Mind Management

My dear friends, what is the difference between PK and PIKU. Two alphabet. I and U. I is us and U are them (an extra-terrestrial Aamir Khan). There; CPU is   cerebral. And our CPU is at the level of abdomen. Or say for vast multitudes the focus is at the abdomen. It would be quite captivating watching the main protagonists PK and Bhaskor sharing their thoughts and respective metabolisms in a spaceship.  Food has a tremendous impact on our system, which we do not quite comprehend. Improper diet first takes a toll on the metabolism and then attacks other organs of the body. Simply intake of toxic foods generate repugnant thoughts and results in a weak mind and body.

 I remember the remarkable lines by   from the master piece movie, “ Chakra” that Zindagi mein keval do hi chakker hein , ek pet ka aur ek uske neeche ka . Yes our thoughts are the baser levels. Ofcourse, there are sages,philosophers and the  enlightened ones  who transcend this level and reach a superconscious state .

A few months back ,  while I was  sweating it out on the treadmill ,  I received a devastating  call from a few friends of my son . The call was from Bangalore. My son who is pursuing a course in architecture became unconscious and was hospitalized, following an attack of seizure.   Imagine a young boy of your age suffered this attack.  Why did it happen? Pressure!  Other reasons for the trigger were an occasional drink, occasional smoking, improper diet, lack of exercise and basically a drive to excel at any cost.

Rhonda Byrne, the noted writer of The Secret, Magic and Power among others says” You are the most powerful magnet in the universe. You contain a magnetic power within you that is more powerful than anything in this world, and this unfathomable magnetic force is emitted through your thoughts.”

Human mind is an enigma and a reservoir of potential. But the moot question is as to how do we tap this potential? The mind is a movie theatre where we script and enact innumerable movies and soap operas. Some funny, some mysterious, some idealistic and others tear jerkers . The mind is constantly on the move. It is hyperactive. It needs a relaxation room, wherein you can dump the garbage, declutter it and achieve something useful for yourself and the society.

“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.” opines Wayne W Dwyer.

The generation today is a product of SMAC, not SMACK. Smac is an acronym for software, mobiles, apps and cloud. Technology alone cannot be a substitute for the enormous potential of mind. It needs to be cultured, harnessed and harmonized with the needs and wants. Talent, energy and thoughts have to be channelized to become achievers. We need to focus on goals and objectives. Technology when misused can make people mental wrecks. A person can become addicted to watching porn, he could become a hacker or even a terrorist.

We need to distinguish brain from the mind. The brain is an organ that serves as the centre of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. Only a few invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, adult sea squirts and starfish do not have a brain, diffuse or localized nerve nets are present instead. The brain is located in the head, usually close to the primary sensory organs for such senses as vision, hearing, balance, taste and smell. It is the most complex organ in a vertebrate’s body.

Mind on the other hand is the faculty of consciousness and thoughts. It is an individual’s intellect or memory or his attention span or will.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has captured it very succinctly. He says mind is like the sky and thoughts are like clouds . Your thoughts make or mar the progress and development of the mind. In fact he further elaborates by saying that mind is like a kite and breath is like the string which can control the mind. Through the practice of breathing techniques like Sudarshan Kriya, Pranayama and meditation among other techniques an individual can harness this enormous realm of possibility. Primarily, we need to quiten or silence the mind. We intend to live in harmony with ourselves and our environment. Or do we wish to listen to the endless chatter and cacophony of the mind?  I reckon anyone would prefer symphony to cacophony or be silent.

To be happy in life and calm the obdurate and recalcitrant mind, human beings should be aware of certain intrinsic laws of nature. That is Law of Attraction and the Law of Acceptance. Further we need to train our minds to keep reminding ourselves that we are blessed, we are grateful and have abundance in our lives. Life is full of valleys and peaks. It can never be a rising curve or a straight line indefinitely.  There are constant changes in life and we have to accept this reality without any strings. We may apparently like some peers and friends today and tomorrow move on with another group. It is inevitable and a natural process. As Buddha says, “The only permanent aspect in life is its impermanent nature.” So we need to move in life with equilibrium, equipoise and equanimity.

Law Of Attraction simply states that if a person is joyful and happy the individual would attract such people and thoughts which are joyful in nature. Such a person is positive in nature and begets positivity. The reverse is also true.  If the mind focusses on lack it would only attract lack. Therefore we need to be constantly reminding ourselves that we are blessed, be grateful with whatever we have and feel we have abundance. In such a situation we   attract only positive energy or prana   from the universe. In fact to such people universe conspires to provide more. The Bible says that if we are grateful for what we have, we will be given more and if we are not grateful and happy, all that was given would be taken away from us.

