By Dr. Daoshing Ni
Five Ways to Calm Down Your Nervous System to Lead you to a Richer and more Dazzling Life
Do you feel anxious every morning because you feel you have too much to do? Do you feel anxious at night because you failed to accomplish all that you set out to do? Does worrying about things keep you awake at night? Do you frequently run out of time in the day to exercise or look after your health? Do you feel like a "slave" to your life circumstances and not the "master"?
If you answer yes to many of these questions, you may be suffering
from an overloaded nervous system or what we often call Life Overload
Syndrome. It is usually due to your daily activities putting too much
stress on your nervous system and causing you to feel imbalance and
stressed all the time.
Many of the reasons for your situation can be due to genuine life
challenges that all of us encounter on a regular basis, but there may
be better ways you can cope and regain control over your life. There
are five positive steps towards wellness and stress reduction in your
life that we would like to share with you.
Know Yourself
Appreciate who you are. In Taoist healing tradition, this is called
the Wu Dao, "knowing the Way". The Way means your true nature. Take
time to reflect on your life and take inventory of your strengths and
weaknesses.
Ask yourself; What are you good at? What are you not good at? It is
important to accept where you are at and to realize that no one is
perfect. It is then from this place of acceptance that you can create
meaningful change in your life. I encourage you to explore ways to
improve your life. This can be by minimizing the impact of your
weaknesses and do what you can everyday to face your challenges. In so
doing, you are already perfect in every way. This is the essence of Wu
Dao.
Know Your Qi
Qi or vital energy is the fuel of life. If you have an abundance of Qi
you have a strong constitution and abundant vitality. Many of our
patients suffer from decreased vitality causing them to experience
difficulty with normal life challenges. Restoring your Qi is vital for
health and wellness.
It is important to find ways to strength your vitality to create
balance in your life. When your energy is good life's challenges seem
much easier to cope with.
Qi is the foundation of our health and wellness. You can strengthen
your Qi by eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly and getting
adequate sleep. In Chinese Medicine it has been know that regular
acupuncture, herbal tea, meditation and Qi Gong are wonderful ways to
restore your vitality and health and reverse the aging process.
Create Happiness in Your Life
Wu Wei means being empty and engaging your life with openness.
Changing your perspective in life, by welcoming changes as
opportunities to grow your life can become more simplified and richer.
True happiness is created gradually and not purchased at the mall.
When you are happy, life seems more meaningful and less burdensome.
Don't wait for something or someone to make you happy. If you are not
happy now, it is unlikely that you will be happy in the future unless
you change your life. It is common to look outside ourselves for
reasons to be happy. For example when children are unhappy they often
look to the future and long for the time when they are grown up. For
those who are poor they may long to have more money and feel that this
would make them happy. While those who are single often long for the
perfect partner to make their life complete and give them happiness. A
constant longing for things outside of your present situation creates
an endless cycle of unhappiness and is unsettling to your spirit. True
happiness starts with acceptance of self and what is in front of you
today in life and what you have. Remember to embrace life with open
arms and fluidity, approach dangerous situations as opportunities to
learn, and most importantly, create your happiness now and don't wait.
Be Selective with Your Engagement
By knowing yourself and what you can handle allows you to be selective
in life, and thereby guard against over extending yourself. Is it
necessary to keep up with the latest headline news every night? I
would propose that filling yourself with information does nothing to
improve the quality of your life as it even may distract you from
focusing on what is truly important in your life. I suggest being
selective with the information you receive, focus on that which is
essential to your health and well being and minimize the rest. I
invite you to try a simple experiment. Turn off all electrical
information devices by a certain time every night. This includes
computers, TV and Blackberry. Try it for one month and see if you are
more relaxed and have a more peaceful sleep, see if you really miss
the mental stimulation in the evening.
Creating time to be quiet and having free time to daydream and play is
beneficial to your physical and psychological well being. This comes
back to knowing the quality of your Qi.
Compassion
Bo Ai means unconditional compassion. This begins with loving life.
Value and treasure your life, never abuse your talents and bring love
to those who surround you. This includes people, plants, animals, and
even your possessions.
There is nothing more divine and beautiful than showing humility. I
recommend you do something from your heart everyday. This can be as
simple as a smile, or offering a helping hand in your community to
assist others. By bringing more compassion into your life, you have
expanded your capacity for life. It then becomes more difficult to
overload your life.
You will notice these five elements are really about changing your
perspective and attitude in life. It is not about doing more or less
of what you are already doing, but to approach it differently. By
practicing these simple but potentially profound essential elements,
we hope your life will be richer, healthier and happier.
