Stress Management Magic

You may need to plan on several hours to go through everything, but the relief will be worth it!

All of us deal with having more paperwork than we know what to do with these days. We are afraid to throw anything out, but we don’t have file drawers enough to keep it all

This is a list to help you organize your paperwork, and get rid of excess paperwork you really don’t need to keep. Be sure to remember when you dispose of “stuff”, if you don’t have any way to shed your things, at least make sure names, numbers, etc. are REALLY minced up small or burnt in the fireplace. Identity theft is no small problem to face, so guard yourself and your family.

Here is what you much keep, for at least a good while:

1. Canceled checks that are related to tax deductions or major purchases. If you pull these checks out from the rest each month it will save you lots of time later. Keeping bank statements available to see on line can be a bit of relief – but remember to check your accounts regularly.

You will probably need to print specific tax related checks if you pay someone to do your taxes. Also keep any charitable giving and medical expenses. You can file these in an envelope saying CHECKS for TAXES (include the year).

2. Keep a file with purchase and sale documents, including IRS Form 2119 for every home you’ve owned.

3. Keep a file of capital home improvement costs. Routine repairs don’t count. Only things like new roof, remodeled kitchen, etc.

3. Credit card records – keep for 6 years.

4. Health records are forever.  That is for your benefit.  It can be a safeguard for you to request a copy of your medical records whenever any procedure is done, or when a medical emergency arises.

5. Contracts (even those paid) are to be kept for 7 years past the expiration date.

6. Investments, contributions to IRA’s, and brokerage accountings.

7. A will. (VERY important for your family – even if handwritten and witnessed by three people is better than nothing!).

8. IRS returns. The IRS has three years to examine your return, and six years if there is a substantial under-reported income.

TRUST ME ON THIS ONE – if you have the misfortune to be audited you will need to come up with a TON of paperwork. The IRS can audit you for more than just one year – several, if they choose to do so.

If someone prepares your income tax statement for you make sure they are savvy with the IRS and current laws. If you are fined for errors (whether your errors or the bookkeeper) you can pay huge fines, compounded, and increased on a daily basis

1. Deeds and records of ownership. You should keep documents as to the condition of your home and a written inventory of goods in it.

2. Birth, marriage and death certificates. You should also keep passports, even old ones, and social security cards.

3. Stock and bond certificates

4. Make a list of all insurance policies and agents.

5. Adoption papers, divorce decrees and child custody agreements.

Even if you don’t have a lock box to keep them in, make copies of these items and store them separately in case you need them.

YEAH! Now we are down to the toss out stuff!

1. Expired insurance policies.

2. Non-tax related checks (but they have to be more than three years old:(.

3. Records for items you no longer own. (Cars, boats, etc.)

4. Pay stubs going back more than two years.

Have fun and get to shredding and trashing all the useless garbage!

The benefits we experience when pets are in close proximity to us are really not recognized fully by most of us.  There is a powerful human-animal connection that is only now being fully recognized.

There have been many workshops held on the benefits of owning pets.  There were just a few scientific papers available on the subject a few years ago, though snow studies have revealed that pets boost survival rates for coronary care unit patients. That was an eye-opening finding.

People have known the healing effect for centuries, but recently new data on the role of chemistry in the relationship has been revealed.

When a person interacts with a pet, the central nervous system releases several hormones that cause feelings of pleasure.  One hormone in particular, oxytocin, seems to play a major role in reinforcing this bond.

The hormone creates a sense of warmth, nurturing and calm.  Simply petting dogs releases the same chemical in both humans and the animals!  Researchers know this with certainty, but are not clear as to how two species can produce feelings of peace, closeness and contentment in each other.

What is clear is the fact that this bonding is very helpful in managing stress of almost any kind.

Animals (particularly dogs) give unconditional love.  It doesn’t matter if the owner yells, or is unkempt, or even doesn’t offer the best care to the animal.  All the animal wants is love and approval by their owner.  They accept their owners and companions without qualification.  An animal’s acceptance

is nonjudgmental and forgiving. They don’t play psychological games people sometimes play.  They accept you the way you are.

Pet ownership particularly helps children to learn to read body language.  The experiences children have with their pets later develop into relationships with people, and actually helps develop more empathy for others.

Children who are fortunate to have a pet learn nurturing skills, and the responsibilities that come with it. They also have in store for them lots of fun to share with a new pet.

Over eons it is well established that touch is very important for the nourishment for our spirits and minds.  Sometimes people who have been neglected find it difficult to accept touch from other humans.  The relationship with animals, simply the act of petting a dog, can create feelings of security and warmth; feelings of love without demands humans often desire.

