7 Ways You Can Conquer Stress

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Posted on April 22, 2019 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

Stewing in Your Juices

I’m normally quite a chilled person. Nothing phases me. Until…

I take on too much work
I get into my ‘yes’ mode and make arrangements and dates that clog my diary
I volunteer my services willy-nilly
My housework starts to mount
My ‘to do’ list grows around the garden (especially as I’m trying to do the whole sustainability thing)
I have awesome ideas but have to implement them (adding to the head clutter and time/schedule disaster)

I’m sure you can probably relate to most of the above. Then what happens is that chilled out person who thought they could take on the world in a heart beat starts to panic.

The Signs of a Meltdown

The walls of my diary close in and anxiety starts to rear its ugly head.

Panic attacks
Sweaty palms
Emotional outbursts (usually involving tears)
Temper whirlwinds
Depression
Feeling defeated and impotent
Losing it over the smallest things

Pink Green Spring Flower Quotes Pinterest Graphic (1)

Don’t forget to pin it!

We can experience the above on a smaller or larger scale, depending on the level of anxiety and what looms ahead.

Okay, so what can be done?

Anxiety Be Gone!

Well, I’m trying to give myself a well-deserved pep talk here ’cause I suddenly realized the other day that I was slipping off the cliff of the ‘work’ I had piled up.

Amid my darkest moment, I came to the conclusion that it was going to be done whether I fretted about it or not. And what couldn’t be done was just not going to be done. It’s really quite simple.

So, on a practical level, try to:

Get what’s in your head down onto paper (this works a treat!)
Now you can make a priority list
Schedule your time wisely and you’ll find you can fit a lot into your day
Don’t stress about how much you’ve got to do by getting tangled up in the future tasks — concentrate on the task at hand
Read no. 4 again.
Yip…read no. 4 and 5 again!
As Yoda said, ‘Do or do not’ — in this context, do what you must do and stop whinging about it. Have you ever stopped to think how much time we waste worrying or bitching about what we have to do instead of doing it?

Example: I have a mountain of clothes to pack away. Every morning I get up and look at this mountain and feel despair. It affects me greatly. I don’t like a messy bedroom — that’s where I’m supposed to go to relax, not stare at a heap of rags.

What not to do: Whine about the job. Look at the heap in deflated impotence. Complain about how much other stuff you have to do. Sit and have a cup of coffee and catch up on your Facebook feed. Or, in my case, write a blog about it, whilst — out of the corner of my eye — I can see into my bedroom and the washing pile is staring happily back at me.

Solution: Do it. A 5 minute rant could have you half way done by now. You can have that cuppa AND pack the washing away (what a novel idea!).

There is actually plenty of time in a day when you use it wisely. The above example is small fish compared to some of the whoppers we have to face in life and prepare for. However, inevitably, we are remarkable creatures with an ability to squeeze a lot into our lives when our minds are prepared well enough.

Let’s go back to no. 4, 5 and 6 of the tips list. This tip has helped me exponentially over the past few days. I’m a Virgo and a control freak. When my schedule starts mounting up and I feel like I’m losing control — it’s a blood bath! I have the tendency of looking ahead at what I have to do tomorrow, the next day and so on into infinity. This makes matters worse.

All we have to concentrate on is what lays before us today. You can deal with tomorrow, well, tomorrow! If it’s really a pickle, then set aside 10-15 minutes of today to work out a game-plan for tomorrow so you can at least get some sleep.

If there is ever something to remember about anxiety it’s this: one step at a time! You’re amazing and you’ll do it all, only if you tackle what’s in front of you now. As my dear mother used to say, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.

And now for something completely different…a little humour to liven up your stress monster:

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author and multi-media artist from South Africa. To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com.

Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE. Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can also follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment).

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5 Simple Steps to Avoid a Burn-Out — No. 2 is a Must!

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

“The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long” — Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)

As I was skimming through the enlightening pages of the Tao Te Ching my eyes fell upon the verse above.

In our modern, face-paced lives, we often fall prey to burning out. Stress and anxiety are growing — compacted by obligations, travel, deadlines, family, school activities, parenting, care-giving and the list goes on.

