HOW TO CREATE A HEALTHY MIND?

We are already into the year 2016, and let us challenge ourselves to create a healthy mind during this year. A healthy mind not only  is essential for a healthy body, it is a prerequisite for a happy and harmonious life. The body, no doubt follows the mind like a shadow.  Thus the secret of having robust health lies in nurturing a healthy and peaceful mind. We all ought to know one thing about our mind: it is teachable, coachable and programmable. We are already doing it without realizing that we are indeed the doers, though many times we want to believe that others are doing it to us.

Every day we entertain countless thoughts, and many of them are fed to us without our conscious consent. It is only fair to say that we are victims of unnecessary thoughts, and many of them play havoc in our life. There are many events that trigger out thoughts. If we do not consciously watch them, they may take permanent residency  in our mental sphere. With repetition, those thoughts become powerful that we may not be able to eliminate them from our mind at all. Thought energy is very powerful, and without limitations. Thought is the cause of our agony, and it is also the key to our freedom. As a matter of fact, we create  our destiny by constantly entertaining  certain thoughts. A sinner could eventually become a Saint by altering his thoughts, and those altered thoughts pave the way to his Sainthood. Hence Lord Budha said "you become what you think all day long".

It is said that Sage Valmiki, the author of the famous Hindu Epic, Ramayana was once a robber, robbing people who passed by to make his living. One day he happened to rob a Saint. The saint took pity upon this wicked man, and told him that he will give  all that he had willingly, if he just answered one question.Valmiki said that he will answer any question, he was asked. The Saint asked him: "do you know that you alone reap the consequences of  this sin, and not even your wife"? Valmiki said" No sir, I am robbing people to take care of my wife and children and as such I expect them (at least my wife) to partake in my sins". The Saint asked Valmiki (who was known as Ratnakar before he became saint Valmiki) to go home and  ask his wife whether she would partake in his sins. Ratnakar set out for his home while the Saint waited for him to come back with the answer. After fifteen minutes Ratnakar came back to the Saint with his face covered in gloom and a feeling of acute guilt."What happened" the Saint enquired. "She said" Valmiki narrated , "every one is responsible for his or her actions, and not even a wife or husband could partake in the sins committed by the other". It was a revelation for our robber, who fell at the feet of the Saint, who accepted him as his disciple. Thus Ratnakar by years of penance (the intense art of altering one's thoughts) became the great Saint Valmiki, who  gifted to mankind the great Epic Ramayana.

Choosing thoughts deliberately is the first step towards creating a healthy Mind. If unattended, mind has a tendency to travel through dirty channels of negativity. Unless thought culture is cultivated with vigilance and self discipline, we all will become the victims of bad thoughts, creating a very weak and unhealthy mind. Man is the architect of his own destiny, and he does so thought by thought. If one makes a plan to choose thoughts wisely,  he can surely change the course of his  destiny. Thoughts really are things that are shaped in the incubator of one's own mind.

There is a simple practice which can guide us to shape and nurture a healthy mind. It is the practice of  converting negative thoughts into their positive equivalents. We all need to be optimists: those who  see opportunities even in the midst of  seemingly impossible to solve problems. The following will help you get a head start in the practice of converting negatives into positives:

COMMON NEGATIVES:                                             THE POSITIVES:

1. I los my job. What to do now?                    I am changing my job. God has a

                                                                               better plan for me.

2. I am sick.                                                         My body needs rest.

                                                                               I must change my habits.

3. My wife is divorcing me.                              My wife needs a change. I wish

                                                                               her the best in her life.

4. I lost money in bad investments               I learnt the hard         

                                                                               way how to invest.

5. My husband cheated on me. I shall         My husband needs help. 

     teach him a lesson.                                      To get out of his temptation

6. My boss is a jerk                                           My boss has different challenges.

                                                                              Let me help him in any way I can.

7. I hate him(her)                                             I do not like his particular action

8.Why me God? Look at all the                    I have problems. But they are all 

troubles come one after another .                opportunities in disguise!

9.I have had it! I a m quitting.                     This too shall pass!

10.Oh! What a trial!                                       God, You are testing me. With Your    

                                                                             help, I will come out clean

These are some of the examples of converting negative thoughts into positive thoughts. You can write down yourselves, on a daily basis ten positive thoughts for those negative thoughts that haunt y0u. With self discipline, and a burning desire to cultivate a healthy mind, any one can achieve this task, though it appears to be hard and frustrating. Whenever you see problems, remind yourselves that your mind is coachable and teachable. With positive thoughts flooding your mental sphere, the negative ones will drown into the  bottom of the thoughts bank, making them impotent and harmless.

