7295647 Positive Thinking is Not a New Concept

8/3/2019 7295647 Positive Thinking is Not a New Concept

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Positive thinking is not a new concept, but in recent decades it has been

increasingly gaining currency among the global populace. There is almost aconsensus on the value of consciously cultivating positive thinking for

individual health, happiness and success

A friend is undergoing surgery as I write this, but she chose not to let any of us knowabout it. When the news inadvertently reached a mutual friend who called her to

commiserate, she was not enthusiastic. She agreed to disclose it only on thecondition that we do not call her. She wanted some peace and quiet, she said. This

might seem an attempt to bury her head in the sand. But I know my friend's quietcourage and self-awareness too much to suspect this to be the motive. I figure that

she wants to spare herself the concern, anxiety and false bonhomie all of us arebound to express. No matter how well meaning, such gestures are invariably fuelled

by fear and dread, emotions that she could well do without.

It made me think of the negativity we load our lives with and how counter-productive

it is. Take the US-Taliban confrontation. Whether we feel anger at the Americans orat Osama bin Laden, or sorrow at the meaningless deaths, first of the Americans and

now of the helpless Afghans, we flood the situation with negativity. What is neededinstead is a dispassionate acceptance of the situation and a single-minded intention

to resolve it. The single-mindedness is the key. So one-pointed should our attention

be that negativity simply has no place in the scheme of things.

This state of positivity without an opposite is potent. Free of negating doubts orfears, one's attention focuses unwaveringly on the subject of our intention, knowing

fully well that what we intend will happen. In my friend's case, for instance, where I

would once be consumed by fear and call out to God in my helplessness, this state ofpositivity would indicate a steadfast intention for her healing. It may be accompanied

by a prayer, but importantly, no longer in helplessness but with the calm self-

possession of love. God shifts into the role of a helper and beloved friend rather thanthe omnipotent power He was earlier.

Surely this is the ground of all creation? The Upanishads reiterate that the Realized

One can manifest anything he desires, simply by intending it. They also assert thatthis power of instant manifestation can only arise in one who has learnt to control his

senses, overcome desire, fear and anger.

What is it like, this state of positivity? What kind of life would we lead when

immersed in it? I think it is a state of concentrated energy, for we will be freed of allthe negative thoughts that steal away our energy and dissipate our focus. It will be a

quiet and still state of mind, with no conflict, for the latter is the direct result ofnegative thoughts. It would be a peaceful and happy state of mind, regardless of

circumstances. Most of all, it would be a highly effective state of the mind, for itwould zero in on what needs to be done and do it. It would also be a tremendous

force for good.

No matter how hopeless or terrible the situation, the positive spirit will prevail,seeing the opportunities inherent in the situation and providing a beacon of hope for

others around it. Serenely oblivious to the negative, it does not occur to him/her to
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falter or doubt, forging ahead regardless, confident in the ultimate good of things.

The corollary is that the positive individual is also a black hole for the negativity

around him. In his presence, the negativity dissolves and dissipates, never to appearagain.

How is it that negativity simply cannot touch such an individual? One could say thathis energy is at a higher frequency than that of negativity, thereby shielding him

from its influence. At the level of deconditioning, s/he would have bored through allthat came between him and his blissful inner core. In other words, she would have

transcended desire and freed herself of fear and anger.

What is the relationship such an individual has between her intention and surrender

to God's will? What if God does not want the peaceful resolution of the Afghansituation? I can only hazard a guess. The positivist operates from the stand that man

proposes, God disposes. We never stop thinking positive, but we leave the outcome

strictly in the hand of God, retaining with ourselves only the ability to see the

positive in any outcome.

No belief is right or wrong. It is either empowering or limiting

Ever heard the story of the four-minute mile? For years people

believed that it is impossible for a human being to run a mile inless than four minutes until Roger Banister proved it wrong in

1954. Within one year, 37 runners broke the belief barrier. And theyear after that, 300 other runners did the same thing.

What happens if you put an animal in a pond? Any animal, big or

small, will swim its way through. What happens when someone,

who does not know how to swim, falls in deep waters? You drown.If an animal who has not learned swimming could escape byswimming, why not you? Because you believe you will drown while

the animal does not.

You have used a computer keyboard or a typewriter. Ever wondered why thealphabets are organized in a particular order in your keyboard? You might have

thought it is to increase the typing speed. Most people never question it. But the factis that this system was developed to reduce the typing speed at a time when

typewriter parts would jam if the operator typed too fast.

These three cases show the power of our beliefs. There is no other more powerful

directing force in human behavior than belief. Your beliefs have the power to createand to destroy. A belief delivers a direct command to your nervous system.

Have you heard about the placebo effect? People who are told a drug will have a

certain effect will many times experience that effect even when given a pill withoutthose properties.

I use a snake in my workshops for children to show them how unrealistic some of


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their beliefs are. Students of a school in New Delhi, India, said snakes are slippery,slimy and poisonous. After doing an exercise for changing beliefs, they handled my

snake and found it to be dry and clean. They also remembered that only three types

of poisonous snakes exist in India.

Have you ever scanned the 'to-let' advertisements in newspapers? Many say 'South

Indians preferred'. Why? Many house owners told me that it is easier to get SouthIndians to vacate. The belief was that South Indians do not have the guts to fight.

Now you figure out the impact of LTTE supremo Prabhakaran and Southernsandalwood smuggler Veerappan in changing this belief!

It is also our belief that determines how much of our potential we will be able to tap.

So you better examine some of your beliefs minutely. For example, do you believethat you can excel in whatever you do? Do you believe you are bad in mathematics?

Do you believe that other people don't like you? Do you believe life is full ofproblems? What are your beliefs about people?

No belief is right or wrong. It is either empowering or limiting. A belief is nothing but

the generalization of a past incident. As a kid if a dog bit you, you believed all dogsto be dangerous. To change a particular behavior pattern, identify the beliefs

associated with it. Change those beliefs and a new pattern is automatically created.

I read this incident in a New York newspaper. "She met him in a singles' bar and theytalked for a while. He offered her a drink and she enjoyed his company. Then he

offered to drop her back home. While driving back, she realized that they weremoving through narrow and strange roads. 'Oh God where is he taking me?' she

thought but did not have the guts to ask. She cursed her decision to get into his car.All of a sudden she saw him taking a turn back into the highway just near her house.

Smiling, he said: 'I took a short cut'."

Did this story end the way you thought? Review your beliefs now and find out which

ones are empowering and which ones you need to change.

If you want to live longer, be happy, healthy and successful, all you have todo is tell yourself that you can do it by tapping the healing forces within

There is no greater joy than a healthy, positive life. You feel exhilarated, energetic,

happy and on top of the world. A sense of total well being permeates your mind. Thefuture looks bright. You feel good to be alive.

Great, but how do we get out of our innumerable worries, tensions and fears that the

increasingly competitive life burdens us with? Simple! Tell yourself that you are good,

healthy and capable. That is the power of positive affirmations.

Such affirmations are also called self-suggestions. It is a powerful tool for

transforming your inner self into an amazing health generating, self-healing entity.You can record these affirmations on a tape synchronized with pleasant instrumental

music and replay them often to make them more effective and permanent.

