WHY ARE WE SO STRESSED OUT?

 

 

WHY ARE WE SO STRESSED OUT?

Are we running after a chimera? Or, like Rama and Lakshmana, 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 is incorrect and inchoate, yet we undertake that activity. There are a couple of reasons for 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 between choices. Consequently, we make mistakes that often consume us.

B)  Our mind and thoughts (a human mind on an average receives 50,000 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 realize the suffering one goes through because of it. Following the techniques of Sudarshan Kriya and Pranayama, I 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 Suryanamaskar and Pranayama, our solar plexus develop to receive and transmit important signals.

C)  Tools for effective Time Management-

1. The POSEC METHOD – That is to prioritize by organizing, streamlining, economizing and then effectively contributing.
2. Do a SWOT analysis and become winners.
3. Learn to work in groups and Art of delegation.
4. Attempt all hard tasks first
5. Build in flexibility in your schedules or else one would suffer from psychosomatic disorders.
6. Develop hobbies, read creative books and self help books.
7. Every morning and night while being grateful make an inventory of do’s and don’ts   and must do lists.
8. Learn to say NO. Also learn to say YES. A ‘Yes’ mind makes an individual take up responsibility. Taking up responsibility can empower a person. Imagine a situation where you could have shouldered responsibility but evaded it or   a situation where you took up responsibility. Which box would you like to be in?
9. 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 do 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   effect 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?

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

Realize ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ or ‘I am the infinite reality’, as written in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Our mind has that immense power.; Iit needs to be harnessed and realized. We just need to declutter our minds.

 

‘Your mind is an instrument. 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 80–90 per cent 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 Eckhart 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. However, 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.

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

 

In the pages that follow is a collection of articles on various facets of human life which is intrinsically connected with the mind.