Today in his sermon, Steve reminded us that God created us with biological mechanisms for responding to stressful situations. When the stressor is experienced first-hand, our biology kicks in so we can do the "fight or flight" thing, putting our stress response to good use. But when the stressor is second-hand (like watching news about 9/11, or the economy, or the legislative vote on the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment) or stressors pile up, we have a tougher time channeling the stress in healthy ways. I tried to jot down his suggestions for stress-relief in my bulletin; I'm sure I missed a few.
- exercise
- deep breathing, connecting to the Breath of Life
- reconnecting to the rhythms of your life
- picking a mantra to remind yourself to let go of what is "not helpful", steering clear of unhelpful input
- reading (fantasy literature or inspiration biographies, for example)
- prayer
Add some of your own stress relievers here as a comment or on the Community United Church of Christ Facebook page.
- from Jane