SELF-INDOCTRINATION


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Psychology says that our mind controls our body. So, taking charge of your mindbecomes a vital factor in keeping your body healthy. You can do this through

affirmations that establish the power of your mind. Try: "With the power of positive

thinking I now take charge of my body to maintain perfect health, strength andhappiness unconditionally, now and always, so be it." When you repeat this, the

misleading programs of your mind will be erased.

It is said that we are never given a wish without the power to fulfill it. Each person is

capable of programming his own mind to achieve what he desires. You can tap thiscapability by following a few simple steps. But before you begin, make yourself

totally relaxed and be consciously willing to adopt the method.

Attuning yourself with nature guarantees an overall healthy life. To modify thisstatement into an affirmation, say: "I attune myself with nature to stay healthy now

and forever."

You can have the right kind of food by affirming: "I can attract healthy food to keepmyself fit, healthy and strong, everyday."

You can develop the habit of exercising your body and mind by affirming: "I can

easily get up early in the morning everyday to exercise and keep fit and cheerful."

In case you are an insomniac, all you have to do is repeat: "I can relax into soundsleep now and wake up revitalized, alert, bright and cheerful early in the morning. It

is done. So be it."

Sometimes, social influences play their part in either inducing or encouragingnegative thinking. This is the stage where most doctors give up the case as

incurable. So, to find the right doctor, suggest mentally to yourself: "I will locate theright doctor who can cure me completely in a simple, easy and positive way, now and

always."

Your health problems can be dissolved by affirming: "I can now dissolve all my health

problems, worries and fears easily, quickly and successfully in simple, easy and

positive ways. So be it."

MAGNETIC RELAXATION

Unlike sleeping, magnetic relaxation requires you to be physically at rest butsubconsciously alert. When your conscious mind is relaxed, the positive suggestions

seep into your subconscious. To achieve maximum benefit from relaxation:

Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down on a bed. Let go of all the tension by repeating to yourself: "I can now relax

comfortably. I can now relax my body. I can now relax my mind. Easily,quickly and positively. Now I can enjoy the state of alert relaxationpeacefully."

Let a feeling of soothing comfort take over. Let go of yourself totally. Feel a universal healing energy surrounding you and

getting absorbed into your body and mind. Feel a cool breeze around your body. Visualize a white sparkling light pouring

through your head down your body and seeping deep within you.


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Think that soothing and healing forces are vibrating within and radiating from

you. Maintain a positive and peaceful state of mind during the session. Also, take

precautions that you are not disturbed. Mentally repeat to yourself: "Day by day in every way I'm getting better and

better and better."

This is a general formula that will heal you of all sickness. Emile Coue, a Frenchdoctor, recommended it for physical, mental and emotional well-being. It can be

mentally repeated as many times as possible.

MAGNETIC ABSORPTIONThe subconscious has the knowledge, power, wisdom and understanding to heal and

maintain perfect health. It is the interference of negative suggestions that causes illhealth and weakness. So, whenever you feel that something is not right, use

affirmations to get back on the right track. Here is a simple one that can be absorbedinto your subconscious to keep your body fit: "Attuned with universal healing powers

and the source of life, all my body organs are now becoming normal and fit, and theywill function perfectly to maintain excellent health, strength and vitality up to a great

age."

USING THE SUBCONSCIOUSThe subconscious mind is perfectly programmed with a survival package in the form

of universal instincts that can be synchronized with conscious programs to live inharmony. Accepting your subconscious instincts relieves you of half of your health

problems.

The subconscious is always receptive to suggestions that transpire from yourconscious mind. So keep your conscious mind filled with creative, positive, pleasant,

peaceful and productive thoughts. When you repeat an affirmation in a relaxed stateof mind, it works wonders. To retain these suggestions, repeat them often, till you

feel confident that they have become a permanent habit.

The subconscious mind is an all-powerful, omnipresent and omniscient gift. Peacewill prevail in your life when these conditions are maintained. So, affirm often: "I

most willingly accept healthy, happy and self-healing success programs of mysubconscious mind consciously for total fitness, now and always."

It is easy to program your subconscious to integrate your inner healing power into a

self-healing force. All that you aspire for will come to pass. New friends, newrelationships, new ideas, new thoughts and new plans can motivate you to become a

powerful optimist. So affirm: "Today I am a new, dynamic, and optimistic futurist

flooded with positive thoughts of successful self-healing."

VITAL LIFE ENERGY

Magnetic energy plays a vital role in self-healing. The more energy you generatethrough eating, breathing and exercising, the longer you will live with health and

happiness. It is said that man does not live by bread alone but by every word thatcomes out of his mouth. When we speak to ourselves in positive terms, we tend


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towards self-healing. We can build up positive statements like:

I am healing myself positively.

Positive energy is keeping me healthy.

Healing myself and others is easy for me.

I have the positive habit of deep breathing.

Today I am feeling better than ever before.

Tomorrow I am going to be perfectly all right.

FEEL YOUNG, LIVE LONGER

Age is an attitude of the mind. When you think youthful, you feel youthful. Energycan also be enhanced by being active, alert and awake most of the time.

In my experimentation with autosuggestion, I feel that new frontiers can be explored

in the process of evolution. Some of them are:

Assert firmly to reverse aging. Take it as a challenge. Use the countdown method to feel young and energetic after 50. Subtract the

number of years that you are over 50 from 50 and affirm that age constantly.

For example, if you are 55, all that you have to do is to count downwards theyears of your age by subtracting five from 50 and imagine that you are 45.

Now build up positive magnetic statement like: "Today I am 45 years young."

The second phase is to regain the natural color and abundance of youthful hair on

your head. But consistent practice coupled with firm determination is required onyour part. You can begin the practice right now by affirming: "I am determined to

regain all the hair on my head with its natural youthful color as soon as possible."Mentally repeat it 21 times just before you go to sleep at night.

SELF-HEALING IN SEVEN DAYS

The magnetic self-healing schedule that follows is an invincible method that can takeyou to the height of perfect health, strength and happiness. After practicing it for aperiod of seven days you will find that all your past health problems automatically

disappear. The watchword here is consistency. All that you have to do is read theaffirmations as soon as you get up in the morning and before going to sleep. It has

cured me. It can do the same for you. Now read the following:

I'm relaxed, my body is relaxed.

My mind is relaxed, my emotions are relaxed.

I am now totally relaxed. I am getting better, stronger and happier forever.

Now make yourself comfortable. Read the affirmation given below focusing your eyes

in a half-closed manner as if you are reading it half asleep.

Hold your breath comfortably and read each statement twice. Relax after reading it.Don't hurry. Don't worry. You will see the difference from the very first day. After you

practice the magnetic affirmations for seven days, let go of it. You can always comeback to the seven-day program whenever you feel the need. You can mentally repeat

each affirmation for the whole day but remember to hold your breath while doing so.


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Now repeat:

My body and mind are clean and energetic. I love my body. Today I am becoming strong, powerful, dynamic, happy-go-lucky and

attractive. Today I can choose to take total interest in regaining perfect health

successfully. Today I assert, affirm and relax with total freedom to heal myself with the

power of thought.

Today I am on the way to recovery easily, quickly and successfully to become

healthy, happy and free.