In cases like these, having an animal to hold, hug, and touch can make a world of difference to people who would otherwise have no positive, appropriate physical contact.

Astounding cases of pet heroism and loving acts prove that the interaction between pets and humans, even just passing contacts, are healing and worthy of categorizing as important relationships in the management of stress.

Find ot for yourself and consider, if you don’t own a pet, possibly adopting one for yourself and your family.  More fun and less expensive than therapy, pet ownership can truly be a healing factor in your life.

When stress is not managed well, you are headed to a potentially parlous journey of poor physical health, and possibly deadly diseases.  The risk you take by ignoring your symptoms of stress and the feeling of being overwhelmed by it, is life threatening.

Without a doubt mental stress unmanaged affects your physical health.

The body is all one thing, a coherent whole, with many different systems and functions.  There is no separation of parts when one is afflicted.

Your thoughts, what goes into the mouth, and how you treat your body all have an effect throughout the body.  Just like when something happens to one member of the family, it affects all the rest of the family, some more than others, but everyone is affected.

It is the same with our bodies.  If there is a tight muscle in the hip for instance, from a corresponding weakness on the opposite side, then that hip is favored because of the tension restricting its motion.  That puts a different strain on the foot, and with the foot in a different position; there will be a strain on other sets of muscles.  This is going to change the body’s general posture, affecting the positions of the internal organs. That, in turn, restricts the nutrition to the organs and changes the excretions and hormonal functions.

The chemical/psychological balance of the person is changed and this affects the individual cells in the body.  As the body and mind are affected, the person will think and feel differently, so he is going to assume still a different posture.  Then there is one more tight area, one more tension, one more cycle.  Everything we do affects all the rest of the body.

Humans are structural, chemical, psychological and spiritual beings.  The primary structure and the natural chemistry work together to influence the psychological, and vice versa.

A problem may exist in any part of an area, and disturbances that arise in other systems may represent the body’s efforts to compensate for the troubled system

To put our body in true balance, we must take into account all aspects of health – structural, mental and nutritional – as well as need for exercise and rest.

You only have one place to live – YOUR BODY.  Your body houses your intellect and your spirit, and will serve you well for many years if you take the time to learn to manage your stress.

Start today for this moment and for a better tomorrow.

Take a breath slowly in through the nose.  As you exhale let the carbon dioxide out slowly.

As you inhale again know you are providing for your LIFE.

As you exhale, picture negative thoughts flying out with your exhalation.

Take care of yourself and you take care of your family and friends.  How much will the works you do count if you find yourself mentally and physically sick from allowing unresolved stress to take control of you?

It’s a choice.

Exercising your mind!  Your thoughts and words are self- fulfilling prophecies.

Be careful – You will get what you desire and think about.

Whatever you pay attention to, whatever you dwell upon, will ultimately manifest in your life.

You can choose your thoughts.

You are the energy you project, whether it is negative or positive.

From your perceptions you conceive much of your life.

Find celebrations in the moment. Don’t regret the past, for it is the past and experiences can be tools for learning. It cannot be changed.  Don’t anticipate trials and fears happening in the future, for they may never happen.

The power of your thoughts is real. Never let another person, or a scenario in life, enhance your healing, your thoughts, your heart. You are in charge of you.

Seeds have been planted in us all our lives.  Many of them, tragically, planted from failings of other generations long ago, transported as habit, doing great harm decades later.

Start to plant your own garden.  Create and elevate the thoughts that will bring the reality you choose into your life.

You can’t celebrate what you can’t detect.  Most of us are living in the fog of our own thoughts, unaware of the blue sky above.  You are so much more than your negative and limiting thoughts. Let go.  Happiness can be yours this very instant, if only this instant.  The moment can be yours.

Mind over matter works in stressful times

Exercising your mind will help manage your stress.  It doesn’t matter if you are about to begin the performance of a lifetime, start a project of killer magnitude, attend the funeral of a best friend, or visit your in-laws:

WHATEVER NEEDS TO

BE DONE CAN BE DONE MORE EFFECTIVELY WHEN YOU EXERCISE YOUR MIND.  IF YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR MIND, YOU WILL BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR “MATTER” (your own body).

You need to begin to take charge and learn that you can manage whatever the circumstances may render necessary. If you exercise your thoughts, your resolve will be finer.

No matter what the circumstance, think about your oxygen and take a breath!  Take another and exhale deeply, regaining your composure; get the oxygen to the brain for this oxygen machine.

