When I wrote these articles, I did not hope that anyone would see and sympathize with them, because I knew that this was a type of article that did not fit the content of the FTAC website and was not something that most people were interested in. I only write simply because I am naturally inspired to write and mostly write for myself. FTAC is a product of my spirit, which is also where I operate, so I choose to send it up for fun. However, if there is someone who is predestined to read, empathize and apply something to relieve the pressure in life, I am also very happy.

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TINY THINGS 05 – RELIEVING ANXIETY AND STRESS – PART I

Anxiety and stress are an extremely common psychological state today for all of us, and unfortunately it is an extremely harmful state for both the mind and the body. It is like a dense wall that surrounds us, leaving our lives devoid of space and inspiration. If we do not actively recognize and find ways to handle anxiety and stress effectively, then all our activities in life will be extremely heavy, stuck, and life will only be a series of endless struggles and struggles. So where does anxiety and stress come from? If we can concentrate on deep reflection, we will find that anxiety and stress arise from the wrong thought patterns that govern us in all our activities. These patterns are created in the form of thoughts, trends that are pre-programmed by the automatic brain mechanism. When our awareness is not clear enough to deeply appreciate the nature of life, we will always operate under the complete domination of these patterns. The common point of these patterns is that they all make us completely lose the autonomy to decide our inner mental and emotional states, instead our inner state is always dependent and determined by external factors. This is extremely wrong, because the inner state of mind and emotions is always the most important thing for all of us, and also the only thing in the world that we are capable of independently controlling. However, when we lack discernment in awareness, we give all the power to decide this state to the outside world, and from there all unnecessary anxiety and stress arise. So in order to relieve anxiety and stress, we need to recognize and aim for gradual liberation from the domination of these false patterns in all activities.

In this section we learn about the first pattern - the state of unconscious consciousness, we are always completely dominated by the tendency to be dissatisfied with what is happening in the present, always feel that everything is complete and perfect in a certain future. when something has been achieved. This trend makes us always carry out all activities in the present, but all attention and expectations are always devoted to future results, very little attention and inspiration is devoted to the activity itself. This makes us almost always do everything wholeheartedly, in a state of compulsion, completely devoid of inspiration and joy. If we are clear and deep enough to feel and observe, we will recognize the powerful and continuous operation of this pattern within ourselves, as well as in those around us. It is extremely delicate but always a hidden trend in all activities. This pattern gives us the impression that everything we are doing is just something we have to do to achieve a certain result, and that the present is always an imperfect, unhappy period that we have to fight to overcome in order to move towards a future that we think will be more complete and comfortable. This is an extremely wrong and harmful lifestyle that has brought us a lot of anxiety and stress. It also kills all joy and inspiration and consumes a lot of our life time and energy in vain. When we lack discernment, we will not be able to realize that every detail of life is always manifested only in the present – now, and here. So if we underestimate and oppose the present, reluctantly and disrespectfully to each of the things we are doing, then we are underestimating and opposing the whole of life. But it's the way of life that most of us are now choosing. Because of our lack of insight, we don't realize that all that is happening in our present – right now, and here – is all we have, and that it is also the result of our own choices in the past. through thoughts and actions. Because we are not so clear, instead of accepting and respecting everything that is present in the present, we underestimate and oppose the present. We always see the specific things that we are doing right now, and here, only as a means to achieve a certain goal in the future, but not with enough respect and attention to see the joy of doing each particular task. Indeed, when any activity comes to us in life, it is also the occasion that we are given by life, according to our choice, so that we can experience the implementation of that activity. Therefore, we should pay attention to accepting and valuing each such occasion instead of reacting and opposing. We often say to ourselves, to plow for another ten years, to have some money, and then we have time to rest and do the things we love. Or try to plow to take care of the older children a little more, then you can be assured and have time to spend with yourself. Or try to run to get another nationality, then we will feel safe and secure. Or sacrificing my father's life, strengthening my son's life... All such thoughts and tendencies arise from this false pattern of the mind, which is disrespect and opposition to the present, all attention is devoted to only one some vague future. This is really a trap, an extremely false illusion that makes us lose all joy, inspiration but also energy and time. When we use the word "plow," "run," or "sacrifice," it expresses an extreme tolerance and resistance to what is happening in the present. That's because we're not discerning enough to focus on the present, to feel the joy of each activity right now, and here. If we cannot feel joy and fullness right now, when our bodies and minds are full, then what hope can we have when both the mind and the body have decayed after a long period of error and wasted so much energy and time on anxiety and unnecessary stress. Laboring, serving, and raising children are all specific jobs, right now, they are all elements that are constantly constituting our lives right now, and here. If we are not able to accept, to find inspiration and joy in those activities right now, then our lives are left with nothing but tastelessness and endless stress and anxiety. We can only do those activities effectively and feel the joy in each activity, when we are wise enough to put all our attention on the present, on each particular activity that is happening right now, and here. However, when we are completely dominated by the false illusion that goodness never exists in the present, but waits in the future when we have achieved something such as: when we have a little money, when we have a new nationality, when our children have grown up... we never pay attention and respect to current activities. All activities in the present are just imperfect things that we have to endure to overcome, from which inhibition, anxiety, and stress arise. In addition, when we are operating in such a state of inattention, we can perform activities in many very wrong ways. For example, we often say "take care of the child", but in fact, our attention to the child is very small, we can only "take care of the child" in the true sense when we really spend enough time with the child, pay full attention to the interaction and teaching the child. Only then can "taking care of the child" be really effective, the child will be developed properly and we can feel the joy and happiness in raising a child. When we don't pay attention to activities, we always mistake "taking care of our children" into making money to serve them, in fact these two things have nothing to do with each other, and we are even accidentally harming the child without knowing it. "Take care of your child" in such a wrong way, we don't have much time to look at her face, let alone interact with and teach her. And the child does not receive any necessary benefits or instruction from his parents, other than that he becomes more and more deviant, lacking consciousness and skills because he is constantly being served and provided materially in the wrong way. This is just a small example of the wrong and misunderstood ways in which activities are carried out in a state of complete lack of attention to the activity.

