Everything is changing all the time. This is one of the fundamental laws that govern life and the universe. To remain relaxed, we need to be ready for change. If we are not open to change, anything can jolt us out of a relaxed state and put us in a fight-or-flight mode, which is extremely Qi-depleting and harmful to life.
Being relaxed is one simple thing that you can do to nourish yourself. Have you seen a plant or animal that grows well when it is under stress on a regular basis? It is the same with humans. Whenever we are not relaxed, we deprive ourselves of nourishment.
Observe keenly how you lose the relaxed state. Often it starts with a subtle uneasy feeling. Catch it when it first arises. Immediately identify the trigger and face this uneasy feeling by connecting with your heart. Work out which heart quality is missing to allow space for this uneasiness. Connect with that quality in your heart so you can return to the relaxed state as soon as possible. If you catch it early enough, you may be able to avoid the full-on fight-or-flight response. Once you are back in the relaxed state, consciously tell yourself how you would like to react in a different way the next time that same trigger appears.
Life is full of opportunities for you to work on your state this way. If you make good use of them, you will be turning challenges into nourishment all the time.
Fight or flight, you survive. Follow the law of life, you thrive.
If you would like to learn more from Yuan Tze about being relaxed check out our Learn REN XUE website for the Replay of his online Relaxed workshop that was six-part of the Be the Master of Your State workshop series run in 2020.
