21 May 2014 by Carmen Burby
Our body is intelligently
equipped with everything it requires to serve us efficiently and effectively
during the journey that is our physical existence.
Recall
We need to recall times in which we felt wonderfully in
tune with ourselves, when we felt at ease with our environment at home, at
work, or with friends and so forth. For
example, it could be a simple walk in nature on a sunny day, a sunset or
sunrise, your favourite place, sharing a meal with friends, sitting in a garden
bathed in warm sunshine, watching a child at play, a successful meeting with a
client, a party you attended looking beautiful and radiant or just remembering
the look of people on a sunny day. Hold
that memory and feel it, sense it, savour it, smell it, touch it, see it and
embrace the recollection of that beautiful experience. Would you agree with me that we feel and
look more relaxed, happier and friendlier when we recall happy moments?
Spring Cleaning
Our Subconscious / Conscious Mind
(In The Broad Sense)
It would be good if from time to
time we try to do some mental spring cleaning, decluterring our minds as it
were, disposing of unwanted material that does not serve us anymore. It could be said that since our early formative
years we have been storing memories in a generally random and indiscriminate
manner.
We stored everything, both good
and bad events. This is the work of the
Subconscious Mind, which acts like a sponge. Cannot reason, receives impressions and simple absorbs and works
as it were on autopilot. It does not
actively filter or discriminate between the negative and positive impressions
it receives. It is like a bin in which
you put anything. It is the reservoir
of all that we experience in life. It accepts
whatever is thrown into it!
- Conscious Mind or The Intellect
As we develop we start to reason
and challenge certain beliefs and principles that do not serve us anymore. This is the work of our Conscious Mind, which
reasons, discriminates, takes action and does not work on autopilot like a
machine, but it is fallible and prone to make mistakes. In taking action we make mistakes. We did not perform as well as we hoped, we
failed and felt disappointed but we can and will do better with perseverance,
and we can correct a mistake. However,
if we do nothing at all we do not have anything to correct. Therefore, we must draw our own personal
conclusions on what changes we need to make and what needs to be done in order
to effect those changes! Thus, we need
to adjust, and make the necessary corrections and in this way we start to
grow. Mistakes may seem like obstacles
to success, but they can propel us towards our ultimate goal if we choose to
learn from them.
- Would I be right in saying that at this stage you are
thinking that I know these two concepts already, but how can I start cleansing
my subconscious of the unwanted material which is no longer beneficial to me?
To answer this question,
I will base my reply on Swami Visnu-devananda’s book The Complete Illustrated
Book of Yoga. At page 267 he says that
“instead of guiding and giving proper suggestions with the developed intellect,
man interferes with the natural work of the subconscious through wrong suggestions
and thus adds miseries to his life.
However, with the help of the subconscious mind, we can change vicious
nature by cultivating healthy, virtuous qualities that are opposed to
undesirable ones. If we want to
overcome fear, we must concentrate on the opposite quality, courage. The positive always overcomes the
negative. Even distasteful tasks and
duties can be changed by cultivating a desire and taste for them. All actions, pleasures, and experiences
leave subtle impressions on the subconscious mind”.
In this way, by depositing opposite
positive impressions in our subconscious mind we are burning as it were the
negative impressions, which are impeding our development and causing us
misery. So, in this way the more
spring-cleaning we do the more room we make for more positive impressions.
Conclusion
In our daily lives, when we
experience some daunting and trying times, no matter how busy we might be, we
can just close our eyes for a few seconds to bring inner awareness and tune
into ourselves with our active conscious mind to access the positive
deposits we made in our subconscious mind.
Hold a memory and feel it, sense it, savour it, smell it,
touch it, see it and embrace the reminiscence of that beautiful
experience. Would you agree with me in
saying that we feel and look more relaxed, happier and friendlier when we
recall happy moments?
NB:
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This blog is based on
the teachings of Swami Visnu-devananda as outlined in his book The Complete
Illustrated Book of Yoga and of Swami Jyotirmayananda, who is the Director of
the Sivananda Yoga Centre in London who recently led a workshop on Yoga and
Stress management. The workshop was
like a beacon, which enlightened me and inspired me to write a few lines on
this subject, but in reality I am only skimming the surface of the theme.
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© 2014 Carmen Burby. htpp://www.energysprings.blogspot.com
The asanas (postures) work systematically on all parts of the body, lubricating the whole bodily system by stimulating the circulation and increasing flexibility. Asana means a steady posture done slowly and with awareness and promote not only physical well-being, but increase mental capacities for concentration and meditation.
Pranayama or proper breathing connects the body with its battery, the solar plexus, where enormous reserves of energy can be stored and retrieved.
Proper relaxation is a vital part of keeping the body and mind healthy and a tonic for the whole being, which when practised properly releases vast resources of energy. Proper relaxation cools down the system, like the cooling system of a car.
The yogic diet is essentially a lacto-vegetarian one, consisting of pure and natural foods cooked with fresh organic vegetables.
Positive thinking and meditation are an important key to achieving peace of mind. Meditation is the art of slowing down and focusing the mind. Regular practice enhances mental, physical and spiritual well-being.