Stress=Living in the Future

Years ago I remember being in a workshop with Richard Carlson, a gifted teacher, father and the author of Slowing Down to the Speed of Life, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (It’s All Small Stuff) and many other best-selling titles.

He used to speak a lot about stress reduction and experiencing enhanced well-being through slowing down and living in the moment. Someone in the audience asked him how in the world he did this when last year he had presented at 200 conferences (do the math!).

His response, “I don’t think about where I have to be on Friday, next week or the following month. I simply take a taxi to the airport. I sit and wait for the plane. I get on the plane. I de-board. I take a taxi to the hotel. I present my talk. I go back to my room to sleep. I take a taxi back to the airport ......and on I go.”

His point being that he was able to maintain such an intense schedule because he didn’t dwell on the past or become overwhelmed by the future. He stayed in the present moment.

When we’re fully present. Fully here, right now. Aware of our breath and being in our bodies, there is no stress. (Try it.) It’s thinking about our insane to-do lists and everything that lies before us that throws us over the edge.

I take this lesson to heart today as I look at my incredibly too-full week of deadlines, meetings, events and personal/school obligations and remember Richard’s wise teaching.

And I breathe. And, move forward purposefully. Grateful to be doing work I love, serving others and knowing stress is really an inside-out job. A choice.

I know Richard, who passed away suddenly in 2006 a month after he endorsed my upcoming book, would smile if heard this. And would encourage all of us to slow down and trust that everything that’s really important will get done. But, it’s up to us how we choose to experience the journey.

AN INVITATION: Interested in how you can live more in the present and tap into the power of self-care? Join us Oct.29 for our FREE Live Inside Out class via telephone. Sign up here! Or, learn how you can join or become trained to lead a self-renewal circle for women. View all upcoming events here.

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The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: Renee Peterson Trudeau. High plains of New Mexico. This beautiful plant clearly enjoyed soaking up the present moment as much as we did.

Busy-ness

Photos from Olympic National Forest, Washington State (Renee Peterson Trudeau)

We recently returned from our visit to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The trip was wonderful in many ways --though not very relaxing (as those of you with young, very active kids know). But overall, I was really grateful for the opportunity to get away and be alone with my family.

The highlights were the stunning natural jewels (Cape Flattery, the Hoh Rainforest, Sol Duc Hot Springs, Hurricane Ridge, Dungeness Spit, wild raspberry picking--see my pics above) and the amazing local/organic fruits and vegetables we devoured throughout the trip. We also loved the log cabin we rented http://www.vrbo.com/184006 that sat on 40 acres and looked out on the Olympic mountains, a natural pond and fruit orchard. And, we really enjoyed the hot tub late at night, breathing in the cool 50-degree weather while stargazing into a black, black and oh-so quiet night.

Coming back and "re-entering" the world is always hard after you've had the opportunity to slow down to a more natural pace. And, it takes a lot of intention and awareness upon your re-entry to not get sucked into the "do, do do, go, go, go" that typifies the American lifestyle.

If you read my blog, you know how much I struggle with balancing "being' and doing" in the world and how important I consider this journey to be.

Lately, I'm hearing from more and more professionals in the field of well-being (ob-gyns, therapists, parent coaches, nutritionists, yoga/movement teachers) about how concerned they are with our high stress and anxiety levels, how hurried we always are and what this is doing to our bodies, minds, spirits, hearts and children. (This morning I saw my wonderful ob-gyn for my annual exam and she said lately the top two topics her clients keep bring up are "stress and sex." (Specifically the lack of sex in their marriages.)

We're busy. Very, very busy. I think, too busy.

This is affecting us physically in dramatically and life-altering ways such as increases in the rate of diabetes, heart-disease, strokes, depression, suicide and there are new medical findings that now believe stress actually causes 80-90% of all illnesses!

Being overly-busy, stressed and not present in our relationships is also taking its toll on us emotionally and with partners and children. And, when it comes to work--more and more studies are coming out about how counterproductive multitasking to the extreme is on our ability to deliver quality results on the job. (See my last blog post about how productive and creative I was this summer after slowing down.)

So where does this leave us?

It's easy to get overwhelmed when addressing this subject. So, I'm a big believer in starting with ourselves.

This week, the questions I'm asking are:

What day-to-day choices can I make to feel more grounded, relaxed, focused and live as authentically and intentionally as I can each day?

What daily, practices--such as prayer/meditation-- support me in starting each day feeling centered?

