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Some thoughts on the mind body soul connection

Some thoughts on Mind Body & Soul


My own amateur off the head thoughts are that the mind is a powerful instrument that you can use to your advantage but if you let it rule over you then you’ll be at a loss. The body is the platform for the physical manifestation of the intentions of the mind. Therefore, whatever you think, so you will become. And the soul is the way to the highest consciousness of humankind that is present in all of us under layers of experiences, fears and learnings. When someone says that you need to understand and use this body mind and soul connection, they probably mean that while doing all your activities during the day you bring awareness of the roles that each of these plays and then learn to redirect that awareness towards using it to reach your goal.

One great way of setting your mind free from the limitations that it perceives is the practice of yoga. When you try to learn a new posture and some part of your body doesn’t give way, you can attempt to move further into it by pushing yourself as much as possible. Knowing that the only way you’re feeling pain at that point is the message your body is giving to your brain about the pain, you can try to redirect your attention to your breathing and to the huge benefits of actually eventually making your body more flexible. The limitation and fear of the mind bring about the inflexibility in the body and the “I can’t” response. Don’t let that throw you back but instead move forward and do your best and in turn your mind and body will both be stronger.

I believe lots and lots, probably years of practice will teach you to listen to the faint voice within that is not a conjuration of your mind. Something inside will guide you to see that one voice is telling you what your highest good is while the other is bringing up fears, doubts and uncertainties which will impede your progress. I would say this is probably one of the most important goals of understanding the mind body soul connection; to be able to tell one voice from the other and to know which one to follow. And in order to make that a habit then, you need to go deeper and understand the soul, which is the universal existence and connection between all human beings.

I want to get old gracefully. I want to have good posture, I want to be healthy and be an example to my children.

 

I believe that posture plays an all important role in your mental as well as physical well-being. How many times have you heard from people that the reason for your back ache is your posture. But somehow everyone equates that only to slouching. Of course thats something that needs to be paid attention to. But there are so many other aspects that go unnoticed. If you look at yourself in the mirror with keen attention, you will begin to notice those small hardly noticeable posture imbalances. Do you stand with your weight on the ball of your foot majority of the time? Are your heels under more stress than the rest of your foot? Do you tend to lean towards one side only weighing on one of your feet? Is one of your shoulder constantly lower than the other? All these and many other such habits over a long period can cause muscle weakness and shortening. Imagine the amount of stress you’re placing on your body by being in an unnatural asymmetric posture for long periods!

I was deliberating more on the effects it can have on your mental health though. I have been noticing great leaders, visionaries, or selfless workers and most of them have a dignity and charisma about their personality. None of them have a poor posture!  I believe your body expresses your mental state. Confusion, low self esteem and lack of self awareness will show on your body just like determination, clarity of thought and calmness do. Of course stress causes you to breathe shallow which in turn causes poor posture and sometimes the link is different. But they’re all inter-related.

I have been practicing yoga and it has helped me immensely to improve my posture and there’s a difference, both inside and out! I not only feel so much better about myself, my heels hurt lesser and my back feels stronger J

So today, walk with your feet firm on the ground in each step, a straightened elongated spine, head held high, open chest and feel strong in your core. Ahh...feels great to be the owner of this body..doesn’t it?

My land..

My agony and ecstasy..the beautiful and ugly.....the greenery and the dirt....the passionate believer and the eternal despondent....my country, my land, my world, my home...

Ouch! the utmost difficult first time away from home in a different country...can be quite a trying time..Without even realizing it I've enjoyed such little things that come as a part of being in India.....The early morning bustle in the streets which meant that milk trucks were on their way while milkmen knocked doors and rang bells...lots of mothers and wives set about cleaning their front porch to decorate it with lovely rangoli....the newspaper delivery guy was hard at work and auto wallahs came to pick up little ones trudging their way with heavy bags...mm...do we ever realize when its happening..what will really make us nostalgic some years hence...I guess thats why the wise ones tell us to live every minute to the fullest...But I am never going to stop missing those unexpected sweets that were sent our way on every engagement, festival, party, wedding, function...I am so grateful for being a part of such a vibrant community and ever so glad about all the yummy food that is its legacy....
And now that I am away from home...I don't love my country inspite of its weaknesses..but love it for all that it is.....

My love my loyalty my passion will remain in my country..

and I will remain proud of it inspite of its weaknesses
but never become defensive when I see its shortcomings
and never fail to appreciate the marvelous accomplishments of its people
but never stop recognizing the scope for improvement
and do everything in my might to create awareness, respect and peace
but never condemn those who create and support bloodshed..cos they're victims as well..
and most of all never stop believing in its strength, beauty and potential..
......and there remains nothing to slight that faith..it will remain...undyingly so...for as long as eternity....

Writer....me?

Life has changed a lot since I last posted in here...though I can be sure of one thing...Atleast 2-3 dozen times I thought about how I could write a post about this passing thought...or that nagging question...one or the other subjects came to my head and of course nothing really came out of it...All of those beautiful thoughts that run through my head, sometimes I wonder how much they're worth..how important is it to capture those in words..put it down on paper..let others read and see where you're coming from...

I guess I'd like to believe that the first reason I need to capture them is for myself...to help me structure those thoughts, to find meaning out of the ramblings, to help me see the progress and maturity I am gaining through the years and give myself that pat on the back :D and then there are other reasons...sharing whats in your head..the pleasure of coming across someone who relates with it in some way..the satisfaction of being recognized and appreciated (c'mon everyone needs that...inspite of that stuff about how you don't need approval if you know for yourself how good you are..I am probably not completely there yet)

Anyway, my return to blogging yet again at this time is to measure my mettle as a writer...I have thought about it a few times of late..thats a little more than the frequency with which the question came to my head a couple of years ago..I just sit back and think of those days when I was in India in my room at the computer table whose chair was kinda uncomfortable...and how I used to think hard and do my best to make the blog post profound, the article meaningful and the movie review witty...and some of those things came naturally to me while others I worked on improving...but the one common thing was the the way my heart swelled when I looked at the finished piece..(oops that's called MTI, literal translation from one's mother tongue - the 'heart swelled' part)...

