played a female character on his weekly television show. He wore a curly grey wig and a big housedress and strutted across the stage saying, “What you see is what you get – what you see is what you get!” This was a perfect metaphor for understanding how thoughts become things. The more attention we put on a thought, the quicker it becomes a reality.

So what is stress? Most people think stress is an event or circumstance in their lives that creates tension, anxiety or worry. When we see stress as something outside of ourselves, we tend to think there isn’t much we can do about it except live through it. There is a new view of stress. Even with physiological or mental stress related to a near accident on the road or the death of a loved one, there is a way to prevent long-term stress reactions. Stress is a feeling that comes out of what we are thinking. Shifting a thought is a simple solution to resolving stress. For example, when we shift “I’ll never get this done” to “I’ll do one piece today and get help with the rest tomorrow” the feeling of stress disappears. Stress is a feeling that comes from what we think about an event or circumstance; stress is not the event or circumstance itself. We can control the thoughts we pay attention to regardless of our circumstances.

Check Your Thoughts

The second step to eliminating stress is to identify the perceived cause of your stress by checking your thoughts. We use the word perceived here because our perceptions are filters of thought that we carry from past experience. Perceptions are the way things look, formed out of our conventional belief systems. Just because it looks a certain way, doesn’t mean it is. Here we’re talking about thoughts stored in our computer mind, thoughts connected with our past experiences. We are talking about our thoughts, interpretations, and perceptions rather than the event or circumstance that triggered our stress. When you are feeling stress and want to change that feeling you must learn to check your thoughts, the source of long-term stress.

Thoughts Become Things

Understanding that thoughts become things is the third step to eliminating stress. Today athletic trainers coach their athletes to visualize the success they want to achieve. They are taught to see every part of their performance from beginning to end in their mind’s eye, until it becomes second nature. Combined with strength training this process has pushed the envelope beyond all previous records. Anything becomes possible through this focused thinking. The average guy or gal, without this training, tends to focus more on worries and concerns than success. When you focus on the struggle to pay your bills, the conflicts in your relationships, and the insecurity in the job market, then you create that reality. Your bills will increase as will the conflicts in your relationships. Your job may end sooner than you’d like. It is really important to recognize how thinking correlates with the reality of our lives.

There is a parable about a famous landscape painting that has one small flaw down in a corner. At first glance the painting looks perfect and filled with beauty. Once the flaw is pointed out, for some, the painting loses its power. Because those viewers have focused on the flaw and lost sight of the incredible beauty of the whole, that beauty no longer exists for them. Our lives can be incredibly beautiful. When our thoughts magnify the flaws, we miss the beauty all around us.

We’ve all experienced feeling stressed, and stress has been so normalized by our culture and the media that we now expect to feel stress. It is up to us to choose if we want to live out our lives feeling stressed-out, irritable and cheated of the life we had hoped to have. Using this new approach to eliminating stress can give us the access and energy to reawaken our creative and lighthearted selves that are awaiting the chance to come out and play the game we call life at a higher and fuller level.

Excerpt from ACTIVATE YOUR BRILLIANCE, Back to Brilliance ©2007

Our energy level is directly related to how we manage our moods

Every day we have a fixed amount of energy; this is our life force. Where we choose to put our thoughts and attention is where we spend our life’s energy. When we spend it in a low mood—just spinning—it takes that life force, that energy that we have to live a good day, and it’s like misspending. We’re putting our energy into a place where we aren’t going to get any return on it. Our energy is not going where we want our lives to go. We’re taking ourselves where we don’t want to go.

That’s why a lot of people just don’t get very far: They’re misspending their daily energy quotas. They feel exhausted because they’re trying to do their lifework at the same time their low moods are draining their energy and also creating messy situations that require even more energy to clean up.

We only get so much energy each day. That is a major responsibility, but it’s also a gift to spend our energy accomplishing our life’s work and dreams. Knowing that low moods bleed our energy gives us even more incentive to learn how to stay out of them as much as possible. Because, wow, when we’re in a good mood and having a great day, don’t we just feel like we have tons of energy?

A great example of misspending one’s energy comes from a friend of ours who is a public speaker. She had a speaking engagement coming up and needed to confirm arrangements with the group but had only succeeded in playing phone tag. With each day that passed, her thinking slipped. She started saying to herself, Oh man, I’m such a slacker. I can’t speak! I don’t have anything to say that’s of value. She went further down that path, thinking, These people must be crazy to want me to speak, to spend all this money to bring me to this event. Then she admitted she knew she’d been in a low mood lately; at the same time she had an inner sense that everything was going to turn out OK. She told us that she had tortured herself unnecessarily with her low-mood thinking: By the time she finally connected with the event sponsors, a new plan had emerged to make the experience much richer and more valuable for everyone concerned. Had our friend recognized her low-mood thinking earlier, she could have maximized her energy and avoided a lot of stress.