We try to squeeze in a yoga class at lunchtime or rush to the gym after work — perhaps take in a meditation on the train home — but even the list of what you must do to zen out can add to the stress!

That candle is blazing and we’ve lost the ability to just maintain a healthy flicker.

Here are 5 tips to ignite that wick into balance:

1.Keeping a Journal

I’m a huge advocate of keeping a journal.

Always keep one handy so you can jot down any ideas you may have that you don’t want to forget or get out what’s in your head, in general, so you can ‘tidy it up’ (schedule your time better in order to facilitate what must be done). This way you can also filter out what isn’t really important or what needs to take a back seat for now that can be readdressed later.

When you write down what’s bugging you (or things you still need to do), half of the stress is already alleviated and isn’t flurrying around upstairs, tap dancing on the floor-boards of your mind — driving you insane!

2. Keeping it Real

Right, now I’m talking to you — you know who you are. The person who has a million and one things to do and can’t find time for themselves!

There are a few simple questions you can ask yourself to keep it real. Here they are:

Is what I’m doing necessary?
Am I overloading my life with appointments, classes, engagements, work?
Are all these ‘busy’ things that I think I need to do adding to my quality of life or taking away from it? Ask the same for your child — are all the extra classes they are taking making them happy or stressing them out? Can they pick 1 or 2 that they really excel at and want to do instead of 5?
Are there any things I can let go of to give myself more time to just simply be?

I’ve spoken to parents of children whose schedules are so chock-a-block full of extra mural activities, PTA meetings and functions that it left my head spinning. Sometimes just dropping 1 or 2 things from their schedule can help them and you to function better. If, for instance, you drop a class like ‘painting/craft’ — you can always make time to do something creative with your child over the weekend (it will be a fun thing to do for you and your child will benefit from your company and attention).

I have also spoken with people in the corporate world whose routines and work hours are beyond ridiculous.

These ‘things’ that we think we must do are only choices. They are not set in concrete.

It Can Happen! Listen to this…

A close friend of mine, who worked in the corporate world for decades and was slowly killing herself through unreasonable work loads and shifts that extending into the early hours of the morning (and being on call over weekends), quit her job and is now living her dream!

She has just got back from a retreat/course in Mozambique where she has become a yoga teacher — something that she’s wanted to do for ages. She only thought she couldn’t do it when she had trapped herself in thinking that things were impossible.

Now she is making better choices.

I tried to convince her for years that her job was zapping the life from her but she didn’t want to see it at first. She had children to school/clothe/feed and mortgages to pay off — a reasonable argument but not without a solution.

What did she do when she quit her high paying job?

She started off slowly, doing things she enjoyed to do to make an income. She first started a home baking business and then went for her dream of becoming a yoga teacher. She down-scaled her home and sold off any excess debt incurring things.

Was she scared?

I’d say she was petrified but I think the thought of living an unfulfilled life scared her more.

She never had time before to enjoy the smaller things in life — watching sunsets, taking strolls on the beach with her dog or painting a picture.

3. Keeping it Simple

Life shouldn’t be just about mortgages, paying bills, keeping up with the Jones’s and dying. It needs to have the juicy things in there as well.

One of the biggest, juiciest things you could do for yourself to destress is to go BE IN NATURE. It is where our bliss is. It’s where our connection to Source is always available.

The ‘busy-ness’ is not natural, the computers and electronics are not natural.

We can use them for certain things but don’t let them become your life, don’t let them take over. Most of the crankiness we experience is from sitting in front of a screen too long. It drains our very life force! Go be in nature if you want peace, happiness and bliss.

4. Know Your Limits!

Know where your cut off point is. If you’re stressed from a hard day at work, don’t come home and immediately swap your computer for a TV screen.

Take in some classical music, go for a walk around the neighborhood or in the park or even in your garden (if you have one), sip a glass of wine on your veranda and take in the sunset or the night sky — do something that will let you unwind naturally.

Watching TV may be something you think is relieving your stress but it is a form of zombification. It’s not a natural way to pacify your soul.

I’m not saying you can’t watch TV ever again. Just be more selective about what you watch, trim down how much time you sit in front of the box and try to take up a new activity like reading or painting instead of always reaching for the remote.