Today I have regained normalcy with the power of positive thought

successfully. Today health and energy are vibrating and radiating from me.

Do it for seven days at a stretch and discover the new, optimistic you who can take

anything in his stride. It only takes a little belief and a little determination to changeyour life.

WAYS TO REPLACE YOUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Have you ever thought about the fact that there is never a moment when

you are not thinkingthat whatever happens in this world begins with athought? Here are five simple steps to help you manage your thoughts and

achieve success and happiness in life

BE AWARE OF YOUR THOUGHTSStart watching your thoughts, without identifying with them. Watch them as adetached observer.

You may even get carried away by your thoughts. Never mind. It is natural

especially for a beginner. What you need to do, whenever you detect this, is to takeyourself out of your thoughts immediately and get back to the process of thought-

watching once again as a detached observer.

Do not get perturbed by your thoughts. Don't condemn or justify them. Don't try tocontrol them. Just watch them. After some time, you will come to know what your

negative thoughts are about. Now concentrate on all the positive thoughts that youcan replace these thoughts with, in order to switch over to a more positive attitude

towards them. Our attempt should be to cut down the quantity of unnecessarythoughts and to improve the quality of the necessary ones. Keep yourself busy.

Simple food, deep breathing and relaxation exercises also help manage yourthoughts easily. Expect less from others.

IDENTIFY NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

Keep a logbook. Jot down your thoughts. Write down happenings of the day. Werethey positive, appropriate and adequate or were they confused, superfluous and


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negative? Could you notice the interval between the happening and your response? Ifyes, could your foresee your negative thoughts? If not, what can, you do to notice

this interval? Was there any discrepancy between words and thoughts? If yes, was it

justifiedcould you find a better way of harmonizing your words and thoughts? Wasthe verbal response necessary, appropriate and adequate?

Sometimes we talk to others, or simply to ourselves, or think about something justlike that. Ask yourself what provoked you to take the initiative to start a

conversation. Was it essential? What was the purpose? Did it serve the purpose? Ifno, then why not? Did it use any unnecessary and emotionally charged negative

words? Were the words used in thinking, inner dialogue or in talking to the otherperson, precise, appropriate, adequate and positive? Did you feel happy or satisfied

after the interaction with the other person or with your inner self? Can you find waysof improving your performance as a thinker or a speaker?

Keep in mind that logbooks are meant to get you started and make you aware of

your negative thoughts. It is far more important, however, to be aware of thesethoughts when they are just taking birth, rather than leave them for later analysis.

Be conscious of the interval that separates the event from thoughts with which you

respond to the event.

NEGATIVE THOUGHTSImagine a strong sun radiating a powerful light. Use this mental sunshine to kill your

negative, undesirable thoughts, emotions and images as and when these are

detected. Take this sun as a mighty weapon which is always on the alert and whichautomatically chases any negative thought and kills it with a flash and then

withdraws. Don't forget to imagine that this sun is your faithful friend and is

extremely kind to you.

Keep a note of how many times you need to call the sunfor its services. There will be a gradual increase, followed

by a drastic fall. This is so because initially the numberof times you call on your mental sunshine increases

gradually as your awareness of your thoughts grows.

The drastic fall is because what we do not use (thenegative thoughts, in this case), we tend to lose.

REPLACE WlTH POSITIVE THOUGHTS

A vital step in this process is the immediate replacementof all negative thoughts by the positive ones. The shorter

the interval between the disinfecting and the replacingstage, the better it is. Longer intervals between these

two events weaken the impact of the positive thoughts. Our success and happinessdepend on identifying our goals precisely and chasing them effectively, both of

which, in turn, depend on how well we manage our thoughts. The quality of our

thoughts decides the quality of the outcomes we land up with. Thoughts have thepower to materialize themselves because they are instrumental in channeling energy

towards the physical or mental condition they are about.


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External situations and the remarks of others can harm us through our thoughtsbut only to the extent our thoughts allow them to. So think positive. Talk positive.

Read positive quotable quotes of great people. Surround yourself with posters and

cards bearing positive messages. Keep them on your table. Hang them on the walls.Paste them near the bathroom mirror and on the doors. Stick them on your

watchstrap. Keep them on the refrigerator. Have them on the dashboard of the car.

Slip them under the glass of the table in front of you. Slide them in the inner side ofthe briefcase you carry. Find other suitable places where you are bound to look at

them every day.

Remember that these messages will stale with prolonged use. So keep changing theirposition and contents. Do not let the momentum of these thoughts get weaker.

Use them appropriately in response to specific negative thoughts. The replacing

thought must be positive in every sense. Apart from being inspiring and assuring, itshould also be suggestive. For example, if you confront a negative thought, "I can

never succeed", it will not suffice if you replace it with "Sun! Attack! I can succeed".This kind of replacement may not be effective, for it sounds like wishful thinking and

lacks assurance, depth and penetrating certainty. It is better to break your replacingthought down into more definite and specific steps or instructions.

The replacing thought in this case may be: "I can succeed. By earlier failures I have

become rich in experience and have come to know specific areas that require specialattention. I will jot them down and systematically think of the ways in which I can

improve. I shall plan. And then stick to it. There is absolutely no reason why I should

not succeed. I will assess, plan, execute, monitor, modify and carryon with the plan,and finally succeed. In fact, I think that success has already been achieved and only

time separates my thought of success and its transformation into reality. I am

committing myself to all that is required to achieve success. I am a river that knowsno obstacles. I shall find my way anyhowand if there is none I shall make one."

REINFORCEThoughts like these can be further reinforced with emotions and images. All this may

take longer than one single replacing thought, but these are far more effective since

they allow you to divide the desired target into workable units. Focus on a pleasantevent that took place in the past. This way your thoughts will turn positive and your

emotions and images will reinforce each other, resulting in an overall positiveattitude.

THE VALUE OF BALANCE FOR HAPPINESS

Will owning a new Mercedes Benz, or taking a vacation in Switzerland make you a lot

happier? Will breaking up with a loved one or faring poorly in an examination add to

your misery? Not necessarily, according to a research conducted by Harvard professorDaniel Gilbert, psychologist Tim Wilson of the University of Virginia, economist George

Loewenstein and Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman.

Human beings tend to predict the outcome of an unforeseen venture or event both


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qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of negativity and positivityand in most cases

they are wrong. Try and reminisce on your own life experiences. How long have you

really held on to the grief of the death of a loved one? Tears cant fall forever. On gettinga job promotion and a fatter pay cheque, how long have you rejoiced? You could not have

gone on throwing parties week after week to celebrate the event.

Yet, if we introspect, most of us will find that we had magnified the intensity ofemotions

associated with these happenings when they were yet to occur. According to this research,

affective forecasting is immature and often misleading.

This is not to say that an unpleasant event like a theft of a large sum ofmoney wont

make us sad, but it does not mean that well be devastated forever. Similarly, adding

material pleasures may makelife more exciting for a while but will never makeeverything perfect for us. Has the binge shopping ever helped beyond a few moments?

A survey conducted for the research proves statistically that the test participants made

multiple errors while anticipating the intensity of the emotional response to futurecircumstances. Later they confessed that the bad events seemed less tragic and were

usually short lived than predicted. Good events, on the other hand, proved ratherephemeral. This only proves the value of being ever-present in the here and the now, and

the spiritual value of retaining equanimity and inner balance under all circumstances

good or bad.