What self-care activities help keep me relaxed, calm and add spaciousness to my day (check out my book chapter on self care here: http://www.reneetrudeau.com/book/Transformative_Power_of_Self_Care.pdf)?

What can I say "no" to (professionally and personally)?

How can I support my husband and son in being less busy?

How can I not get sucked into other's "busy-ness" and constant sense of urgency and make sure I'm staying true to what's important to me?

What choices do I need to honor in order to create more expanses of unscheduled time in my life?

How about you? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic. I'm sure we could all benefit from one another's ideas.

P.S. If you're wanting to slow down and be with other women who want to focus on their self-care and living more intentionally, consider joining us at The Crossings Sept. 26-28 for my Fall Self-Renewal Retreat. We have a couple of spots left and if there is a commuter option available, too: http://www.reneetrudeau.com/order/womensretreat.html.

SpiritFood

Isn’t it interesting how your mood or state of mind can swing from such extremes in the course of just a week?

This week I juggled numerous work, staffing, personal and technical challenges and felt, many times, like I just wanted to get in a car and head south to Mexico, ALONE (does anyone else every feel this way?!)

Last weekend I was in a completely different mind space.

My husband, son and I had the opportunity to stay at our friend’s wonderful rustic vacation cabin near Pedernales Falls (photo above) in the Texas Hill Country.

The 24 hour Saturday/Sunday break was exactly what we all needed. We really got to slow down, enjoy time together as a family just being, connect with each other and let any bothersome thoughts or worries be washed away in the waterfalls. (My friend Gail Allen, a wonderful parenting coach, likes to ask women what are their “portals” for nourishment? Nature is definitely mine!)

I was even still feeling the affects of our nature break into Monday night --before my week got really crazy--when I joined 600,000 viewers from 139 countries for Oprah and “Power of Now” author, Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth” class via live webcast (http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml click on WATCH NOW in the center of the page). It was pretty amazing to feel so connected to such a huge global community all interested in raising their consciousness and the consciousness of our planet. It's not too late to sign up for the free class if this speaks to you.

I think last weekend’s experience at Pedernales Falls was a great reminder to me how helpful it for each of us to *really* know what we need to nourish our spirits and refuel physically and emotionally. And, the realization that often, just 24 hours in a healing environment is all we need to move our perspective (literally and figuratively) to higher ground.

We’re preparing to head to the mountains around Hot Springs, AR to dig for crystals over spring break (we’ve never been, but were told this is a phenomenal trip). I’m looking forward to really letting my stress float away from this past week and hugging some trees high up in the mountains!

If you’re a tree lover too, check out this beautiful piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgDX2xpGwAU&feature=related. And then, pull out your calendar and block out some time for a nature excursion of your own this spring.

P.S. If you could use some physical, emotional and spiritual renewal, I’d invite you to join me at The Crossings May 2-4 for our Spring Self-Renewal Retreat (sorry guys, it’s just for women). More at http://www.reneetrudeau.com/order/womensretreat.html.

Don't Believe Everything You Think

Photo: Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Irleland, August 2007, Renee Trudeau

The two weeks before Thanksgiving were really stressful for me. I was feeling pulled in too many directions by work, had countless deadlines breathing down my back and I was feeling discouraged by the amount of time/resources I was putting into a project--that was only just getting off the ground. I felt overwhelmed by my inbox, requests from others for help and demands from family--I was cooked!

One of the things that most frustrated me about that crazy period was that I had lost perspective--and I knew it.

My thoughts were tiresome, stressful and repetitive. I could feel how "stuck" I was and all I could do was pray for a change in perspective.

Author/teacher Byron Katie (www.thework.com), says "An unquestioned mind is the world of suffering. There are no new stressful thoughts. They’re all recycled."

So true. I've always loved the saying "Don't believe everything you think." When I'm feeling stuck, I try to remember this phrase and not take myself--or my thinking--too seriously!

And, finally, clarity and relief did come (it always does in its own sweet time, doesn't it?).

After slowing down, going for a hike on the greenbelt with my family and releasing some of my self-imposed ideas about how things "should be going," I was able to finally ease up, relax and start living in the present: the only place we can be assured of true inner peace, right?

The photo I took above of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland--a stunning sight--helps me gain perspective on my life. The vastness of the rock wall and ocean reminds me of how trivial my problem du jour really is and how essential it is that I trust in that which is greater than me.

Thank you God for the opportunity to--at any moment--change how we see things.