Remember: You can do most anything as long as it’s in balance.

Example: It’s okay to have an ice-cream cone every now and again — it can be a real treat. But when you have one or more a day, it’s no longer in balance and it is hardly a treat anymore.

5. Be Kind and Compassionate to Yourself

Don’t forget to include things like pampering yourself — whatever shape or form that may come in.

Take nice long, hot baths, get your kids to paint your toenails for you (if you’re a man, get them to give you a nice neck massage), take yourself and/or the family for picnics where iPhones are forbidden and give yourself guilt-free time and space to just sit and look at the wall if you want to (or read a book, enjoy your pets, think of 6 impossible things you can do tomorrow).

Ponder Time…

You don’t have to burn the candle at both ends or burn yourself out in this life. Find the balance, find the simplicity and find your key to a happy, natural, wholesome life.

If you feel you need to work hard to get the latest car, a grand house or the latest gadget/wardrobe then you may be sadly missing the point of life. You can still be rich and content in a log cabin driving a low cost reliable old skedonk and you’ll have far more time to enjoy the subtle pleasures in life that materialism may be robbing from you.

Think about it.

Burn out and into an early grave (possibly in vast amounts of debt) vs. living an abundant life your way NOW.

Cherie Roe Dirksen is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician from South Africa.

To date, she has published 3 self-help and motivational books and brings out weekly inspirational blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.com. Get stuck into finding your passion, purpose and joy by downloading some of those books gratis when you click HERE.

Her ambition is to help you to connect with your innate gift of creativity and living the life you came here to experience by taking responsibility for your actions and becoming the co-creator of your reality. You can follow Cherie on Facebook (The Art of Empowerment — for article updates). She also has just recently launched her official art Facebook page (Cherie Roe Dirksen – for new art updates).

Cherie posts a new article on CLN every Thursday. To view her articles, click HERE.

This article (5 Simple Steps to Avoid a Burn-Out — No. 2 is a Must!) was originally written for and published by Conscious Life News and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author Cherie Roe Dirksenand ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.

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Posted on February 3, 2016 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Creeping in Through the Cracks

Fear is a mighty strong emotion. It could be said to be the driving force behind our collective impotence.

Why does it have so much force in our lives?

It get’s flung at us constantly via the media — TV, movies, adverts, the general public, etc.

And when we’re not ‘out in the world’ overhearing all the crime statistics and getting fed bad news from people on the street, we rush home to fall into the escapism of our daily Facebook feed because there’s nothing there to be fearful of, right?

Wrong! We get a slipstream of everything that’s messed up in the world (barring, of course, those sweet little kitty meme’s and quirky quote feeds — although even those are starting to take their toll on social media addicts).

One has even come to fear the next ‘Be Like Bob’ post or cradle in terror at the thought of another cat in a pot photo. All jokes aside…

Getting Down and Dirty

We need to take responsibility for what we give our attention to and for how we allow, yes allow, the media to manipulate our emotions and pervade the airwaves with such repugnant negativity.

We are the ones giving credence to and creating our own fears — we can literally asphyxiate ourselves with things to fret or find fear about.

Every time you give into fear you feed negativity and give it more power. Fear is a choice, like it or not.

Related article: How To Deal With Your Fear of the Unknown

The Different Types of Fear

There are, of course, many different types of fear but they are all grounded in the act of giving your power away.

When we come up against fear, we are presented with a chance to be aware, brave and face up to it. Get to the nitty-gritty and uncover the truth about why we are so afraid or uncomfortable (i.e. the fear of heights/snakes/natural disasters/terrorism/clowns/Uncle Sam/Aunt Betty/’fill in the blank’).

When we mine ourselves for the ‘why’s’ and ‘what-have-you’s’ of our own fears, we can face them and move through them.

If there is nothing we can do but send our love, compassion, empathy or prayers to a fearful situation, then do that! Stop giving rise to a tidal wave of negative emotions.

Either do something about your fear (fight or flight), make an effort to get to the bottom of why you feel a certain way (be it through meditation, inner-examination, therapy, etc) or stop thinking about it — turn your thoughts around!

What you think about you bring about — your attention, good or bad — always feeds the probability giving it more gusto. So stop gusting away at those fearful ruminations!