The happiest country!

We have tired of explaining ourselves that money doesnt buy happiness. If we believe infigures rather than feelings, here is the proof. In a new study of more than 65 countries

published in UKs New Scientist magazine, it has been found that the happiest people in

the world live in Nigeria. Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Puerto Rico top thehappiness list while Russia, Armenia and Romania are the least happy countries. People

in Latin America, Western Europe and North America were said to be happier than people

in Eastern Europe and Russia.

It is important to note here that the factors that make people happy may vary from one

country to another. While personal success and self-expression were seen as the most

important in the US, in Japan, happiness is about fulfilling the expectations of family andsociety.

The survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change conductedabout every four years by an international network of social scientists. It includes

questions about how happy people are and how satisfied they are with their lives. New

Scientist mentions that although such surveys are not new, they are being increasinglytaken into account by policy makers.

A happiness checklist once again:

- Have happy relationships
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- Value good friendships

- Desire less

- Do someone a good turn- Keep faith (religious or not)

- Stop comparing your looks with others

- Grow old gracefully- Dont worry if youre not a genius

Travelling Light: The Therapy of Self-Transcendence

What is the role ofpsychotherapy in the seekers journey toward wholeness? There may

not be any single answer to the question, for it probably depends on the seeker. There aremany who feel that the spiritual path, especially a graduated one like yoga or Buddhism,

is enough to integrate the body, mind and spirit in full and any other discipline is simply

gilding the lily.

On the other hand, some feel that the workof the therapist and the guru go hand-in-hand

and both are required to guide the aspirant along the perilous path of self-knowledge andself-transcendence.

What no one can deny, though, is the need for psychological stability and maturity in thebusiness. Spirituality is certainly not for wimps. There is simply no task more difficult

than to face and accept what the therapist would call ones Shadowall the qualities and

aspects of ourselves that we shy away from. Seekers would call it going through the dark

night of the soul.

The ability to face our less attractive and, indeed, positively sinister, qualities is gruellingbecause it is extremely hard for us to be uncomfortable with ourselves. This is why mostof us would prefer to blame everybody and everything for our travails rather than

ourselves. To think that we are the villains in our own drama is such an unpalatable truth

that we need an extremely sound ego to bolster the shock.

A sound ego is the result of sound self-esteem. Self-esteem is the composite of two

things. One is self-efficacy or the ability to trust ones effectiveness and competence in

coping with life. The other is self-worth or the knowledge that one is worthy oflife, loveand all the good things of life. Most of us have had dents and fissures dealt on our ego in

the process of living. It is this that makes us so insecure and unsure of ourselves.

Among the characteristics of a sound ego would be the ability to draw boundaries

between ourselves and others so no one can dominate or control us, to be open to life, to

take risks, to be assertive, to take the failures and disappointments oflife without losingfaith in oneself orlife, to be self-motivated, etc.

Spirituality is effective in dealing with these issues, especially if one were to operate fromthe premise that we are part of the Immortal Creator. Such a concept is so positive and
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elevating that it is bound to manifest in a sound ego. But the journey from frail and faulty

human to Godstuff is a very long one. I believe that therapy can help to bridge the gap

and help us become more self-aware and self-accepting while we struggle forenlightenment.

The advantages of therapy over spirituality in generating self-awareness come from thefact that one has access to a skilled facilitator who can help us look at ourselves in a more

objective and accepting way. Most gurus do not have the time or often even the

psychological sophistication to spend time with individual shishyas. One must struggle asbest as one can, based on the gurus discourses and talks. A therapist, though, is tuned to

your particular problemthe place you are in right nowand can help to tussle with it

until clarity is won.

Jack Kornfield, the well-known Buddhist teacher and author, talked of having returned

home to the US after spending years doing meditation in a monastery. Considering

himself equal to any challenges life would throw at him, he was shocked to find that he

was still as inept with relationships as he had been earlier. It took him extensive therapyto gain a certain amount of skill in this area.

Deam Ornish, the doctor who popularised the concept of reversal ofheart disease through

a regimen of low-fat vegetarian food, group therapy and meditation, himself underwent

therapy to help him overcome his fear of intimacy that stopped him from developing

satisfying emotional connections. Dr Ornish found that his poorly developed sense of selfwas behind his problem and after resolving it, went on to finding and wedding thelove of

his life.

I happen to interact with my meditation group as well as the group that meets for therapy

under the facilitation of a psychiatrist. The difference between the two is that the latter

group is far more self-aware. When interacting with the therapy group, I find myselflistening and responding to them in a special way, attempting to ask the questions that

may throw light into their predicament. The conversation happens at a more conscious

and deliberate level, which also enhances the relationship. The therapy group iscommitted to integrity vis-a-vis themselves and the relationship, which makes it easier to

take risks within it, to throw light on to less than flattering truths.

Perhaps some people are more psychologically-minded than others. For them themechanics of the mind and its translation into behaviour and attitude is fascinating.

Perhaps therapy works best for them.

But the long road to enlightenment can only be won when we can embrace all of

ourselvesthe good, the bad, the dark, the light, whole-heartedly and unreservedly.

Psychological mastery must happen. Thats the important point, however we get there.
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Vibrate with Vigour

Five meditations to help you be fit and happy everyday

The first truth: You have a great talentEverybody deserves to be fit, to be happy everyday. EVERYBODY! To be fit and happy

is to experience a complete sense of joyous well-being. Everything in you feels good.Everything around you glows. Everything about you feels vibrantly right.

Being fit and happy is spiritual. You feel atpeace with yourself. You feel in sync withyour surroundings, your people, your profession, your studies, your circumstances.

There's a lovely assurance in you that life won't let you down. That things will always

turn out right. That miracles will happen. A great feeling of the quiet power of theuniverse co-operating with your needs, your deeds, your existence, stays with you.

Being fit and happy is physical. You don't feel your body as a burden since it is so supple,so relaxed, so effortless in its movements. You sit down naturally, simply. Every joint inyour knee, in your hip, in your back bends smoothly with sweet obedience to your will to

sit. Your stomach does not get in the way, does not feel ungainly or pressed. It is as deep,

as flat into the chair as you are. You stand up fluidly, your body-language limber, loose,e-a-s-y.

Being fit and happy is mental. Your mind is light, throbbingly alive to the beautifulpossibilities of your day-like a musician about to compose the best, the sweetest, the most

divine music anybody has ever heard and will ever hear.

And this, sweet one, brings us joyously to the first truth ringing in all of us: just as themusician has a great talent to compose music, so do you have a great talent to compose

fitness and happiness in your being.

What is talent? It is a divine ability to express great love. A musician listens to the wind

as it blows through the trees and feels a beautiful stirring oflove inside. Then, he

expresses that love through music. The whoosh of the wind is composed by love intomusic. The rumble of thunder is composed bylove into music. The patter of rain is
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composed by love into music.

So, when you feel this stir to lose weight, to get fit, to get healthier, to be better in everyand any way, know that it is yourlove yearning to express itself. Know that it is your

talent wanting to compose harmonious notes of fitness and happiness in your body, your

mind, your spirit. Know these stirrings as those of your inborn talent coursing throughyou and open yourheart to them willingly, joyously. Expose yourself to these stirrings.

