Stress Management

Dear Sabitha,

Letting go is hard as the mind triggers to hang on to things. You are a role model for how to let things go even though you said you try and practice to let go. It is your humility that makes you say that. But I believe you lead a life as an example for many. Especially, the children who learn from you would learn all of your wonderful qualities.

You are already dwelling in the present moment most of the time which is one good reason why you achieve letting go successfully. The only thing we control is our own reaction to things that are happening. We need to unplug what is heating up inside for us to return to normalcy.

Viswa

 

Dear Hari Sir,

Stress always existed even in earlier generations and everyone has faced stress one way or another. Only difference is, the previous generation learned patience and perseverance whereas the new generation of people have no patience. When one is overwhelmed with stress, it is difficult to meditate and medication doesn't help either. Counseling has now reached the level of CBT and hypnotic therapies which is a directional analysis of the behavior of our brain and how to overcome such impulsive thoughts. Rarely we see people like Ramnath Goyenka and Steve Jobs who quickly reconcile to reality and move on.

Now the trend in the US is externally rewiring thoughts using stimulus such as microdosing. Even though it is not legal, many in the US are using carefully selected doses of magic mushrooms or even other controlled substances to overcome suicidal tendencies, depression caused by life-changing events, etc. It has crossed the barrier of the labs. Even Shiva Bhakt in Varnasi use controlled substances to delve into the contemplation of Lord Shiva.

 

Dear Thyagarajan Sir,

Thank you for your response. Stress is an old problem described even in Epics. What Dasaratha experienced after hearing the words of Kaikeyi to send Sri Rama to the forest, what Sri Rama experienced after his brother Lakshmana's fainting in the war. Even in Mahabarata, when Arjuna heard of his son Abhinmanyu's death and when Gandhari heard that all of his 100 adult children were killed in the Mahabharata war.

How we overcome stress quickly determines the quality of life.

 

Dear Smt. Jayasala:

The pain of losing a life partner is hard and stress is the outcome of such a life-changing event. Thought of you experiencing stress crossed my mind while writing this snippet. Yes. Almost all of the previous generations knew how to overcome stress quickly before even they recognize the symptoms. Not all of them had the knowledge of the philosophy and their own experience is good enough to learn how to overcome it. The one that experiences the stress is also the cure.

 

"Making a decision to eat or not to eat the fruit itself was a stress to Adam and Eve".

Once we begin to understand that stress is not triggered by external happenings but by how our mind reacts to them. That is why many learned people say that the world we experience is in our minds.

 

Today is Chinese New Year's Day. Let us celebrate it with a quote relevant to this thread:

"If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present."

- Lao Tzu