1. Are you in a hurry in the morning? Calm down, stop and wait. In three minutes you make a list of the most important things of the day. You haven’t opened your eyes yet and your mind is already working on the infinite things you have to do during the day. Thoughts race and, as you spin around the house like a top, you are already there worry. “But there’s a better way to start a new day,” he says Master Carlo Tetsugen Serra, founder and head of the Enso-ji Il Cerchio Zen monastery in Milan and author of various books including “Zen. Philosophy and practice for a happy life” (Rizzoli). “To find peace and de-stress, use this technique: once you’re ready and fully dressed,sit comfortably on the sofatake a deep breath and give yourself three minutes on the clock to focus on the most important issues.”, comments the expert. As you look at the list throughout the day, you’ll find that you’ve focused on exactly what you need.
2. Against the stress of “how to dress” follow the little rules to tidy up the closet. Celebrities, lucky for them, have stylists and personal shoppers who take care of their appearance on a daily basis. But you have to manage on your own and choosing how to dress is a stress that puts you in a bad mood even early in the morningexplains Master Tetsugen Serra. Be careful, folksthe left area is usually the most neglected because the gaze (for most right-handers) instinctively goes to the right. Dealing with it requires awareness andloving attention, what you will need to wear the right things for you. Another rule of Zen: no excessive attachments.If you haven’t worn a dress in a while, give it away without regrets.
3. Down with multitasking, long live peace. While reading the latest tweets, eating breakfast and answering the phone. You may feel very efficient, but multitasking, a myth of our time, is losing popularity even among scientists. According to University of Michigan research, it leads to a dry loss of productivity because the brain is unable to follow multiple tasks at once. Vice versa, Eastern wisdom advises you to do one thing at a time in slow motion: you will save time. Can’t you do it? Imagine yourself immersed in a jar of honey. This is the advice of Erik Pigani, its author Exercise Book for Staying Zen in a Turbulent World (Vallardi).
4. To combat overcontrol anxiety, you miss the tram stop (on purpose). Are you convinced that keeping everything under control makes your life easier? “The opposite is true,” says Tetsugen Serra. “Reality cannot be boxed in: there will always be a detail that slips away, adding to the stress.” As an antidote, it unlocks the “autopilot” that drives you to be rigid in your habits. He consciously misses the tram stop and, when you come down, analyze your feelings. The fear of being late, the feeling of inadequacy. Those few “lost” minutes will be used i know you better, and discover new corners and shops in the city. In the end you will have put your creativity to good use and may have identified the solution to a problem that has been plaguing you.
5. “Evening mindfulness meditation to relieve stress and negative emotions that drain your energy,” says Tetsugen Serra. Try this little mindfulness meditation. Sit comfortably in the center of your favorite room: it means that you are in the center of your life. Don’t think about problems, but open all your senses, listen to noises, look at objects, smell smells. It is the life that enters you through the senses, enriches you and gives you strength. After ten minutes you will have reduced your stress.
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