Give in to these stirrings. Act on these stirrings. And miracles will happen!

The second truth: This talent is forever

And here is the beautiful thing about talent. You can compose fitness andhappiness in

normal times when you are healthy. And you can compose fitness and happiness in bad

times when you are unhealthy. Your talent to compose fitness andhappiness is exactlylike the talent to compose music, to write, to paint, to sculpt, to teach, to cook, to play

sport A talent never fades, never dies. It remains forever-the hallmark of your

greatness. It beckons and brings you back again and again to your greatness all your life.

That's why Beethoven composedmusic though he was deaf. His deafness did not kill histalent to compose music. So will your talent drive you to compose fitness and happiness.

You cannot ignore it because it never ignores you. You cannot forget it because it neverforgoes you. It tugs until you allow yourself to be pulled into composing. As Beethoven

was born to create music, so were you born to create fitness and happiness. It's a talent

that resides in you all your life. It can never stale, never wane, never vanish. This talent,

this ability to express love, to compose fitness andhappiness remains as a steadymurmur, ready to be stoked into flowing music. This is the second truth.

The third truth: Nothing is a drag

Being fit and happy is a personal thing. You commit yourself to your well-being. You pay

attention to your well-being by exercising, eating right, thinking lovingly every day. Only

you can decide to reach your highest personal harmony in body, mind, spirit. You don'tcompete with others, you complete yourself day after day. That's why we say being fit

and happy is a personal thing.

The secret lies in not thinking, "Exercising is a drag." The musician never thinks,

"Composing music is a drag." The teacher never thinks, "Teaching is a drag." The artist

never thinks, "Painting is a drag." A talent never drags you down, your negative attitude,

your negative thoughts, your negative language drag you down.

The talent to be fit, to be happy keeps you charged, keeps you going because this talent

gives you the divine power to create more stamina, more strength, more enthusiasm, aleaner body, a keener mind, an uplifted spirit. Why demean this inborn talent that gives

you the divine means, the divine power to create a wealth ofhealth and happiness for

yourself and others?

To demean, to depreciate your talent is to negate yourself and think in self-deprecating,

self-defeating ways. No, no, no, that's no way to live. You deserve something much

better. You deserve love. To this end, learn to love your talent. Appreciate your talent.
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Decide to make the most of this divine ability to express love. Do not doubt it, love it.

Doubt scatters your mind. Your attention gets fragmented by many shrapnels of scurrying

thoughts. You feel incoherent, restless, unsure, unhappy, weak. Instead, choose to love.Lovepulls your thoughts together. Your attention gets sweetly focused by loving

thoughts. You feel coherent, restful, happy, confident, strong. So, never doubt your power

to create fitness and happiness. A loving smile from you kindles a fellowship in another.A kind word from you creates happiness in another. An encouraging word from you

inspires courage in another. A sweet act from you creates comfort in another. Can you

then doubt your ability to create with love? Can you doubt your identity as lovingcreator?

Let the realisation "I am creator" sweep through you. Let the realisation "I can create"

imprint itself in your brain's neurological pathways. Now, feel the difference betweenyesterday and today, between being created and being creator.

You begin to think like a creator. You live up to your calling, your self-commitment to

create by cheerfully, lovingly, consistently, persistently nurturing your talent to be fit andhappy. Not in starts and stops, but every day for the rest of your life. A creator never stops

creating. A creator never retires, he tirelessly re-fires. A creator's consistent commitmentto his talent seals a healing live-and-help-live friendship with life.

As this friendship strengthens and grows, beautiful things begin to happen. All energy

directed towards sickness gets re-directed towards health. All energy emptied innegativeness gets continually replenished in this loving urge to create. Some effort in the

beginning leads to pure effortlessness over the days. The harmony between mind and

muscle grows and grows The rhythm between body and spirit vibrates more andmoreThere is no stop, no finishing-line to this creation. It is endless, it is infinite in its

joyous reverberations. The more consistently you create, the more you experience the

richness of being fit and happy. The more consistently you create, the more youexperience the abundance of your being. Nothing feels like a drag to one who creates.

This is the third truth.

The fourth truth: You can re-create yourself

Realise this: negative thoughts undo, 'un-create' all possibilities. When you see no

possibilities, you see no meaning to yourlife, only meaningless drudgery. It makes you

feel heavy, tired, sick. Loving thoughts create all kinds of possibilities. You thinklovingly, "This is what I can do. This is what I can create." It's pleasing, it's meaningful.It

fills you with a childlike expectancy. While creating fitness, happiness, health in your

being, you are a child with building blocks-intensely focused, intensely absorbed. Increating, you come soaringly alive as do your instruments-body, mind, spirit.

When you exercise, you strum your sinews to strengthen and tauten them until all off-keynotes re-composere-composere-compose into beautiful, effortless, pure motions.

Off-key crookednesses straighten. Off-key bulges smoothen. Off-key hormones balance

harmoniously. Off-key organs rhythmise. Off-key aches ease out. The aah of release at

being physically aligned, the aah of relief at being in your natural painless state are your
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being alive. Don't sour it with uncharitable, unkind or sad thoughts. Just be in the

sweetness. For one day, today, refrain from all chores and rituals. Sit. Or lie down. Or

walk as if you are floating.

For one day, today, erase all your errors from your memory. Live inpeace without guilt,

without self-blame. For one day, today, don't ask for attention from your spouse, parent,colleague, friend, neighbour. Be attentive to yourself. Be your own spouse, parent,

colleague, friend, neighbour, companion. For one day, today, accept that if you didn't get

what you wanted, it is because you didn't really need it. For one day, today, if some seemagainst you, don't feel cornered or isolated. Feel free of their company. Feel free of their

prejudices. Feel free. Feel the freedom of being in the vast universe. See the positive

messages it sends you through a kind smile, words, actions, using good people as its

medium. For one day, today, do not cloud your eyes with tears. Keep your vision clear sothat you may see the brightness that is always around you.

For one day, today, be non-egoistic so that you feel your highest self; be kind so that you

feel your goodness; be humble so that you are in greatness. For one day, today, be calm,be tolerant, be nonjudgemental. This brings a relaxed, restful, loving silence to your

overworked, restless, critical mind. For one day, today, put all your burdens at the altar.God has a broad back called the universe that can carry it easily. For one day, today, don't

see anything as an obstacle. See it as a stepping stone to something bigger. For one day,

today, rely on nobody and eliminate all scope for disappointment and disillusionment. For

one day, today, don't change your mood because somebody changes their mind. For oneday, today, don't fear the future. Enjoy every present moment as it exactly is. For one day,

today, exercise your body gently. Stretch it gently. Bend it gently. Do no exercise that

pains it, but frees it. For one day, today, eat only pure food. Some steamed rice, somelow-fat curd, some raw vegetables, some fresh fruit. Feel full, yet light; not heavy and

lethargic. And be assured, on this one day, today, your body will feel a spring in it. Your

mind will shimmer with luminous peace. Your spirit will soar in love. You will feel themagic and beauty of your highest self. You will feel awakened in a larger, brighter, more

loving way. Now, you know how it is to feel fit and happy. Now, you know how it feels

when you make each day your day. Daily, the mind needs a sense of loving solitude.Daily, the body needs gentle, loving training. Daily, the spirit needs the freedom of love,

to love. There is no discipline, only the calling of love. There is no imposed self-control,

only the discernment of love. There is no enforced sacrificing of 'pleasures', only the

loving rhythm ofhealing routine. This one day, today and every other day is your day.The day of your highest self. The day of miraculous manifestations of your higher

desires. The day all the five truths come together and you realise your wholeness.
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The Good Word

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was

God

Affirmations are powerful declarations that can transform your behaviour, attitude

and nature. affirmations help you to realise your highest potential. they are the easypath to self-realisation

Even as a youngster reading through the unfathomable mystery of the Bible, these lines

quoted earlier would spring out at me and grip my imagination. Mystical and mysteriousthey may have been but I sensed in them a strange power. I repeated them frequently and

wondered what they meant.

