Historically, a pandemic seems to have occurred once in a 100 years, roughly. That means, for most of us alive today, this is a completely new experience! We have had little experience with a situation like this. What does this bring about? Uncertainty, change leading to more change, unexpected change bringing about anxiety – anxiety …
Dealing with Anxiety in the times of the Coronavirus Read More »
It is hard to come by a person who has not experienced moments when they are swallowed up by a vacuum within themselves and in their lives. For many, these moments are fleeting. But some of us have a sense of meaninglessness deeply entrenched in our lives. The questions What am I doing here?, What is …
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I FIND LIFE TO BE MEANINGLESS? Read More »
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”“The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”William Shakespeare We have always been told that situations don’t define us, but what matters is our attitude towards the situation. So then, what is the difference between someone …
When you have low self esteem, you tend to question your ability most of the time. Most people around seem to be doing better than you, and you don’t see enough competence in yourself.
The tough part about having low self esteem is that you tend to go on for several years in life believing within that you are not good enough. You feel inhibited in some situations…
Imagine you are a ship. On a voyage. Swayed by gentle breeze or choppy waves everyday. You feel pulled back or pushed ahead. At times, you find it difficult to stay on course. Wouldn’t you want to have an anchor, to keep you steady?
If the ship is your mind, the breeze and waves are your thoughts which take you to the past and future… but what is the anchor??
The anchor is something that is with you all the time – it is the ‘present’
Discovering the Present through Mindfulness
Mindfulness means paying attention to the present, completely and fully. It is a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience, be it of what you see/hear/smell, or your breath or even your thoughts.
The Mental Health Awareness Weekend begins tomorrow, and we are looking forward to it!
For today, we decided to share with all of you a little memento that we’re planning to give away to those whom we meet tomorrow.
But first, some background about the memento…
“My life is pathetic”
“Others are so much happier than I am!”
“I will never be able to make friends”
These are thoughts aren’t they? Often, we experience distress, anxiety, discomfort and a lot of pain because of our thoughts. We have a thought or a belief about something, which causes us stress.
In the course of life, our mind is flooded with thoughts. If you take even a minute to be aware of your mind, you will know just how active your mind really is. It is constantly evaluating, judging or making sense of events around it. Such is the nature of the mind. The mind as a faculty thinks and interprets events.
However, what happens when our thoughts begin to distress us? When this mental chatter begins weighing us down? For some of you, your mind thinks certain things over and over again. Or, it thinks in a certain way over and over. It keeps going on about how lonely or unwanted you are, or about how you are uncertain if you are heading in the right direction in life. How then can you deal with it?
Here is a special story that shows us how we identify with happiness… Its a short sufi middle eastern story taken from here The Sack Mula came upon a frowning man walking along the road to town. “What’s wrong?” he asked. The man held up a tattered bag and moaned, “All that I own in this …
This is a small story, holding a big message.. Hope It Inspires You 🙂
A Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it.
He held it up for all to see & asked the students “How much do you think this glass weighs?”
’50gms!’….. ‘100gms!’ …..’125gms’ …the students answered.
“I really don’t know unless I weigh it,” said the professor, “but, my question is:
What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?”
‘Nothing’ …the students said.
‘Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?’ the professor asked.
‘Your arm would begin to ache’ said one student.
“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”
“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!” … Ventured another student & all the students laughed
“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the
professor.
We specialize in combining psychotherapy with deep wellness practices like mindfulness and meditation and creating a customized mental health plan for individuals and organisations.
We specialize in combining psychotherapy with deep wellness practices like mindfulness and meditation and creating a customized mental health plan for individuals and organisations.
A young woman from another country moved with her family to live for one year in a town near the monastery. When, in the course of the year she discovered the monastery, she would periodically visit to have discussions with the Abbess. The Abbess introduced her to meditation, which became very meaningful for the young woman.
When the family’s year-long stay was drawing to an end, the young woman asked the Abbess, “In my country there is no Buddhism and no one has even heard about meditation. How can I continue to learn and deepen the practice you have started me on?”
The Abbess said, “When you return home ask far and wide for who, among the wise people, is recognized as having the greatest ability to listen. Ask that person to instruct you in the art of listening. What you learn about listening from such a person will teach you how to further your meditation practice.
― Gil Fronsdal, A Monastery Within: Tales from the Buddhist Path