The human mind vacillates between the past and the future. In the past, the mind is regretful and if it is in future it is anxious. In either case the mind is not at peace or in the present moment and so remains unhappy.

Eckhart Tolle puts it, “Nothing ever happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now”.

As we sweep our house, we need to declutter our mind. Sweep our mind from negative thoughts. Virendra Sehwag comes to my mind as a cricketer whose mind was not filled with cobwebs. With absolute panache he could score runs. Yes he could score a triple century and also got out on zero. But apparently it did not affect his mind. Unlike Marcus Trescothik , who could not survive mentally on foreign tours . He suffered from multiple phobias.

This leads us to various types of personalities. Personality is derived from the latin word “Persona”. The mask used by actors in Roman theatre for changing their makeup. Personality refers to our characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations.    Human mind is temperamental in nature and action.  It has several attributes, different dispositions, moods and reacts and responds in a variegated manner. The mind can be our greatest friend or enemy and like a chameleon acquires various colors, characters, characteristics and keeps acquiring various patterns.

Noted Psychologists, Paula Costa and Robert McCrae have developed a five factor model to elaborate various psychological traits of human personality.

a)    Open to experience- Those who score high on this factor are imaginative, curious and open to new ideas.

b)     Extraversion- People who are socially active, assertive, outgoing and fun loving as compared to those who are shy and introverts.

c)     Agreeableness- Essentially cooperative, caring and friendly people. Those opposite to this trait are hostile and self centred.

d)    Neuroticism- These are emotionally unstable people, irritable in nature and are hypersensitive. Those opposite to this trait are centred and well adjusted.  And finally

e)    Conscientiousness- Those who score high on this attribute are dependable, responsible, hardworking and achievement oriented. Those on the opposite scale are impulsive in nature.

So in which quadrant would we place our minds and personalities.

WHY ARE WE SO STRESSFUL? OR WHY ARE WE STRESSED OUT?

Are we running after a chimera? Or like Rama and Lakshman are we running after a non existent golden deer? Or like the Pandavas, save Yuddhistara we partake water from a poisonous lake. In all situations our mind is fully aware that what we are attempting or undertaking is incorrect and inchoate, yet we undertake that activity. There are a couple of reasons for undertaking this hara-kiri or running after the hubris. We are not wakeful enough, neither  are we listening to our gut feeling and or we have a woeful sense of time management.

A)   We are not wakeful (not sleepy in a literal sense) as we are not focused or centred. We cannot differentiate and distinguish between choices. Consequently we are gobbled by the snake in the game of snakes and ladders.

B)    Our mind and thoughts (a human mind on an average receives 50k thoughts a day) batter us endlessly .  Now the company we keep and the food we partake has a significant impact on the human mind and body. Negative company drains a person and toxic food and drink totally enervates and debilitates our system. I was a victim and patient of alcoholism and realise the suffering one goes through it and following the techniques of Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayama overcame the disease. There is a deep connect between the stomach and mind. That is why it is called the gut feeling or the sixth sense. Our solar plexus keeps sending us signals. It depends as to whether we are conscious and wakeful enough to listen to those signals.  Yoga is the latest buzzword. With regular practice of Yoga, especially Surya namaskar and pranayama our solar plexus develop to receive and transmit important signals.

C)    Tools for effective Time Management-

a)      The POSEC METHOD – That is to prioritise by organizing, streamlining, economizing and then effectively contributing.

b)      Do a SWOT analysis and become winners.

c)       Learn to work in groups and ART OF delegation.

d)      Attempt all hard tasks first

e)      Build in flexibility in your schedules or else one would suffer from psychosomatic disorders.

f)        Develop hobbies, read creative books and self help books.

g)      Every morning and night while being grateful make an inventory of do’s and dont’s  and must Do lists.

h)      Learn to say NO. Also learn to say YES. An oxymoron kind of a situation. However a Yes mind makes an individual take up responsibility. And taking up responsibility only can empower a person. Imagine a situation where you could have shouldered responsibility but evaded or shied away  or  a situation where you took up responsibility. Which box would you like to be in?

i)         Live life king size and learn to celebrate.