But then I am a writer. Words are my stock in trade and since my very childhood they

have fascinated and entranced me. The sound of words, the images they summon up, the

emotions they arouse, the worlds they open up for me have held me in thrall all my life.

How apt then, that my spiritual journey began with the word and has all through been

strengthened and assisted by its potent magic. In the form of affirmations, it has been the

indispensable third part of my path. The first two are awareness and acceptance. Whilethese two have been deconditioning me, affirmations assist in reconditioning me, or, as I

now recognise, in transforming me.

It is only of late that I have begun recognising the invaluable role of affirmations in my

life. I see it as a tool that can change even the most recalcitrant. It is the common man's

route to transformation.

Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, corroborates this view.

In his fascinating book, Japa Yoga, he writes, "In this Kali yug, japa alone is the easy way

to the realisation of God."

Not all of us can meditate. Not all of us have the discipline to do spiritual practice every

day. Certainly I didn't. But all of us can repeat a few words to ourselves. And from myown experience, I can testify that it is not even required to concentrate upon the words.

You can mumble them even when your mind is racing like a horse. You can chant them
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absentmindedly. Just say them. Of course, the more force and intention you put in them

the quicker they manifest. But the results will come as long as you persist, no matter how

desultory your utterance. JUST DON'T GIVE UP!

While this goes against received wisdom, which insists that affirmations must be said

with intent in order to work, I am supported by the incomparable Swami Sivananda whostoutly declares: "Even simple mechanical repetition of a mantra has a powerful effect. It

purifies the mind. It serves as a gate-keeper. It gives intimations to you whenever some

worldly thoughts enter the mind."

A Personal Path

My tryst with affirmations and indeed spirituality began several years ago when a

relationshipbroke up and in parting, I was told that relationships were meant to bebeautiful and ours had not been. I was also told that I had not made the person happy.

Fascinated by the concept of a 'beautiful relationship' and by the idea of happiness, I

vowed that I would make this person happy, come what may. This was by no means easy

to do as I found myself reacting to his behaviour with anger and jealousy. And then I hitupon the magic mantra, which was my passage to spiritual understanding. It occurred to

me that if I really wanted this person's happiness, whatever he said or did should be okayby me. I formulated the thought thus: "It's his happiness that matters and not mine". I

found my anger and reactivity receding and in its place a vast reservoir ofpeace and

goodwill arising. Unbelievingly, I said these words again and again, and each time they

worked like a charm, freeing me of my thoughts and feelings and allowing me to focusfully on seeing and understanding the other's point of view. In my own way I was

affirming, though I did not know it then.

The words propelled me right out of my ego and into a state that I called 'absolute

happiness'. For a full year, they retained their magic for me. I used to accompany their

recitation by pressing my thumb and my middle finger hard. I later discovered thatNLPcalled this anchoring, and recommended it as a way of recalling an experience

intentionally. Alas, all good things come to an end and my year of grace faded away.

However, it left me firmly entrenched on the spiritual path.

Why did this mantra wield such power over me during that time? Why not before and

why not after? Such things are cloaked in mystery and it is hard to say why. Grace for

me, is a good explanation for the first question. As for the second, I think of it as a triggerthat launched me on the journey. That job done, it left me so that I could embark upon the

hard and long task of dissolving all that stood between me and that state of absolute

happiness

Explaining Affirmations

So what are affirmations? They are positive declarations of intent. They are word seedsthat germinate within us and recreate us. They encapsulate the power of thought which

makes us who we are. Affirmations can be simple declarations like the 19th century

French psychotherapist, Emile Coeu's sweeping assertion, "Every day, in every way, I am

getting better and better." They can beNew Age statements that invoke everything from
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health, love, money, jobs, houses and other material and non-material visitations.

Affirmations such as, "I am abundance and I attract everything I need," are typical of this

genre. They can be power words that resound through our scriptures such as the greatmahavakya, Aham Brahmasmi, the sufi saying, Al Haq, or mantras like Om Namaha

Shivaye. They can be the prayers that we repeat ceaselessly such as the Gayatri mantra,

the Mahamrityunjaya mantra, the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary. All good words andthoughts that we repeat continuously are affirmations in action. Whether we call it japa

yoga or affirmations, we are invoking the power of the word to create us, regenerate us

and transform us.

All spiritual traditions everywhere have intuited the awful majesty and power of the

word. Whether it is the karadjeru of Australia, the Dogon and Igbo communities of

Africa, the Mayan community of Mexico, the Sumerians, or the Buddhist, Christian,Islamic or Judaic traditions, there is a clear understanding that language, or the word, is a

manifestation of God. Many of them, including the vedic tradition of India, maintain that

sound is the building block of the manifested world. For the Dogon, words uttered during

religious ceremonies contain nyama (life-force), which is conveyed by thebreath andflows through the mouth of the holy person.

Even in the Christian tradition, God is said to have created the universe simply by

uttering a command-surely an early example of affirmation in action? "AndGod said, Let

there be light: and there was light." (Genesis 1: 3)

The Power of Sound

In India, the power of the word has long been recognised and used for spiritual

transformation and for the ultimate understanding of life. Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, headof the Himalayan Institute, USA, writes in his book, The Power of Mantra and the

Mystery of Initiation, "According to tantric and Vedic sources, the world manifests from

the Word, exists in the Word, and at the time of annihilation returns to the Word. They tellus that for those who are unaware of the power of the Word and its binding and releasing

force, this world is the source ofpain and misery. Yet, according to the Shiva Sutra, this

same world is a wave of joy to those who have penetrated the mystery of the Word."

According to Wayne Dyer, author of the book, Manifest Your Destiny, the sound aaah is

common to almost all the names of God, ranging from Brahma, to Allah to Yahweh and

Ahura Mazda. This is no coincidence, he believes, but is rather proof that it is the soundof creation. Therefore when we chant God's name we are invoking the power of creation.

Many ancients would attribute the mantra om, with this power, but, says Dyer, "Whereas

aaah is the sound of creation, om is the sound of that which is already created. Omexpresses gratitude for all that has manifested." According to tantric adepts, the word is

considered to be the Shabda-brahman, the Creative Source (Ashabda-brahman) embodied

as sound.

Scientists today confirm that the universe is actually composed of vibrational energies.