THOUGHT MANAGEMENT:

Thought management is the toughest task every man and woman face in this world. It is a science as well as an art. Mental Science offers specific techniques for managing our mind. Yet only by constant practice and application of techniques can one become proficient in Thought management. Many of our religious practices are developed with the idea of thought management. And no religion is exempt from this noble task of inculcating in the followers a sense of harmony and peace arising out of right mind management techniques.

TECHNIQUES OF  THOUGHT MANAGEMENT:

1. ANCHOR THOUGHT: The first foremost technique of thought management is the Anchor Thought technique. Under this technique we employ a dominant thought to occupy the mind at all times. Ancient Hindu sages and their followers give their disciples a mantra or a holy word to recite at all times. This  is an anchor to which the mind is tied at all times.  The old saying that "an idle mind is a devil's workshop" is not only right, it points to the very weak nature of our mind, when left unattended. When your mind is anchored, it will not stray. The vibrations of the Holy Word or mantra will have a calming and uplifting effect on the mind. According to one's mental make up and religious belief one can choose any anchor thoughts. The following are some examples:

1. Amme Narayana! (mother my God)

2.Hail Mary!

3. Allah! Daya Karo(Allah, have mercy on me)

4. Budham Saranam Gachami!

2. TORTOISE TECHNIQUE:

It is said in Bhagavad Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus, that just like a tortoise withdraws its limbs into its shell, a man of perfection withdraws his senses, and his mind into himself. Here the mind represents thoughts, and we can withdraw all our thoughts to focus on the third eye( the point in between the eyes). The thought energy is no more dissipated as they are consumed by the sense organs. Thus the focused energy refreshes and revitalizes the body and mind.

The tortoise technique is a good way to relax and refresh oneself. You can lie down and consciously withdraw all the sense organs  and the mind to focus on the third eye to get maximum relaxation.When, thus relaxed the respiration slows down, enabling all the cells in the body to get maximum oxygen.

3. BEAD TECHNIQUE:

In many religions the seeker of truth counts the beads in a rosary, or japamala . Every time you utter a sacred word you count one bead, and thus the thoughts are held in focus. Monotony is a stage in which the mind is set to immerse in rest. In the beginning, like learning to play violin, it is difficult to focus attention. But with practice, it too becomes a piece of cake. But this is a grat mind management technique. Try it, you will love it!

4. CHANTING: Group Chanting or individual chanting of the thousand names of Lord, or Lord's Prayer can help us manage our otherwise, straying thoughts. The lead singer is followed by number of chanters in the group. Listening to this collective sound is both refreshing and calming to the mind. The air in such circumstances is  filled with intense emotions,  uplifting the humans to another level of experience. The emotions coupled with the melody of the music will lull the mind, enabling it to enter a state of harmony and tranquility. Who can forget our mothers sweet lullaby, no matter how old we are, and where we are in our life?

5. MEDITATION:

According to Pathanjali,  the creator of Yoga who is said to have lived a thousand years ago, "YOGAT CHITTA VRITTI NIRODHA".  Yoga or meditation is the art of stopping the prattlings of the mind. A twenty minutes practice of meditation every day will help any raw mind to relax, and ready for the much sought after harmony and calmness. When you observe your own thoughts, mind is looking at itself, erasing the harmful wastage of much needed life giving energy. A daily practice of meditation indeed is a panacea for all our stress stemming from the speed and innumerable data vying for our attention in the digital age. The cell phones, computers, tablets, face book, Tweeters, Utubes and other data spitting mini-monsters  are bombarding our mind relentlessly, and who does not like some peace and quietness at least for a few moments to regain our sanity and  vitality?

Armed with the above information, we all can make an attempt to nurture a healthy mind which will help us to develop an equally healthy body. Our mind is our window to the Universe. The Universe exists only in our mind. This includes our body too. Thus a calm and quite mind can perceive an equally calm and healthy body, which is undoubtedly a prelude  to  our emotional well being. Emotional well being is the elixir of happiness. And all our activities, and our ambitions are directed towards all the happiness we can get in this world. "ASNTHASYA KUTHAHAS SUKHAM" asks Bhagavad Gita. "Where is happiness for a man who is not at peace with himself?" So practice mind management techniques as if your entire life hangs on them, and you will be at peace with yourself and thus you will pass through this world at ease and with equanimity!

MAY THERE BE PEACE AND TRANQUILITY AMONG ALL BEINGS IN THE UNIVERSE!OM!PEACE!PEACE!PEACE!