Years ago when we were learning how to be graceful in our low moods, we were at a retreat, talking about the mood-levels principle. One of the women in our group told us about her system for making the most of her moods. She used the idea of a thermometer, with freezing at the bottom and the highest temperatures at the top. She had marked off the thermometer from 1 to 10, with 10 representing a really high mood and zero standing for “in the pits.” When her mood dropped below 5, she would stop making decisions because she knew she would only be making them out of low-mood thinking. If her mood got down close to zero, she would stay at home, sleep, watch movies, and avoid being around other people altogether. But when her mood started going above 5, she would make decisions, knowing they would be positive and healthy for her. When her mood was close to 10, she would write notes to herself to read when she was in a low mood.

Excerpt from Activate Your Brilliance, Back to Brilliance ©2007

(Next week we will continue this conversation with more strategies for lifting low moods.)

Here is a bonus – a link to a short video to celebrate Peace Day, Sept 21:

http://www.heartmath.org/templates/ihm/articles/landing/peace-day/2010/index.php

Of interest here is the fact that about 300 years ago, the study of spirit and mind were separated in order to create a quantifiable study of the mind in the realm of “pure science”.  Prior to this, psyche was identified and understood as the inseparable mind/spirit. This occurred during the Mayan cycle which viewed everything in terms of duality. Most human beings living today have known only this pervasive duality consciousness.

This split between mind and spirit underlies the limited success in clinical results in the field of mental health. It also contributes to the difficulties we have and are experiencing as we’ve moved into new Mayan cycles of intuition, telepathy, and wholeness.

The hippie movement of the 60’s and 70’s reflected dissatisfaction with consumerism, image based lifestyles, and conformity.It also expressed a desire for spiritual enlightenment, love and peace. It was brought forth from the energies of a consciousness rapidly evolving toward the completion of the cycles in 2012.

The term “stress” was first used in 1946 to show that psychological reactions can cause illness in the body. Carl Johan Calleman, author of The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness, says “Stress is a product of the modern mind and reflects the confusing influences on the individual of two different frames of consciousness linked to two different Underworlds (major cycles).”

He points out that when high high-frequency spiritual pulses of light started to be transmitted to the right-brain hemisphere as early as 1947 and more significantly in 1999, the influence of these pulses created a conflict between the rapidly developing higher consciousness and today’s dominant materialistic social values, resulting in significant stress and burnout.

Calleman adds, “The body seems to be telling the individual that it is not being aligned with the divine plan and refuses to go on. Those afflicted are not the lazy, but rather the compassionate – individuals who cannot shield themselves from the high-frequency pulses of the new (cycle)” He also indicates that stress and burnout may be a wake-up call that can lead to greater awareness and expansion of consciousness.

Our study of innate Brilliance has created a new mindset for these unique times. We understand Brilliance to be that innate part of ourselves that has access to all we need to know. It is our link to the Universe and our higher state of mind. When we access our Brilliance we move past conditioned thinking and old patterns of awareness and we move into all of the awaiting possibilities and potentials of our human beingness. Learning to live from our Brilliance keeps us aligned with the Now energies of creation and allows us to flow with universal oneness regardless what cycles are ending or beginning.

Learn more about utilizing our Brilliance Formula in our book, Activate Your Brilliance: 12 Keys to the Art of Living Happy.

If you experience tension headaches, racing thoughts, are forgetful, or have cloudy thinking, it’s

Feeling down?

time to take a closer look at your micro-mirror to determine what is creating those experiences and stress in your life. Short of a medical condition, these are not common or normal and no one needs to believe that they simply have to accept these symptoms or that they will somehow miraculously disappear.

It is up to us to discover the cause and shift our thinking, filtering out the old patterns of thought that aren’t creating the health and happiness we all desire. Is it really that simple, just shifting our thoughts to eliminate our stress? Yes!

When you understand how we create what we pay attention to, the choice is clear. We can focus on solutions, not problems, and move out of the line of fire. Stress isn’t an option when our minds focus on our Brilliance, our unlimited inner resources, and our zest for living life full-out.

We have again reached the tax deadline date of April 15. Guess what!  “Taxes” are just a thought, unless of course, you have to write a check to mail before midnight.

We’re here to tell you that thoughts are really just thoughts. The thoughts we choose to pay attention to become energized and real in our lives.  Why think “taxes” when you could be thinking “tax return”?

If you want to re-tune your thinking a little, read our tips on thinking listed below. They will help you re-focus on the reality you truly want to create.