Incapacitating Fear

In order to work fear back into the light, we need to find its polar opposite — LOVE. When you inject love into fear it evaporates — it has no stronghold in the presence of love.

But how does one start projecting love when ones knees are knocking?

Well, let’s address what is called heart-centered living — I’m sure you’ve all probably heard that word by now. People are throwing it about a lot these days (including me — guilty as charged!). As airy-fairy and lace-clad as heart-centered living may seem — there is a nugget of gold in the finding!

Related article: How to Use Your Heart Wisdom

Quickening the Heart

When you work through your heart, based primarily upon how you are feeling about something (as opposed to working through your mind and how you think about something), you are guided by a more truthful resonance of picking up subtle nuances from your surroundings rather than being directed by what reason dictates.

So even though we are in need of our minds and pensiveness, we have been dominated by left-brain thinking for centuries. A shift is occurring, not to totally disregard our thoughts but to channel through the heart and then process through the mind. In other words, not just to go straight to the head and bypass our hearts or how we are feeling intuitively.

Rationality can be useful but it has, in some cases, left our instinctive abilities to wither in its stoic presence. Sometimes our ‘logic’ has actually hindered our bliss. This could be because ‘society dictates otherwise’ or ‘the norm is to be…’ — well, be careful of whose ‘norm’ you are conceding to.

It’s that age old conflict between science and spirituality (left-brain versus right-brain) — the solution to which is using both in balance.

“Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.” — Dorothy Thompson

3 Key factors to transmute fear are remembering to:

1. Spend Your Emotions Wisely

Don’t buy into fear. Think of all the things you have feared in the past — did any of those worries come true? If yes, did you survive it? I take it you did if you are reading this. The energy or vibration of fear draws that which you worry about into your life. Have you ever been with someone who is not afraid of dogs but you are. When a dog comes running at you both, it goes for you, my sweaty-palmed friend, not your companion! Why? Animals, as you probably know, can sense fear — so can the universe and the universe is impartial. It acquiesces to what it thinks you desire via your frequency output. If your emotions are dialed into fear, expect life to become frightening. The only thing you should fear is fear itself (thanks, President Roosevelt!).

2. Know That Love Conquers All

Get used to being tuned into your feelings and steering them to safer shores. When you are in fear, inject some love into your aura by thinking of someone you love, your favorite pet, the infectious chuckle of your child or grandchild or a blissful memory. Change your vibration! This is how you get to expand on the feeling of love in the face of fear. Show fear that you have too much love in your heart. Fear is a mental construct in the absence of love. Trust your instincts and obey your heart. Send love and compassion to all those who suffer or who are in situations you fear to be in. Even send love to the perpetrators of heinous crimes. Why? Because you won’t solve hate by chucking more venom at a situation. When you can send love to the victims and perpetrators alike, you are diffusing the energy and making a space for healing and learning to occur. The perpetrators of violent crimes will not ‘get better’ with negativity, hateful thoughts or jail sentences (that is not to say that they shouldn’t have to ‘pay’ for their crimes — we all have to face the music for our actions) but, in sending love and compassion, there may be a glimmer of hope that they will have a true awakening to spirit and show remorse or have a change of heart.

3. Take Control

Short, sweet and to the point. If you want to be self-empowered then the first things you need are awareness and the ability to take responsibility for your actions. These two fundamental principles are gateways for you to realize your inherent potential. You are a co-creator, take responsibility for that and take control from this point onwards.

Original article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Conscious Life News

Let’s Talk About Green Stuff — It May Not Be What You Think!

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

Green is the New Black

When I say ‘let’s talk about the green stuff?’ what does your mind spring to?

money? Show me the bunce?
marijuana? Totally far out dude…
sustainable living — doing your reduced carbon footprint kind-of-thang, all cool and hippy like? Or
jealousy? The green-eyed, envy monster awaiting in each of us like Mr Hyde or our own personal Hulk.

Well, cast aside all the above notions because I want to talk about pure green.

