Stress? For what?
One of the most obvious features of living in the West in the 21st century is "STRESS!" In ages past, there were extended families, organized communities, and systems regulated through common understandings of what and how much any individual was expected to handle. Apparently, these days, there is no choice but that everyone must learn to "multitask." The fact that most of us are not Designed to be constantly "doing" things appears irrelevant, until various parts of our lives start unraveling, and we succumb to overload, illness, and what we are calling "stress disorders." In attempting to avoid these disorders, many people are attracted to exercise workouts, alcohol, drugs, sugar, overeating, video games and extended TV viewings, among other diversions, in an attempt to relax and escape our "reality."

In this article we examine the nature of stress and question whether it is really necessary in our lives, or if perhaps stress is actually the result of a big misunderstanding. We look at the Designs of those who can handle stress easily and the Designs of those who must be watchful about how much stress is healthy for them.

In the last section, we look at the charts of Ariel Sharon and Yassar Arafat, with particular interest to see how they handle stress, or, how stress handles them.

The origins of stress
When we become incarnate and are born our Spirit engages with a world of form through the organs, senses and limbs of a body. In the first few years of life we are oblivious, at least in terms of mentality, to everything that happens to and around us; we exist much more in an experiential, feeling dimension. In our early days we are living only in stillness and joy, or their opposites, restlessness and pain. We may wish to be raised in a loving and abundant environment where our every need is anticipated, but this is not necessarily what happens for us. Human babies are very reliant on their environment and the assistance provided by others. If something upsets us as a baby we yell, with a pitch and intensity designed to attract instant attention from others, and we are inconsolable until returned to stillness and joy. As every mother knows, there is no question of a caregiver being able to relax until a baby’s upset is calmed. In the end, it is a matter of survival for the child.

In human physiology, the source of our survival energy is the adrenals, yet when we find inner relaxation it is also the source of our stillness and joy. Put simply, the adrenal glands give us the energy to be motivated, when necessary, to cope with life, and they also energize us to survive, especially when we are threatened in any way. The adrenal glands are also the source of energy which aligns us to peace and joy in our life through an inherent sense of trust in Existence. The adrenals dominate the quality of everything that happens to us.

Design in a nutshell
In the Design Body Graph, there are 9 energy centers, each of which corresponds to an organ or gland within the human body. The Centers can be likened to the Chakras, or the body’s energy vortices, which are a part of common esoteric knowledge in India and the East. These 9 Centers are interlinked by one or more of 36 Channels, through which life energies pass and activate the various Centers. These Channels are laid out in the Body Graph in a pattern derived from the energetics relating to the Kaballah and the Tree of Life, wisdom that has long been cherished in the Middle East. On either end of each channel, is one of 64 Gates. Each gate corresponds to one of 64 hexagrams from the IChing, the Chinese book of Changes. In Design, each hexagram corresponds to one of 64 equal portions of the star fields around us, and also to one of the 64 genetic codons in the human makeup.

In the image, the 64 Gates corresponding to the 64 Hexagrams are color-coded according to their situation in the Centers in the body Graph.

The beauty of the wheel
On the Wheel of hexagrams, the 9 Gates of the Root Center are set into the wheel in three groupings of three, as illustrated in the image. In examining the "chop marks" (the horizontal lines) of a single hexagram, one sees that it can be divided up into a lower portion of three chop marks, and an upper portion of three chop marks, in what are called lower and upper "trigrams."

Around the wheel, the hexagrams are grouped in 8 sequences of 8 hexagrams, in which the lower trigrams of each sequence of 8 are the same, while the upper trigrams go through a different sequence. Whatever hexagram appears on one side of the wheel will have its "energetic opposite" on the other side of the wheel. Thus balance is maintained in our life.

The root center and the misunderstanding that leads to stress
In Design terms, when we talk about stillness, joy, trust, adrenaline and stress, we are talking about the Root Center. Energetically, the natural state of the Root Center is stillness and joy. When we live our lives from stillness and joy everything evolves in a way that is complimentary to us. When we lose the thread of stillness and joy we become disoriented and fearful in our lives, lose our sense of trust, and succumb to what we call "stress."

In the Root Center, there are 9 Gates, or ways, through which we either appreciate our lives in joy and stillness, or become aligned with fearfulness and "lose it". Each of the these 9 Gates operates in its own particular way, but there are three commonalties, binding certain Gates together, energetically. Each of the 9 Gates makes up one end of a "Channel" that connects to an adjacent center. Through each channel, energy can evolve through the body graph, aiming towards the Throat Center, where it becomes manifest into the world and the "pressure" is released.

