Thought 195: The holistic approach to life

Part 3 – psychological needs

- Fear and suspicion are the major causes of conflict. Have no fear (but be cautious). Try and dispel suspicion in others

- You are talking to yourself constantly. If this self-talk is negative, a poor self-image results and you build up a resentment towards others

- Make the self-talk positive and develop a high self esteem

- No one can harm you. By negative self-talk, you harm yourself. Since no one other than yourself can harm you, why have animosity towards others?

- Self-confidence and self-esteem make you look attractive. If you lack them, you look unattractive, even if you are handsome

- Learn to listen when others speak. Do not prejudge and stop listening. Similarly, learn to see and observe

- Often, what you see and hear may give you only misleading information. Try to find the real truth before you come to any firm conclusions

- Do not be guided solely by what others say. Frequently, people say things based on their prejudices or based on their own interests. Develop your own judgement and evaluate their statements objectively before you come to any firm conclusions

- If you try to conform to the expectations of others, you are always allowing them to modify your behavior to suit their interests. This does not allow self-confidence to build within you. Do what you think is in your interest and do not bother about what others think of you

- What people say to you is not so important as what motivated them to say that

- People take psychological positions, generally based on prejudices. Ignoring the position cancels its power.

- We may not be able to control events, but we should certainly be able to control our reactions to them. Do not be too sensitive to your own feelings. Learn to case harden yourself.

- Keep your ego under control. Remember, others too have ego and feelings. Be slow to react but be quick to respond

- Feel no anger but feign anger when necessary

The holistic approach to life (Continued)

Thought 195: The holistic approach to life

Part1 - The balanced approach

A balanced, harmonious and holistic approach to life is the only way to improve the quality of life. We must attend to all our needs - not just one or two of them - to get anywhere near the synergism that we are aiming at.

A human being lives on several planes - physical, intellectual, psychological or emotional, social, spiritual - and has needs in all these planes. Additionally, he or she has to deal with varied people, circumstances, problems and stresses. Each of them set up different priorities for different persons and every person needs equipment to cope with the demands of these needs and their priorities.

An attempt has been made here to identify some important needs and recommend some useful measures, which, if properly or devotedly applied, can lead to the harmony and balance, needed to the higher quality of life.

The holistic approach to life (Continued)

Part 2 - Physical Health

- Keep teeth and gums clean. Wash after each meal

- Keep eyes healthy. Wash frequently with ice cold water

- Keep body healthy through daily physical exercise

- Have timely and healthy eating habits

- Do breathing exercises daily for at least 15 minutes

The holistic approach to life (Continued)

Thought 194: Resistances in the mind

Man imposes several limitations on himself - prejudices, self doubt, fear, hatred etc. "I do not like him", "I do not think I can do that", "I hate that" etc - are but a few examples, which are familiar to most of us. These are all like the hurdles in a relay race in athletic meets. These hurdles are firmly etched on your memory. These are the resistances, which make it difficult for you to convert your huge potential - efficiently into achievement. These resistences also cause considerable losses during the process of conversion. What you are able to achieve consequently is far less than what your potential is. These resistances also make it difficult for you to live in the present, undisturbed by the past memories and experiences. Thoughts and feelings of guilt, worry, hatred, anger, anxiety, fears etc lodge you permanently in either the past - the memory lane - or the future - the hide out.

In Nature, any resistance causes friction and loss of energy. According to Dr Sampooran Singh ("Paths of Meditation" - Sri Ramakrishna Math), meditation leads to the liberation from the resistances in the mind - freeing the mind from the past conditioning. Moving from a state of resistance to a state of resistancelessness is a "quantum jump of the mind from logical and scientific reason to unfettered philosophical reason; or from relative (conscious state) to an absolute state ". This is the Super Conscious State.

The electromagnetic spectrum is broadly divided into three regions – ultraviolet region, visible region and infrared region. The sound spectrum too is divided into three regions – ultra sound region, audible region and supersonic region. Similarly, consciousness is also divided, according to Indian Vedaantic philosophy, into three regions – subconscious state, conscious state and super-conscious state. When we are awake, of course, we are in the conscious state. When we are in a disturbed sleep state having dreams, the consciousness exists but in the subconscious state. When we are in the deep sleep, the consciousness is said to be in the super-conscious state. In the super-conscious state, mind is free from all limitations.

Dr Sampooran Singh sees a parallel between Man’s super-conscious state - and material which is in the super-conductive state. When some materials are kept at certain low temperatures, they have no resistance to the flow of electricity and the materials show an extraordinary capability. If we put a little electric current in the circuit under those conditions, it keeps on flowing, as there are no resistances and consequently, no losses. The properties of matter without resistance are described by a completely new set of physical laws. Similarly the state of the mind without resistances also functions in a different dimension altogether. This is called "super consciousness". "The state of the mind without resistance is capable of pure perception and as such, the mind receives the present moment of the chronological “space – time” continuum and there is a continuous flow of present moment only”.

If there are no resistances at all in your mind, there would be no losses and consequently, the entire potential lying dormant in you can get converted into achievement. You are no longer bound by the usual set of natural laws. Since Man's potential is believed to be infinite, imagine how creative and how productive you will be, if that happens.

You certainly can do without prejudices or resistances. You do not need them. Why have them at all and get limited? You have within you an infinite wealth of knowledge. It is in your power to uncover this wealth. Demolish the resistances and experience the great knowledge and happiness, which is the real you.

The next thought is about “The holistic approach to life” (in 10 parts)