Why Natural Stress Relief™
Is More Than Relaxation

I was recently asked the following question:

"As is the case with most people, I would suppose, I am subject to the daily stress and anxiety people face. Pressure at work, raising children (home stress) and various other stressors.

"Can you advise me what I can do in the course of a day that will aleviate some of the stress and anxiety that a person such as myself experiences?"

Here is my answer:

This situation is not at all unusual. In fact, most of us could describe our daily life similarly. The problem is not that we lack a breathing technique, the perfect exercise, or enough time spent relaxing, listening to music. The problem is that we live our life experiencing only three states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, and deep sleep.

There is a fourth state of consciousness, a state reached during deep meditation, which along with the other three is necessary for full functioning in life. As we shall see shortly, techniques like Natural Stress Relief™ make the fourth state of consciousness possible. This is what sets them completely apart from the majority of stress-reduction techniques that merely provide relaxation.

I use the term "fourth state of consciousness" because this state is physiologically distinct from the other three states of consciousness. We can easily demonstrate this in the laboratory by observing unique mathematical characteristics of the waveforms recorded in an electroencephalogram (EEG) during meditation. (An EEG is a measurement over time of the electrical signals generated by the brain as picked up by electrodes in contact with the scalp.)

In the waking state of consciousness our minds are busy solving problems (goal-directed thinking), planning and carrying out motor activity to achieve those goals, feeling and expressing emotions, and processing content brought to us by our senses of perception.

In contrast, dreaming and deep sleep are two states of consciousness in which the body and mind rest, repair, and refresh themselves in preparation for the next day's activity. In dreaming, our mind engages in a very different kind of thinking that is suitable for exploring and reliving stressful activities. Deep sleep is a state of unconsciousness. These two major states of sleep (as well as several substages) can easily be observed in the EEG recorded during sleep studies.

In the fourth state of consciousness we remain conscious and alert (as in the waking state) yet without having any thoughts (as in deep sleep). It is a unique state of awareness without any 'thing' or object on which our awareness is focussed, a state of pure awareness and inner peace. In this state of restful awareness, which is deeper even than the more familiar states of dreaming and deep sleep, much more deep-rooted stresses can be dissolved. Experiencing this state and allowing our stresses to dissolve is what brings us the great benefits of NSR™ meditation, such as increased clarity of thinking, improved relationships, enhanced productivity, and so forth.

The deep rest provided by this simplest state of awareness finally allows our body to repair the damage caused by the stresses we accumulate from daily living. This is confirmed by the daily experience of thousands of meditators and validated by the hundreds of scientific studies on advanced practitioners of Transcendental Meditation® and the fewer but just as impressive studies on practitioners of Natural Stress Relief™.

Natural Stress Relief™ is a simple, effortless, and inexpensive mental technique practiced for 15 minutes twice a day. It leads us quickly to this fourth state of consciousness, a state of restful alertness that refreshes us on the deepest level, allowing stresses to dissolve naturally.

NSR™ brings about the fourth state of consciousness by making use of the natural tendency of the mind to seek more enjoyable experiences. The mind experiences a suitable thought and follows it as it becomes quieter and more abstract. This happens because the process is fascinating and enjoyable. As the mind settles down the body naturally follows, quickly achieving a deep state of rest. This whole process has traditionally been called transcending. It reaches its fulfillment in a state of pure, settled consciousness which has variously been called transcendence, samadhi, satori, turya (or turiya), living in the eternal present, self-actualization, and the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead of being just an idea or a philosophy, the actual experience of transcendence is now available to anyone.

You can learn this enjoyable and refreshing process of transcending in your own home and at your own pace from our self- teaching manual and CD.

Over a thousand clients can testify to the sense of freedom, joy, creativity, and intelligence that come when the mind and body are freed from the burden of accumulated daily stress. Hundreds of scientific studies on NSR™ and the comparable technique Transcendental Meditation® confirm the depth of rest, freedom from anxiety, increase in alertness, better health, and the many other benefits that come when stress is eliminated and consciousness is strengthened.

I invite you to explore this website and learn what Natural Stress Relief™ can do for you.

David Spector
Natural Stress Relief/USA