When I am faced with siutations I respond fearfully to…

NEED HELP REDUCING TAX TIME STRESS???

When I am faced with situations where I feet fear, I have used a mantra:  "I release fear, I live by faith and love." I have been known to say it over and over again to manage situations that stimulate fear in me. Fear is generally not in the situation (with the possible exception of life threatening ones), different people respond differently to the same stimuli. Fear is in our response. We are conditioned to respond to some things fearfully, and we can break that kind of conditioning. It takes consciousness and work.  A currently pertinent example is: TAXES. I used to get so tight from stress and fear that I would give myself debilitating headaches while doing the taxes. One year I became conscious, went into the meditation chair and asked: “Why? It's going to be what it's going to be, so why do I respond with such stress?”  A vision of my father doing his taxes came into my consciousness.  He was a bullheaded Taurus about many things, including taxes.  He was difficult to be around while preparing taxes and I had unconsciously picked up his stressful attitude and habits. I sat a bit longer and hatched a plan for breaking this unwanted habit. I put on relaxation music, set my yoga mat out, made a relaxing tea, lit a candle, did some yoga, some Tai Chi and meditated before starting on the taxes setting my intention to be calm an relaxed. Then I sat down at the desk and began to work. I quit when I felt stressed. In the beginning I could only manage about 10 minute sections and I realized I would have to file for an extension, which I did.  I made it with the one extension and since this only happens once a year, it took several years of breaking the habit before I was able to sit comfortably for long periods doing taxes. Now I have the rest of my life to enjoy doing taxes without stress.

What's your mantra?  How do you keep yourself positive in a shifting sands world? Do you really believe it is all good? Here's a meditation many of us have found helpful in challenging times: 

FOR THIS MICHAELIC AGE            by Rudolf Steiner
 
INTRODUCTION:
 
“We must eradicate from the soul all fear and terror of what comes
toward humans out of the future. We must acquire serenity in all feelings and sensations about the future. We must look forward, with absolute equanimity, to everything that may come and we must think only that whatever comes is given to us by a world direction full of wisdom. It is part of what we must learn in this age: to live out of pure trust, without any security in existence, trust in the ever present help of the spiritual world. Truly, nothing else will do, if our courage is not to fail us. Let us seek the awakening from within ourselves, every morning and every evening.”
 
MORNING: O, Michael, Under Your protection I place myself, With Your guidance I connect myself, Wholeheartedly, So that this day may become an image Of your destiny–ordering Will.
 
EVENING: I carry my sorrow into the setting sun, Place all my worries into her radiating womb Purified in love, transformed in light, They return as helping thoughts, As strength for self–sacrificing deeds.”

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It is important to practice and make meditation a habit in good times, so you can call on it automatically when you most need it. There’s no better time than now to start.