By Charli Lundholm

EarthGallery.com

Have you noticed the stress level going up, up, up around the world? Are you getting sucked into it? It’s hard to avoid. Sometimes we find ourselves even adding to it! The key is to be conscious. 

Take a break from the news and the barrage of negativity that the media throws our way. Be conscious. 

What stories do you share? What stories do you tell yourself, your body? Do you focus on your blessings or on what you don’t have? Be conscious. 

Who do you hang out with? Positive people, or a bunch of Debbie Downers and Negative Nellies? Be conscious. 

If you find yourself in a negative state, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders and jaw, and SMILE. Even if it is fake, it still has the effect of decreasing your cortisol levels, thus reducing your stress level. Be conscious.

You have five wonderful helpers at your disposal at all times. Your senses! Use your senses to decrease your stress level:

Taste:

Be conscious with each bite or sip you take. Really enjoy it. Taste it. Feel the texture. Know that you are being nourished. Truly enjoy it instead of eating and drinking without even noticing you are doing it.

Sight:

Look around you and see the beauty. Really look. See things you don’t usually pay attention to.

Notice the intricacy of a flower, the grandness of a tree or the lovely smile of the person near you.

See the beauty you possess.

Hearing:

Listen to the beautiful sounds around you. Search for them. Hear the birds, the buzzing of a bee, the wind in the trees.

Hear the loving and kind words others share with you. Really take in those beautiful words and let them fill your heart.

Tell yourself you love YOU and are grateful for all that YOU do.

Smell:

Notice the smells around you. Stop and smell a rose. 

Inhale the aroma of the wonderful food you are eating.

Smell the scent of Mother Nature…the earth, the flowers, the air.

Touch: 

Get or give a hug.

Get a massage or Reiki treatment.

Just gently sweeping down each arm can bring in some calmness.

Place your hands over your heart while thinking of things you are grateful for.

Hold a beautiful stone or crystal. Feel it’s smoothness and healing energy. Lapis, rose quartz, lepidolite, clear quartz and others are calming. Smoky quartz, black tourmaline, obsidian and pyrite are grounding and protective.

Be conscious. We can’t control others behavior. We can only control our own, our reactions to the stressors of the world. We get to choose how we react. Using simple techniques to decrease our stress helps us choose how we react wisely.