STRESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

• Creating Optimal Wellness in a Stressful World

• Take Care of Yourself, Refresh Your Soul, and Change the World.

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE GOD LAUGH?

TELL HIM YOUR PLANS.

Has your life become a country song?

• YOU’RE THE REASON OUR KIDS ARE SO UGLY!

Bad Country Songs:

• IF THE PHONE DOESN’T RING, IT ISN’T ME.

Who comes up with this stuff?

IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE I LOVE YOU,

JUST ASK MY WIFE!

WOW…

• I’D TAKE HER TO A DAWG FIGHT, BUT I’M AFRAID SHE’D WIN!

It’s sad…

• I DON’T KNOW WHETHER TO KILL MYSELF OR GO BOWLING.

I don’t feel so bad anymore…

• IF I’D HAVE KILLED YOU THE FIRST TIME I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, I’D BE OUTTA JAIL BY NOW!

And the winner is…

I ONLY PICKED YOUR SISTER BECAUSE SHE HAS MORE

TEETH THAN YOU!

HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT:

ALERT!!!

You’re score is 698. Any score over 300 indicates an 80% chance of serious illness during the next two years.

As a result of your health risk assessment, we need to inform you:

YOU’RE SCREWED!!!!

A Curse or A Blessing?

• May you live in interesting times.

Chinese curse

What is it about stress?

• Mental exhaustion

• Physical exhaustion and illness.

• Emotional Drain.

• Spiritual stagnancy.

ENERGY VAMPIRES

ENERGY VAMPIRES:

•Job stress

•Difficult people

•Morning routines

•Technology

•The news

•Environment

•Financial worries

•Lack of fresh air/light

•Food

•Entertainment

•Cultural pressure

What drains us and what entertains us?

The Nature of Stress

• Stress has become a global epidemic.

• Stress has become a “buzz” word. It no longer holds the same meaning as it used to.

• Desensitization.

Global tension

Global Crisis

And more….

Personal and spiritual crisis.

CRISIS:

A CRISIS IS A BREAKING POINT…SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE….

“IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD” SAID THE CATERPILLAR. “NO, IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING” SAID THE BUTTERFLY.

The year was 1960…

• Han Selye…father of the word…”stress.”

We know what to do…so why don’t we do it.

1.WE’RE STRESSED!

2.WE ARE A CULTURE ADDICTED TO INSTANT GRATIFICATION.

3.WE DON’T HAVE TIME.

4. WE OFTEN SEE THINGS FROM THE LENS OF REALLY, REALLY WEIRD!

What do they want me to do?

Why would I do that?

LET’S SLOW DOWN AND THINK ABOUT IT...

• We need to slow down…

• Facebook• Smart phones• Hash tags• Twitter• The need for speed.

The age of speed.

HOW DO YOU COPE IN A COMPLEX WORLD?

VIEWS OF STRESS

• Western thinking is linear, logical, rational, critical, judgmental, scientific, values ego and conscious (left brain)

• Views stress as a “loss of control.”

• Eastern philosophy: creative, emotive, intuitive, artistic, values unconscious. (right brain)

• Views stress as “an absence of inner peace.”

HOLISTIC VIEW

• Stress is the inability to cope with a perceived real or imagined threat to one’s mental, physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, which results in a series of physiological responses and adaptations.

AGE

• Aging population

• Cost of Health Care

• Chronic Illnesses

• Changes throughout the lifespan

• Accidents/illness

Time has a way…

AGE AND KARMA!!

I’m smarter than I thought I was…

WHERE WAS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE SIGNED?

AT THE BOTTOM.

Future rocket scientist:

• What are vibrations?

• There are good vibrations and bad vibrations. Good vibrations were discovered during the 1960s.

What causes the tides in the oceans?

• The tides are a fight between the earth and moon because there is no water on the moon and nature abhors a vacumn. I forget where the sun joins in the fight.

What is your favorite animal and why?

My favorite animal is a hores. Hores stay up all night with their legs straight. Dad wanted a hores, but mom said no. He’ll get me one when I’m older.

What is artificial insemination?

• THAT’S WHEN THE FARMER GETS ON A STOOL AND DOES IT BEHIND THE BULL INSTEAD OF THE COW.

What happens to a boy during puberty?

That’s when a boy let’s go of his boyhood and looks forward to his

adultery.

What was the age of Pericles?