Kill the pain with internal pharmaceuticals and positive thoughts created by you.  Regenerate.  Relax and take control of your life.  In that moment or two you supply your “tank” with premium oxygen, your brain will charge and the more profitable and beneficial response will then come to fruition.  It will happen.

When you think, “I can’t handle this” – think again.  Think instead, “I can and will handle this.”  Take a breath.  Make it happen.  Only you can make it happen.

Tap the resources we all have.  The gold comes from within.

When was the last time you actually thought about the breathing process?  Have you ever?

For many of you this will be reviewing material that warrants a regular review.  For some this will be NEW and IMPORTANT information that can really help your stress level when activated.

Isn’t it amazing that this involuntary process of breathing, one that gives us a FREE commodity, one we take for granted, can be refined and used to radically improve the quality of every moment of our human lives.

By cultivating your ability to improve the quality of your oxygen you’ll actually see these things happening to the body.  Your level of energy will increase, the quality of sleep will improve, and your muscles, tendons and ligaments, in times of stress, will relax easier.

You can create morphine like painkillers from within you.  You can lower your blood pressure, slow your heart rate, control the flow of hydrochloric acid and adrenalin, and even create endorphins that are similar to an opiate like high.  “Get high” naturally.  Additionally, beta-endorphins also kick in when you walk or exercise, because of premium breathing.  Do something that is good for your body.

You may think it’s too simple and ask why isn’t there more promotion of the benefits of using oxygen optimally.  Simply, as yet, the “prescription” of oxygen for you hasn’t been necessary (with exceptions such as inhalants for asthmatics or COPD patients).  No one can market the oxygen you can freely use.  No one profits from breathing the air all around you, EXCEPT YOU. You don’t have to ask permission to obtain the healing powers of this wonderful gift for your oxygen machine.

The idea is that mindful breathing techniques will get enough oxygen to all the hidden and infinite areas of the only place you have to live – your body.

What else can you expect when you tend to your oxygen garden?  Your breathing will become easier, because the muscles in your chest will be stronger.  Your air will flow in and out more rapidly and with less effort.

The tiring work you do will be easier as the more mindful oxygen you take in, the more energy you produce.  You oxygen will distribute rapidly from your lungs to your heart and to all parts of your body.

Your heart will beat strong and will pump more blood with each stroke.  Even when you are working your hardest, you heart will pump blood at a lower rate than if you were “de-conditioned”.

You will increase the number and size of the blood vessels that transport blood to your body tissue, thus enriching that tissue and increasing circulation.

Cultivating this oxygen will pay off not only with better health for your body, but the quality of your oxygen intake is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.  Intelligence and skill function will always peak with increased intake of oxygen.  Your brain actually requires fifty percent more oxygen than the rest of the body to think optimally.

This is the physiology of your body.  If you work on getting in the habit of breathing deeply and exhaling fully, all these things will automatically happen.  How cool is that!

Think about your oxygen and take in a few mindful plugs of right now, exhaling fully and deeply. It’s  a wonderful thing to do for your life!

Can standing or sitting straight really help your stress level?

Yes.  Think about it. Are you slumped over towards the computer? Are your abdominals taut or are they hanging loose? Are your shoulders rounded forward?  You will not get the flow of oxygen as effectively if your posture is poor. This will actually contribute to muscles and ligaments tightening further during stressful times.

Posture is much more important than we are ever told.

Over the past 20 years revelations about posture have been presented to me in so many different ways. Have you ever seen a young woman in her late teens or early twenties with shoulders rounded forward? You can almost see bones protruding from the back. How about the young man with his belly hanging out and shoulders rolled forward. It is not only a matter of how poor posture looks – it is what it ultimately does to your body and mind.

Poor posture is simply derived from a lack of training in good posture habits.  Habits can be changed.

When we have poor posture we actually cut off a portion of our oxygen supply to our body. Our cramped position hinders that precious stuff from getting to all the areas where it’s needed.

As our oxygen supply is “kinked up”, our energy level is not as powerful. Our abdominals weaken which in turn weakens our lower backs, and will often cause back pain.

Good posture maintains a fine balance between muscular strength and flexibility. This balance decreases stress, increases self-image and eliminates the possibility of chronic postural strain. (It also helps elimination!)

Right now try this: Sit up straight. Hold in the abdominals, pressing low back into back of your chair. Press your shoulders down (we lift them when tense), and back. Lift your head and neck thinking about stretching the neck upward to separate vertebrae and discs.

