Did you know that when you talk about stress, it’s important to consider nurturing your spirit and cultivating your spiritual life? Connecting with your heart and with God is crucial to health and resilience. Douglas Steere, a Quaker teacher has said, “The ancient human question ‘Who am I?’ leads inevitably to the equally important question ‘Whose am I?’ – for there is no selfhood outside of relationship.” If you want to quiet the negative internal chatter and live as your full, authentic self in the world, you must make the time to get alone and be still.

Here are a couple of exercises to help you get started. The first is called Thought Watch (Gersten 1997). Observe your thoughts for 30 seconds. Remember what comes to your mind, without changing or altering them in any way.
Write down every thought, image, feeling, or sensation that surfaced in your mind in those 30 seconds. If you had the same thought multiple times, indicate how many times that particular thought came up.
After writing each thought, go back to the top of the list and note if the thought was positive(+), negative(-), or neutral (0).

The second exercise focuses on your most highly held values. When you are your authentic self, you cannot act on the outside in a way that contradicts what you believe strongly on the inside. Make a list of your top 5 values and attach a symbol to each.
For example:
Relationship – 2 clasped hands
Joy – a smile
Honesty – rock
Our minds think in pictures. Anchoring your values to a symbol will keep them firmly in mind and create awareness when you are not acting in concert with your values.
Being authentically, joyously, serenely you will enhance your life and is a powerful model for your children. It opens the space to teach values to your kids, both verbally and nonverbally. Family Night by the Book is loaded with godly principles and values and each lesson is completely done-for-you and ready to go!

Get outside and get quiet. Feel the sun on your face, or the night breeze on your skin and appreciate the beauty all around you. Use all your senses – feel it, hear it, taste it, look through eyes that really see. Read something uplifting, listen to majestic music, write, dance, sing, create, learn something new. Pray, meditate, daydream. Practice gratitude – determine to find something to appreciate in even the most difficult circumstances. Then surrender to the reality of what is, and let go. The situation or circumstance will change – everything does.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Psalm 107:1

The goal is not to avoid all stress, but to acknowledge it and respond in appropriate and healthy ways. Welcome the challenges and remember that difficulties and discomfort move you to become a man or woman of strength and resiliency – and that’s the finest kind of mom or dad.

Blessings,

Beth and Dr. Ron