I THINK HE WAS ABOUT 46.

(See me).

The next generation.

We need to go deeper!!

WE NEED TO GO DEEPER!

WE LIVE IN A TIME OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY OR FAILURE.

IF NOT US, THEN WHO!

HOW WE SEE THE WORLD

THE TWO THREE EMOTIONS THAT CONTROL HOW WE PERCEIVE THE WORLD ARE ANGER, FEAR, AND LOVE.

DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS?

It needs to be like this…

Choose wisely….

NEUROPLASTICITY

THE HUMAN BRAIN.

NEURONS THAT FIRE TOGETHER…WIRE TOGETHER.

The walls fall down…

• Age and creativity.

• The more creative the brain, the longer the brain survives.

Honoring cycles….

• The nature of our culture fragments us…we forget who we really are. We miss out on moments worrying about the future.

BEING PRESENT….

Moment to moment… Life moves in cycles.

MEDITATION

MINDFULNESS BEING PRESENT.

Breathe…be.

Yoga in wisconsin

And this….

Perceptions:The Isaiah Effect

THE SKY ISN’T FALLING…OUR LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED!

Are You Beside Yourself?

• Be in your body• Move with joy and

playfulness• Listen to the wisdom

of the body• Stand up straight• Open the body; heart

• Rest• Nurture yourself• Breathe: He who half

breathes, half lives.• Be grounded• Be centered• Allow your energy to

flow

Can I do it for myself?

BOUNCING BACK!CALM: You can stay calm in a crisis.

CLARITY: You stop, see the situation clearly and trust your own internal response. You see possibilities.

CONNECTIVITY: You can reach out to others, use other people’s experiences to learn and find resources to expand your awareness and knowledge.

COMPETENCE: You can call on skills you do have, that you have used in the past, you can act quickly if needed and effectively.

COURAGE: You rely on an inner source of strength and faith to persevere.

Conscious awareness…

Play is the work of the soul. We are called upon to engage in wonder, imagination, and creativity. Play has no goal. It has no end in sight. It is enjoyed for the sake of itself.

Decrease pain. Increase pleasure.

PLAY

At the end of the day….

Or…..

Spirituality

• We are not humans on a spiritual path. Rather, we are spirits on a human path.

AGELESS WISDOM

• Stress and spirituality are inseparable partners in the dance of life.

• As global stress increases, there is a greater need to reestablish this connection.

Resilience

And see how the flesh grows back across a wound with great vehemence, more strong than the simple untested surface before. There is a name for it on horses. It’s called “proud flesh.”

--Jean Hirschfield

Physiology of Humor

Research investigating the impact on the mind/body/spirit of laughter have found that there is a strong relationship between good health and good humor.

Positive affirmations….

• When you wish upon a star, dreams do really come true. Unless the star you wished upon is actually a meteor hurdling toward earth about to destroy all life on the planet. Then you’re pretty much hosed no matter what you wished for, unless it happened to be death by meteor!

Homeostasis….

• Let’s face it…we’re all going to die. All those health fanatics are sure going to be embarrassed someday when they’re in the hospital dying of nothing.

--Redd Foxx

Is…..

• I signed up for an exercise class and I was told to wear loose fitting clothes. If I had any loose fitting clothes I wouldn’t need to sign up for an exercise class.

BALANCE

• I found the perfect diet…if it tastes good….spit it out!

The Truth:

Each of us has a reason to be here and each of us has the ability to change the world with small acts of kindness, endless compassion for ourselves and others.

What will you do to change the world today?

Spend more time valuing who you are rather than who you think you should be .

Live in the culture but don’t live by it’s values.

Change the world from within yourself.

Are you enlightened?

1.If you can wake up happy everyday even if you have aches and pains.

2.If you can treat everyone kindly even if they are unkind to you.

3.If you can forgive loved ones for often leaving you out.

4.If you can take criticism even when you are just trying to be yourself.

5. If you can play hard and sleep hard ; not worrying about tomorrow or ruminating about yesterday.

Then you’re half as enlightened as your dog!

THANKS FOR COMING

Healing

• I believe the disastrous condition of our world mirrors our own fear and anger. We endanger the planet and one another. In order to heal the planet, we must each heal ourselves. We must love ourselves, love others and love the earth. Each act of loving-kindness, each parcel of compassion, each prayer, increases the ratio of love to anger. What are you doing to save the world today?