Writes Wayne Dyer: "Every sound is a vibration made of waves oscillating at a particular

frequency. The frequency range of the human ear is approximately 16,000 - 40,000
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vibrations per second. It is theorised that thoughts and the unknown etheric and spiritual

dimensions are in the realm of increased vibrations beyond anything that is calculable at

this point of time." He adds, "Sound is the intermediary between the abstract idea and theconcrete form of the material world. Sounds literally mould the abstract world of

thoughts and spirit into shapes."

Swami Sivananda confirms this by writing about the experiments conducted by an

Englishwoman called Mrs Watts Hughes, who sang into an instrument called the

eidophone. The sound travelled through a tube and was received on a flexible membraneholding tiny seeds. The seeds formed entrancing geometric patterns depending on the

notes she used. He says, "Once when Mrs Hughes was singing a note, a daisy appeared

and disappearednow she knows that precise inflections of the particular note that is a

daisy and it is made constant and definite by a strange method of coaxing an alternationof crescendo and diminuendo." Mrs Hughes apparently was able to summon up sea-

monsters, forms of trees, and even landscapes of trees with a foreground of rocks, and the

sea behind.

Santosh Sachdeva, whose family owns the website indiayogi.com, affirms that when they

conducted a yagna on behalf of one of their clients, the fire threw up images of om andthe swastika, when invoked by the pundit.

Why Affirmations Work

Affirmations workbecause they embody the power of sound. Not just when you chooseto utter them aloud, but even when expressed through thought, they create specific

vibrations within. These vibrations have the power to write over the grooves of our

subconscious mind. It is the thoughts that we feed into our subconscious mind thatproduces our habitual behavioural patterns and attitudes. Our unconscious thoughts have

created our present persona. In order to recreate ourselves, we need to counter them with

conscious positive thoughts.

This is the central truth behind most spiritual philosophies. For instance, the opening

verse of the Dhammapada, the core Buddhist scripture, states implacably, "We are whatwe think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.

Speak or act with an impure mind and trouble will follow you as the wheel follows the ox

that draws the cart."

In order to rewrite the mind we need to understand its composition. The mind is

composed of three parts, the conscious, the subconscious and the superconscious. The

conscious mind is the part we are aware of - the part that does the thinking, worrying,planning and creating. It is a tiny part of the structure; it is the subconscious that is the

looming bulwark, a massive entity with incredible powers and potentials. Its unique

characteristic is that it can create anything that we command it to create, by virtue of thethoughts we think.

Writes Dada Vaswani, head of the Pune-based Sadhu Vaswani Mission, "If you believe

that you cannot achieve something, if you believe that you cannot have something, the
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base of the skull and the spine meet. He suggests that the best way to harmonise the

conscious, subconscious, and superconscious (the divine potential) is to combine

affirmation with meditation. He writes, "Thepeace ofmeditation filters not only into theconscious but also into the subconscious and the superconscious self." There can be little

doubt that when affirmations are made in meditative stillness, they are more effective.

Deepak Chopra, for instance, suggests that we release all intentions into the gap betweenthoughts, which is arrived at through meditation.

Swami Sivananda, however, points out that dhyana is inherent in japa, "Name and theobject signified by the Name are inseparableWhenever you think of the name of your

son, his figure stands before your mental eye, and vice versa. Even so when you do japa

of Rama or Krishna the picture of Rama or Krishna will come before your mind.

Therefore japa and dhyana go together. They are inseparable."

There are however, several guidelines to help us affirm more effectively, because the

subconscious does not discriminate and takes what we say literally:

o Construct your sentences positively. Choose 'I am slim' to 'I am not fat'. Thesubconscious does not recognise negatives and would translate the latter sentence as 'I am

fat'.o Use the present tense. 'I am love, joy and compassion' is preferable to 'I will be' or 'I

want to be' The subconscious lives in the moment and does not recognise future tense.

The phrase 'I want' reflects powerlessness and all you will get is the state of 'want' and

not the actual state.o Believe in what you say. Know that it will manifest for sure.

o Put as much intensity as you can in your affirmations. Says Dada Vaswani, "You must

develop the will to speak to it with magnetic determination."o Dada Vaswani also suggests repeating an affirmation loudly three times, softly three

times and in a whisper four times.

o The times before you go to sleep or immediately on waking up are when thesubconscious is most receptive to commands.

o If you can meditate, do so. When your conscious mind is peaceful and still, seeding the

subconscious is a cinch.

Raising Self-Esteem

Affirmations are particularly effective in repairing and enhancing poor self-esteem. The

website called Tools forPersonal Growth has a detailed piece on the negative self-scriptsthat we operate under. These are caused by the beliefs we have of ourselves, the negative

feedback we may have got from family, teachers, peers, spouse and colleagues and that

we have internalised. These in turn create over-dependence on the approval of others,make it difficult for us to take risks in life, drown us in self-pity, cynicism and pessimism,

and cause us to don a protective armour in our interaction with others.

I should know about thepain imposed by negative self-scripts. When I launched into an

inquiry on how to make this state of absolute happiness a permanent one, I realised that

the chief impediment was a compulsive obsession with myself. And behind the obsession,

I found, was an almost total lack of self-esteem. I didn't like myself at all. I was sure I
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would fail miserably in everything I did. There was, I discovered, a tyrant established in

my head who watched me like a hawk. This personage viciously abused me each time I

messed up, which I did all too often. Consumed by the unceasing internal warfare, therewas just no mind space for others or indeed, for living.

It was a disconcerting discovery. Help came when, for a moment, I got in touch with mytrue nature. That nature, I discovered, was whole, perfect and complete. I didn't have to

be anyone or anything or get anywhere to be that. I already was that. The rest was

conditioning.

I said these words again and again, and each time they worked like a charm, freeing

me of my thoughts and feelings and allowing me to focus fully on seeing and

understanding the other's point of view.

However, unlike the earlier revelation that had an almost instantaneous effect on me, this

one was not impacting the negative self-script running compulsively in my head. In the

serendipitous way that life flows, an article came my way which explained about thepower of the subconscious mind and why it is that we think the way we do. It gave

suggestions on how to seed the mind afresh. Voila, I had discovered affirmations!Although my mind was a fevered rush of thoughts, I persisted in repeating the words, "I

am whole, perfect and complete" to myself wherever and whenever I could. Within four

months a shift happened. I can describe it best as an almost physical feeling near my

heart region, where I felt as if a foundation had been laid, sealing off for keeps thedreadful pits ofdepression I would fall into. I understood that I had been given the ability

to withstand whatever and however I manifested. I could, as Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, the

talented writer of Women Who Run with the Wolves perceptively says, "stand to see whatI had to see."

Ever since then, the task has been to face and repair through awareness and acceptance,the ravages to my mind caused by years of depression. I could never have withstood the

pain of this prolonged surgery had it not been for the comforting use of the affirmation

that I was whole and perfect, even when I seemed entirely imperfect.

Throughout the journey, I developed the habit of converting insights into affirmations,

which I would repeat to myself. I had to. My mind was far too chaotic to attempt

meditation or any form of spiritual practice. These affirmations would trigger changeswhich then would set off fresh insights. Among the most significant of these was the

discovery that I was fully responsible for my states of mind and that the outside world

had nothing to do with it.