Going for Gold

I remember an old British TV comedy series called Blackadder. One character, Lord Percy, decides to try his hand at alchemy (you know, making gold out of base metal). He manages to fashion something he called ‘pure green’. Lord Blackadder — who was broke and rather counting on Percy’s success — was utterly disappointed when, after being told by Percy that he was triumphant in his pursuit, his eyes fell on the green stone and not a nugget of gold.

My written reenactment has not done the actual comedy moment any good, I fear, but the point I’m trying to make is we do have something in our world that is better than gold. And, as Lord Percy discovered inadvertently, it is green.

The colour of nature.

Why is Green So Important?

Why do you feel more relaxed in a park? Or on top of a mountain? Or lying under a tree on a bed of green grass? Why does the sight of green rolling hills peek every poet and artists interest? Why are we drawn to green? Would it be as effective if it was red? Doubt it. Nature knows what she’s doing and here’s why:

The colour green is associated with:

Balance

It is the center colour of the spectrum (look up a rainbow and see for yourself!) — being in perfect balance even there! It is associated with abundance (lack of famine), water and everything plentiful on a primitive level.

The colour psychologically effects us all.

It is also a hue that is connected to:

positivity,
harmony,
refreshment,
universal love (it is the colour of our heart chakra),
rest and restoration,
reassurance and
peace.

Say NO to the Brain Fog!

Did you like this article? Don’t forget to pin it! 🙂

Most of us are subject to sitting behind a computer screen or desk getting very little to no time in nature. Electronic devices and the addiction to social media is clogging our airwaves (both physically and mentally).

This leads to brain fog, stress, anxiety and a host of other things.

We are being disconnecting from our very source — nature and the balance, peace and harmony it brings.

Related article: 8 Natural Stress Relievers For More Peace & Calm

There is light at the end of the tunnel though because just spending 15 minutes out in nature will make a difference to your mind, body and soul. Obviously, the more time you spend in nature the better it is.

Try it and see for yourself. If you’re feeling stressed out, go sit under a tree or take a walk in a park — or even just stare out at some treetops (best done outdoors though for the fresh air effect). Focus your gaze upon the green you see, try to put your attention on how you feel when you take it all in. Can you feel a drop in tension within your body?

The green we find in nature is meant to be our own personal therapy — go out and use it wisely whenever you see a gap!

Original article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for CLN (Conscious Life News) – click here and see why over 800k readers tune in daily!

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Posted on July 29, 2015 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.”
― Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching

We live at a break-neck, fast-paced, mind-reeling, brain-fogging speed — where everything was supposed to be done yesterday!

Sound familiar to you?

Coping in this age is quite a balancing act — one needs to be a trapeze artist just to see yourself through the day.

Blow-Outs and Tears!

I found myself burnt-out and close to the edge of insanity last week, where just about anything was triggering my tears, anxieties and frustrations. After I had bawled my eyes out and taken myself to the point of exhaustion, I began to reflect.

Why had I not noticed the signs of my burn-out?
What could I have done for myself to prevent this?

There was no simple, blanket answer but there was one thing I knew for sure — I simply wasn’t taking care of myself.

I was giving myself no time for meditation, reflection, sitting in my garden or any kind of ‘zenning’ out whatsoever. It was just go, go, go…

Universal Signs and Course Alterations

When we are spinning off our axis, the Universe usually grounds us somehow in an attempt to make us stop, drop and reflect (take a knee!). Sometimes it comes as a severe blow (emotionally or physically), illness, headaches, accidents or nervous breakdowns.

So, if you wanted to make a perfect recipe for disaster, try these steps (or maybe you’ll opt for their counterpart):

