Christmas is that time of year when everyone seems to be rushing around all over the place; too many things to do and too little time to do it in. Why does this happen to us before a holiday? The point of a holiday is to have a rest, not to kill yourself during the preparation process! Christmas is meant to be a time of peace, rest, contemplation and gratitude; this should not entail stress, pressure and frenzy.

If you are feeling pressurized and hassled, then it's time to simply stop. Stop what you are doing, take a mental step back and just watch what is going on around you and listen. I did this the other day whilst amongst the pre Christmas shopping frenzy. To go to the High Street or a popular High Street store and simply stop, watch and listen is a truly fascinating experience.

I found myself instantly thinking "I don't want to be a part of this". And my next thought was how sad that realization is. Everyone seemed to be rushing around like a swarm of bees looking for a new place to make their home. Are we really that busy? Is shopping really so important?

If you know how to take a mental step back you can protect yourself from the feeling of frenzy. No matter how quickly everyone around you is moving or how harried their expressions are, you can still feel serene and calm, relaxed and peaceful. I am a great believer that this is one of the most important skills which a person should be taught.

To be able to relax and distance yourself from negative buzzing and prodding is quite simply priceless. To be able to laugh is equally valuable. As I stood in the shopping mall, I began to see the scene around me as a comedy act. I started to chuckle at the absurdity of all this frenzied buzzing around. What a waste of energy! And so many of us do this year in, year out and then heave a huge sigh of relief when Christmas is finally over.

If you find yourself relating to any of this then why not simply stop, watch and listen? Take that mental step back because in doing so you sooth your jangling nerves, conserve your energy and allow yourself to become peaceful and enjoy the moment. Happiness is only ever felt in the moment.

Rushing around for a month planning for a perfect Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is not striking a good deal for yourself. Twenty eight days of frenetic activity which drains your energy is too high a price to pay for the potential enjoyment of one and a half days of peace; particularly so if you rush around so much that you have no energy left when it comes to the main event and all you can do is slump like a sack of potatoes into your sofa.

Whenever you feel harried and hassled all you need to do so as to relax is to stop, watch and listen. By changing your focus and concentrating upon the moment which you are in removes all stress, worry, fear and frenzy. You can just be. You are in the now. This is the place where true peace and happiness can be found.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis downloads for well-being.

P.S. Find out how easy it is to relax your mind with hypnosis. Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from my website now.