My friend April is going through a stressful time. She has several situations that are causing her stress. April has been to her doctor on two different occasions. On her first visit she tells me her doctor informs her that her glucose levels are very high. He gives her four weeks to get her levels under control. On her second visit her glucose levels are still high and now he says she has a spot on her pancreas that may be cancer. This news has added even more stress to her stressful life. Now she fears that she will lose her life. April does want to live because she has an eleven year old daughter and a husband. She does not want to leave them behind with no one to care for them. When April called me for help with this situation, the first advice I offered April was prayer and meditation. I did pray with April on the phone. That did seem to calm her down because she was crying uncontrollably. I offered April words from a book called “Daily Thoughts from the Hill.” This book always helps me through hard times. On the last page of the book there are two prayers I shared with April. One is called The Prayer of Faith by Hannah More Kobaus. The other prayer is the Prayer for Protection by James Dillet Freeman( King, B.L.(1985).Daily Thoughts from the Hill. Book title (2nd ed.). Atlanta, Ga:GP Creative Studios, LLC). My next step with April was to introduce her to meditation. I know if you are in a stressful situation, meditation can give you inner peace. I told her that she could practice meditation anywhere at anytime. Meditation has been around for thousands of years. It is meant to help deepen the understanding of sacred and mystical forces of life, these days it is used for relaxation and stress reduction. Meditation is a type of mind-body medicine. It produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. During meditation, I told April to focus on deep breathing and eliminate the stream of bottled thoughts that may be crowding her mind and causing stress. One of my favorite types of meditation is Yoga. With Yoga, a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises are performed to promote a more flexible body and controlled mind. At the end of the yoga session, there is always a guided meditation with the instructor.
The next piece of advice I gave to April was to start writing her thoughts in a journal. I told her