Don’t make time for yourself — or maybe try pampering yourself every day with a long, hot soak in the tub or an hour of reading on the sofa. Sometimes (and especially if we have families that keep us on our toes) we need some ‘alone’ time — just a bit of space to call our own for an hour or so. Try ask a partner or friend to help out if you need a little time-out.
Don’t go outdoors, just keep on sitting behind that desk/computer screen — or perhaps go for a half hour walk in the park or sit on the beach listening to the waves crash. Even if you just sit in your garden — get some good ‘ol Earth therapy. Listen to the birds singing or the wind blowing. Walk bare-feet on the grass.
Don’t listen to your innate — or perhaps pay attention to your gut feeling. What is it that you feel you should be doing in this moment? If it stresses you out to think of doing it because you don’t have time — be honest with yourself: Do you truthfully not have time — not even 10 minutes? Or can you spare a little time for yourself in order to save a meltdown moment?
Don’t take time to organize your day — or think about prioritizing your schedule first thing over your morning cuppa so you have a game-plan for the rest of the day. This can make you feel organized and in control which can greatly reduce stress.
Don’t cut yourself any slack — or what about accepting that you can’t be or do everything today? Let a roll-over happen if it must. Assess what you can do tomorrow instead of stressing yourself out to finish now. Sometimes we set unattainable goals for ourselves and then sweat bullets trying to carry out our own orders. If it’s other peoples orders that are driving you to drink — see if you can call a meeting to discuss reality (as in what is fairly and reasonably achievable in a given time).
Don’t talk about your problems to others — or swallow your pride and seek out a kind and attentive ear of a friend, family member or colleague. Sometimes we just need someone to listen without giving advice. When we start to verbally unpack our mind clutter, it can lead us to insights to possible solutions.
Don’t laugh, dance or listen to music! Any of these would mean instant alleviation of stress. So, only use these tools if you want to feel better.

Okay — I’ll confess — this blurb has been a definite personal pep talk. But,hey, if it has helped you in any way — I’m delighted! 🙂

And remember that old proverb…a stitch in time saves nine!

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6 Essential Steps to Manage Stress

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

The Joy of Moving, Not!

“It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” — Hans Selye

I’ve just recently moved 300km from the outskirts of the Mother City to the rolling hills of the Karoo countryside.

Yes, it was a stressy move (especially as we had a cat who sulked at us for weeks for transporting her in a car) but once we had unpacked the mountain of boxes and had everything in its right place — it was time to relax. Or was it?

Stress Building Exercises

I have never felt more stressed out in my life!

Firstly, let me say that we had rented previously and this was our first home we’d actually bought. Now for all the home-owners out there you’ll know what I mean when I say that buying your own place — as exciting and gratifying as it is — comes with a never-ending ‘to-do’ list.

My partner and I have been working day and night, week day and weekend.

So in amongst the drilling, painting, erecting, digging, measuring, assembling, cleaning and various other forms of stress-building activities, I started getting some pretty clear signals — via my body — that I was starting to take my anxiety levels to new heights.

My symptoms went a little like this:

My shoulders ached (‘carrying’ too much — in this case it was anxiety)
My head hurt (too much on my mind — ‘what to do next’)
I kept on scraping and scratching my fingers and hands (perhaps a message to stop doing and rest?)
My legs started cramping and finally, I walked into an old and rusty steel rod that took a bit of my ankle out (another sign from the universe to stop and rest?!)
My emotions were running high and tears were at the ready too often (overwhelm)

Another thing weighing heavily on me was the fact that I had stopped working (as in ‘career’ working) for over 2 months and bills needed paying.

HELP!

I was drowning.

We’ve all been down this road before in some form or another. The thing is, what to do when we feel this sense of overwhelm and helplessness creep over us?

Tipping Point

When I had reached my tipping point (when I was actually getting ‘grounded’ by my physical aches and strains) I started looking at where I was going wrong. Oh boy, was I straying way off path!

Here is what I learnt:

