I have kept the bees to myself for several years.  They have been a kind of personal refuge.  Lately I shared my system with friends that have been experiencing elevated anxiety and frustration levels.

 

Each one of them has said that it immediately  “clicked” with them and that following the steps has helped them in their daily dealings with stress. They have been encouraging me to share the four bees on a larger scale. 

 

I made it clear that these are classic spiritual principles that many people have practiced for a very long time.  All I have done is order them into a sort of  “mantra” that I can access quickly to calm and recharge myself at any moment and in any place. This progression is my “beeline” through what I call the Stress-O-Sphere. 

 

I think the bees might be a welcome tool for others that are a little intimidated by the idea of meditation.

That was how it started for me.  I was very suspicious of what I envisioned as “meditation”.   I thought of it as something only for the highly enlightened who were able to deep breathe themselves into all kinds of cosmic awareness. Those superior beings could possibly levitate, astral project, and find all the answers to life while managing to sit in a lotus position for an

extended span of time.

 

I knew I could do none of those things. The idea of being “good at” meditation only stressed me out more.  I know that is a contradiction in terms – I shouldn’t worry about being good at it – I should just do it and with enough practice it will all fall into place. 

Nevertheless, that is how I felt.

 

 I set out to find something that I could actually do.  I was looking for something that would loosen the tightening in my throat and the palpitations in my chest. I wanted to avoid taking anti-anxiety medication or a probable heart attack.

 

I needed something that could capture the monkeys at 3:00 AM and put them back in their cages. 

 

Stress is a “challenge” for me.  A problem.  It has decidedly not gotten better with age. I wish I was mellowing, but in fact, I think it is quite the opposite.

 

 I often find myself assessing where am in my life and where I would like to be. Good health can’t be taken for granted anymore – I have to work at it!  Financial stability in the present and security in the future seem shaky at best.   This should all have been taken care of by now – but it isn’t! 

 

I look at the future and think  “I’m not ready!”

 

Then it continues to snowball to anything from  “ I should be cleaning the refrigerator instead of sitting here writing” to  “ I look terrible – who IS that in the mirror?”  to  “My online friends are always doing such wonderful things – where have my DREAMS gone????? “ It escalates to “ Oh My God – another animal went extinct today – the drought - the planet is DYING!!!!  - AAAAGHHHH!”   Suddenly, I’m in the Stress-o-sphere. Way up there. You know how it goes. I know you do. Each one of us has our own private, instantly accessible Stress-O Sphere.

 

My husband calls me “The Worrier Princess”, but I don’t think I really worry more than anyone else. One thing I’ve learned is that I am very common.  If it happens to me, or if it catches my attention – then it happens to a lot of other people too. 

 

Yes, we are all unique and beautiful - and we all have our own unique and constant noises in our heads.

 

I call it Blabberbrain.  

 

Blabberbrain is not your friend.

 

The bees are the key against Blabberbrain.

 

Let’s move on to the bees.