Punishing the wicked
A few years ago, I felt betrayed, angry and bitter. I re-lived those times a 1000 times in my mind. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. My work started to suffer, my relationship with my children suffered. I got so depressed, that I just couldn’t function on a normal day to day basis. I plotted my revenge. If only that person could feel a fraction of the pain he caused me and my children, I would feel better. I had it all planned down to the tiniest detail. I even had someone lined up to break his knee-caps. (grin) I guess I got so caught up in it all, that I just didn’t think rationally. Believe me, no matter what anybody told me, I was set on my revenge.
"To forgive is to set a prisoner free ..."
But then from somewhere a little voice kept on popping up in my head. No matter how I tried to squash it, it refused to go away. Must be that irritating conscience thing! Somehow what ever we do, like a bad penny it always comes back, full circle. My grandmother used to say, steel R5 and you’ll loose R500. As if speaking directly to me one night, our Pastor preached about forgiveness. Yah, right! Forgive someone who has ripped your heart out and made your soul bleed? Never! But the seed was planted! But how do you do it? I realized that revenge and the whole stress and depression scenario was like a vise-grip. Like in a time warp, I was stuck in the pain and hurt, never moving forward, unable to go back. It was steeling my life. I was allowing it to rent space in my head. I was actually hurting myself. The other person had moved on, unaware or uncaring of my sleepless nights. I gave my control away, to him, free of charge! Gratis! Verniet!
“...only to discover the prisoner is you!”
Then about three months later, I was still wrestling with the forgiveness demon, when during Holy Communion, the Pastor said we can’t use communion if we have a grudge in our hearts. So this was it, I thought! I had no choice, I had to forgive him. I realized that in forgiving, not only the other person, but myself as well, I was set free! I was set free from the past, and able to move on towards the future. Forgiving him, didn’t mean he got a “get out of jail free” stamp. He must still deal with his own demons. But it did mean I was free to move on to something better. You can’t move towards the future, If you keep holding on to the past. By really forgiving, and not just going through the motions, is liberating. Try it! Its free!
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me, and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you and I will bring you back from your captivity…” (Jeremiah 29:11-14 NKJV)
Hypnostress
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Friday, July 23, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
A winning attitude
Let me tell you a story, about Mrs. Jones! She hesitated to choose happiness and now her life is falling apart and she doesn’t know what to do.
You’d be surprise how many unhappy thoughts creep into your mind on a daily basis. Your mind and body is forever linked. Your brain chemicals respond directly to your thoughts, whether positive or negative.
Experience shows that by choosing to be happy, you not only increase the value of your life, but you positively affect those around you as well. Why choose to be happy? Why not? Tomorrow will take care of itself! Life is so short. I’d rather spent my time being happy, live longer, and have fun doing it.
It takes just as much time and energy to be unhappy. So why on earth be unhappy, when you can rather spend your time being happy?
Henry Ford said: Obstacles happen when you take your eyes off your goal
Although the concept sounds easy enough, it takes commitment and practice to be happy. It is important to set goals yourself. Something to work towards is important. Everything in life is about attitude. You may have the best education, but if you do not have a winning attitude, you won’t get far.
If you allow negativity a foothold in your life, you allow events to control your life instead of you controlling events. That is the exact moment stress settles in, and like a thief, steals all your happiness and joy.
The next stress management workshop is on the 27th of March 2010. Don’t forget to bully a friend into tagging along! (grin) Who knows you might be the next one to get your seat free.
Happy dreaming!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Stress Management Workshop
Date: 25 March 2010
22 May 2010
7 Aug 2010
23 Oct 2010
Duration: 5 hrs
Price: R850,00 per person (price subject to change without notice)
Venue: 165 Zambezi Drive,Sinoville, Pretoria
Is stress stealing your happiness? Loosing your mind? Learn what is causing your stress in life. Utilize positive skills to cope with stress. Take control of your life and put stress in its place.
Included: Refreshments, Certificate of attendance, workbook and audio mp3 CD (a relaxing place), self hypnosis and time management. Telephonic support
Competition: Get a friend to sign up with you and you stand a chance to get your seat absolutely free! Draws will take place on 31 March 2010, 30 June 2010 and 30 September 2010
If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere! ~ Henry Kissinger
For more information or booking form - adminstress@gmail.com
22 May 2010
7 Aug 2010
23 Oct 2010
Duration: 5 hrs
Price: R850,00 per person (price subject to change without notice)
Is stress stealing your happiness? Loosing your mind? Learn what is causing your stress in life. Utilize positive skills to cope with stress. Take control of your life and put stress in its place.
Included: Refreshments, Certificate of attendance, workbook and audio mp3 CD (a relaxing place), self hypnosis and time management. Telephonic support
Competition: Get a friend to sign up with you and you stand a chance to get your seat absolutely free! Draws will take place on 31 March 2010, 30 June 2010 and 30 September 2010
If you don’t know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere! ~ Henry Kissinger
For more information or booking form - adminstress@gmail.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Be part of the happiness club
Good morning all my wonderful friends. Life is indeed a wonderful experience. That is, if we can handle all the ups and downs, without driving ourselves crazy.
