QUANTIFYING AND MITIGATING STRESS TO BE MORE POWERFULLY HUMAN

I took longer, than helpful to my goals, to realize that there is a deep connection between my mind and body. Largely the language the fake/pious of spiritual practices used pissed me off enough to stay away. But you do not need to use their language; power comes through finding your own language. Here, I use the language I needed to hear - that of hate and power.

Phase 1: empty head

I knew that mind and body were integrated when mountain biking forced me empty my head or hit trees. My mind cannot be acting up when I am rolling through a forest at speed. Even semi-conscious uncontrolled thought can kill. I chose to focus on neutral scenes in my head and eventually could clear my mind anytime and stamp down emotions.

Phase 2 & 3: awareness + discipline

To harness something you must understand it. The discipline to make you stronger is following a course like https://courses.tarabrach.com/courses/mindfulness-daily all the way through, every day. At the end you should be able to understand your emotional state, acknowledge all of yourself, and integrate. Power comes through integrating all of you, not silencing a part. You should have a 10 minute core practice you can do anywhere: settle through breathing, refocus as thoughts come up, once settled - watch the thoughts until they settle out or you are comfortable to put them back down.

The phrase which was weird to me in the past, but I understand now: benign gaze. You are observing parts of yourself happen, but not taking sides.

If you prefer moving: do yoga. I asked a yoga teacher some why questions and I got out: yoga is a way to access meditation.

Phase 4: altering stress levels

I swam competitively in high school: they teach you to go fast, not sustainably. Most ex-swimmers I talk to also have a joint loose or a stress injury. Same thing at most jobs: fast, not healthy. Selling is but one of many things I play at, and if I am to enjoy all the rest of life’s play then I cannot overdo.

The practice of sales at most organizations sucks (for health): your agenda for the day is always changing up until 30-60 minutes before. A “quick call” can easily turn into an hour. I could easily hit 135/85 on bad days which on the American Heart Association’s page for understanding readings https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings is not good.

What I am doing:

  • All notifications on my phone except the actual phone, texts, and https://signal.org/ are turned off always - I took away the notification permissions
  • My phone is set on vibrate during the day and everything is muted 2125 - 0730
  • Meditating at least every other day

What I have noticed about myself:

  • Blood pressure readings are averaging 10-20 lower. I take readings on left and right upper arms after my mediation practice in between meals.
  • I am more often the person I want to be
  • I do not seem to focus on negatives as much

What I am not doing:

  • Coming up with easy/fake solutions like quitting my job, isolating, or taking drugs
  • Giving up on having an interesting and integrated life - money+purpose+mental interest still must align
  • Giving up on optionality - I want to live somewhere, see certain people, eat certain foods, or pursue being active at certain times
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