For Christmas, my friend gave me one of those daily desktop calendars on Forgotten English.
March 29th, 2012 - Gabriel's Hounds.
They're described as phantom hounds in Elizabeth Wright's 1914 book: Rustic Speech and Folklore.
"Jet black and breathing flames...frequent bleak and dreary moors on tempestuous night."
Has stress caused you to have your own version of Gabriel's Hounds? Do the real or imaginary hounds of horror instill fear in your heart as you runrunrun yet get no where?
Stress is insidious. It is often over-looked at first. Over time, your nervous system is re-educated. It activates on a more frequent basis, responding to threats, real or imaginary. Worries grow, anxiety expands, frustration mounts and anger explodes. These are just some of the many emotional signs and symptoms of a system that has gone awry.
Mentally, physically and spiritually, stress exacts a toll - one that is costly, not only to you, but your family, friends and employers.
What do you do?
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- Learn how stress is impacting you on all levels.
- Develop an awareness of how you feel when you think and feel a certain way.
- Find out how, simply by changing the quality of your heart rhythms, is the easiest way to undress your stress.
- Monitor how you are breathing.
- Ensure that you do something you love on a daily basis, even if only for five minutes.
- Express heart-felt feelings of gratitude.
- Forgive.
- Exercise your "stress muscles".
- Revel in celebration.
- To quell your Hounds of Gabriel, take a short, targeted, five-hour coaching program to learn how to live a better life!
Not yet! Not even in nightmares.
Phew!