Take a deep inhalation in through the nose. Hold it for a few seconds and exhale through the mouth. Do it slowly several times, keeping the new posture. It will be so beneficial if you practice this just a couple of times an hour. This practice will begin to get you in the habit of good posture and good breathing.  The benefits you will find that are coming to you simply by learning to stand correctly can be life changing.

Practice your standing posture as well. Stand up against a wall and do the same steps. Then breathe! If you think of this as a mini workout you will be right! You will find you feel better after the day at the computer or desk. You will have more energy and actually be more relaxed at the same time.

Do not give in to having a lazy body control your health. Use your intellect and make some positive changes and life will improve. As you breathe more effectively you will also get the benefit of extra oxygen to help calm stressful situations

With a bit of practice, you’ll be ever so glad you took the time to get in the habit of maintaining great posture!  After a bit of time you won’t even have to think about it – you will just do it naturally.

Another plus – just look in a mirror at you with poor posture.  Then correct it. You actually will have the appearance of someone who has just lost a bit of weight!

Easy Quick breath :

3 short deep inhalations- sniff, sniff, sniff.

and

1 long and slow exhalation – with head high but humbled- shoulders back – make room for the new.

Do it again.

Do it again.  (Be careful: it’s natural, free, and WILL envigorate and relax at the same time!)  Could be addictive!

Do it again and slowly now both on the inhalation and exhalation.

SLOW DOWN – it’s okay! Listen to music you love, dance around just for fun,  get back to work refreshed from your short break, or simply return to the tasks at hand!  Remember  your life is your choice – really!  How you respond to what happens is one-hundred percent your decision.

Before any response to circumstances get oxygen to your brain.  The brain needs fifty percent more oxygen to make the best decisions.  It’s available any time you choose to breathe mindfully. It is a very positive secret weapon in times of high stress.

Think about this – It will help!

You are the only person who can change the amount of stress that burdens you day after day.

Every change begins with willingness.  If you find yourself wishing an area of your life were different, you must first be willing to let go of past hurts and sorrows.  You must be receptive to change, and you must release limiting thoughts and beliefs.  You must expand your understanding.

Every thought you think and every word you speak is creating your future.  You become what you are thinking about, whether you want it or not.

Every thought is vibrational in nature.  If you care to change, you must change negative thoughts to positive.  Shift your attraction. Contemplate yourself beginning to use the potential you were ordained to do, and use the gifts you were given.

Do not unconsciously absorb another person’s energy or temperament.  Even after the briefest encounter (perhaps a negative one), you may find yourself temporarily changed, and sometimes, not for the better.  Be aware and don’t fall into this pit.

You can rewire patterns in your brain.  Change your thinking and you will change your life.

If life isn’t working for you need to reinvent yourself-reinvent your life.  Change your perceptions. Let go of those limited beliefs.  Wisdom and knowledge “gates” are always open.

When you finally really “get it”, the fact you have more control over your life, you will come to realize you actually have all the power.

In moments of deepest despair remember there is always humor.  Seek it.   Humor lifts you to God.

Remind yourself: “I am safe. It’s only change. Substitute fear for curiosity.

Assume ANY changes you make will be for the better. Don’t assume what others think.  Be true to yourself and your thoughts.  Strive to project the demeanor of the person you want to become.

Keep a passion for life.  Choose your words and actions.

Build or keep a circle of friends whose influence will be positive towards the “growing” of the new you.  You can help others accept the new you if you remember you will have an effect on others.

Contemplate how you want to be treated and let those thoughts light the atmosphere around you so that it is uplifting and inspiring.

You’ve probably heard a statement similar to this, but it never hurts to contemplate truth and remind yourself to invigorate your life.  “It is not the goal; it’s the journey towards the goal that can be the magical part of your life.”

Take a breath and take charge of how you respond to the stress in your life.  Practice and it will become habit.  You can change your life – and your stress – moment by moment!

Read below and Find Immediate and Simple Solutions

1.  Stop it.  Stop the pity party.  Wearing your burdens like a fine gown or suit will not change a thing.  I don’t mean to be hard nosed, (this admonishment is for me too), but it is the truth!  All the whining in the world does not change a thing!

We all have days that we just can’t seem to pull our brains up to even a flat-line.  It happens. It happened to me today, at least until a “resource” cell I planted in my brain reminded me:  It is a choice!  How you respond to life is a choice.

2.  Take a breath.  Right now.  Don’t do another thing until you breathe deeply in through the nose – and exhale slowly through the mouth, completely emptying your lungs.  Now inhale slowly and think:  “I am alive. I have a choice how to respond to stress.  I have the choice to be happy.”

