Chapter-1
The most surprising thing in the entire universe is the mind itself:
If we encounter a little physical disturbance we immediately go to a doctor to find out a solution. But why we don’t bother that much while we are suffering psychologically? Now how many people are suffering with depression, suicidal tendencies, schizophrenias and other mental illnesses? Most of them prefer to suffer like that rather than going to a psychiatrist. Very few of them do go to a psychiatrist or psychologist and find solution to their problems. Why it is so? The main reason for this is lack of awareness. It should not be forgotten that the mind is the most important component.If the mind is in good condition, very difficult tasks also can be accomplished easily. So the need of the hour is to spread the necessity about taking care of the mind particularly when it is depressed.
We have to concentrate more on our mental health rather than our physical health too. In fact our body health depends mostly on the mind. If our mind is in good condition our physical health also shall be good. If we are physically alright it contributes to our mental health. It is not so that if we are mentally alright that we shall be physically also alright and if we are physically alright that we shall be mentally also alright. Physical and mental problems may arise even one of them is perfectly alright. But body and mind contributes to each other’s well being.
The most important thing in the entire universe is the mind itself. Because whatever we may do the thing that behind it is the mind itself. Behind great dams, buildings, inventions, creations and paintings, it is the mind that plays the major role. But do you know the most surprising thing here? It is the mind which is most neglected.
Whenever you disturbed a little with your body you take some reliever. If the disturbance is more you go to a physician. There are so many physicians and specialists to treat our body. There are so many medicines also available for the treatment of the same.
But how many psychiatrists and psychologists are available to treat the mind comparing with other physicians and specialists to treat the body? Even more pathetic thing is, most of the people don’t even know that they are suffering psychologically and they need to consult a psychologist or psychiatrist. In most other people’ opinion there is no necessity to worry about psychological ailments.
The point that needs to be etched in our minds is mind is the most important thing and it should not be neglected at all. In fact more care needs to be taken with respect to the mind comparing with the care that we are taking with respect to our body. If a healthy mind has become a sick mind it may cause lot of damage to the society to that person and to the family of that person also.
Some people cannot know that they are suffering psychologically. The people who are intimate with them has to find out the same and take them to a psychologist or psychiatrist. It has to be seen that the people should not be subjected depression. If some person appears to be depressed immediate care needs to be taken to see that he comes out of his depression.
There is more and more need of psychologists and psychiatrists. Even more need of the hour is to spread the word of importance of taking care of the mind
Only you can be the best psychologist and therapist for yourself:
I don’t recommend you to go to a psychologist for each and every psychological problem. Who can know more better your mind than yourself? Who can know more better than yourself from what you are mentally suffering? Then who can treat you better, give you peace than yourself? Only you can be the best psychologist and therapist for yourself. It may not be convenient to go to a psychologist even for small and minor psychological problems also. But by understanding your mind, understanding your nature, you can sort yourself most of your psychological problems.
First consider yourself as a separate person. Try to find out the solution with an openness of mind. Assess it with an impartiality. Just try to find out whether you are trying to hide anything. Try to see the roots of the problem why it has started in you at all. Then think about the solution to get rid of it.
For example you are suffering from obsessive disorder. You clean your hands many a time, see the same thing again and again. How to get rid of this obsessive disorder? Then try to know when the very first time the problem started. Were you suffering from it from your very childhood itself? Or did it start at some stage later on in your life? If you lived some of your life without suffering from this problem, it is surely possible to live the rest of your life without this problem. What all necessary is a strong resolve in yourself, perseverance and tenacity to get rid of this problem.
Imagine therapy surely shall be quite helpful in this regard. Just imagine yourself in the perfect way you want yourself to be. Do it many a time a day, not just one or two times. This gives you lot of confidence in you, slowly and slowly you can be the person you want to be.
It may appear difficult, it may appear not possible, but sure it is not so. Once you identify the gross root of your problem, it can become easier to understand it. Once you understood the problem, it can be easier to get rid of the same. As I said in the beginning of this article, only you yourself can be your best psychologist and therapist.
One caution here. All the psychological problems are not this easily possible. If they are appearing serious and persisting, consulting a professional psychologist is a must.
Mind is like a pestering child: We have to learn how to manage with it.
Ever you spend your time with children aged below eight years so? Walk with them in the streets where all types of things were available for sale? So, you sure do have an experience how the child behaves. If you are a mild and smooth character, you would be pestered to buy everything that attracts the eye of the child and almost everything attracts the eye of the child. In such situations what is the best way to behave with the children? Getting angry or beating the children does not help much. Just try to remember how you behaved in such situations. Just remain silent without bothering with the persistent demands of the child. However much the clamor of the child, don’t be yielded to the demands of it. After sometime the child understands that there wouldbe no use in pestering you and remain silent.
This is the way you need to behave with your mind also. Mind is nothing but like a pestering child. It makes all types of unnecessary demands without bothering with what type of work you are indulged in. Just don’t try to reason with it or get angry or try to come terms with it. Just be calm without bothering whatever may be it demands. After sometime it very well understands that there is no use in pestering you with demands and remain silent.
You just need to learn how to go along with the mind and manage it. I don’t use the word discipline here. It is too harsh a word and you cannot discipline your mind. If you try to discipline, if you try to put your mind into order, it becomes even more wild. Just learn how to manage with it and how to go along with it.
The three states of mind: you need to keep a watch on it.
When I said three states of mind, I don’t mean waking state, dreaming state and deep sleep state. These three states are different and they relates to thinking. Sometimes thoughts come all by themselves into your mind which is unintentional thinking. Sometimes you particularly think about something and it is intentional thinking. Sometimes there would be no thoughts either intentional or unintentional, the mind remains blank and it is a neutral stage.
