Each person is like a pressure cooker with its cap on. As long as the cap is on, no one can know how much pressure is built up inside us. Very often even we ourselves are not aware of how much pressure has built up in our system until it explodes the top off or starts to seep out of some weaker points in this «cooker».

This release of pressure may take occur as an psychosomatic illness or an «accident»; which to the untrained mind seems to be an event which is caused by some external force and which has nothing to do with the pressure building up in that person.

Or the pressure may release through various pains, such as headaches, stomach aches, ulcers, colitis or breathing problems such as asthma or allergies or even as cancer, or heart problems.

In others, the pressure flows out emotionally perhaps in the form of a depression, perhaps through complaining, crying, criticizing, rejecting, or perhaps through anger, aggressiveness, violence or in general an antagonistic behavior.

Many manage to keep the cap on for many years so that they do not have to deal with the unpleasantness of facing and working with the «pressure». Some keep the cap on through overeating, others by drinking or taking tranquilizers or other drugs. Others by watching television, or going regularly to the movies, reading one book after the other, smoking one cigarette after the other, or by never ever being alone or by working continuously and not ever leaving free time to look inward.

In other words we manage to avoid confronting our inner «pressure» by keeping our awareness either dulled or continuously focused outward on something else.

If you have the courage and want to see the truth concerning yourself, designate a time every day in which for 20 to 60 minutes you will look into yourself and learn about your real Self in various ways.

Some possible ways might be breathing techniques, deep relaxation, prayer, meditation, self-analysis and in any other way that helps you create a healthy more intimate contact with your inner self.

When you do start to employ such techniques, be careful not to overdo it at first, with excessive enthusiasm. Just as damage may be done when by taking the cap off the pressure cooker when there is much pressure built up within, in the same way we may do harm to our selves by overdoing such techniques in the beginning.

Touch the cap on a regular basis letting the steam out daily and slowly. Thus the pressure will be reduced to the level where you can take the cap off completely and open up the vessel with no danger to anyone.

Start releasing your pressure today.