In this dog-eat-dog world of ours most of us encounter stress on a daily basis. Stress causes tension and strain on the mind and body. It seems that stress is a natural part of life. Or is it?

So how can we learn to remove stress?

If you really want to eradicate stress then you must first understand what it is and where it comes from. Go look up the word stress in any dictionary and you will find something like this - a force that is exerted when one body presses on, pulls on, pushes against, compresses or twists another body." When you experience stress in your life I am sure you will agree that it often feels as though an external force is pressing against you. Certain sayings sum this up such as "feeling heavy with guilt", "feeling the pressure", "it feels like a ton weight has been lifted off me" etc.

Stress and the pressure we feel behind it can exert, what feels like, a very real physical force. Where does the force originate? What is generating this stress? Is it the events in our lives or just our perception of them and our reaction to them?

All stress is the result of our thinking and emotions. Such feelings/thoughts can create an imbalance. This eventually causes an imbalance in the body which will probably lead to illness or at least a shortened life span!

DO you realise that your mind doesn't know a imagined event from a real one? Scientists have found that the same neurons fire in the brain whether you are actually performing a task or just imagining it. The muscles in the human body will respond in the same way to an imagined task as they will to a real one!

Now we can say that stress is "a state of emotional or mental imbalance caused by internal or external forces whether they be real or imagined.

So what external forces can possibly be responsible for causing the emotional and mental imbalance in one's life? There can be an almost infinite number of causes that lead to stress. They can range from a bad day at work to a catastrophe. However, regardless of the actual event itself when we study the cause of stress closely enough we always come to the same root cause. Stress is the by-product of wanting to change the way something is.

Stress always occurs when you want things to be different from the way they are but they just remain the same. Let's go back to our dictionary definition - 'a force exerted when one body presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body.' This is exactly what is happening to you. When you want things to be different but they just stay the same, you experience stress because it is as if the situation is pushing against you. You use your force of 'will', by wanting it to change, and thus exert force on the situation but it resists and pushes back. In such situations it is your desire that becomes compressed or twisted. Basically your stress has its root in your desire to change things that cannot be changed!

I do believe that you can achieve things that seem impossible. It is possible to achieve the seemingly impossible through the correct approach. There are, however, certain things that can never be changed - like the past! You only experience stress when you want to change things that are not or cannot be changed!

So to remove stress all you need to do is remove the underlying desire to change the situation. I am not asking you to let go of your dreams or goals. Neither does it involve not achieving your desires. It is merely letting go of that grasping feeling behind your desire. When you do this not only will you feel less stressful but you will be in a more receptive productive state to acquire what you want. However, it is necessary to let go of your desire to change what has already been!

Luckily for us a technique for removing these desires was created. It's called 'releasing'. This is a technique which is highly effective but little known in the western world. If we go back to our new definition of stress we can find out how to instantaneously release it wherever we are. Our refined definition of stress states that it is "a state of heightened emotional and mental imbalance caused by internal or external forces in one's life". We now know that it is you're wanting to change this external force that is causing the stress so a better definition would leave out the "external" bit of the sentence. The definition of stress becomes this - a state of heightened emotional and mental imbalance caused by internal forces!

How can we utilize this knowledge to eliminate the stress?

You are now ready to practise this technique. Think of some time when you were slightly annoyed about something. Concentrate fully on this exercise. This only takes a few moments. Once you know how to do it you can do it while you do other things. But for now, while you are learning it, give it your full attention. Once you have the annoyance in mind ask yourself the following question - "what do I want to be different in this situation/person/event and what would I like to change about it?This allows you to become aware of the thoughts that are creating your annoyance. Then ask yourself this question, "how do I feel about that?" This forces the mind to produce the emotions behind the stress. Now for that moment stop suppressing the emotions and allow yourself to fully feel them. Let your feelings express fully in your body, don't try to push them down. You will find when you do this the emotions reach a height and then start to fade away. You are now releasing the emotion. Once it is gone it is gone for good!

Here is an example of how to use this. Your boss tells you that you must finish an assignment by a certain deadline. However, you are well aware that this is an impossible task yet you feel the mounting pressure to succeed at the task and try to get it done. You then find yourself rushing around doing ten things at all at once while you experience more and more stress caused by your impending deadline. So, you ask yourself the first stress-buster question - "what do I want to be different in this situation/person/event?" Let's say the answer that comes to mind is something like, "I want my boss to stop putting me under pressure". You have just identified some of your thoughts and desires behind the stress.

At this point you ask yourself the next question, "how does that feel to me?The answer might be that you are feeling frustrated!" You have now identified one of the emotions behind your thoughts and desires about the situation. After this go to the last step of this technique. Stop suppressing the feeling. Allow it to come up. You delve into the feeling and allow your body to experience it fully. You may even imagine it is as a spent force escaping through your stomach, chest, neck, face or wherever you are feeling it in your body.

It is also possible to repeat this procedure a few times because it can be done so quickly. It will only take a few minutes for your stress to disappear. Keep asking the questions as there may be several reasons behind your stress or you may need to release a particularly deep-seated emotion a few times before it is gone.

This technique may be simple but it is very powerful. Try it; you may just be surprised at the results! Follow the link below to read more about this stress relief method.