buddhism
If you know a little bit about buddhism you can associate most of the most trendy techniques of stress reduction to it.
Wow! What a shift in thinking! I have learned that if you don't have control over the outcome then you need to let it go, but I love the idea of not becoming attached to the outcomes. Who cares if students fail and that shows up on my eval. It is what it is. Thanks!
Debbie, These is advice to live by. Sounds like you have a healthy approach to time and stress management already. At a guess, you are in a good position to teach others what you know.
Dr. Melissa Read
The mind is a powerful tool. Unleash the power of positive thinking. Sometimes just stopping and thinking, along with some deep breathing, can do wonders. And remember to smile. So what if the class laughs at you if you do something silly or embarrassing. I say laugh with them!
Although I do not regard myself as someone that staunchly practices Buddhism, I find conceptions, and techniques prescibed by the practice to be beneficial in reducing the mental, and emotional symptoms of stress. As Buddhism advocates suffering to stem from attachments to outcomes,learning to not carry expectations towards life happenings allows someone to accept every moment. As an instructor, there are new dilemmas that come up everyday with students as well as in the work environment. This posits the importance of being flexible as well as mindful.
I love many of the concepts from the Buddhist religion. Among many things I have gotten from the key teaching of Buddha, I take stress like this: Our lives are only as stressful as me make them be. Suffering in life, or dissatisfaction, is inevitable. Suffering is fueled by desire. Once we stop desiring things we cannot obtain or things we cannot control, we are on the right path to being at peace. We can then try and focus on ways to live to stay at peace.
Sandra, Yes, there are many religions and cultures that have stress reduction built in. Buddhism is certainly one of them.
Dr. Melissa Read
