How to Manage Stress - Bayside Meditation in Queens NYC

Anna Kim
Sep 6, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Dec 22, 2025

In today’s fast-paced world, stress is often seen as an unavoidable part of life. We carry the weight of work deadlines, relationship tensions, and worries about the future. However, at Bayside Meditation, we view stress differently. Stress is not caused by the world around you, but by the "mental pictures" you have stored within your mind.

True stress management isn’t about temporary relaxation; it’s about fundamentally changing your internal world through the power of subtraction.

A woman in a cozy sweater sits on a couch, wearing headphones and meditating. Warm lighting from a lamp creates a serene atmosphere.

1. Understand the Root of Stress: The "Mind World"

Everything we experience is stored in our minds as a series of images or "pictures." These pictures include:

Past Memories: Traumas, failures, or even small embarrassments.
Habits: Learned patterns of reaction and judgment.
Expectations: Thoughts about how things should be.

When your current reality doesn’t match these stored pictures, stress is created. You are not living in the world; you are living in a "false mind world" made of these accumulated layers.

2. The Solution: Subtraction, Not Addition

Most stress-relief methods suggest adding something—new hobbies, supplements, or positive affirmations. But if your "cup" is already full of muddy water, adding clean water won't make it clear.

The Bayside Method focuses on subtraction:

Recognize the Picture: When you feel stressed, identify the specific mental image or thought that is triggering you.
Observe Objectively: Look at that thought from a distance. Realize that the picture is not "you" and it is not the "truth." It is simply a shadow of the past.
Discard and Release: Use our guided meditation method to let that picture go. When the picture disappears, the stress attached to it vanishes instantly.

3. Returning to the "Original Mind"

What happens when you empty your mind of these false layers? You uncover your Original Mind. This is your natural state—the mind of the universe that is inherently peaceful, clear, and joyful.

Clarity: Without the fog of stressful thoughts, you see situations as they truly are.
Energy: You no longer waste mental energy fighting your own thoughts.
Freedom: You become free from the burdens of the past and the anxieties of the future.

Simple Practice: A 3-Minute Stress Release

Try this when you feel overwhelmed:

Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
Bring to mind the situation causing you stress. See it as a picture on a screen.
Acknowledge that this picture is a "false" image stored in your brain, not the actual present moment.
Mentally throw the picture away. As it fades, feel the space it leaves behind.

Experience the Shift at Bayside Meditation

Stress management is a skill that can be mastered. By learning to empty your mind, you don't just "cope" with stress—you move beyond it. You return to a life of truth, where peace is not a goal, but your constant reality.