I looked at the Swamiji in awe as he described the importance of mental health to keep physical health. He said, "If you have a specific problem that you are facing at any given moment analyze it the best way you can. If you can come up with any solutions to the problem, think of as many as you can. Pick the solution that has as many points closest to the problem. Every single problem has some solution or the other. One just has to look into the problem itself to find some clue that could help solve it".
How true! It is like taking an exam with multiple choice questions. The answers are all similar. Process of elimination is the first thing we do to narrow our choices. At least two answers are eliminated in the process, then comes the hardest part. Choosing between two best answers is difficult. But when you look at the original question, you have the keyword that indicates which answer it is. Even after you get to the two best answers and cannot pick the final right answer, you just say "I have done the best and now I will guess one of them." In other words you are saying "so what this will pass too." And of course, the moment will pass and the answer reveals itself over time when the paper goes for grading. And you settle with a mental peace that you have done your best. That's all you could do, then why worry over the spilled milk? See, that is what Swamiji was trying to explain.
And when you think about it, if you worry about what answer you gave, whether it is right or not you will end up having a big headache with tension. You will feel irritated and show it on others around you. You won't pay attention to what you are eating and you get sick.
At least that's what I understood. May be I am wrong but one thing I know for sure, how we care for our mental health will reflect on our physical health. It is reciprocal.
Meditation among other forms of exercises like yoga, reiki, pilates, and cardio is gaining in popularity all over the world. But meditation is special in its own way in the sense that it focuses on mental well-being to achieve physical health. Ancient Hindu saints used meditation to pray and focus on gaining divinity. They formed their own parameters on how to meditate and upon what to meditate. Some went to the Himalayas and sat in ice cold mountains and caves to make their bodies sustain harsh weathers by concentrating on praying. Some went to the forests and caves in order to attain moksha, which is immersing in God after life. There are numerous stories in Hindu scriptures and mythology where snakes built their homes around these saints, who went into seclusion and prayed. Animals in the forests came to visit these saints because of the serenity that radiated from them. These saints sat for years on end in one place without moving. Some just lived on breathing air, some ate leaves and branches, some drank only animal milk, some trained their bodies to learn to be hungry. At the end everyone's goal was the same--peace and tranquility.
These days nobody wants to become a saint by will. Every one is so busy in making a living in this materialistic world where survival of the fittest is the motto, that no one has time to think about taking a minute to breathe easy. People are crunched for time even to make it to the bathroom some times. I know I did. I told myself umpteen number of times every work day that I needed to use the restroom but did not end up going until my bladder hurt.That is how the world is now. Little children eat in a hurry to play, or young mothers feed them so they can finish a chore and clean up. Teenagers rush into finishing their chores or assignments so they can watch their favorite television show or chat with friends either on the phone or computer. Mothers cook and clean after work fast so they can catch up with other work or go to bed early so they could start their day at work early. No one thinks about relaxing any more. People take vacations for a whole week but hurry into doing things as fast as they could so they can make the most out of their days off. But they do not think actually of relaxing and taking time to rest their overheated minds and souls.
I came to a conclusion that with so many things around us day by day demanding our attention why not make meditation simple and fast? So I searched to see if I could find a book that supports my idea. Every book I read told me to find a quiet spot and sit comfortably first. Than they told me to find some focal point whether it be a bead necklace or a picture frame. Than they told me to start focusing on an object and make yourself invisible. They told me to keep going to the focal point again and again in my attempt to meditate. If I failed I should try to come back. I was reminded to spend at least half and hour to an hour to do this ritual every day. I was supposed to focus on breathing in with my stomach and breathe out through my nose. I was to try to relax every part of my body head to toe. So I tried and I tried. But I failed after only five minutes each time. Because the minute I sat for meditation I heard a door banging, a child wailing, a neighbor coughing, a car rushing, smelled something burning in the kitchen, heard the television in the living room or my boss or coworker speaking in big tones in my mind. I saw the monthly bills flashing in my head. I thought of the gas to be filled in the car tomorrow on my way to work that meant that I had to wake up 10 minutes early to make it to gas station. Something I had to do with one of my kid's projects at school jumped at me. My stomach growled and made noises that were funny. The whole world came into my picture to make my mind go haywire while I attempted to meditate. Now how am I supposed to focus or breathe in to relax? So, I gave up. I admitted I am no saint!
