Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Stress and Tension

Mental tensions, frustrations, insecurity, aimlessness are among the most damaging stressors, and psychosomatic studies have shown how often they cause migraine headache, peptic ulcers, heart attacks, hypertension, mental disease, suicide, or just hopeless unhappiness. 

-Hans Selye

Eknath Easwaran's Commentary

A great deal of psychological stress comes from the rush and hurry of a turbulent mind, which jumps recklessly to unwarranted conclusions, rushes to judgments, and often is going too fast to see events and people as they truly are. Such a mind keeps the body under continual tension. It is constantly on the move – desiring, worrying, hoping, fearing, planning, defending, rehearsing, criticizing. It cannot stop or rest except in deep sleep, when the whole body, particularly the nervous system, heaves a sigh of relief and tries to repair the damage of the day. 


Simply by slowing down the mind – the first purpose of meditation – much of this tension can be removed. Then we are free to respond to life’s difficulties not as sources of stress but as challenges, which will draw out of us deeper resources than we ever suspected we had. A one-pointed mind is slow and sound, which gives it immense resilience under stress. With a mind like this, we always have a choice in how we respond to life around us. 

Thursday, May 6, 2021

Grounding

Grounding is being totally present in your body and feeling connected to mother earth. Having self-worth, a sense of purpose and deep trust in yourself.

Grounding can be done by:

  1. Hugging a tree
  2. Connecting with Nature
  3. Giving energy to plants - Say thank you to the plants around you; feel love and appreciation towards them.
  4. Plantation
  5. Walking barefoot on the ground
  6. Taking a bath
  7. Breathing deeply
  8. Yogasan and Pranayam
  9. Meditation
  10. Serving others
  11. Disconnecting from social media and news
  12. Positive Affirmations: https://learningspiritualscience.blogspot.com/search/label/Affirmations