Here is the complete transcript of the podcast
Today on the podcast, I’m answering a question that has come in from a longtime listener of my radio show, and also a listener of the podcast. And they’re asking me about stress. The question specifically says Srini, how to quickly and easily lower stress levels? It’s a great question, in fact, a very thoughtful question. And I’ll tell you why this is thoughtful is because whoever has sent me this question, they have tried many things already. They are very knowledgeable, they are very informed. And they are leading a life in a very meaningful way. And I know them, so that’s why I’m saying this, and they have used the word lower because stress is something that cannot be eliminated, stress cannot be taken out of the system completely. And that is why they have very carefully used the word lower, because they know that’s what I stand for, I stand for lowering stress levels, I do not suggest that you can eliminate stress, you can reduce stress, you cannot eliminate stress, why? Because stress is a normal function of the human mind, the mind has to stress because it is taking in a lot of things. There are people who have eliminated stress, for that you need to get into a Delta State which means you have to be removed from the happenings of the society, you have to completely isolate yourself, some saints have done it. And some people have done it, I cannot say it cannot be done. But it’s very hard to exist. And function in society. At this time of our lives very hard to really get to a state where we can say we have completely taken the stress out of our system very hard. Now, historically, on this podcast, what I have done is I’ve shared some of my thoughts, which are not very unique, by the way, when it comes to stress because there is a lot of literature available, other people have spoken about it. But if you studied this whole thing, this world of stress, there are four things specifically you have to do.
First and foremost is you got to identify the source of stress where it is coming from, and you need to stop it at the source. So you eliminate the source, and the problem goes away. If you cannot do that, then you need to either limit taking stress in or you avoid taking stress, every time there is a stressful situation. Or if somebody’s going to give you stress you stay away from them or you stay away from those situations. So first is to identify the source and eliminate it or address it or limit and avoid it. And then you cannot do the first two things, then you go to the third one, which is you fill your body with endorphins. You go you exercise, you run more, you know do some activity that raises circulation the system, it brings in some endorphins, and people go for massages for this too. So the different ways to do it. Some people take medicines and all that, which is a whole different discussion in itself, which is beyond my understanding, you can do that then let’s say if that’s also not working, then you go do mind expansion exercises, which is meditating or yoga or hypnosis, all those things come in that space of mind expansion. And then obviously, as the result of that, and also beyond that, there are other things you can do which is lead a healthy lifestyle in terms of eating right, sleeping, right and all that. So these are some things that will address stress. But these things have to be done. This has to be done methodically as a part of our daily existence. And cumulatively all these things will definitely address stress, but they cannot eliminate stress. They can reduce the stress of these other things. Now, how can you easily lower stress levels? That is the question. So I want to share a metaphor, and I’m going to answer the question through a metaphor. So long time ago, I came up with a formula called EFS to talk about this in my seminar CFS. So imagine that you have a jar. Jar. You can fill anything into the jar. If I give you a jar and I tell you to fill something into it, what will you fill?
Well, a jar can hold water Any liquid any solid, anything? Now, let’s take the example of water. If you have a jar that you want to fill with water, would you fill the jar with bad water? You wouldn’t write, you would fill with water. Now, what if I tell you that I’m giving you a jar, and I want you to fill some water and go give this jar of water to somebody who is in the hospital fighting their life, they want to drink water, you have to give the water to them. What will you do? At this point, you will think a lot. And if you are a concerned individual, he would probably fill the jar with the right water, the best water you could get, because it’s going to help somebody who is struggling in the hospital who is sick in the hospital. So you’re going to fill the jar and then there is a high possibility you’re going to seal the jar also the right way. So that no impurities would get in. Right? logically thinking, that’s what anybody would do, I would do that, I would take the jar filled with the best water, I could, I would probably go and buy the water with the pH nine or a bow, something like that pH value nine or above and then fill it up and seal it and go and deliver the water. The same is true with the mind. So the mind is empty when you start the day. It has not booted itself early in the morning. The other day, I was making a point I said people wake up in the morning, stay there in the bed for an hour or two and keep thinking and playing and replaying all kinds of emotions, all kinds of events in the mind, getting worried getting anxious. You’re starting the day, it’s an empty mind. You fill the mind with the right thoughts and you seal it. That’s the most effective way to deal with stress. So you start the day with an empty mind. You fill it with the right thoughts, the right thoughts will create the right actions within you. And then you fill it all the way to the top there is no space to bring in anything else. And you seal it so that nothing else even creeps in. And you do that. But then this is mind, right? This is Mind. So an hour or two later, you become tired. It’s true that you don’t bring anything in. But then what if the body becomes tired? And you become exhausted? What do you do? Well, you open the jar, and you release everything. And then you put in some new thoughts. And then you seal the jar, and you move on with life. So where I’m going with this is every hour, you have to refresh your mind. So that’s why we take breaks every hour. So we can go out and walk to get some oxygen, getting oxygen into the bloodstream is a way of decreasing stress or reducing stress. So we do activities every hour, maybe for 10 or 15 minutes, things that will reduce the stress level some activities to take a walking ticket, you know, drink some water, and maybe have a small little hallway conversation or a break room conversation with a colleague with a friend. Something like that.
A long time ago, many, many years ago, back in 1998 2000 2002. During the timeframe, when I used to work in the corporate I was notoriously known for going from one meeting room to another meeting room, like one conference from another conference room, and waiting outside the conference room, lean with my back on the wall on the glass wall of the conference rooms and go into a deep trance. So what I was doing there was I was doing what’s called rapid hypnosis, but primarily to empty my you know, open the seal, empty, whatever I was having, and then fill with some good thoughts and good feelings and seal it and go into the meeting. And that’s from there. I came up with the seven-minute hypnosis sequences. It’s a very solid sequence that you run in your mind that we’ve completely brought you back to your core and aligned you to everything that you would like to do in the day and remove all other what we call infringing thoughts and emotions. Since that’s the sequence, but you get the idea now, then be done. This metaphor is very important that imagining a jar and protecting the contents inside the jar and emptying the jar at the appropriate time and filling it again with the right content. That’s the metaphor. I want you to listen to the metaphor, I want you to bring that metaphor into your own existence in whatever way you can, and apply it to your situation in whatever way you can. And that is how you lower your stress levels. Of course, you have to identify the source of the stress. Of course, you have to limit avoid or eliminate the stress levels as much as the sources of the stress as much as you can. Of course, you have to seek out some endorphins. Of course, you have to do some mind expansion exercises, if you can, of course, you have to eat and sleep right, all those things are true. But the sequence of emptying, filling, and sealing is also true. I’m going to stop here.
Hopefully, today’s podcast episode is helpful. Hopefully, I answered your question. That’s a big one. If I did, let me know. And I’ll be back tomorrow. So stay tuned.
Bye now.