Exhale and think:  I will exhale all the garbage that is making me feel overwhelmed.  Thinking negatively will do nothing but hurt me.”

3.  Divert your attention. If you cannot resolve all that is terrorizing you – move to something that is less stressful.  Tackle something else with the resolve that you will return to what has upset you, when you are calmer.

4.  Fake it!  Fake yourself right out of your misery. Have you never counterfeited feelings to help someone else, or because you needed to ignore your feelings to complete a deal, or when someone else needed help and you were there for them?  It’s your turn now.  Do it for yourself.  All the classes in the world, all the counseling, all the reading of fine materials on the internet and books, won’t do a thing for you if you let yourself be down time after time.  If you have to do so, fake it until you feel better.

5.  Immerse yourself in doing something for someone else.  You can’t think of two things at once.  Get busy doing something for someone else and get off the train to hell, which is throwing a pity party for you.  There is always someone worse off than you.  Open your heart and give when you hurt – you’ll feel better.

6.  Be your own best friend.  We critique ourselves, we demean our own being, and we needn’t do it.  If you think about it you will find there are some terrific qualities within you.  Give yourself a pat on the back for good things you’ve done and remember whatever the trials that are plaguing you today, will be replaced with other worse ones tomorrow! Truly, THIS TOO SHALL PASS.   Give yourself a break, and take a breath!

Someone cares.

Stop here now! Take two minutes to refresh and regenerate these vital areas simultaneously.

If you have been here before, it is time right now to start mindful breathing.  If you haven’t, the following paragraph explains the breathing.

When we are tired or burdened with various elements of stressors, most people begin shallow breathing.  No one knows why, but stress causes this reaction.  It is the worst thing you can do for your mind and body.

When you slow your breathing two things happen: the brain doesn’t receive the needed oxygen to think optimally, and the body begins to tense up from the lack of oxygen and the already foreboding stress.  This is why our first line of defense again ANY mental or physical “challenge” is to think about our breathing.

Try it.  Inhale slowly through the mouth, think: “I breathe in new energy and finer intellect”.  As you exhale think:  “I am releasing all the negativity from within and will let it fly into oblivion.”

Eyes

The natural way to massage your eyes is to blink your eyes.  The eyes use eight times the nerve energy as any organ in the body.  We use our eyes constantly without much care.

Blink your eyes quickly ten times.  Open your eyes widely.  Look up.  Look down.  Look to the right – then left.  Blink your eyes again ten times.  Rub your fingertips together until they warm then close your eyes and gently place them on the lids for a moment.

If you are in your forties or older, it is great to carry a natural lubricant for the eyes and use it several times a day.  Viscine and “get the red out” products dry the eyes severely if used often.

Neck

This information is not new, but it is pertinent, so worth  a review. It is helpful to learn how to relax and lengthen, and decompress your neck as you become familiar with your own body.  Because of the structure of our chairs, the positions we sit in, the kind of pillow we use, the weight of our own heads, and the stress we maintain, our necks compress little by little.  This can cause horrible neck and headaches, and can cause your shoulders to further tighten up.

Here is a simple exercise to prepare you for keeping your shoulders down and your neck relaxed.  Hold an object weighing one or two pounds in each hand if you are at your desk you can bring one pound weights to use or find a substitute (such as a heavy tape dispenser-be creative).

Let the weight of the objects pull shoulder blades down.  Make sure that you keep the breastbone lifting up so that the tops of the shoulders don’t pull down and forward, collapsing the chest.

Now set the objects down and see if you can find the muscles you need to pull your shoulder blades down just as the weights did.

These muscles are called the lower trapeziums.  They attach to the vertebrae of the midback, and insert on the inner border of the shoulder blades.  They are antagonist muscles to the upper trapeziums. In other words, they are very important posture muscles, helping support the spine in the midback.  When the lower traps are too weak to counteract the pull of the stronger and tighter upper traps, the scapulae will tend to ride up, compressing your neck.

As a second exercise, sit up straight.  Press your pelvis to the back of the chair.  Drop your neck to your right shoulder and use your oxygen while hold the position for a few seconds.  Now drop your neck to the left shoulder and use your oxygen while holding the position.  Return the neck to center.

A few more mindful breaths and you will be better for the two-minute break.  You’ll never feel the benefits if you don’t try it.  You will be glad you did!

Teach your family, your children, your friends and peers.  Feeling good is addictive – and certainly NOT illegal!