In India, more people died of suicide than Covid in 2020, with the greatest increase in young people. We need to ponder: which is a greater pandemic and threat to humanity – corona or mental illness? We have far fewer psychiatrists and therapists compared to the growing demand! It is time we listen to the words of Wisdom of those who speak the Truth and absorb their teachings, so that our path becomes easier and lighted, and we walk the way of peace and sacredness.
Why is there this big surge in mental health issues? Those who unconsciously repeat negative patterns of thoughts and feelings in their minds invariably land up with fear, anxiety and depression. These thoughts then naturally attract unpleasant persons and situations and the cycle continues.
When we allow the mind to be on its own, it lives within the confines of the prison of the past, or worrying about the unseen future. Most people unknowingly damage their nervous system through worries and anxieties. We all suffer with anxiety as we speculate about the future; however what we worry about usually never happens.
The simple practices of Mindfulness or Awareness help us to recognize that our own preconceived notions are repetitive. We have our own, programmed thoughts, concepts and philosophies and we go round and round around them. A person develops an idea over a period of time that “nobody understands me” or “why do only bad things happen to me?” He/she then starts to see the others and the world through these clouded glasses of false perception. Then others start to confirm his/her deluded thoughts! He/she becomes more baffled! Indeed, thoughts create emotions and deluded thoughts and wrong vision can only lead to emotional imbalance, which is painful.
All thoughts are delusions till they are soaked in Mindfulness. Behind this negative zone is the tranquil sea of peace and true potentials of Mind. Mind in its quiet and silence is indeed blissful. Meditation is not to force the mind to be silent, but discover the silence that is already there! It indeed can change our DNA, our genes, according to modern science. We can become youthful and energetic, innovative and blissfully creative once we allow the silence of meditation to dawn in our consciousness and heal our nervous system, which is mostly stung due to random release of stress hormones.
The gateway to this state peace and blessedness is “relaxation”. We learn so many things in life, but one thing we all neglect is how to relax. We have learned how to be tense, nay, hyper-tense, leading to hypertension (high blood pressure) but we have not learned the most simple thing from Nature, “not to hurry” but to allow the Doer to flow through us and accomplish what we want to do. That is the difference between the enlightened and ignorant.
To attain to a state of ‘non doership’ yet accomplish every thing in life, touching every facet of life, enjoying life to the brim, is the task-less task. Let not this suggestion of relaxation become the next “task” on your “to do” list. Relaxation is not a task. To be relaxed is to be available to the Divine, so that Divine can work and fulfill the divine mission through you.
Feel the difference between when you feel everything is on your own shoulders or when you consciously do things, knowing the One who takes care of your trillions of cells of your body, performing in such mathematical precision and harmony, can take care of your life and also your family which is your prime concern.
Your breath, normal breath and your surfing the breath, can take you to that fountain of life from where all that you need in life is released unasked. By simply following your breath you can learn to auto-suggest “relax, dear mind” whenever situations are tense, and your mind starts to react in the same habitual pattern. With relaxation will come clarity of your mind and that clarity will give you the power to commune with the Divine and listen to the Higher Wisdom that is already in YOU.
If you want to have brighter future then practice relaxation from today on, along with brighter thoughts and joyful feelings. Visualize happiness and feel deeply blessed and happy and allow the subconscious to create all success in your life.
On this New Year’s Day 2022, let us remember we will never have a day in life when we will be able to find a peaceful place to meditate, to rise, to be in peace; the only reality is TODAY, this Moment. We need to give more importance to the Wisdom than our deluded repetitive self-esteem built on wrong perceptions and habits.
We are naturally connected to the rest of all creations; we only need to affirm that in our mind, this is Higher Wisdom and not just random thought. The more we open our eyes to see the footprints of Mahapurushas, enlightened beings, and absorb their teachings, the more our path becomes easier and lighted, we walk the path of peace and sacredness. Let us Wake up this very moment, this is all we have. Make the best, and remember, YOU are the best!!
Bodhi Shuddhaanandaa
