Dynamic tension. I've been accused of being 'a loose unit', I’ve also been accused of being too serious. It would seem there’s just no satisfying you people(not that I try). So here’s a lighthearted yet informative take on a sensitive subject. Pay attention, this will all be in the exam. Often in life, tension and anxiety slip off into a dark corner of your mind , after a few sweaty moments of glory and empty promises they give birth to the bastard offspring we call stress. Stress is a killer and it's source is often harder to find than a gate one parking space. So Take a deep breath and go to your happy place cause IM bringing in DA funk and keeping DA noise to a minimum. If I could paint stress as an physical entity, it would be a mass of gray cloud-like mist. It would shake and pulse ominously and would constantly change size and shape. Too the touch it would be like electrified barb wire, but too look at it you’d swear it was some kind of gas. I suffer from stress, you suffer from stress all of us carry around a ball of stress they usually stays lodged in our lower chest cavity. Stress is a product of our own subconscious desire to find fault with ourselves and our life. It’s not people or conditions in our external world that causes us to be stressed, but rather the thoughts and attitudes we have about people and conditions. It’s our habitual addictive demands that cause us to be in conflict and dis-stress. Turn your head and cough. Stress has been shown to inhibit the body’s ability to manufacture interferon, a natural protein that curbs viral infections. Rejection, anxiety and anger are all stressful and do indeed appear to inhibit the body’s capacity to resist or recover from illness. Deep grief and its associated stress, can cause a lowering in the activity of T-cells, one of the blood cells that attack disease. Stress also manifests itself in things such as eating disorders, drug addiction, depression, Impotence and hair loss. I realize all this has done is make your more stressed about your own stress. I like to think of stress as 'Mental Quicksand' I think the more you struggle with your stress, the deeper you sink. A no win situation? No all you need is a friendly native man to slink from the jungle and throw you a vine. We shall call this pygmy hero, Okoboda. If a friendly native man is not within earshot or if you have missed my clever metaphor entirely... ahem.. Okoboda represents the internal qualities that will help you to minimize the effects of stress on your life. Still not getting it? OK is English your first language? How many fingers am I holding up? For those who are still confused and in the interest of sharing with exchange students. You can learn to bypass stress by making a preferential choice; to actively participate or passively observe. Participate in the drama or emotionally detach and observe at a distance. It is wise for you to develop a conscious awareness of preferential choice. This will allow you to balance your well-being each day and live relatively free of stress. Until Exam time of course. For Leisure, Arts and Maori/pacific development students lets do it in caveman. YOU IS STRONG, STRESS IS YOU AND IS STRONG. YOU FIGHT STRESS WITH CLUB AND KILL STRESS. YOU CAN KILL STRESS, ME CAN KILL STRESS. ALL YOU NEED IS CLUB AND FIGHT AND KILL. The word is still facetious, and I study leisure and proud of it thank you. Anyhow, enough padding. As mentioned we all have stress but it need not ruin our lives. There are many things you can for temporary relief of stress. Firstly, physical activity (All the fat people are turning the page) has been proven to provide a positive outlet for stress and other energies like anger etc.. Sex, (IM told is a good one), I forget how you do the sex thing but IM sure its just like riding a bike (It's a joke, think about it). Artistic expression, such as IM doing now (yes this is art)is also a great way to expel excess stress, painting, sculpting, writing etc... all art. Don’t forget meditation and outdoor recreation also good for de-stressing the old carbon blob. The web site is now active and fresh and fixed. Till next week my carbon shells. Wisdom: Don’t worry, be happy.