Learning how to handle stress - or how to experience less of
it - is a goal one can pursue with meditation practice. The way to do this is
to bring more truth into our lives, using meditation to help focus our energies
toward that end.
What is meant by ‘truth’? It’s more than the difference
between right and wrong, moral or immoral. Those are judgments, and not always
representative of truth. Truth is immutable; it’s always extant, regardless of
how we as individuals or a society define it, and whether we even know what it
is. It cannot be otherwise, or it would not be the truth.
When you are living within truth, everything you say or do
comes from the heart. You don’t worry about what others think, or about buying
into the judgments of ego. You present an honest face to the world, and feel
good inside. You sincerely enjoy helping others, because you’re compelled by
love to do so. You are in tune with your higher self, and therefore perceive
greater truth in events around you. As a result, you gain wisdom with every
experience of life, and become ever more self aware. You rarely get ‘stressed
out’, and your purpose in life is fairly clear. You cannot do anything that
goes against that, at least not happily.
When you aren’t in truth, you feel anxious and upset most of
the time. You may sometimes speak from the heart, but more often you speak from
ego. In those moments you’re not honest about who you are, or about what you
do. You project your judgments of others or of things outside of yourself,
instead of acknowledging them as your own, and learning from them. You define
yourself by what you own, what you think, how you look, or what you do for
yourself, instead of what you do from love. You compete to get the better of
everyone else’s ego, instead of allowing yourself and them to just be present. ‘More’
is your motivation, as opposed to meaning. You do what it takes to satisfy that
endless pursuit – regardless of what ‘more’ represents to you - even when it’s
harmful to yourself, to others, or to the environment.
It’s quite simple to tell if you’re living in truth or not.
When you speak, which voice do you use? Is it the humble, passive voice of
acceptance and honesty, or is it the brash, aggressive voice of domination and
prevarication? Do you feel good inside as you go about your day, or are your
insides in turmoil most of the time? No one knows your inner truth except you;
but are you able to see it for yourself, or have you buried it so deeply away
that you don’t recognize it anymore? We are expert at masking our truth, even
to the point of believing our own deceptions.
Meditation will bring you face to face with your truth,
whether you want to see it or not. This is why it’s such an invaluable tool to
help you find truth, and to stay in it as much as possible. As you learn what
your truth is (if you’re hiding from it), and learn to reveal it, your stress
levels will decrease dramatically. You’ll begin to feel a weight slide off of
your shoulders, and a peacefulness will pervade your life. There is no amount
of deception that can possible outweigh the benefits of living in truth. You
only need to try it and discover for yourself the rewards. Better health, improved
relationships, peace of mind; there is really no end to the transformation that
awaits. You just need to decide to do it. Meditation is a great place to start.
