Wednesday, April 28, 2021

On being aware.

 Here’s a little something to think about. Did you know that we are floating through life, without being aware? Sure, we are aware of where we are and what we are doing, but we aren’t really acutely aware of ourselves. And who we really are. Sure, you are aware that you are reading this. But are you aware of how your mind flutters as these words fly from your eyes to your brain, sending waves of understanding through you? Once you do, you’ll truly start being aware.

Interested? Read on to know more. 


Naturally, we all have some degree of body awareness, but very few of us make use of the full capacity of feeling. This happens due to most of us having an incomplete sense of our bodies. Some may be strongly aware of their upper bodies, and some lower. Some may feel more of their right side than their left side. In fact, this may shift from moment to moment too. This happens because of hurdles like not understanding how ‘dead’ parts of our bodies are. Now that means that these parts of our bodies are without feeling. Sure, it is our body, but we carry so much stiffness and tension around, these parts become dead to perception. It all happens because we relate to ourselves from the perspective of how we look in the mirror, or in our selfies, rather than how we are feeling. Once we start hearing our bodies, feeling each and every part, looking at our body from the eye of our mind, a new world opens up.


Imagine this new world. As you become aware of your body, the constant traffic in your mind quietens. There’s a serene silence that fills you. And your senses wake up from their deep slumber. You start feeling things you never did before. You stand and move in a more grounded way, with a strong sense of centre. You become confident in yourself. You start radiating that confidence as well.


Now that your mind and body are one, you feel whole as well. Something we rarely get the chance to feel. And once we are whole, positive energy fills our body, making us more alive than we have ever been. That’s when we start living, instead of just being alive. You get a whole sense of self. By standing on a firm grounding of being self-aware, you will be more in touch with your feelings. That means, better relationships because you’ll be communicating more articulately. It means better friendships, because you’ll be more expressive. It means loving the world, and letting it love you back. Because you will be honest, and sincere about yourself.


But it’s not just the mind. It’s also physical health. Because, here’s something most of us don’t know, our bodies are smart machines. They understand how we treat it, and work accordingly. So once we start communicating with it, we can hear what it has to tell us. Sometimes, it will point at its grievances, like an illness or pain. Sometimes it will lead us to what makes it feel good. Maybe for you that’s a long morning walk. When we are in tune with ourselves, our bodies become healthier as well. It heals us. It heals our injuries, and soothes our wounds. But as we live right now, with a lack of contact with our very own body, it hides a tsunami of stressors and tensions. When we can’t speak with our body, we will not get its warning signals and risk injuring ourselves and not even knowing what caused it. We’ll end up suppressing anger or grief, leading to the bubble bursting and lashing out at a loved one.  It’ll affect us physically and mentally, turning into an illness hidden in the corners of our bodies.


So today, promise to have greater awareness of your body. Because with great awareness, comes great responsibility. And with this greater responsibility, you can take care of yourself. In turn, allowing yourself to show your love for the ones you care for. In turn, making the world kinder. The moral being, a better world begins with you. Take care!

Monday, April 19, 2021

What is happiness?

In this modern world, many of us are living unhappy lives. Whether it’s due to work/life balance, or not being able to chase your passion, or monetary problems, unhappiness comes in various shapes and forms. Indian and Buddhist philosophies say that unhappiness is only in our minds. Wanting things we can’t get, and being unsatisfied with the things we do have, is the core of our joylessness. For example, if a person focuses on getting that dream promotion, it only plants the seeds of unhappiness, because once the person gets that dream promotion, the goalposts shift, and the dream promotion becomes the next one. So even before the person could derive joy from the current promotion, they are worried about the next one. So even when people are being challenged creatively, and living what they think are happy fulfilling lives, they are unhappy. Here’s the real deal - A long as you keep desiring for things, you will be in a state of unhappiness. Unhappiness is in our minds.

So the solution to the mass suffering must also lie in our minds.
Which leads us to yoga, somatics, and mindfulness. All these practices play off of each other, and help us be present in the current moment, to be aware of our thoughts and emotions, to be open to feelings, and instead of judging what we feel, just observing it. Being mindful helps us let go of any barriers, and observe the sensations we feel in our bodies and just…release them. Mindfulness and Yoga help us physically improve the structures in our brain, making them increase the activity of our thinking, and reduce fear. It also helps us pause, and be able to think and respond adequately.  So by forcing us to slow down and appreciate what is in front of us, these practices help us fight our need for more (our desires). Our calms mind can then carry an enhanced sense of self-awareness. This helps us recognise the paths that lead to unhappiness and instead stop, and do something more enriching instead.
This is how a mind, more capable of understanding itself, leads to happiness.

This does not mean we do not strive for more. But by being mindful, we only strive for things that fulfil our main purpose - to be happy. We do things that truly make us happy.
So today, I wish you happiness. And if you aren’t happy, I wish you the strength to let go of your desires. And achieve what you truly want.

A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. - Bhagavad Gita

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Freedom


The dictionary says that freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.

Living in a progressive and developing world, most of us are lucky enough to believe that we are free. After all, we are free to speak, free to move around, free to do what we love. But are we really free? The answer to this only lies in the skies. When we look up at birds, free from concern, just flying. Free from stresses of life, and free from worrying about tomorrow.

The bird has many reasons to worry, undoubtedly. There are predators in the same skies, waiting to catch them, but the birds only focus on the 'now'. On spreading their wings, and flying. On being free.

Today, let's promise to be more like the birds above us. To worry a little less about tomorrow. To be mindful of 'now' and be Free.

 Are you listening to your bodies voice? Life often makes us put our pain aside in order to push ourselves forward.  We are too busy to stop...