Releasing Tension and Stress

As we go through life, we tend to add up what has happened to us, what has gone wrong, and how we made it through it. We take and add up what has come before and hold onto it, instead of letting go of it. Therefore, by adding up our troubles, our mistakes, and our problems, we are creating a closet full of discontent, not only in our minds but in our hearts as well. By adding the pressure of what came before onto today, we are then waiting for more to come. Our body feels this, as does our mind.

We are relating to our world through the memories of our past; by not moving beyond it, we are asking for more, for it to repeat itself. Stress is simply a mixture of what has come before added up and mixed in with the present leading to a fear of the future. The emotions and thoughts surrounding this outlook on life can cause an enormous amount of tension in your mind and body. Feeling stressed is a learned behavior; it is not real. If we were to come at the day as a new beginning, without preregistered feelings or thoughts, perhaps it could feel empty and new. We do not desire this feeling of stress or tension within our bodies, and yet we facilitate it from the moment we wake up. We set our sights on what is to come for the day, we see it already behaving a certain way and by memory fill it up with what has already come before. It is as if we do not give the day a chance to begin before we are relating it to our past.

Stress begins when we do not clearly see the moment for what it is. If we could relate simply from a place of acceptance, without the baggage of the past, we would see the moment as it is, with nothing more added to it. Tension comes from the belief that we must hold onto what has come before; therefore, our body is trained to keep it in. Why do we do this, when this behavior obviously does not help us in any way? It not only makes our lives harder, but it adds to the futility of an existence that is not real. By letting go of not only the past, but the preconceived outcome of your future, even the moment you are in, you are letting go of stress and tension in the body.

By being present with the truth of where you are, no longer in your past or in your idea of the future, you are accepting the moment. You are allowing yourself to be just where you are and nowhere else. By doing so, the issue at hand, the moment you are in, will feel easier. Imagine existing with a pile of old issues, drama, and ideas laid within your mind and then somehow trying to go through your day with a level head and a relaxed body. It would be hard, for not only were you dealing with the day, but you would have to keep interacting with all that was added to you. Instead, think of yourself and the moment as free, not only from your past and what came before, but also open to the future. The future is not planned; you do not know the outcome, for it isn’t here yet. What came before will not be repeated unless you look for it to do so. By letting go, you allow yourself to drop the added memories, and thus the stress. By being present without tension, your body can relax and then every moment that follows will not only be easier, but you will also be happier.