Stress Less Accomplish More

Sharing my learnings from the book, Stress Less Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher

Stress Less Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher

This is not just another meditation book. In Stress Less, Accomplish More, Emily teaches a powerful trifecta of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Manifesting to improve your personal and professional performance, clarity, health, and sleep. You’ll learn how to cultivate Mindfulness through brief but powerful exercises that will help you stop wasting time stressing. Plus, you’ll get Manifesting tools to help you get crystal clear on your personal and professional goals for the future.

Filled with fascinating real-life transformations, interactive exercises, and practical knowledge, Stress Less, Accomplish More introduces you to a revelatory daily practice and shows you how to make it work for your modern life.

• The author founded Ziva Meditation. Drawing upon ancient wisdom, her goal is to bring the benefits of meditation to high achievers with busy schedules. 
• The author’s meditation journey began when she decided to attend a session held by her fellow actress’s meditation teacher. That night, she slept deeply for the first time in over a year. As her days meditating went on, things only got better.
• The benefits of meditation were so transformative that the author began to wonder why more people weren’t meditating. Her new practice helped her clarify her goals, and she ultimately dropped out of Broadway to become a meditation teacher.
• she developed a technique for busy people from a six-thousand-year-old practice called nishkam karma yoga – Sanskrit for “union attained by action hardly taken.” Unlike some forms of meditation, nishkam karma doesn’t require focused concentration or even an attempt to clear your mind.
• while stress might be helpful for fighting off tigers, it isn’t helpful for modern day problems such as dealing with heartbreak or preparing for a deadline. Scientists have found that stress increases our heart rates, cortisol production, and adrenaline levels. And, over time, chronic stress impairs our nervous system and immune system, making us more susceptible to bacteria and viruses. In other words, it’s safe to say that stress causes more harm than good.
• Unlike exercise, which eliminates stress you might be experiencing in the present moment, meditation is a technique that gives your body a deep healing rest to help you eliminate stress from the past. 
• Scientists believe this reveals that meditation is a method of reaching a higher state of consciousness. Some people call this fourth state of consciousness transcendence, but the author prefers to call it “the bliss field.”  The bliss field doesn’t only feel great, though – it’s also deeply healing. In fact, it heals even more than sleep. 
• When you meditate, your body experiences a state of rest that is two to five times more intense than sleep. it helps you tap into a well of energy and natural resources that are already inside of you. When you meditate, you release the hormones serotonin and dopamine throughout your body.
• The healing powers of meditation go even deeper – to your immune system. By calming your nervous system, meditation gives your immune system a boost so that it can perform better when it encounters viruses and bacteria. It also fosters healing on a cellular level. Infertility, irritable bowel syndrome, and migraines are just a few of the health conditions that meditation can help treat.
• There’s a meditation method that’s designed specifically for everyday, working people. It’s called the Ziva – or Z – technique. All you need is 15 minutes, two times a day. And the best part is that you can do it anytime and any place – except, of course, when you’re driving.
  • Mindfulness is about bringing your attention to the present moment, which helps you to stop ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. It’s the first phase of the Z technique. 
  • To practice mindfulness, start by finding a comfortable position.
  • Now, breathing naturally, close your eyes and bring your attention to your senses.
  • Once you’ve checked in with all five senses, try to bring them all into your awareness simultaneously. This entire process should take you about two minutes. 
  • Now it’s time to gently transition into the meditation phase of your practice. Instead of attempting to clear your mind, you’ll be using something called a mantra. This is a word or sound used to focus the mind and de-excite your nervous system, helping you settle into a deep, healing rest. For the purposes of the Z technique, the mantra you’ll be using is “one.” 
  • Let the word “one” slowly come into your consciousness, and begin to repeat it over and over again. If other thoughts bubble up, don’t worry. Simply redirect your attention back to the mantra, and continue meditating. A good target for the length of your meditation is 13 to 14 minutes. 
  • With practice, you’ll come to simply know when the 15 minutes are up. And when they are, you’ll be ready for the final step of the Z technique: manifesting.
  • Manifesting is a technique that’ll help you clarify your desires, dreams, or goals for the future. It involves taking the time to imagine a life you love so that you can find the best way to get there. 
    • Start your manifesting by letting go of your mantra and giving gratitude.
    • After you’ve thought about what you’re grateful for, take one personal goal and imagine it as if it were your reality in the present moment.
    • once you start meditating regularly, you’ll find yourself becoming less and less attached to the outcome of things. Rather than dwelling on everyday failures, you’ll perceive the obstacles you face as new opportunities for growth.
• The meditation bends are side effects that could include headaches, irritability, and eye strain caused by exiting your deep state of meditation too quickly.
• when you’re starting out, you’re likely to feel like you’re failing at clearing your mind. But remember: clearing your mind isn’t the point! The point of the Z technique is to improve your life. Really, every time you sit down to meditate, you’re succeeding. So a session that feels like it lasts an eternity is no better or worse than a sitting that goes by with complete ease. 
  • you need to make your meditation practice nonnegotiable. So set your morning alarm to 20 minutes before your usual wake-up time, and get your first practice in then.
  • As for your second meditation, schedule it into your calendar for the first 21 days. Your second practice can be anytime between noon and eight in the evening.
• Many people who are new to meditation will experience an emotional detox in the first days or weeks of practicing. This can be challenging. With this in mind, it’s best to avoid making any major life decisions in the first two weeks of your practice.
• Meditation causes a ripple effect across your life and onto the lives of others.