We can celebrate only if we are able to quiten our minds.  These are some ways to quiten our mind and develop a relaxation room or space in our minds. For that we can the following:

Go for long walks, talk out our problems, hug a person ( perhaps someone whom you  do not like), write down all our botherations, be in sync with our  breath and movement, pursue a passion, be a daredevil, get out of our  comfort zone, exercise vigorously( positive endorphins get released which have a soothing  affect on the mind and body),  have  cold water baths to conquer passion and carnal instincts( they can be a distraction  especially during examination times).

 Despite practicing all techniques, we may not be able to find our place in the sun. So what does one do?

Just surrender to the immense power within ourselves   and learn to accept.

Realise that “Aham Brahmasmi-“ I am the infinite reality.”as written in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad . Our mind has that immense power. It needs to harnessed and realized. We just need to declutter our minds.

“Your mind is aninstrument . It is there to be used for a specific task, and when the task is completed, you lay it down. As it is , I would say about 80% to 90% of most people’s thinking is not only repetitive and useless , but because of its dysfunctional and often negative nature , much of it is harmful . Observe your mind and you find this is to be true. It causes a serious leakage of vital energy.” writes Echart Tolle.

Today he is a great philosopher. At the age of 29 he was about to commit suicide.

There are several ways to channelize this energy. There may be some who may practice meditation, breathing techniques and observe silence to quiten minds. There may be others who remain focused by playing a game of tennis and sweating it out or pursue other passions. You have to choose the path that suits your personality. But the ultimate aim is to be in the present and lead a happy life.

Feel blessed, feel grateful and feel abundance. Let your mind not be judgemental and complain and cling on to negativities. Willy nilly we provide the hook to hang the coat of negativity. Isn’t it?

As Alice Walker said, “Look closely at the present you are constructing; it should look like the future you are dreaming.”

Spirits to Spirituality

‘Courage is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount.”   writes Clare Boothe Luce.

It requires enormous courage to acknowledge our deficiencies and make a 360degree change in our personality  to be acknowledged and acceptable. Normally we live in a state of denial.

Man is a social being who is in seek of recognition and positive strokes. Only a sage or a mad person does not require attention.

This piece is on my personality development and various bottlenecks encountered in the path.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says” If you can win over your mind ,you can win over the whole world”. Body and mind are the precious gifts of nature. And we neglect them leading to physical  and psychological  disorders.

We torture our bodies through various forms of addictions, be it excessive sex, smoke, substance, alcohol, food, desire for power etall. The mind is cluttered with innumerable thoughts which impede clarity in thinking. On an average we receive around 50k to 60,000 thoughts and most of them are negative in nature. These thoughts are either fretting about our past or anxiety of what is expected in the future. We are never in the present moment.  Living  in the present moment is  a state of meditation  and almost  devoid of desires where nature  works wonders .  How does one reach  being in the present state?  There are several techniques  and each one finds his or her path . 

I  became an alcoholic  and a heavy  smoker . It had a deleterious impact  on my mind and body .  I was hospitalised, operated upon  and put in a rehab.  Simultaneously   relations with  family, friends , parents , place of work  get jeopardised . One gets categorised as a no- brainer.

My  dalliance with alcohol was for more than 15 years .  Astrologer friends blamed my fate  on  planetary configurations. Basically I was at war with myself . I could not pursue my areas of interests  that is theatre and  had to settle for a job in the government ( Indian Railway Traffic Service) . I was selected to the Indian Police Service but was dissuaded from joining that job . This added to my frustration   as I  lost out on  POWER.  Slowly I hit the bottle and the situation worsened.

I overcame addiction through various Art Of Living Programmes . The  fulcrum of all Art Of Living programmes is the unique breathing technique called Sudarshan Kriya( Proper Vision Process) which has  magical  curative  powers. Today  by the  grace of the Master ,  I am  an Art Of Living Teacher aswell.

As Sri Sri says” Only the presence of the master will bring fulfilment to your life and to all your relations.”

Breathing techniques  and meditation are extremely powerful  and can harmonise  body , mind ,thoughts complex . Srinivas Iyengar says” breath does not mean air taken in and exhaled , but the Prana( subtle life force) that is the magnetic current of breath.

BRICK  IN , BREAK THE WALL- Teacher -Student relationship

Last  friday  , after  school , my  daughter stormed  into the  house(  it was very hot ,she was sweating and did not  secure good grades in English) . Instead of being greeted by me or by my father , she was questioned about her performance in English. That infuriated her further and my daughter skipped the customary evening  snack and locked herself in her room  only to appear for tuitions later in the evening.