The sound vibrations of affirmations, even as thoughts, have the power to write over

the grooves of our subconscious mind.

Affirming this took me deep within myself and I could sense that I was withdrawing the

power I had invested in the external world. Taking my reactions within unleashed an

enormouslove of the self, for the self, and I found myself embarking on a feveredlove
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affair with myself. I love myself, I would affirm passionately and in various different

ways. I discovered that I did not need external support, endorsement and approval. I

discovered that all the qualities I longed for were within me. I would warble out theseaffirmations through the day, particularly while travelling up and down the city in local

trains!

Right now I am in the throes of another insight, which is that I do not need to be anything

other than who I am. As I affirm this to myself, the tottering stockpile of expectations that

high ideals and low self-esteem have stacked on me is sliding away and I am finallylearning to live with myself. I am learning to love myself. That feeling is a wonder only

someone who has never experienced it before can truly appreciate. The internal warfare is

waning. Ceasefire has been declared and amnesty papers are being drawn up. A lot more

learning and a lot more affirmations await me still, I feel sure, and I cannot wait todiscover what lies next. For my goal is enlightenment and I have not the slightest doubt

that affirmations have the power to get me there.

Japa YogaSantosh Sachdeva, author of two books on Kundalini, including Kundalini Diary, was

first exposed to the power of the word at age 13 when herguru gave her the Shivamantra, Om Namaha Shivaye, to chant. By the time she was married she was chanting it

diligently for half an hour every day. This steady practice for close to 40 years stood her

in good stead when she decided to do a course in Brahma Vidya in 1995. The course is a

combination of breathing exercises, affirmations and meditation. When Santosh began torepeat the affirmations, to her surprise she saw images of all that she affirmed vividly

appear in her mind's eye. "Now I imagine a great light over my head," she would say and

she would see a wing-like manifestation of light above her head.

For Santosh too, affirmations, coupled with the other Brahma Vidya exercises, have had a

transformatory effect. She says: "I have become more confident. I no longer worry aboutthe future or regret the past. I live in the moment. I feel happy, which is a feeling whose

meaning I didn't know earlier. Complaining and expectations have disappeared and there

is no judgement left."

She says: "The fact that I could see my thoughts in the form of images has proven to me

the power of thoughts. It tells me that the parental advice to be good and to think good

thoughts is based on sound reasoning."

Kamala Jain, a designer in her 40s, was inducted into chanting the Shiva mantra by her

father in order to moderate her strongly emotional temperament when she was around 12.She followed the advice sporadically and although she cannot quite figure which, if any,

of the changes she has experienced within herself can be attributed to the practice, she

admits that she is remarkably detached today. A serious seeker, she also finds herselfpowerfully drawn to the personage of Shiva.

Japa yoga has a tried and tested place in the Indian tradition. Innumerable saints have

danced their way to Godhead singing the name of God. Tukaram of Deo, Valmiki,
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Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Ramdas of the Anand ashram

are among those who have surrendered to the intoxication of God's name. While

affirmations are frequently used for innerhealing and self-development, japa yoga isemployed for one reason and one alone: to awaken one's inner divinity and unite with the

Absolute.

Swami Sivananda says ardently: "Japa ultimately results in samadhi or communion with

the Lord." He adds, "The chanting of His name is but serving Him. You must have the

same flow oflove and respect in yourheart at the time of thinking or remembering HisName as that you naturally may have in yourheart at the time when you really see Him."

According to the swami, japa purifies and cleanses one of lust, anger, greed and other

defilements. He says firmly, "The repetition of a mantra destroys your sins and bringseverlasting peace, infinite bliss, prosperity and immortality. There is not the least doubt

about this."

Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent practitioner of Ram Naam. At the time of his death, suchfaith came to his rescue for he died with the name of the Lord in his mouth, having

uttered 'Hai Ram', when the assassin's bullet ripped through his spare frame. Consideringthat it is our state of mind on death that guarantees our future progress one assumes that

the Mahatma has rightly attained the highest heavenly honours.

Swami Ramdas, whose mantra Om Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram is the central spiritualpractice advocated by the ashram, was so imbued with faith in the power of Ram, that he

left his home and wandered into the wide world, surrendering entirely to the protection of

his beloved Ram. Convinced that everyone and everything was a manifestation ofGodand that every event that befell him was the Lord's will, he accepted hunger, destitution,

insults and rejection with utter faith. His account of the journey, In Quest of God, is an

inspiring account of the spiritual strength that japa can inspire.

How to do Japa

While one can technically do japa anytime and anywhere, its efficacy is considerablyheightened if we imbue it with a sacred presence.

o Swami Sivananda suggests that it is best done facing the east or north, during dawn and

twilight, that magical period betwixt light and darkness.

o Sit in a steady pose; padmasana is highly recommended but sukhasana will also do.o Choose the mantra that you most resonate with or think of your ishta devta- the deity

you give allegiance to.

o Invoke the presence of the Lord with as much intensity as you can utter- though youcan take comfort in the awareness that even mechanical repetition has its merit.

o Repeat the japa steadily at a measured pace.

o You can either repeat it aloud or mentally. The latter is considered to be more powerful.o You can do it with a mala or without. The advantage of the former is that it enables you

to keep count and ensures that your attention is buttressed to something concrete.

Desiree Punwani, housewife and Buddhist practitioner, swears by the practice of metta
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bhavna, or the state of loving kindness. The metta prayer goes thus: May all beings be

well, peaceful and happy. Says she, "When I first started affirming it, I didn't know if I

believed to what extent it would work. But whatever you give out you get, and I find thathealth andpeace and happiness are coming my way". She also uses it to de-escalate

contentious relationships. " I very rarely use the direct confrontation method these days, "

she reveals. An example is the strained relationship she had with a family member thathas taken a dramatic shift for the better ever since she began showering the person with

metta. "We can discuss even sensitive issues with goodwill."

The Zoroastrians say it all in a nutshell: "Good thoughts, good words and good deeds." It

all begins with the thought, so be aware of what you put in there. Even better, choose to

avail of the magic power of affirmations to pull out the weeds and sow fresh seeds of

goodness, strength, love and joy, and total transformation. There is nothing you cannotthink yourself into being, so aim for the Absolute.
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Conquer your Fear

what is the cause of fear? and how do we vanquish it when it crowds around us with

its insidious what-ifs, stoking caution,

paranoia and doubt? here, an exploration into the nature of fear and prescriptions

on how to cope with it

Vanquish your Fears

In his book, Conquest of Fear, Swami Sivananda explains the ways to overcome fear:

o Victory over fear (Pratipaksha Bhavana method): As you think, so you become. As youthink, so you develop. As

More >>

Freedom from Fear

Dada Vaswani in his book Dada Answers gives us a few practical tips on overcoming

fears:

o Convince yourself that nothing that you fear is as bad as the fear itself. To be afraid isthe worst

More >>

There's no better time to write about fear than a month when one has endured days of

grief in hospital vigils. An average day's routine included the rise of anxiety, a dread inthe pit of the stomach, perhaps a sinking of the spirit, and soon, emotional seesaws

became a familiar experience. I recently had to watch a p

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7295647 Positive Thinking is Not a New Concept