SimplyNumbers

Paying attention to stress

It's easy to think that you should deal with stress like everyone else. Yet, have you ever asked how others deal with it? Are they successful? Have you talked about stress, and what you do to overcome it, with anyone else?

Stress can come from many sources. We may not even realize its toll, or even how much stress we've been taking on. Much of our stress simply stems from trying take on too much. How much is too much? For many people it's a deeply complicated issue. Your abilitiy to successfully deal with stress depends on where you are in your life, your skills, and your resources.

Are there times in your life that you took on more than you could handle and then simply collapsed or let things slide, due to the stress? I believe your ability to stay calm and balanced in your life is extremely vital and important for overall inner and outer health. This is where Numerology can fit into this complex puzzle. It can help to better illustrate how you can best remain balanced during challenging, difficult or stressful situations.

You may wish to begin working with your Maturity Number, as it can help you to understand how you've grown as an individual over the course of your life, especially as you've matured in your ability to overcome stress and other obstacles. It helps to paint a picture of your ability to live mindfully. After working with this number, you can then move on to exploring the other Core Numbers and perhaps you'll desire to explore your findings more deeply by contacting me for further studies and digging deeper.

TED Talk: Robert Thurman

Helping others to cope with Tonglen

Pema Chodron, author and American Buddhist nun, teaches that in order to truly have compassion for others, we have to first have developed compassion for ourselves. Once you're capable of having compassion for yourself, you're then better able to offer kindness and support to others. Once you can care for yourself, then you are prepared to support others.

Tonglen is a meditation practice that allows you to extend your support out to the world. It can be a powerfully moving practice, especially if you are already well versed in meditation. In this post, she discusses how to work with Tonglen. She writes, "The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart."

I don't believe that Tonglen is a process to take on lightly, as you are "taking on" the suffering of others with this practice. Every breath is an opportuntity to transform pain and suffering, but you're not storing this pain within yourself. Instead, you're visualizing the pain and suffering as being transformed in your heart. But, you're not taking ownership of it. With this meditation practice, you have the opportunity to breathe in pain, and breathe out freedom, joy and release.

Before you begin this practice, you may need to first find a strong support network for yourself.  Once you feel like you're strong enough and well supported, you may wish to utilize this practice to help with the various nations, including Japan, Haiti and Libya, who are experiencing dramatic hardships at this time.

Before beginning this practice for another culture, or person, you should find a way to respect and honor the values and practices of these people and cultures, as they may have values and beliefs that are far different than your own. Before proceeding, you may wish to spend some time in quiet reflection to consider whether it feels "okay" to do this practice. Be patient and don't feel as if you "must" work with Tonglen. Perhaps, you might first need to develop greater compassion for yourself before you feel like it is appropriate to work with Tonglen for another. Use your discernment, judgement and wisdom. If healing within yourself needs to take place first, then allow whatever needs to be healed to be healed. Proceed at your own pace.

In the face of suffering, one has no right to turn away, not to see. ~ Elie Wiesel