Frequent Breaks — This is such a no-brainer but I actually need to remind myself to take 10 minutes out every now and again. I am the kind of person who starts a job and wants to see it done NOW. That’s actually just self-defeating and stupid. When you do that you usually rush the job and don’t do it properly. So, remember to take little breaks to become more productive in the long run and keep your sanity and body in check.
Hydrate and Nourish — Again, sometimes we are so ‘in the zone’ that we forget to take time out to eat and drink (or at least I do) which can cause a sudden drop in your blood-sugar levels. When you run yourself into the ground like this it isn’t easy to pick yourself up again. I get very ratty and irritable and the mood just spirals downwards. Before it gets to this stage make a point of drinking lots of water and eating healthy snacks.
Schedule — This step probably helped me the most. I sat down one morning and it took me just 10 minutes to figure out a game plan. I did a quick list of what I wanted to achieve work-wise and with house/garden chores for every day of the week. I have been sticking to this and my shoulder pain and head-aches have gone away. I don’t feel overly anxious all the time and now I feel I have an achievable order in which to get the jobs done.
Importance List — Sometimes we just need to organize ourselves better as in with the above ‘schedule’ step. But to go a step further, try to — on a weekly basis (or whatever suits you) — sort out the order of importance of each task. When you start knocking ‘em down you’ll feel great!
Joy — This comes to me in the form of just sitting/walking in nature and being. You can also call this step ‘meditation’. You’ve got to connect with your core daily in order to have a balanced existence. I went totally off the rails when I moved, feeling so overwhelmed with everything that needed to be done, that I forgot this vital step for weeks! Now I make a point of doing this as often as I possibly can every day.
Sleep — I am going to bed a lot earlier because I’m pretty much pooped every night (in a good, satisfied way though) but I am sleeping like a log. When I wake up in the morning I am refreshed and I start all over again with a spring in my step. I can’t express enough the importance of a good night’s sleep. Make it happen! Drink chamomile or Valerian tea in the evening, wind down by listening to soothing music before bed, take a warm bath in lavender essential oil — do what you must to get that proper downtime that your body deserves.

These small and totally doable exercises helped me to take the edge off my stress levels, I hope they help you too.

What do you do to de-stress? Share your pearls of wisdom in the comment box below 🙂

Original article written by Cherie Roe Dirksen for Conscious Life News

3 Ways to Alchemize Chaos

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Cherie Roe Dirksen

How to use a Little Spiritual Alchemy

Do you sometimes feel that you are manifesting the good along with the bad? The good manifestations are fantastic but what do you do when you have created a not-so-desirable situation?

The best thing to do is to start to see your potential problems in a new light — what can they teach you?

Once you figure out why they are there and what your lesson is you can turn them around. Does it work? Hell yes!

Here’s some helpful advice:

Accept — when life throws a curve-ball (or 3 or 4 or 12 or whatever your circumstance has chucked at you recently), you need to give yourself some time and space to absorb. To give your acceptance to what cannot change because resisting it will fuel its growth or allow more negativity to enter your slipstream. Acceptance can even transmute the problem as you give it no power. You can visualize how you would rather see it and then let it go. I did this with many problems I have recently faced to see those very situations change to positive in a very short time and I did very little (just a bit of positive affirmations and visualizations) to make it happen.
Act — take action with what you can do and don’t stress about what you are not able to do. Simply knocking down one thing after the other gives a great sense of satisfaction even if you have a mountain of things to do. You will conquer Everest one step at a time. Then when you look back, you’ll see just how much you can get done and how powerful a being you are. I felt completely swamped lately with so much to do but little by little I got things done. Most of the ‘struggle’ was actually in my mind. I still have a few things to wrap up but I know I’ll get it all done in divine time!
Trust in the Flow — I find myself surrendering to the present moment a lot and blissing out even amidst the most chaotic times. I just have a knowing that I am in that Universal flow and everything is going to be alright. So exercise that grounding present moment awareness and trust that everything is in divine order. I have literally sat back and watched the most astounding things flow and fit into place like a giant jigsaw puzzle that I could never have orchestrated if I tried to control the outcome.

Try and perceive your problems as learning curves and transmute the bad to good — after all, you’re an alchemist you know?! Read related article: Why Rejection Can Be a Blessing

The Definition of Alchemy

In times bygone, alchemy was turning matter into gold (the short and sweet version :D).

What you are going to achieve with ‘spiritual’ alchemy is turn your ‘matter’ (situations, etc) into ‘gold’ (treasure/abundance/wealth).

To alchemize a situation is to step inside it and transmute it from the inside out. Get into what is bugging you (through meditation or quiet visualization) and start working your magic — find that gem of understanding/learning that the situation has to offer and morph it (through picturing what you want to see in your mind’s eye) into what you do want to see manifest in your life.

Keep on aligning yourself to your ‘new’ vision especially when you feel that sinking feeling in your stomach (solar plexus) when thinking about the distress it may be causing (keep alchemizing it!).

Please let me know if this works for you (leave a comment below). 🙂 I love to hear your feedback.