Sunday Morning Sermon May 12, 2013
Stress has become an uncontrollable epidemic in modern times. It’s so widespread, we often don’t even notice it. It’s just a part of everyday life. Yet it can sap our energy, vitality and zest for life if we’re not careful. It also leads to heart disease and many other chronic health disorders.
Mindfulness is an incredibly powerful tool for dealing with and handling workplace stress. It's a simple method of being mindful about your inner self. It can help you eliminate internal resistance, so you can meet life’s problems as exciting challenges rather than as taxing crises.
Before I jump into my usual bustle of my work day, I try to spend 10 to 15 minutes centering entirely on myself.
I use my favorite mindfulness practice to bring me into the present moment. The key here is in non-attachment. Let go of everything. Experience the present moment as it is. I use Music while driving, its a super way to get there. Takes me around 15 minutes to get to work from home. Not a care in the world, I simply zoom through the wind on the highways of Riyadh singing along. Nothing else matters during this short lapse of time between leaving home and getting to work.
Once I am in the deep end of a project chore at work I try to pause at least twice within the day to spend some time on my own choice of mindfulness.
Even just two minutes can transform the whole day. Anytime you find yourself feeling stressed, take a minute to be mindful. My work day is 8 am to 12 Noon. I chat online regularly in the midst of my work day. Facebook, Twitter, email, are all useful technological tools to take my mind away from work and step out into my inner self for a while.
Doesnt have to be anyone in particular. Any form of chat will do. I chat politics, religion, health, music, halal, food, weather, naughty stuff, BBS. Takes the stress right out of my insides.
It’s also very easy to take stress back home, from the workday, with us. Spending a 15 to 30 minutes on any mindful exercise of our choice at the end of the work day can be a great way to cleanly separate the work related stress from the rest of our life. My grand kids provide this little bit of peace for me when I am home. I spend some quality time with them. Sometimes even 2 hours since I have two teens to deal with although one is only here on summer vacations since 2012. You can choose whatever you desire. Just let it be out of the box and unrelated to work or business.
The key in seeking out and achieving what state of mindfulness is usefyl for oneself is doing something that does not require any stressful physical or mental activity during that period. It has to come from your insides and it has to be real. The ideal catalyst to get there is to drop everything else from grocery bills to mortgage payments, in your mind. Forget about the next lingerie export order. Hang the pest control need that Mrs Karunaratne is waiting for tomorrow. Dismiss all those patients who will come to see you the next day, from your mind. The Meenachees will pluck the tea. The hotel will run, remember? Even if the computer system crashes it will come up again. The sun will continue to shine and give us Its valuable solar energy until Thy Kingdom Come.
Mindfulness can be the key to happiness. It's an ideal panacea to remove the stresses and strains of life.
Amen!
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