To me stress is like a dementor. I am sure most of you have watched the “Harry Potter” films, especially our younger generation. You should therefore be familiar with the dementors that played such a prominent part. The first time our friend Harry met these foul creatures was in the Prisoner of Azkaban. My son even bought the book, not that he ever took the time to read it.
Dementors are supposedly dark creatures that feed off human happiness and causes depression and despair. They are capable of consuming a person’s soul, leaving them in a permanent vegetative state. Can you see the resemblance? If it was possible to put a face to our stress, that would be a good imaginative picture!
Dementors, can not be destroyed, just as stress can not be destroyed. But we can reduce the stress in our lives by understanding what causes our stress levels and then employing positive coping skills.
Remember what Harry had to do to be able to keep the dementors at bay? He had to remember a time when he was truly happy. Happiness was the key to his magic and keeping these dark creatures at bay. Happiness is one of the coping skills you may utilize in a difficult situation. Like laughter, visualizing happiness has a very therapeutic effect. Just imagine bringing that feeling of happiness over you by just pressing your forefinger and thumb together! Intrigued? Let me explain…
First hand experience taught me that in moments of sadness or anger, it is virtually impossible to press a button in your mind and switch from sad to happy in seconds. Or is it? What if I told you it is possible! What if I told you that you can virtually teleport to the Valley of contentment at a moments notice! Awesome don’t you think?
Then, what is this magical recipe? My friends, there is absolutely no magic involved. No magic wands, cauldrons and frog legs, just repetition and a willingness to spend two or three minutes a day to create that switch. It is just combining two very human abilities to create a life changing habit. Let’s call it a habit for simplicity sake.
Have you noticed that a specific song playing on the radio, conjures up memories of a certain person or event? Or do you associate a smell with a memory of someone? There is an Afrikaans song that goes:
My nooi is in n naartjie,
My ouma in kaneel…
Roughly translated it says My girl is in a naartjie, my granny in cinnamon.
It is a very human ability to create associations between certain things using our five senses. Our mind creates associations of something that has a profound effect on us. Years later we still have the ability to remember in detail just by triggering that switch, a smell, a sound or a taste.
But then we are habitual creatures, and if we repeat a certain action for a certain amount of times, a new habit is formed. So why not combining the ability to create associations and the ability to form habits to create a life changing inclination? All you need is a trigger, like pressing your earlobe. Then create an association with a feeling of happiness, self-confidence or anything you want. Repeat the action everyday for a month, just two to three minutes a day and voila! You are a member of the happiness club, my friend!
Would you like to know more? Why not sign up for one of my workshops or pencil me into your diary for a personal one on one session. I will endeavor not to disappoint you. Send me an e-mail at adminstress@gmail.com
To me stress is like a dementor. I am sure most of you have watched the “Harry Potter” films, especially our younger generation. You should therefore be familiar with the dementors that played such a prominent part. The first time our friend Harry met these foul creatures was in the Prisoner of Azkaban. My son even bought the book, not that he ever took the time to read it.
Dementors are supposedly dark creatures that feed off human happiness and causes depression and despair. They are capable of consuming a person’s soul, leaving them in a permanent vegetative state. Can you see the resemblance? If it was possible to put a face to our stress, that would be a good imaginative picture!
Dementors, can not be destroyed, just as stress can not be destroyed. But we can reduce the stress in our lives by understanding what causes our stress levels and then employing positive coping skills.
Remember what Harry had to do to be able to keep the dementors at bay? He had to remember a time when he was truly happy. Happiness was the key to his magic and keeping these dark creatures at bay. Happiness is one of the coping skills you may utilize in a difficult situation. Like laughter, visualizing happiness has a very therapeutic effect. Just imagine bringing that feeling of happiness over you by just pressing your forefinger and thumb together! Intrigued? Let me explain…
First hand experience taught me that in moments of sadness or anger, it is virtually impossible to press a button in your mind and switch from sad to happy in seconds. Or is it? What if I told you it is possible! What if I told you that you can virtually teleport to the Valley of contentment at a moments notice! Awesome don’t you think?
Then, what is this magical recipe? My friends, there is absolutely no magic involved. No magic wands, cauldrons and frog legs, just repetition and a willingness to spend two or three minutes a day to create that switch. It is just combining two very human abilities to create a life changing habit. Let’s call it a habit for simplicity sake.
Have you noticed that a specific song playing on the radio, conjures up memories of a certain person or event? Or do you associate a smell with a memory of someone? There is an Afrikaans song that goes:
My nooi is in n naartjie,
My ouma in kaneel…
Roughly translated it says My girl is in a naartjie, my granny in cinnamon.
It is a very human ability to create associations between certain things using our five senses. Our mind creates associations of something that has a profound effect on us. Years later we still have the ability to remember in detail just by triggering that switch, a smell, a sound or a taste.
But then we are habitual creatures, and if we repeat a certain action for a certain amount of times, a new habit is formed. So why not combining the ability to create associations and the ability to form habits to create a life changing inclination? All you need is a trigger, like pressing your earlobe. Then create an association with a feeling of happiness, self-confidence or anything you want. Repeat the action everyday for a month, just two to three minutes a day and voila! You are a member of the happiness club, my friend!
Would you like to know more? Why not sign up for one of my workshops or pencil me into your diary for a personal one on one session. I will endeavor not to disappoint you. Send me an e-mail at adminstress@gmail.com
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