Faith

Sing Out Your Stress with Faith

Experts say that one of the most stressful things we face is uncertainty - the feeling we have no control over what happens to us, or when we don't know what the future brings because our life situation has changed.

The paradox is that when we surrender to that fact - we really DON'T have control over what happens to us - we're relieved of the stress and our fear of the unknown future is erased.

For me the two most important aspects of faith are:

1. Accepting that whatever comes is what's meant to be.
2. I will always be taken care of.

Faith is not about where you go to pray, who you pray with or what day you do it. Faith transcends religion. My favorite definition of faith is that it's a "firm belief in something for which there is no proof."

Faith is a tool that's available for you to plug into at any time, just like electricity. When you choose faith instead of stress you're deciding to accept that there's a bigger plan unfolding that has nothing to do with YOUR plans and everything to do with God’s plans.

To Sing Out Your Stress with faith, find a recording of John Hiatt’s, "Have a little faith in me."

When I first heard this song, recorded by Jewel for the movie soundtrack to Phenomenon, I thought it was beautiful. But when I later heard John Hiatt singing the original recording, I was incredibly moved.

I felt like the words were coming straight from God to me, as Hiatt sung about how he would always be there and that no matter what I was going through I could trust him to "catch my fall."

I put this song, as well as others that inspire and encourage me, on a tape that I play for myself every morning.

When I hear this song today, even after listening to it every morning for well over a year, it still affects me deeply and reinforces my faith.

So go through your own collection of music and find the songs that inspire and encourage you. Consult your "Top 10 Ways to Sing Out Your Stress" report for a list of songs that visitors to our site voted the most inspiring. Listen to and sing along with these songs whenever your faith needs boosting.

What songs arouse your faith? Let us know by visiting this article on the Sing Out Your Stress website at http://www.singoutyourstress.com/updates and clicking on "Comments."

Stay tuned for next month’s article, Sing Out Your Stress with Mindfulness.

Faith Online

Members of the Sing Out Your Stress program can access this month's online lessons, including:

1. 'Have Faith in Tomorrow,' an original song by Linda Dessau. Includes:

a) 'Streaming' video of Linda singing and playing the song for you.
b) Printable lyrics sheet.

2. A written lesson that goes deeper into the material discussed in this email, including the Top 5 Ways to Find, Cultivate and Keep your Faith. Includes an audio version of Linda reading the lesson (streaming audio as well as downloadable .MP3 file).

The Advanced Materials from this lesson are available for purchase. Please contact Linda Dessau for details.

Gratitude

Sing Out Your Stress with Gratitude

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." — Meister Eckhardt

This month's theme is gratitude. In a stressful moment you can shift your perspective dramatically by focusing on what you're grateful for. And not just for the things that seem "obvious", but even for the things that might seem like hardships.

We can be grateful for hardships when we focus on the lessons we've learned from them or how they strengthened our character. Or how they brought us together with our loved ones, or maybe revealed who is and isn't a good source of support.

Wallace Wattles, author of The Science of Getting Rich also recommends expressing your gratitude for all the good things that are on their way to you (but haven't quite arrived yet). He asserts that this will help send the right message to the universe – instead of complaining about what we've got (why would the universe reward that?), we show gratitude for that and for what we're going to get.

The daily practice of writing down and expressing gratitude for the gifts in your life is one that Oprah Winfrey endorses. She was inspired to do it after having Sarah Ban Breathnach, the author of Simple Abundance, as a guest on her show.

A nightly gratitude list has been part of my routine for over a year now and it's made a huge difference in my outlook. I sleep much more peacefully when my last thoughts are of gratitude instead of worry, regret or guilt.

Begin with your simplest and most basic gifts – people to love and be loved by, a roof over your head, a few dollars in your wallet and food in the fridge. Add in some more of your own until you have 10 things listed every single day.

To Sing Out Your Stress with gratitude, find a recording of the song, "What a wonderful world", written by George David Weiss and Robert Thiele and recorded by Louis Armstrong.

As you're listening and singing along, notice how many different things you're expressing gratitude for.

To make it even more personally meaningful, try rewriting the song with your OWN list of things.

Are there any other songs that help you focus on what you're grateful for? Please share them with us. Simply click on the word "Comments", at the bottom of this post, to add yours.

"Gratitude is the heart's memory." - French Proverb

Gratitude Online

Members of the Sing Out Your Stress program can access this month's online lessons, including:

1. "Gratitude", an original song by Linda Dessau, composed specifically to help you explore this theme.

a) "Streaming" audio file that you can play right from your computer.
b) Downloadable .MP3 file of the song that you can burn onto a CD or an MP3 player.
c) Printable lyrics sheet.
d) "Streaming" video of Linda singing and playing the song for you.

2. A written lesson that goes deeper into the material discussed in this email. Includes an audio version of Linda reading the lesson (streaming audio as well as downloadable .MP3 file).

3. Gratitude Worksheet – a printable template to start your own ritual of a nightly gratitude list.

More lessons will be added through the month, including a worksheet to create your own version of "What a wonderful world" as a personal gratitude song, a second original song called "Gratitude Prayer" and the "Advanced Gratitude Worksheet", for taking your gratitude practice to the next level.

The Advanced Materials from this lesson are available for purchase. Please contact Linda Dessau for details.