Connecting With The Divine As A Way To Beat Stress

So it's become clear to me that there are many ways to tackle this problem of staying out of pain. To be clear... I NEVER WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT PLACE. 

Of course it's unlikely, as now I know that there's a "strain counterstrain" practioner not too far away from me who can help with the pain relief. But assuming that seeing him is a the last resort, then what steps can I take and have I taken to date to stay out of this kind of pain?

Well, considering that the pain was caused by stress and tension that manifested in my body, the answer seems to be to handle stress better or don't get that stressed again. The main source of my stress comes from work and being a parent which is the majority of my life and waking hours, so I need to change my workstyle and lifestyle. I need to change how I handle life in order to not get stressed like that again. 

I've been reading, learning, talking and writing a lot about what happened. I'm still a little confused by it, but I'm slowly figuring it out. So far I've identified these as things I need to incorporate more of and take action on: 

1. body awareness: body scanning, stretching

2. exercise my lower core: strengthen the muscles that need to be strengthened

3. slow down: meditate, breathing techniques

4. identify stress triggers....?

In the past, I would deal with stress by identifying my limiting beliefs that were causing it, where they came from and what decisions I made as a child on how to survive and reframe them. I thought that this was the best way, and it does work... to an extent. 

But the stress happens again anyway because there's limiting beliefs and triggers everywhere! There's just too many! It's tiring trying to deal with them all, and trying to identify the ones in my subconscious that are still steering my life but I'm not aware of yet. It's exhausting!

It would be better if I could create a foundation of safety and stability that would nullify all of the issues that I deal with. So rather than plucking the issues one by one from the top like rotting apples, coming in from the bottom with rich soil and organic nutrients which mean a healthier tree and better quality apples. 

➡ 

How to create this kind of grounded, stable base?

One of my teachers says to build it in the awareness and knowledge of who you are as a person. Your core values and beliefs. I've heard about others getting this feeling from religion or spirituality. 

Since I'm not interested in organised religion ( although honestly sometimes I wish I were, because it would make things so much easier! ) this would mean connecting with and creating a sense of spirituality. A sense that there's something bigger out there that I'm part of and connected to. That's taking care of me, that everything's going to be okay, that everything is happening the way it is for a reason, that nothing terrible is going to happen. A belief in The Divine. A bigger underlying belief that cancels out all the rest. 

I've dabbled before in this, and I've enjoyed it. Usually with friends or community. I've flirted with the Ananda Marga, buddhism and shamanism. Also tea ceremonies, meditation, singing bowls, chakras and crystals. I loved them all, but nothing really stuck. What happens is I "forget". 

First, I get stressed and tired and end up using that time for things connected to work or distraction from work. Then when I try to get back to my practice, it's hard. I go through the motions but I've lost focus and I don't feel the benefit anymore. I also miss practicing with the community that I starteds with. So my feeble attempts at re-focusing my spiritual practice don't work, and I feel that it's not worth it anymore. I allow my time to get swallowed up with the automatic, daily, mundane responsibilities. So, I forget. 

If I'm going to start a spiritual practice,  I need to decide on what I'm going to do, and why. It needs to become a daily habit. I need to decide what I'm going to believe in, so that I can let go of who I am enough to undermine all my other limiting beliefs at the root. I need to trust it. Trust, ah yes, now that's probably the crux of my problem in keeping a spiritual practice. Trusting that things will work out, trusting that nothing terrible will happen. If I want to beat stress and disease, then one path I can choose, is to decide to trust in The Divine. Interesting. 

I really wonder what expressions of spirituality I will manifest in order for me to let go of my old patterns of distrust and disbelief.  

Could it be that cultivating and prioritising a deep respect for the divine could be a powerful tool in the journey towards optimal health and lowering stress? A stabilising influence? Maybe seeing as my physical pain stems from my pelvis and psoas I should start with the root chakra. It's worth more inquiry 😀