The Wisdom of the Buddha

There’s a Buddhist story. One of Buddha’s students approached him and asked, “Are you the Messiah?”

“No”, Buddha replied.
“Well, are you a healer?” the student asked.
“No,” Buddha replied again.
“Are you a teacher?”
Exasperated, the student asked, “Well, then what are you?”

Buddha replied, “I’m awake.”

Stress, that all too familiar word, may be defined as your body and mind's response to a demand.

Although it has taken on a negative spin, stress may actually be positive. It can motivate us and give us the energy to accomplish tasks. However, there is a fine line between positive stresses that drive us and negative stress that can make us miserable and ill.

Stressed individuals might be particularly prone to binge eating or drug addiction because of high levels of a hormone mechanism in their brain, according to University of Michigan and Georgetown University research. Researchers injected rats with either a high dose (500ng/0.2 ml) or a low dose (250ng/0.2 ml) of CRF, part of the brain's internal stress-signalling system that serves as a brain stress neurotransmitter. They injected the rats in a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is involved in the mediation of pleasurable rewards and stress signals.

A little stress won't kill you, in fact ...: Short term hassles strengthen your immune system, researchers say

You have a deadline of two hours to hand in a report. Or perhaps you have just been told that you are due at a board meeting in an hour, to explain why your department should take control of a high- profile management project. Or you might be gazing from the open door of a plane, contemplating the clouds as you prepare mentally for your first solo parachute jump.

PRINGLE: Now, you always hear people say they're trying to reduce the stress in their lives because they think that's healthier for them. When stress was first identified by Dr. Hans Selye years ago, there was stress and distress. And stress was neither negative nor positive. I think we have imbued it with our modern lives with the feeling that it is something that overwhelms us and is a negative thing.

However, Peter Jensen is someone who counsels athletes, coaches them, deals with facing stress head-on, and talks about its huge benefits to our lives into our well-being.