Finally, I came across a book that brought me to some conclusion on how to find my mental peace so I could take care of my physical health. If you asked me the author's name or the name of the book, forgive me as I didn't pay attention to them. I only absorbed the content in the book. So, here is my version of what I understood through this book--meditation does not have to be done sitting in one corner, chanting mantras or counting the beads. It does not have to be trying to focus on one single point. It does not have to take hours on end at a time. Meditation means losing yourself, mind and soul into something that you do or enjoy doing and forgetting yourself for a few minutes. When you come back to your senses you are refreshed with renewed energy and enthusiasm and peace. All you need is concentration on the work in hand. Let me explain how it works.
1. Let's say you are on a walk in the park. Listen to the birds chirping, feel the air on your face, close your eyes, and listen to the leaves moving, feel the texture of the gravel underneath your shoes, smell the ground or air around you, hear your footsteps falling one ahead of the other, and concentrate on every aspect of your walk. When you come home, you would have enjoyed your walk thoroughly with a totally different feeling and energy. You should feel refreshed and ready to go. You forgot every other issue that bothered you until then. That's meditation!
2. Let's say you are washing the dishes in the kitchen. Let the water run on your skin. Focus on the slithery texture of the water. Feel how the temperature is hot or cold. See how your skin reacts to it. Feel the pressure of the water on your skin. See how it mixes with soap and how it feels on your skin. See how it sounds while it runs over your hands or dishes or the sink. Close your eyes and feel the rhythm. Open your eyes, everything looks and feels tranquil. That's meditation!
3. Suppose you are folding clothes in the laundry room. Concentrate on the smells of the surroundings, the temperature, the machines spinning, the sounds of the water filling in the washer, the texture of the clothes while folding, the dryers blowing warm air. Everything has a feel, a sound, a touch, a smell. Gather them, use them. See if you feel refreshed at the end of your laundry. That's meditation!
4. Turn off the lights and stereos and televisions in the house. Sit in the middle of the house quietly. Listen to what you gather, the creaking sounds of the doors or floors above, the wind around the house, the air conditioner, the clock, the refrigerator. Smell the spices in the kitchen, the carpet, the lingering perfumes, the baby's clothes. Every thing tells you a story of its own. Listen. Open your eyes and see if you have a totally new perspective on life. That's meditation!
5. Feel the clothes while you dress. How they feel on your body, How they smell of iron or dry cleaning. The folds they come in. The crevices. Take a few minutes to take the senses into your mind. I bet you will forget everything else that was bothering you for a few minutes there. That's meditation!
6. Cut the vegetables while feeling their texture, smelling them, listening to the way the knife goes through them, their temperature, feel the difference between them, the softness of spinach leaves, the coarseness of the cabbage, the coolness of the cucumber, the way you stir them in the oil, the heat of the stove, the aromas of garlic, everything sounds and feels different. You forget about your problems for a few minutes. That's meditation!
7. Feel how your dinner plate is cold or hot. Smell the food in your plate. Feel the fork in your hand. Mark the distance and time it takes for the fork to reach from the plate to your mouth. Feel the bite, the way food feels in your mouth, and in your throat. Differentiate the tastes between food. Take your time eating every bite. Take a different food with each bite. Feel the water wash it down. The salt, the sweet, the sour, and bitter tastes of the food are more obvious when you take time. Feel your stomach fill in with the food. It takes 20 minutes for the sensors in your stomach to send signals to your brain that it is filled. So take 20 minutes and save your calorie intake. It saves your health and mood. At the end you finish your dinner with peace and tranquility. That's meditation!
Every thing around us is alive. Everything tells us a story of its own. Everything we do is a focal point to meditate. Everything is a way to mental getaway. Everything is a pathway to mental health if we use it in a proper way. For every single minute we run, there is another minute to relax if we really look around and feel. The calming effect these little getaways give are more than we could ask in a week's vacation with our mind blowing the panic whistles. We just need to realize that we have bountiful sources to lead us through life with less stress. We do not need to go to the mountains after all! We cannot escape what material world we made around us, but we can escape from our mental tensions at least for a few minutes in our own comfort zone, because at the end OUR LIFE MATTERS.