A considerable amount of stess arises when we anticipate something bad will be repeated in the future. If we experienced pain from a failed relationship, or a friend is mean to us, our tendency will be to remember these unpleasant events when something in our present reminds us of those events, even if nothing actually bad is happening. The anticipation that something bad could happen again looms large, and we look for evidence to justify our fearful thoughts. 

There is a difference in the experience of actual pain, and the suffering we add on to those experiences. For instance, the actual pain of being shot with one arrow becomes amplified. When we anticipate being shot, it begins to feel like two arrows pain, or three.

Because we are reflective beings and we remember the first experience of being shot, even the suggestion of "bow" leaves us stinging from just the idea of "arrow."  Our mind responds to this suggestion as if it is real, and our body braces itself for another shot, but the actual shot never comes. This material "phantom" sets into motion our stress response-a false alarm that reacts to fearful thoughts and feelings as if they are real, much like Don Quiote fighting windmills.

A challenge is to begin to distinguish the source of your thoughts and feelings. Are you responding from past experiences, or are you anchored in the present moment and responding accordingly? When the past is co-mingled with the present, we must do the work of slowing ourselves down to see what we are responding to,without adding anything extra. In this way, we conserve energy, eliminate unnecessary stress, and develop our effectiveness, concentration and well-being in the world.

Koan: You have to eat the whole fish.