In whatever state your mind may be you have to keep a watch on it. You need not make air tight concentration on your mind and see what it is doing. If you try to do it like that it gets you headache. Just try to be conscious what your mind is doing. Even sometimes you slip watching the mind there is no problem whatsoever. Put yourself on the job again keeping a smile on your lips. If you do it relaxingly it is fun and very soon you start enjoying it because it gives you a feeling that you are distinct and different from your mind.
The problem comes in differentiating between the intentional and unintentional thoughts. Even the mind put the thoughts without your intention, you think you are doing the thoughts intentionally. If you go on with practicing, you can know whether you are thinking intentionally or thoughts come all by themselves.
The whole thing lies in a simple technique: Systematically separate yourself form the mind:
Yes. If you understand, if you try to do just as I have said you sure can understand the substance in my saying. All the time you are separate, distinct and different from the mind. Just because you are associating yourself with the mind, thinking yourself that you are the mind, causing the whole set of problems. It may be difficult to think that you are different from the mind. You just cannot imagine yourself how you are different from the mind. But I can show you and demonstrate to you how and why you are not the mind and different from the mind.
Before going into the matter how you are not the mind and different from it, we shall see what exactly this mind is. You may have heard many a time that the mind is nothing but bundle of thoughts (imaginations, visualizations and feelings collectively take as thoughts). That means there is no mind if there are no thoughts. These thoughts are like clouds in the sky and they come and go and you can see the thoughts and know about the thoughts. If we take that you are the mind itself (then thoughts itself) who it is observing the thoughts? This itself clearly demonstrates that you are different from the thoughts
I shall give you another example to demonstrate to you that you are not the mind. Ever you find yourself suddenly thinking about something without your knowledge at all? You may be doing something like walking, reading, writing, etc. and your mind go on thinking about something without your knowledge at all. With a jerk in the middle of whatever you may be doing it is either reading or writing or something else, you find yourself thinking about something without your knowledge.
The surprising thing to be noticed here is, while you have engaged yourself in something wholeheartedly then what it is engaged in some other thinking? This is the simple example and demonstration to say that you are not the mind but different from the mind. If you are the mind itself then there is no chance that you go from the task you put yourself in wholeheartedly to think something entirely different.
Then I venture to ask you to think about deep sleep. Where are these thoughts then? Absolutely nowhere. Do you say that you are not in existence at all as there are no thoughts in deep sleep? No. Then what is in existence while you are in deep sleep? It is pure ‘you’ but nothing else. The pure ‘you’ shall be like that. The deep sleep is a gift to us from God to understand our real selves.
Just think about deep sleep. As many people think, deep sleep is not at all an inactive or lethargy state. It is not all a nil state or state of nothing. It is a state which is most potential and useful to us. Just try to remember how do you feel in deep sleep? You just want to be in it all the time, forever and infinite. If someone disturbed you while you are sleeping deeply, you get angry and you become annoyed. Why so? Because it is a blissful state and it is a state of you which you don’t want to leave at all.Therefore, it is that much dearer and that much sweeter to you.
In fact that state you are in while you fall into deep sleep is not something you have to get. Because when you get rid of mind (the thoughts) that is what remains. It is just like the screen in a movie theatre. When there are movies projecting on the screen, you do see only the pictures. When the pictures stopped only the screen remains. In the same way when the thoughts are going on (mind is in existence) you do see only the thoughts. But when the thoughts stop (mind ceases to exist), you remain and you came into the experience of yourself.
The only problem here is you yourself are not able to stop the thoughts. They have to be stopped themselves as they are in the deep sleep. If we allow it to be so we get that blissful stage only in our deep sleep. The main thing to consider here is how to stop the thoughts. I am going to tell you about how to stop thoughts in my next article.
How to stop thoughts?
You can say this in another way how to make the mind non-existing as the mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts. Can we do that willfully or intentionally? Can we stop the thoughts coming into our mind? Can we make the mind non-existing at will?
Try to follow whatever your method you have heard or coming to know to stop the thoughts and see that the thoughts are giving a pause or not. I agree that sure there shall be a pause in the thoughts but it would not be much. Moreover it is not going to be comfortable for you. In that forceful thought-less stage you cannot feel the bliss which you do feel in your deep sleep. My sincere suggestion to you is don’t try to stop the thoughts at will. Don’t try to make the mind nil at force.
Alright then, what should be done? Should you remain a victim of thoughts all the time? Is there no way at all to enjoy the bliss which we enjoy in our deep sleep in any other time? Sure there is. I am going to clarify this for you.
What you need to understand at the first place is thoughts or the mind you may apply whichever term you feel more comfortable to you is not at all dangerous or harmful. It is not the thoughts that are bothering you but it is your feelings created by those thoughts that bother you. First of all you have to understand the incessant nature of the mind or thoughts. If they do come, just let them come all the time, what is the problem? Let all types of thoughts fill your mind you just don’t bother.After waking up you hear many types of sounds around you till you fall asleep in the night, would you bother at all? Consider the unnecessary or unintentional thoughts in the same way. Don’t even acknowledge those thoughts and just let them take a whirlwind tour of your mind.
It may appear difficult and frustrating in the beginning. But if you do go practicing it, it becomes quite easier to you. The surprising thing here is once you start disregarding the unnecessary thoughts they automatically stop bothering you. Gradually you yourself can witness a calm and peaceful state in yourself.
The most important thing that needs to be noticed here is, once you have excelled in practicing this technique, even there are all sorts of unintentional or involuntary thoughts in you, they don’t bother you at all. You can feel as much comfortable and peaceful as possible even with all these noisy unnecessary thoughts as you do feel while none of these thoughts are present, once you have become an expert in disregarding the unnecessary thoughts
