Status Updates From The Magic of Conflict: Turn...

"When that feeling of upset or irritation comes, or when fear begins..., see and hear a big Yes! flash in technicolor and quadriphonic sound... then a big Thank you for this opportunity."

The paragraph before:
Practice and repetition bring results. There are many opportunities to practice in our daily lives... You'll find it is impossible to be angry, fearful... in any way... and still be centered.

Also reading for a class. This definitely settles better with me than the other.

A LESSON IN COMPASSION

Triangle, Square, Circle

"No Boundaries"

It might be interesting to compare this chapter with the book titled "Boundaries."

... every time you think you are not happy, say "I am happy." Say it strongly to yourself, even if your feelings are contradictory. Remember, it is your self-image and not you. Just as fast as a fish can move in water, you can instantly change to a happy, balanced attitude.
Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche
"The Self-Image"

Have you ever noticed that when you were committed to your vision, most of your daily stress and conflicts become just small stuff? Your "stuff" doesn't get in the way of who you really are and where you are really going.

The best rules I ever heard for handling stress are these three:

1. Don't sweat the small stuff.
2. It's all small stuff.
3. Since it usually doesn't work to fight and it doesn't usually work to flee,

flow.

The power in discerning with great clarity your purpose in life is that it then vibrates with every cell of your body. The gap between where you are and where you want to be dissolves. Instead of engaging in frenetic, anxious activity to reach distant goals, you allow your directions and outcomes to emerge from that centered place of your vision.

One of the best ways I know to become increasingly clear about my real purpose... is to come up with an important goal in my life that I can declare in a specific and measurable way. Then I ask the simple yet provocative question, "If I obtained this goal what would I get?" When I am able to answer this, then I repeat the question with the new result, and so on, until I get to the essence of what I really want...

CLARITY OF VISION

[Examples of successful people who visualized]

If you are going to use the power of visualization, it is important first to discern your true purpose. The closer you get to your deepest desire and raison d'être, the more natural and powerful will be your visualization.

Is it possible to live a life of such power and integrity that stress never manifests itself in a destructive form?... To live a life of such power we must [resolve] this gap between where we are and where we want to be. Instead of focusing on the gap, the key is to focus on building a bridge. The bridge is... constructed from the clarity of your vision.

Distress in humans is caused by how we respond to the conflict between "the way it is" and "the way we wanted to be." If we perceive the difference as some insurmountable gap or chasm that we are incapable of crossing, or believe we are held back by people or events beyond our influence, the struggle and suffering begin. We are inviting stress to take a seat, usually right on top of us.

In previous chapters, we have learned to turn the stress of conflict into an ally. We know that we can deal with stress at its source rather than just react symptomatically or inappropriately to its pressure. When we treat conflict as a dance, the pressure makes for a useful dancing partner rather than a distress producer.

It is the doing of the program, not the worrying about it, that will make the difference. It's no wonder that the players in the game, who are on the field releasing their adrenaline, are exhausted but relaxed after it is over, while the coach is the one looking for some medicine to handle his ulcer.

There are proven ways to treat effectively the symptoms of distress and to mitigate the cumulative buildup within the mind and body. These ways fall into basic categories: diet and nutrition, exercise, managing thoughts and relationships, and rest and relaxation. Just as we are under stress periodically throughout the day, we can adopt daily programs in each of these areas to dissolve that stress.

"Fight, Flee, or Flow"
(Instead of Freeze?)