1. Become Aware if the thoughts you think.
2. Choose the thoughts you pay attention to.
3. Realize that thoughts come before feelings.
4. Remind yourself that thoughts are just thoughts.
5. Use your brilliance to open the door to possibility.
6. Eliminate thought attacks.
7. Ask yourself, “What Was I thinking?”
8. Connect with your Brilliance, your self-esteem.
9. Recognize that thoughts become things.
10. Create the life you really want.

• “I was counting on that sale and it just fell through; I can’t believe it!”
• In our brilliant mind, our next thought might be “I think I’ll call and get the details of why this happened.”
• A few minutes later after that call you might think, “There is a real problem in production and layoffs ahead.”

A nano-second later other inspired thoughts might occur:

• “Who is their competition – I’ll get on the phone with them”, or “My brother-in-law specializes in business consultation and I’ll let him know that he might be able to help them.” 
• Not long after that, you are relaxed and refocused: “My next sale is coming soon. I have five good prospects I can move ahead with.”

Each thought we have attracts more of the same; it’s like you are putting your order out to the Universe and it sends back more of what you have put attention on. If you shift your thinking and start focusing on what it is that you truly want, then you will begin to experience more of that in your life. We know it sounds simplistic, but when you work with this, you will find the truth hidden within it.  By letting go of those thought attacks we gain the time and energy to move in the direction we really want to go.

Our thoughts are the foundation for how we experience our lives. Once we know how thoughts create our lives, it is easier to understand how thoughts create our stress. If given full control, our computer mind will keep repeating the past and projecting into the future. This pattern does not assist us to manage today’s demands and pressures with confidence and ease.

It is essential that we learn to access our core of Brilliance, through our transmitter mind, so that we can find new answers, build supportive and loving relationships, and let go of the past beliefs and patterns that limit or suppress our real and authentic capacities. Isn’t it true that we all want happiness, satisfaction, and a sense of being fully alive in a world where all are held in respect? It is equally as true that our thoughts will either create stressful lives or create stress-free lives in which we are able to contribute our best to the tasks, desires and dreams we hold dear.

Excerpt from Stop Stress Guide, Back to Brilliance © 2009

When we have situations in our lives that could be precursors to stress we have been conditioned to solve those problems with the computer part of our mind. We go back into our storage banks to find a similar situation, and then pull it out and say “here’s the answer”.

Most often those old ways of dealing with things don’t apply in the new situation because we’ve grown and changed, and circumstances are different. Trying to meet today’s problems from the computer mind is a surefire formula for creating stress and distress.

There is another habit of the mind at play here. It is what we call thought attacks. When you are lost in spinning worries and concerns you are really having a thought attack. While your thoughts are circling around a worry, you aren’t going anywhere. But your life force and energy are being drawn into that whirlpool and being wasted. The more you can recognize and catch a pattern, the faster you can move to clarity and action.

Here’s an example of how thought attacks might occur.

• A sales person has often made sales and lost sales.
• They might receive a call that tells them a sale they had counted on was not going to occur. They might have thought “I was counting on that sale and it just fell through; I can’t believe it!”
• Then as they continue to think about the situation another thought might follow: “Oh my gosh, what am I going to do – I have all my bills plus the new car payment due in two weeks.”

Those two thoughts have created a momentum and they are off and running into the future:

• “Now I have to cancel the roof project on my house – and it will probably leak again this winter if the snows are anything like last winter” and
• “My spouse is going to be upset, big time upset!”
• “The economy is getting worse. The stupid politicians never get the stimulus packages going in time.”

When one thought is given a lot of attention, it can attract a dozen more of the same kind of thoughts. When this happens, one is caught in a full-fledged thought attack, with the computer mind fully in control.

Keep in mind, the chain of thoughts described above started with a message received in a two-minute phone call.  When we take the ride into a thought attack, anything else going on in our lives is up for grabs. We may be worried about our child, toddler or adolescent. Whether it’s their health or grades or attitudes, looking at any concern or worry often attracts the “maybe’s” and “could happen next” thoughts that lurk in our old patterns or in what we observe in the lives of others close to us. We are fueling thought attacks faster than the speed of light and feeling the stress that accompanies the growing numbers of spinning thoughts in our minds.

Our thoughts are the foundation for how we experience our lives. Once we know how thoughts create our lives, it is easier to understand how thoughts create our stress. We have a choice. We can either spin around in our worries and concerns, or we can learn to get back to our Brilliance, and access the thoughts that will create a life of satisfaction and ease.

Excerpt from Stop Stress Guide, Back to Brilliance © 2009

So, here we are in the new year, 2010.  We have seen natural disaster in Haiti beyond the scope of anything we have known. Our economy, including jobs, home, and health care, is up for grabs.  Time itself seems to disappear and we cannot accomplish what we used to be able to do. All this flies in the face of needing to meet high demands and feeling that we never can get it all done.  Time is so fluid right now that we can’t predict what we will accomplish.