Maybe in the present, there are things that we no longer feel comfortable with. But we need to be clear enough to understand that these experiences all come from our own choices in the past, so if we no longer want to experience it, we can take the initiative to change our choice to change the experience, but we should not underestimate or oppose what is happening. Thus, instead of making a new choice in clarity and clarity to have a new experience, we are inadvertently continuing to engage in experiences that come from old choices, but on a more negative level, from which anxiety and stress inevitably ensue.

So to relieve anxiety and stress, we need to spend time paying attention and thinking deeply to feel the operation of this pattern. If we practice such feeling continuously, then the realization will slowly become clear and deep. From that realization we see that disrespect and opposition to the present, with all that is happening right now, and here is the cause of so much anxiety and stress. What we need to do is practice the ability to shift our focus to the present, to all the work that we are doing right now, and here, instead of just focusing entirely on future outcomes. We will no longer think that completeness lies only in the future, when certain goals have been achieved, but will focus on feeling the completeness of all that is present right here and now. When we no longer see the work we are doing as a means to achieve certain goals, but we respect and put our full attention into the work itself, we will feel a sense of joy. a great inspiration right while doing these specific tasks. Things will become lighter and more efficient, no longer heavy and stressful like when we work, but only put all expectations and focus on results. We still take the time necessary to set goals to work toward our desires, and every specific activity we choose to undertake is aimed at achieving those goals. But after identifying the specific activities that need to be carried out in the process towards that goal, we need to forget about the goal, and focus all our attention on each specific task in the process when carrying out those tasks. When we are clear enough to realize the meaning and nature of life, we will find that, instead of placing too much emphasis on the importance of the outcome, we should regard specific tasks as only a means to achieve the goal, so we only pay full attention to the goal. then really the goal itself is only a means by which we can identify specific tasks to be done right now, and here. When the vehicle is finished, we need to forget about it and devote ourselves wholeheartedly to enjoying and experiencing the joy of doing each task in the process. The idea that only when we have something more, or achieve a certain goal in the future, does we feel completely complete, is really just a false illusion. The fact is that wholeness and perfection are already available in itself all that is present right now, and here, without the need for anything else. It's not enough to focus on everything that's going on in the present, so we feel the need to achieve something more in the future in order for us to be complete and happy. We need to set goals to identify the things that we need to do, because without goals we will not be able to identify specific tasks to be done. And of course, when the goals have been accomplished, we have every right to feel satisfied, feel joyful, excited, and appreciate the fruits of the results. We really need to be like that, because then what the results bring has become the practical elements that are manifesting in our present, right now, and here. But the goals and outcomes that are set, before they become real, are only should stop at the role of such a medium, goals and results should not be all that attracts our attention in the present. For example, when we set a goal to start a business by opening a company, from that goal we will determine what needs to be done specifically in the present such as: need to determine the company's business activities, need to determine the plan to approach customers to have a number of potential customers for the company, etc it is necessary to plan the initial capital to establish the company, it is necessary to recruit and train personnel to operate... All these specific tasks are only shaped when we set a goal to establish a company, without this goal, such specific tasks cannot be formed. However, in a state of unclear awareness, because we don't pay enough attention, when we do all those specific activities, we do them only reluctantly. All attention while performing specific tasks in the process is not in the tasks themselves, but is focused on the expected results in the future - the operation of the company. Because of our lack of insight, we think that only after the company has been put into operation, we will feel better and more complete than now. From there, everything in the process towards the goal that we have identified as needing to be done now, and here, is only as a means to that end. We don't give any respect or attention to each of these specific tasks at all when we do them. This is really a mistake, because when we do everything in such a state where the result is too important, we will do everything in anxiety and reluctance, which in turn leads to being able to do things in the wrong ways, inefficiently, effortlessly, and meaninglessly. And indeed, when the company is operational, whether we will become more complete and better than we are now, is something we cannot know, but one thing is certain, when we operate in such a lack of attention and respect for the present, We have lost all inspiration and joy during a very long period of the process, we have to live in anxiety and stress for a long period of life meaninglessly. And we should know that as long as a few such stages of life pass, our life will come to an end.

We should take the time to reflect deeply in order to recognize this harmful pattern early, to know that the goals set should only serve as a means by which we can identify specific things to do in the current course of life. After the means has fulfilled its role, we need to forget about it, to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to enjoying, enjoying the joy in the process, rather than trying to endure it in order to achieve the set goal. For the assumption that when we achieve that goal we will be completely happy and complete, is just a false illusion. If we are alert enough to observe, we will see that there is no goal as the final goal, as soon as a goal is accomplished, we may feel a little satisfied, but it never lasts long, very soon a new goal will appear, continuously, with no end. So if all the attention in our lives is only to run after the goals set by our minds, completely opposed and disrespectful of what is happening in the present, it also means that we are spending our whole lives immersed in anxiety and stress. (To be continued in part 2)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       VIET