December 2016 Newsletter

“We rise by lifting others.” Robert Ingersoll.

Don’t forget our party is TOMORROW 14^th December at St Anthony’s Club, Cadley Causeway from 4 – 9pm. Please DO come along – we would love to see you there! ALL monies raised on the night go to CancerHelp Preston. You could win one of two luxury hampers; a free full two hour coaching session courtesy of Jordan Sands; driving lessons courtesy of 5^th Gear Driving School and a phone donated by Tony Raynor! Think of the GOOD you would be doing too – helping to support individuals and families living with the reality and challenges of cancer.

“The key to winning is poise under stress.” Paul Brown.

It STILL isn’t too late to drop a new unwrapped Christmas gift at our office for Rock FM’s Mission Christmas appeal. Deadline day is Thursday 15^th December! We are doing well so far. The aim is that EVERY child in the Preston area wakes up to a gift on Christmas morning. YOU really can make a difference. Why not bring your gift with you to our party? It’s an ideal opportunity. Christmas can be a stressful time at the best of times. Please help parents who are doing their very best to remain calm and optimistic. We thank YOU in advance!

“When stress sits in, and pressure, I focus.” David Hallberg.

Christmas is almost here! Mark and the Team would like to wish all our clients, friends and working partners an amazing Christmas time and a fabulous New Year. The office will be closed from 6pm on Thursday 22^nd December until 8am on Tuesday 3^rd January 2017. We will then be well into the “January window!” ALL Tax returns need to be filed by midnight on 31^st January 2016! The sooner you have your information to us, the more opportunity we’ll have to file YOUR Tax return on time, thus avoiding those dreaded penalties! Let us take the pressure so that you can focus on enjoying Christmas and seeing in the New Year!

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” William James.

Chris Burgess is a ‘stress removal expert.’ He is accomplished in removing stress related problems, and muscular skeletal problems which have created chronic pain. With his calm exterior, warm and friendly approach and plethora of experience, Chris is ideally placed to help ANYONE who is struggling with stress. This month, Chris shares with us some really useful information and self-help techniques which we can employ at any time and especially if this Christmas and New Year throw up some unexpected stresses. Which they often do! Chris can be contacted on 07950 469184 or chris@therealchrisburgess.com. Over to you, Chris.

“Why am I stressed and what is stress? Stress is created by our own perceptions; thinking patterns and life experience, which can overstretch our ability to cope resulting in stress being experienced. Because of today’s society, we tend to let ourselves take on more and more which creates too much or excessive pressure. Most people manage varying amounts of pressure without feeling stressed, this is called inurnment. Stress: is perceived in the mind; Suffered: in the human spirit; Experienced: via the emotions; Expressed: in behaviour; Held: in the body.

The held in the body bit is the problem; this causes the physical and mental illness. Stress: is perceived in the mind – what this means is that every individual has a unique perception of what stresses them. This is primarily a learned process through the individual’s life experiences and their perception of those experiences at the time. Suffered: yes – it is suffered by the human spirit which wishes to be free and happy but has become locked into the energetic pattern of worry and concern because of life experiences and perceptions at that time. Experienced: via the emotions – because the body has this energetic set-up pattern which it wishes to remove, it sometimes manifests itself as anger, rage, grief, sadness, distress, despair, depression and other physical symptoms – the ‘fight or flight and freeze reactions’. Expressed in behaviour:  – the behaviour is just the symptom not the cause. The mind is triggered by past memories. The perceptions which prompt the memory of suffering activate the emotional pattern which stimulates an action to eliminate the pain.  So attacking someone verbally or physically is a coping mechanism; as is falling into depression and physical nausea. Held in the body: – All past emotions are held in the physical body; a bit like a bar code, i.e. enough information stimulates the code triggers; the past perception prompts the emotional and physical response. Remove the bar code and you free the human spirit to achieve happiness!

Well that’s enough of the reasoned analysis of why you are feeling stressed! Talk’s cheap so here’s a simple action/method to reduce your stress and improve your productivity.

Krishnamurtis Choiceless Awareness

Close your eyes and let your mind wander for a few minutes…

(This takes 10 minutes only and then ask yourself for your feelings and thoughts. What you need to do is daydream… Sit in a relaxed position and close your eyes.)

1. Now take a really big deep breath in…
2. Hold it for a count of 5…
3. Begin to exhale very slowly through your mouth…
4. As you exhale blow away all the tension in your body…
5. Now breathe in normally and stay relaxed…
6. All you have to do for the next few minutes is daydream…
7. You may visit strange places….
8. Just relax…
9. Try to let your thoughts just flow freely…

Now just relax and in a few minutes open your eyes….

Questions to ask yourself

1. How do you feel after your day dream?
2. How can daydreaming have value for creativity?
3. How effective is it for relaxation?
4. When could a short daydream fit into your day?”