The key to our attaining joy and stillness, is through our gratefulness and trust of the life that we receive, honoring our process of allowing events in life to "move us" or not. What dislodges us from our tranquility is distrust and fear that we are not receiving what we "should," in a way that we would "like," in order to live our lives.

The nine gates of the root center - Embracing the "new"
Of the 9 channels originating from the Root Center, 3 of them relate to the issue of trust with the "new." At the Root Center, these Gates are the 38, 39 and 60.

Stress at the 38 Gate comes about through a sense of feeling personally isolated and compelled to fight with everyone and everything, like a bull who sees nothing but red flags and unreasonable obstacles that need to be tackled. The "trust" of the 38 relates to the joy of championing personally high ideals and seeking out a life that is personally qualitative, regardless of any constraints.

The 39 relates through stillness to appreciate one’s earnest search in life for personal abundance and spirit. It is the gate of tears, that are released through our recognition of abundance, or helplessness, or both. The stress at this Gate comes through seeking to justify the tendency to constantly provoke others in almost anything one does, even sometimes just by "being there."

Stress comes through the 60 Gate, when we cannot accept our own particular nature and the law of the Universe that everything evolves in its own particular way. The 60 relates through the trust that one cannot personally know everything, and that one can only do one’s best in accepting what is "new" in our lives, embracing it, according to our nature, to allow our personal creativity to engage with it.

Embracing the material and our community
Two channels emanating from the Root Center relate to trust through our endeavors within the material and spiritual worlds and in our community. At the Root Center the Gates relating to these channels are the 54 and the 19.

The 54 represents the joy of one’s ambitions, particularly relating to one’s personal material and spiritual success. It has the inbuilt requirement that we appreciate and like what we do to "provide a living" for ourselves. Otherwise, if we feel impelled to put energy into something we really don’t want to be doing, we get stressed

The 19 is always questing for connection with others, and is subject to "right" relationships that are inherently joyous, and "wrong" relationships that are necessarily stressful.

Embracing growth and finding mastery
Four Channels emanating from the Root Center relate directly to the joy of growth we perceive in our lives, and the mastery we attain through engaging with life from a place of inner resolve. The Gates at the Root Center that relate to these channels are the 41, 58, 52 and 53.

The 41 is the Gate of our Imagination. It relates closely to our seeking joy in any experience we have in life. That is to say that the concept and prerequisite of any experience we have in life is rooted in a requirement of joy, in order for it to feel wholesome (and unstressful) to us. Through the 41 we can imagine all sorts of experiences without ever having to partake in them. The "right" experiences for us will inevitably have a flavor of joy about them, whereas the "wrong" experiences will always be stressful. These stressful experiences are most likely considered by us at their outset to be obligatory, where we get led by our desires, rather than our clarity.

The 58 is the Gate of Joy and Vitality. Joy gives us the drive to challenge anything in life that is perceived as no longer serving our best interests. It is not about challenging others directly and personally, it is about seeking to elevate the quality of life through a critical perception that aims society towards a better future. Stress related to the 58 comes through constantly judging oneself and others, instead of using one’s critical perception to find ways to improve life’s standards.

The 52 is the Gate called Mountain in the IChing. There is nothing so still as a Mountain. In our journey to Mastery in this life, we repeat and review our perspective over many things, from a position of stillness and detachment.. When we reach inner stillness, we have the possibility of a perfect overview of whatever confronts us. Stress here comes in being pushed off "our Mountain" before we are ready to move from our own stillness. Peace comes from knowing one’s moment to engage with life on one’s own terms.

53 is the Gate of development that launches us into many cycles of experiences in our lives. It is the gate of new beginnings, and many people who have this gate in their Design seem to have a few dozen books open at any time in a state of being partially read. Also, they tend to have many "projects" that are started, but nowhere near completion. This is the gate of beginning things, and not necessarily the gate of completing things. The most satisfactory and least stressful "projects" will be those which start from a place of stillness and inner calm, rather than those that are initiated under duress or compulsion. I always tell anyone who has this gate in their Design that when they first find themselves waking up in the morning, before they open their eyes and make a "new beginning" in their life, to stop, be still and find out what is really calling them into their day.

The design charts of Yassar Arafat & Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon, the present leader of Israel’s government, was born in Palestine on 27 February, 1928. He was born with an Incarnation theme in which he serves his community by providing good planning for it. However, in using the word "serve," I would like to point out that the only "service" that carries any merit for Ariel, is when he provides it from his own clarity, rather than from any sense of obligation.

