What would you do in this situation?

Beverly Hills Institute for Cardiology & Preventive Medicine Blog What would you do in this situation?

IMAGINE THIS...........

You’re running through a jungle, being chased by a ferocious tiger, and suddenly you come to a cliff.

Being the resourceful person you are, you notice a vine hanging from the side of the rock face. You grab ahold of it, and begin to climb down.

You think you’re free from danger, but just then, on the ground below, you see… another tiger.

Yikes!

And to make matters worse, a mouse has crawled out of a small opening in the side of the cliff, and begun to chew the very vine you’re hanging from.

So, you’re stuck. You can’t go up or down and you’re running out of time...

What do you do?

This is actually an old Buddhist tale used to teach young monks a valuable lesson — and it’s got a surprise ending.

You see, in the original story, the man trying to escape the tigers notices something while he’s hanging from the vine…

There’s a large strawberry growing from a crack in the side of the cliff.

And in that moment, he reaches out, plucks the fruit from the crack, eats it and says...

“Mmmm… delicious”

And that’s it. That’s the end of the story.

Now, while I admit it’s a strange ending — when you hear the lesson it’s meant to teach, the tale begins to make sense.

You see, the man was able to take a moment during this extremely stressful scenario to pause and experience a bit of pleasure and gratitude.

The lesson here is that life is full of stress-inducing obstacles — there’s no avoiding or changing that fact.

But what you can change is how you REACT to those obstacles.

Because, while a small amount of stress can be good — even helping boost cognitive function — too much of it can wreak havoc on your immune system.

In fact...


...are all issues related to constantly being in a state of stress.


But it doesn’t have to be this way.

With the tip I’m about to share with you, you can easily work to reduce your stress…

Anytime. Anywhere. And in as little as one minute.

I call it...


The “Orange Grove” Mental Cleanse


This simple imagination exercise is designed to engage each of your five senses.

First, picture yourself in an orange grove filled with orange trees as far as the eye can see...


LOOK at how beautiful the trees are, each one full of oranges, waiting to be picked.


LISTEN to the peaceful sound of silence, only interrupted by the occasional chirping of distant birds.

Now, walk to one of the trees and SMELL the sweet citrusy scent of an orange as you pluck it from a branch, hold it to your nose, and breathe in deep.

FEEL the juices running down your hand as you slowly rip the peel open with your fingers.


And finally, TASTE the delicious juice as you sink your teeth into the fruit, letting the liquid coat your tongue and throat.


THATS IT!

Run through this exercise anytime you’re feeling overwhelmed by the stresses of life.

It’s something I do when it feels like I’ve got “too much on my plate” and I always notice a drastic change in my calmness, mood, and well-being.

Try it for yourself and tell me what you think. I’d love to know any specific scenarios in your life this little technique helped you manage.

P.S. Don’t like oranges? No problem. Just replace it with a fruit you love and the fantasy mentioned above should still do the trick. BONUS TIP: It does help if the fruit you imagine is fragrant and juicy, as these qualities help to further excite the senses.

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Sources:
1 BS, L. (2018). The acute effects of corticosteroids on cognition: integration of animal and human model studies. - PubMed - NCBI . Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 23 January 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9233540
2 How stress affects your body and behavior. (2018). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 23 January 2018, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987
Author
Arash Bereliani, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.C. Beverly Hills Institute For Cardiology & Preventive Medicine

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