How did I forget my childhood? Why did I not recall , Pink Floyd’s classic ,” Brick in the Wall”. And how did I not recollect  our very own school  production  with Barry John called KIDSTUF , staged years ago  which highlighted the  travails of children  at school and at home.

President Kalam opined that to be a unique human being , an individual needs to possess four qualities , namely  a great aim, continuously acquiring knowledge by reading great books and keeping great company , hard work and great perseverance.

Are   parents , schools , administrators and  teachers  nourishing this dream of  creating   unique children fired with passion , imagination and talent  or producing marionettes from factories ? This needs to be deliberated by all stakeholders including children.

In this age of SMAC( Software , Mobiles, Apps and Cloud) and not SMACK , teachers and parents  need  to navigate the field of technology  adroitly  so that they keep  pace  with the latest information to challenge  the mind of the child and not confront them.

Today  education is imparted in three ways. Face to Face, Correspondence Courses and On- Line. A  student/child/learner expects the  teacher/educationist is respectful( to the demands of the learner),responsive,knowledgeable,approachable,communicative,organised , engaging , professional and humorous  in disposition .

Teachers, need to look at this inventory  list and  do some soul searching . Without, any doubt , a child expects  moments of wonder in the classroom . Students crave for that  AHA! moment to break the monotony of non-stop classes . The educator today  needs to navigate pop culture and understand the lingo of being”cool”, and understand the mind of the child. Mutual trust between students and teachers is absolutely paramount . There should be no politicking, favouritism etc . Studies in Organisation behaviour ,  clearly  indicate that many a times teachers pay attention to certain children or certain columns  in the classroom,  neglecting others at their own peril. This results in resentment and poor grades of the lot  ignored . A bit of humour, being witty , that lighter moment immediately attracts  a child towards the teacher . As Gail Goodwin says,” Teaching is one-fourth preparation and three fourths theatre.”.

Teachers need to  master two secrets to be successful  in their careers . The Law Of Attraction and The Law Of Acceptance . Law  one  makes  a teacher radiate energy, liveliness ,inspire students, invoke positive vibes and thoughts in the classroom .  The second law encourages a teacher  to accept  the learner  in all respects .  The student  is taken seriously, feels  recognised and challenged, develops  special skills  and their  creativity gets harnessed   . Besides the teacher needs to  understand the difficulties, complexes, sexuality and  hesitations of the child . A student is to be embraced not humiliated.

Today  the teacher today is harassed , has odd timings, plenty of corrections to undertake , rear children at home ,  manage  two fronts(home and school), invariably carries school to house and home to school, does not have time to exercise , yearns for that  Sunday or holiday to relax and unwind .  In such a scenario teachers  have  certain expectations   from children, administration, fellow  teachers  and their  spouses and families .

From  Students- Teachers expect  children are prepared , committed to learn, motivated , respectful , understand their strengths and weaknesses , respect each other and  do not become bullies .

From Parents- It is expected that  the parents do not become super teachers . The common goal is the interest of the child . Parents need to be participative and not coercive . They need to inculcate habits which  need not be moral policing but  to encourage their children to blossom.

From Administration- Not to play petty politics  amongst teachers . Inculcate discipline among the fraternity , provide good packages , encourage  them and support them during crisis . Invariably the  home front  impinges upon the circumference of the school , but the school is so tied up with the TRPs of SRPs- Scholastic Report Performance Schemes)  that they lack the ability  to hear out the teacher, forget even listening to them.

From Co- Teachers- Need to be collaborative, professional, supportive , respect differences among them and also accept unity  among some groups  gracefully.

From Family- To be  warm and proud of the profession and provide that extra space  in their lives .

All this may appear to be altruistic , but  is perhaps essential for the teacher to sport a SMILE to the child  and GREET and be GREETED everyday by  the children. And most essentially to increase the SPAN OF ATTENTION of the child  in the classroom.

This  piece covers  the spectrum of public schools  which have reasonable resources . There  are millions of children who are illiterate  and several schools in  India which do not have  necessary infrastructure , including TOILETS ,which  leads to large drop outs especially among  the girl child.

In the final analysis as Kofi Anan put it  “ Knowledge is power , information is liberating , education is the prism of progress in every society , in every family.”