Back to my question, I still can't seem to get over that eternal question about what I am meant to do, or what it is that I feel so passionately about that I'd probably do for years even without getting paid for it..and one of the only few things that come really close is writing....which is why I am back here on MY space on the net...it feels good :)

The balance

Mum says “The more knowledge one gains, the more humble they should get”. It’s a beautiful thought. I pondered on it. Here's what came about: What’s always needed is a balance. It’s amazing how the beautiful principle works itself in different ways.

Life needs to find a balance in order to keep running smoothly. And if you let that sway to either side, then there are bound to be repercussions. Let’s take a phenomenal financial expert for example. Let’s says that he always has the right investment advice and is a complete sensation at his subject. He loves his wife dearly, who generally likes to devote all her time to her household and is probably not the kind of financial wizard he could have an ‘intellectual’ discussion with. There could be times he finds something gone amiss in his relationship as he cannot come back home one fine evening and share with his wife, the positive impact his decision had on a major business plan. It’s definitely something that would affect him adversely in the long run, as he would feel that the thing that’s closest to his life is something that his life partner finds difficult to appreciate. This might be a situation one needs to look a little more deeply at. I mentioned earlier that life needs to find a balance. In the higher realm of things, everything places itself the way it does because of that same balance. If you take the example of the investment advisor: He might have a really close friend who is in a similar career and encourages and applauds him on all his successes. Or tomorrow he might have a daughter who grows up to be a financial genius and discusses and appreciates all those market insights with her dad.

And you’l see these if you look around and reflect on it a little. I have personally seen people who have lost their loved ones and find that they get that kind of love and support from other people who probably play a different role in your life. A girl who loses her father might find a guide in a friend or life-partner who is a father-figure. A woman who lost her dear sister finds that she shares that intimate bonding with a friend now.

I heard a friend saying, that if an IIT pass out woman wants to choose a life partner, she needs to find a man who is at least an IIT graduate or a student of some college ranked higher than that. And the reason she felt that way was because the men end up having ego issues with a woman who is intellectually superior to them. I understand and admire the IIT’ians for the way they are a class apart and also agree that they are intellectually sound and extremely hardworking people. To the women, - do you really want to make that decision behind a brand name that is attached to you. If you brought in modesty and humbleness along with the peaks of your career achievements, there is every way that you can have a harmonious and fulfilling relationship with your husband. To the men, I know that there are those fragile egos and other people’s words that can fire you up. But do you want your self-respect to be affected by anyone else. If you are self-assured and contented, nothing will really touch you.

If you are the most intelligent thinker, or the most proficient person, there’s every effort you should make to be the most self-effacing person as well. Knowledge is power and that knowledge includes this awareness and letting go of the ego, the “I”, too. If you can be the best at the job you have taken up, why not be the best at being humblest as well. True awareness comes from striking that ‘balance’.

There are people who let themselves be affected by the society’s definition of successful, rich, intelligent and talented in that they feel they cannot have beautiful interactions with certain people because they either do not share the same wave length with them or they do not have common interests. It helps to understand that every person who comes your way is there because you and he/she are to share some messages between each other and whether you find someone who complements your thoughts or is a negation to all your convictions, there will something you will take back from them anyway. So bless everything that comes your way and trust the process of life and the universe to bring you everything that’s best for you.

My Last Post Got Deleted :((

Well, I just have me to blame! I had started on my previous post ages back and just for the reason that I could not give it any satisfactory conclusion, I kept postponing it. Now I have no other go but to suffer losses. In any case, I decided to be less finicky about my posts and be a little more spontaneous and well, prompt in completing what I start.

So here I am going to attempt to answer the question, "Why am I so fond of talking about profound issues that our lives are enmeshed in". I think it goes back to the time when I started these conversations with my pal, who was a pyschology student, completely passionate about her subject. We discussed things about how we as individuals had been influenced by every circumstance we had been in and how that had shaped us, and our lives now. She used to read up new books every other day, which concerned her subject. And I used to borrow them from her, even if for a few hours, and read up and more importantly, absorb, all I could. I remember one book that made a significant impact on me. It was on the subject of Anger Management and I learnt and understood how pent-up emotions were detrimental to one's emotional health and hence their personality and most other aspects of their life. Those things were just the beginning. They say that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear". For me, this translated into coming across people with whom I was able to discuss more such issues. Learn and understand myself better, with each passing day.
I learnt that difficulties make you evolve as a person and the sooner you learn the lesson its meant to give you, the faster they will fade away. Of course, growth is constantly happening and hence problems will continue to arise. Every issue that stops concerning you(and you have grown over), will cease to come back into your life. And as you learn to not let them affect you and keep moving on, you will move into a higher level of awareness.
I have learnt that every person and each situation you come across is meant to give you a message. There is a reason why things happen and if you look beyond the obvious, then there's lots you'll marvel in life!
I enjoy the awareness cos it gives you a chance to look beneath the superficial existence and enjoy higher learning and growth. After all, what can be more wondrous than life's wonder! Of course, all of this doesnt mean that I am not intrigued anymore, or that there isn't more to learn. Infact, I work on keeping the curiosity alive and being open to fresh new perspectives. A dose of a "book, discussion, blog, new thought" is more than welcome, whenever its attempting to search the answer to a penetrating question like the one i tried, in this post!