Headaches, muscle tension, anxiety, insomnia, weight loss or gain, fatigue, high blood pressure, chest pain, depression, irritability, memory problems, phobias, social isolation, rage, and feelings of overwhelm: all of these are just a few of the many symptoms associated with stress.

We live in a modern age, with increased technology to assist us in our daily tasks. However, at the same time, our tasks have greatly multiplied.

Single parent families are increasingly common, with one adult needing to perform the job of two. In two parent families, two incomes have become the norm - as has commuting - making the balancing of work, parenting, and childcare, increasingly complex.

We have become a society that expects people to have more, do more, and be more, than the generations that went before us. Workplaces often expect longer and longer hours from employees, and it has become increasingly difficult to obtain well paying employment without, and sometimes even with, post secondary education.

Furthermore, downtime has become increasingly difficult to obtain. Email, cell phones, pagers and the blackberry, intrude upon the home life of many, with the work day frequently extending well beyond the time that is actually spent at work.

There are many different and wonderfully valuable approaches to reducing and managing stress. Yoga, massage therapy, delegating tasks to others, increased assertiveness, healthy eating, exercise, relaxation tapes and meditation are all excellent and wonderful approaches with countless benefits.

However, while the helpfulness of such tools in managing stress is relatively well known, many of us choose not to use them. What is it that stops us?

In many cases, what underlies the reluctance - or perceived inability - to do what is needed to reduce and/or manage stress, is fear: fear that one is not deserving enough; fear of what others will think; or fear that if we work less we will fail.

Sometimes the fear that lies underneath excessive busyness is a desire to avoid feeling upsetting emotions. We may keep ourselves even busier than we need to, so that we don't stop and feel our unhappiness about our past, our work, relationships, or life situation.

A comprehensive - and yet fast and easy - approach to stress management, wellness, and internal equilibrium is necessary in order to maintain not only physical, but emotional and mental well being.

Furthermore, it is not enough to simply tack on a relaxation approach, on top of our existing lives. In most cases, when this approach is taken, we will not stay with the new habit that is being implemented. Alternatively, if we do stay with it, we may experience feelings of guilt or added stress because we are taking time away from what we feel we "should" be doing.

Instead, we need to not only bring in and use tools that will help us to feel better, but also heal the underlying issues that have been preventing us from using these tools before now.

Zensight is a self-help approach that is not only highly effective as a stand alone technique for managing stress, it also has the added advantage of being useful for releasing patterns of guilt, fear, and anxiety, so that we simultaneously experience less stress while also feeling good about setting limits and doing the self care that is needed.

How to Use Zensight

Zensight involves working with the subconscious mind in a way that is similar to hypnosis, and yet no hypnosis is actually used. Instead, we begin by creating a "healing symbol". This symbol can be a word, picture, or colour. Some people choose to use a symbol such as "ocean". They then can focus on the word "ocean" when that feels right, and at other times may actually visualize the ocean.

When this healing symbol is used or focused upon with intent, it allows the fears, concerns, and "blocks" that someone is experiencing to gently heal and transform.

The healing symbol is then used together with healing statements and visualization, to soften, dissolve and release the concerns that are being experienced.

The individual is instructed to stop and notice any visual image that comes to mind when she or he thinks about a specific concern - and then focus upon this image while connecting with the healing symbol that was chosen.

This use of visualization helps to greatly accelerate healing because it does not rely upon the limits of our conscious mind. The visual image that comes up may be an actual representation of a specific fear or issue that is being experienced, or it may be something that is metaphorical in nature - such as seeing oneself with a leg caught in a trap.

The different images that come up are highly variable and are not always understood by the individual. The beauty of it is that they don't need to be understood. The image is simply focused upon while connecting with the healing symbol, and is allowed to transform.

What generally happens is that the image spontaneously transforms in a way that feels healing. The individual watches as the trap that was holding the leg simply dissolves and disappears. They see themselves then being able to move about freely and with a sense of greater contentment and peace.

If the picture doesn't change, if no picture is seen, or in order to resolve any remaining upset, the individual uses healing statements. After each statement, the person takes a deep breath and lets it go, and focuses upon their healing symbol. Concerns are then healed and transformed, as positive feelings grow and strengthen.

Examples of healing statements are:

I now heal, transform and release, any and all patterns of fear, anxiety, or guilt, from all areas of my life.

I heal any and all feelings of being overwhelmed.

I heal the original decision that any parts of me have made that I'm not good enough, or not deserving, for any reason.

I heal all of the beliefs about work or about relaxation, that any parts of me have internalized from my family, from society, or from anyone else, that don't serve my highest good now.

I now heal transform and release any and all stress, tension or discomfort that is being held in any area of my body.

I now heal any and all anger, resentment, or frustration that any parts of me are holding onto, for any reason.

All of the different parts of me now experience a growing sense of peace, comfort, and relaxation.

My entire body is relaxing now.

I now create and install new patterns of feeling completely confident and comfortable in taking time each and every day to take care of myself.

I now fully recognize that when I am rested and relaxed I perform better at work, in my relationships, and in my life.

While a full and completely effective healing session targeting the creation of increased balance will likely be far more comprehensive than this, these statements will get you started.

With Zensight, healing even embedded emotional and behavioural patterns can be extremely simple, and yet powerfully and deeply effective. Best of all, when an additional focus is placed upon healing energetic imbalances, past traumas, relationship issues and other related concerns, results are usually permanent and will be experienced in many different areas of life.