Practising mindfulness this season
The importance and relevance of meditation has once again taken centrestage in these uncertain and turbulent times of the pandemic
“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t)” believes James Baraz, American meditation teacher. The importance and relevance of meditation has once again taken centrestage in these uncertain and turbulent times of the pandemic.
To say that COVID-19 has been an emotional roller coaster will be an understatement. From juggling work from home, homeschooling children and disinfecting the house and groceries, the constant worry of developing a cough, fever, shortness of breath or symptoms of Covid-19 has kept us in a rather unnerved state throughout 2020 and half of this year.
Rajan Navani, Founder, ThinkRight.me, a meditation app says, “Meditation is a mechanism that allows you to calm your mind. It is an internal journey that helps you learn to stay with difficult feelings without analysing, suppressing, or encouraging them. It allows you to safely explore the causes of your stress and worry. It helps you create space around your worries so they don’t consume you.”
He adds, “It helps you to respond from a stronger source. And as I always say, moments of silence will help you be more responsive and less reactive.”
With so much happening all around us, we need to delve deeper in our inner selves to find that equilibrium. Vidisha Kaushal, certified life coach and master, believes that there is a reality outside us which affects our inner world on many levels. She says, “ There exists a world outside us which affects us in manifold ways internally. But we need to accept the fact that we cannot control the outer reality. It’s important to understand that it’s our inner world and mind that we can control and we need to separate the two. Meditation can make the mind stronger and help us in coping with uncertainty and handle chronic stress.”
The mind’s constant chatter can be stopped by mindfulness, which has proven to be invaluable when people are worrying about everything from whether they washed their hands enough to how to help a loved one who is seriously ill. Strong emotions like fear, sadness, and anger — that we are all feeling right now — are perpetuated by ruminative thinking. A mindfulness practice can help us connect with awareness and let things come and go without our attention getting stuck on it.
“By meditating, the fear inside you gets over, you can face any situation with strong will and mental power. During this tough time of pandemic, you can learn to live a divine life by doing meditation. You become stronger to face any situation both mentally and physically. The om chanting strengthens your brain as well as your lungs,” says Shiv Sadhika Ma Vishwaroopa, Meditation expert, Astrologer and Numerologist.
For those of us, who have never meditated, Dr. Kajal Mugrai, Occult Scientist suggests ”Just close your eyes and imagine yourself in your dream place, enjoying it fully. Remain in that state for as long as you can and see all the stress gone and feel better. Meditation helps in calming down the mind and body, producing happy hormones. It makes you feel better, lighter and relaxed and above all, it accelerates the self healing process of our body.”
Emotions are at much higher levels and it’s not just anxiety, people are
furious as well as incredibly sad, and many are really having trouble focusing on anything. ”People have been psychologically impacted in a severe manner at this time. Many are in anxiety and confusion. Meditation is the only way for anyone to be relieved from the anxiety and give clarity to the mind. It is the only tool to get relieved from the emotional attachments and protect us from any external factors. Meditation will create awareness and make you stay neutral,” says Vasi Siva Sitham, spiritual guru.