Question: Is there a way to help someone deal with the pressure they feel in stressful situations… such as test taking?

Answer: Learn the difference between doing what is in your power versus struggling against what is not. In this instance, all stress is counterproductive to the condition it meets. It is a mechanical reaction that produces the opposite of what it seems to bring. For instance, it feels like stress protects us. It doesn’t. It punishes us even as it steals our ability to think and to respond intelligently.

Question: Lately I’ve noticed – just trying to be aware of my reactions — that events that would normally cause a stressed response (tightened stomach, anxiety) do not have the same effect. It’s wonderful when it happens!

Answer: Stress is proportionate to how (unconsciously) certain we are that who we are is somehow dependent upon what happens around us. As we outgrow this victim consciousness, our new understanding naturally brings us to a more relaxed state of self.