As we roll further into "Corona era", social distancing is becoming the long-term norm; and has shaken the mental balance of many, which most of us were oblivious to its existence even before this virus invasion!
Humans are social beings, that is why a human child requires social (family) support for a long time after birth, unlike other mammals who start walking and fend for themselves much faster than humans! However, if a support system replaces the Individual existence, it becomes like a crutches to healthy legs!
As it is said, "A crisis is an Opportunity"!
Mental addictions!
Living in the 21st century, basic human needs are rapidly replaced by desires and a gradual thinning of the huge valley between the two.
Man thinks contentment can be derived by a never-ending bucket list, which refurbishes itself at every stage of life. In this cycle of wanting more & better, you become habituated with Comfort, like a subtle form of addiction; where the absence of ‘substance’ causes distress more than the pleasure with its use and hence links to addiction.
For example, You don’t release the value of taste and smell, till COVID snatches it away from you and how life becomes plain and placid, even if temporary!
Mind your own mind!
"You can't know your real mind as long as you deceive yourself." - Bodhidharma
The inability of people to live by themselves has caused a storm in their mental space. While professional advice of nurturing social relationships is well intended, but had these relationships been nurturing, wouldn't Man be more emotionally independent?, one must ask oneself!
Life is lead with an external locus of control & that external is dynamic and perishable; from relationships to objects of entertainment; everything has an expiration. Apart from two-bits of pleasure, there is nothing long-lasting in it, but since the vision is outwardly, Man has never learnt to look within so it clings tightly to its objects of addiction with a false hope of pleasure and hence strengthens the mental dependence and doesn't let the Man evolve
Be Aatm-nirbhar (Psychological independence)!
While all objects of comfort are of a certain value, their value must not be overestimated. For Mankind to understand that how-much-ever big the achievement is, it can never be fulfilling if the Individual is poor from inside and there are many examples in the world who even after a garnering all that is valued, did combat Mental Health issues and many succumbed while fighting it off! But Life is not a combat!
Your mind is not your enemy, It needs to be watched from a distance and it calms itself down after getting no attention from you! Distancing oneself from their own monkey minds through various hacks in daily life, goes a long way towards Aatm-nirbharta-
Mind cannot be dealt with resistance; resistance rather consolidates it and makes it hard-wired in the head so it becomes difficult to break. Accept what ‘IS’, without attaching any label of good/bad to it!
Nature helps in emptying the space which is perpetually hijacked by the incessant overflow of thoughts & emotions.
Nature is a black hole of swirling energy; it sucks out the chaos and leaves only an alive peace within. Spending a few hours of your day with nature and just yourself, calms the nervous system!
Body-mind is a complex and for a calm mind, body must get rid of its restlessness and other way around as well!
Hatha-yoga, Vinyasa Yoga breaks the rigidity of not just the body but mind as well because mental rigidity leads to physical rigidity, both are intertwined!
Loneliness is scary! Why?, Because Mind is so deeply conditioned to be at work that it goes berserk without any action!
But escaping from this emptiness is never a solution, because one can't keep doing things all the time; Man should be comfortable with 'Not doing anything', which is in fact what Meditation is all about!
A few moments of Silence, however uncomfortable to begin with are vital to create a distance from the thoughts and emotions (Mental Distancing) that have enslaved you. In that sweet separation you actually see that "You are neither thoughts, nor emotions"!
- Call truce with the Mind! ACCEPTANCE
- Date-out with Nature!
- Nurture yourself with Yoga
- Claim your Individual Independence with Meditation
- Make way for silent solitude!
According to 'Advaita Vedanta Philosophy'-
तत्त्वमस्यादिवाक्येन स्वात्मा हि प्रतिपादितः । नेति नेति श्रुतिर्ब्रूयाद अनृतं पाञ्चभौतिकम् ।। २५।।
Meaning:
“I am not this, I am not that”; To understand what you truly are, start from what you are not!
Gradually as the Mental Distancing grows roots, the same loneliness gradually germinates to a peaceful solitude that is in true sense fulfilling, because it makes one truly independent irrespective of the external conditions!