On the National front, we are seeing the best and worst of behavior in our leaders and celebrities.  Not a day goes by without shocking behavior, pronouncements and revelations, challenging our core values, our sense of fairness, and the social rules that our culture has depended upon to make society work.

Is it any wonder that 97% of Americans are experiencing stress, according to a recent poll? All of the public unraveling and suffering on top of our personal life challenges adds to the level of stress we are experiencing. So what can we do? How do we deal with this level of stress? How do we survive and thrive?

In the Brilliance business, not a day goes by that we don’t experience extreme gratitude for the Brilliance Formula, for the answers it provides, and for the opportunities we have to live from our hearts, even in the worst circumstances.  We have found the essential keys to understand and eliminate stress. We have the anti-stress elixir!

First we must understand that we are born with natural Brilliance and innate wisdom that constantly offer the insights and understanding to resolve any difficulty we may experience. Knowing this is the first step to close the door on stress.  We have a formula that brings together all the skills and tools needed to activate our Brilliance and move us through these unprecedented times.

Second, to manage or eliminate stress, you need to know that stress comes from your thinking and we can bypass these stressful thoughts by activating our Brilliance. We all have a collection of beliefs, thought patterns and habits of thinking that we’ve been conditioned to use when we face problems.  When we activate our Brilliance we can shift out of the old patterns and into new answers and solutions. Because we have this innate core of Brilliance, we always have the right solutions for any situation we face.

We have written two books that detail the Anti-Stress Formula. Activate Your Brilliance contains a thorough explanation of Brilliance, how thought works, and the essential components needed to lock out stress and create brilliant lives. Let’s face it, the Brilliance Formula is not being taught in the public sector. Most of us don’t even know we have Brilliance and can access it.  This is a new concept and as such requires a thorough exploration. It means letting go of old beliefs and moving into your authentic power and the possibilities you so much desire but have given up on. It takes study and practice, but there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Our e-book, Stop Stress Now, focuses on anti-stress techniques.  It provides a collection of strategies for conquering stress in everyday situations. Both of these books are available on our website.

The Brilliance Formula—the anti-stress solution—goes beyond any current stress remedy.  It gives us a new framework for solving our problems, resolving our differences, and creating our dreams. What are you waiting for?

At this time of year, we tend to get overwhelmed. There are lists upon lists for gifts, school concerts and sports events, activities, holiday gatherings, and food to make, bake or buy. It’s hard to keep these lists straight and easy to find yourself recopying and reorganizing every list.

Then there are the events of the world around us. All of us seem to have less money to spend, more worries about our jobs or the jobs of our families and friends, and concerns about the safety issues and wars that are threatening or already occurring.

How do we maintain our heart connection and gain a sense of hope in this season of love and new beginnings, in the midst of the seeming chaos of this moment? It is important to remember that we are all in this together. It is essential to remember that we are all connected to a greater wisdom that is available to us in every minute.

By ignoring our mental chatter (try it) and banishing the negative voices around us (find the good that exists in each situation), we can focus our attention on the wisdom and Brilliance that all of us possess.  We can make this choice, in every moment, every day. The more we are tuned into the thoughts from our natural Brilliance the more our actions will reflect Universal wisdom and lead to new and better beginnings.

In this time of community, let’s include everyone around us so we don’t “go it alone”. Invite your friends to share in accomplishing some of the “work” of the holiday razzle-dazzle. Some may like to bake cookies or hang lights; others could share shopping bargains or “from the heart” gift ideas. Any of these tasks can be returned in kind for each other. Someone else might watch your kids while you finish important activities, and vice versa.

The biggest decision will be to shift each negative thought to a more positive one if you truly want a holiday to remember fondly.

• “I am harried” becomes “I have enough time to do what’s important.”
• “I am overwhelmed” could turn into “I’m going to do what I love, and then I’ll ask for help with the rest.”
• “I hate the Holidays” must shift to “I want to pass on only the message of love and joy in this season”

Changing your thoughts allows you to experience a mindset of enjoyment and a chance to raise the spirits of your community. We are part of the whole. Whether large or small in number, those closest to us at work or home contribute greatly to our love of life, as we do to theirs.  Don’t do it all – give up that thought about controlling everything. Invite the neighbors and their dogs and cats to share in the fun.

Limit all presents to ONE or TWO for each person. Have your guests and family play games, charades, or make up skits; it’s more fun than everyone splitting off to go their own way.  Make up a dinnertime activity that allows each person to share personal likes, jokes, laughs, and hopes. Everyone wants to be included, so the kitchen should be full of helpers and new cooks.

Jane Nelsen says, “A key to happiness is listening to your inner wisdom until understanding sneaks past your thought system.” Shake the old thought patterns about holidays from your tree, and create a new and delectable crop of memories for this season, this year.