In his Design chart, Ariel is an Ego-Emotional, Manifestor.

He has the 35 - 36, the Channel of Transitoriness defined in his chart. Ariel’s Emotional Center is also connected, through the 40 - 37, the Channel of Community, to the Ego/Heart/Willpower Center, so his emotions are driven by his willpower. What must always be said to someone who has the Emotional Center defined, is that their greatest asset and wisdom in life comes through learning patience.

People with defined Emotional Centers are ruled by waves of emotion. Depending on whether they are up or down in their emotional wave, it is going to completely affect and "color" their perception of what is going on around them. Emotional people can be extraordinarily moody, and if they are in a bad mood and make a decision according to that mood, they are going to cause trouble and bad feelings around them. Those who have the 35 - 36 Channel defined have a tendency to "jump the gun," acting on a whim and remaining oblivious of the devastating effects their actions have on others.

In the Root Center, Ariel has no definition, but he has three activations, and therefore tendencies, in how he engages with the challenges that life brings. He has the 53, the Gate of "New beginnings," the 60, the Gate of "Accepting limitation," and the 41, the Gate of "Imagination." In anything that Ariel starts in this life, not only is he designed with a requirement to be emotionally clear, and thus able to see situations from all sides, but also, he must come from a space of inner stillness and vitality. If he initiates anything from a feeling of reacting to the pressures of those around him, rather than from his own stillness and clarity, then he will experience nothing but stress, and eventually, anguish.

With 6 undefined Centers, Ariel is also very susceptible to an unconscious fear of failure, and he carries a deep sense of righteousness. He has the capacity to lead others through thick and thin, and to be enormously clever with his mind, though almost always from a place of deep suspicion. With the placement of his Chiron, Ariel is encountering a need within himself to provide the greatest caring possible. What is important for him to realize is that he needs to take complete care of himself first, and thus be totally integrated within himself, in order to be effective in providing the right caring for those in his charge.

Yassar Arafat, the present Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, was born on August 27, 1929 in Cairo, Egypt. He is born in an Incarnation that necessarily brings change to the world around him, but gradually. He is an incurable romantic who sets his sights on the unattainable, but who can inspire others to chase after his vision. Many of his associations with people are based in his dreams rather than in the practicality or good sense of any relationship. For Yassar, it is a lifetime of Self-transformation that comes about during a frenetically busy schedule. Self-transformation happens despite his being so busy.

Yassar has a design of someone with almost unbelievable perseverance. Within his Design chart definitions, he is, in one person, a divisive and inspired genius, (getting cannier with age); a role model; charismatic; spiritually purposeful; driven by pure willpower and conviction; empowered to succeed; intimate to the point of being invasive; and able to baffle everyone with his sense of timing.

In his undefined Centers, Yassar is seen to be without fear (open Spleen Center,) to the point that he cannot imagine what makes people cower and feel fear in their lives. At the same time, he can read the concerns of his opposition as though he were reading a book. With an open Crown Center, he is available to be inspired by anything in order to feed his mind with ideas and insights.

Yassar is driven to experience progress and will often feel obliged to sacrifice his personal well-being, for the sense of validation of his dreams. Although many might see Yassar as an enemy, he is actually a man who is bound by a certain rigidity to stand for his truth, although sometimes he can choose questionable company to inspire.

In terms of his relating to potentially stressful situations, Yassar has a defined Root Center, and is therefore equipped to handle sudden disruptions easily. It would be fairly true to say, that the crazier circumstances become, the more comfortable he becomes, as he engages to challenges from a place of inner joy (38) and stillness (53). His biggest meditation in life is to respond to the situations that life brings rather than seek to make changes from his own sense of righteousness or indignation. This appears to be a meditation he has mastered.

In conclusion
If you have ever considered that stress was a normal way of life, then perhaps this article has given you a new perspective. The message, though explained in lengthy terms, is simple: If you are not acting in this life, either from a place of inner joy, or a place of inner stillness, you are exposing yourself to unnecessary stress. If, before you launch into anything in your life, you promote stillness and joy into your life, you will find that you actually avoid stress, and eventually find bliss. Bliss is our normal state.

All the great mystics have promoted meditation and prayer as a vital ingredient in life. Finding an inner quiet and radiance transforms not only your life, but the lives of everyone who ever meets you.

Next month: Fear, as seen through Design

© Chetan Parkyn, March 2002