The following metaphysical information on the numerous issues concerning stress will come to you in three parts as Gregge wrote a great deal about this topic. The subject is more important now than it was in 1976 when he first started ringing the alarm bells about stress, but then again he was always ahead of the times wasn’t he! We want to identify and give you a way to somewhat measure the stress in your own life with part 1 of 3. It is an eye opener that will hopefully engage your awareness so that you can begin to help your mental and physical bodies meet, handle, and rebound from stress. In parts 2 and 3 we will give you some very helpful information so that you can take charge of your stress levels more efficiently.
“S T R E S S….It slows you up, it wears you down, and eventually it kills you!
Stress is any condition effecting the body that impairs its natural efficiency. Getting caught in traffic when you’re in a hurry produces stress. Competing in a game produces stress. Getting into an argument with another person produces stress. Breathing bad air and eating bad food produces stress. Flying through time zones produces stress. The fact of the matter is that stress is almost always with us and it is the fundamental killer of humans! If we could find a way to be free of stress we would not become ill, we would age more slowly, and we would find ourselves living a happy and productive life.
So what’s the problem here? The problem is this: As long as we ignore the needs of our mind, body and spirit to meet irrational social and socially economic demands we are insuring not only an untimely death but years of illness and/or pain leading up to the end.
Health and Metaphysics are synonymous. The goals are intertwined. To be able to keep the body stress free and to live in harmony with Universal Law constitutes the issue of “life” on earth. We are not inclined to fantasy or to be Utopian dreamers. We are realists and as such we recognize that earning one’s daily bread is not an easy task. We know that, short of climbing into a hole and pulling the top over us, we must meet the dictates of society and those around as best we can. But good health is the key and good health means a body that can meet most of these stressful conditions, handle them and rebound quickly to go on to other experiences. Our concept of health is to provide to the body what it needs to accomplish that task.
As the life stress index rises over the years so has the body’s requirements for proper nutrients. The old Minimum Daily Requirement yardstick is dangerously outdated and archaic. It is practically impossible for a person to eat the quantity of good food necessary to meet daily stress requirements. Without quality supplementation we are going downhill. After age 40 the physical breakdown rate increases and what we could survive at age 20 could be the death of us at midlife.
THE STRESS INDEX: Which of these changes occurred in your life this past year? Add up the point values of each event.
Death of a spouse 100 – Marital Separation 65
Death of close family member 63 – Close friend 37
Personal injury or illness 53
Change in health of family member 44
Marriage 50 – Marital reconciliation 45
Sex difficulties 39
Wife’s Pregnancy 40 – Gain of new family member 39
Spouse beginning or stopping work 29
Increase/decrease in arguments with your spouse 35
Children leaving home 29 – Trouble with in-laws 29
Loss of Job 47 – Change in financial status 38
Change to a different kind of work 36
Change in work responsibilities 30
Trouble with business superior 23
Change in working hours or conditions 20
Outstanding personal achievement 28
Taking out a big mortgage on home 31
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30
Taking out small home mortgage 17
Revision of personal habits 24
Change in residence or school 20
Change in recreation 19 – Change in social activities 18
Change in sleeping habits 16 – Change in eating habits 15
Change in number of family get-togethers 15
Vacation 13 – Minor violation of law 11
If your life-change units total 150-199 you stand a mild chance of incurring some form of illness.
If your life-change units total 200-299 you are at moderate risk of incurring some form of illness.
If your life-change units are over 300 points you are in the group very likely to suffer serious physical or emotional illness.” – Gregge Tiffen, ©1976