How to reduce stress and increase health and happiness

            You may have difficulties in your life that seem insurmountable, or just nagging issues that drag you down, create constant worry or at minimum lay lurking underneath the surface of your every waking moment.  The good news is that you can overcome this and have peace and happiness, if not joy, NOW, right now, not some distant point in the future when said issues are finally “resolved.”

            The first step, at least for me, and maybe for you, is….PRAYER, to God, for help.  Give whatever is bothering you to God and KNOW that it will be taken care of somehow some way.  That is the essence of faith, which you must exercise, which means you BELIEVE and through that belief gain peace of mind.

            Second, get yourself in a position to let God work through you and the universe to have positive progress.  This means clearing your mind and body of health robbing toxins, external and internal:

A.   Eliminating EXTERNAL TOXINS: This is all about diet, nutrition as well as negative surroundings.  Nutrition is so important.  All the stuff you’ve read about eating wholesome foods and CUTTING artificial sweeteners, meats, dairy, cholesterol, sugar, packaged and processed foods and ADDING veggies and fruits, vitamins. 

Better too if you can give go GLUTEN FREEE (no wheat products at all!).  Hard to do, but the health benefits are unreal.   More than anything though is to give up all artificial sweeteners, trans fats and darn near all sugar.

B.   Eliminating INTERNAL TOXINS:

Internal toxins are the life-destroying mental and emotional processes, such as fear, hate, worry, and all sorts of irrationality, which are the opposite of love, charity, mercy and right action based on correct reality-based judgment.  Internal toxins are like weeds that choke your clear vision and create stumbling blocks to positive rationality that we all need to move onward and upward and help others to do the same.

Getting rid of these internal toxins again begins with prayer and faith.  For me this led to the discovery of techniques that led to my understanding of higher truth and therefore clarity of vision. 

What techniques?  1)  Meditation—not something fancy but more or less getting myself to focus on the NOW, the present moment, free of ego, free of distractions, worries, the past, whatever for all we really have is…THE NOW!  Meditation involves taking in breaths and focusing on the sensation of the breath on the nostrils.  Whenever worries or other thoughts arise, simply acknowledge them—don’t resist or judge, just acknowledge them—then return to the breath.  Keep doing this, return to the NOW, the present, the breath.  Note your surroundings—accepting everything around you without judgment.   Essentially you become pure awareness of reality, not rejecting anything, just NOTICING, accepting of what is.

2)  Living in the NOW.  An outstanding book that will help you immensely and would be helpful for all sentient humans is “The Power of Now” and also the follow up book, “A New Earth” by ECKHART TOLLE.  Believe me—digesting these will help you along the pathway of peace of which Jesus so fervently spoke.

3)  Follow up with “The Power of Positive Thinking,” the classic by Norman Vincent Peale.  Positive optimism is crucial and YOU CAN cultivate it. 

4)  Seek to be the best (your name here) you can be.  Don’t get down on yourself, just keep aiming high.

5)  Own your situation!  Faith in God means knowing that things are JUST AS THEY SHOULD BE!  Keep asking for growth, direction and good things and accept the present with peace and a sense of joy.

6)  Then, with a clear head and positive outlook, apply your mind to whatever is before you—with rationality and practicality.  FOCUS on what is DOABLE and possible and don’t give a second to what is not.  Don’t dwell to the past; refer to it only as a learning tool for the present.

            You deserve health and happiness NOW.  You can have it NOW.  The kingdom of God is WITHIN.  Removing the internal and external toxins that choke the joy of knowing that kingdom IS within your reach. 

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.  Enjoy! 

Richard Dawahare 3/17/12