Meditation may not seem like the most reliable form of stress reliever, but it can do one wonders in stressful times.

Every day one faces one or the other obstacle in life. These obstacles could be as silly as a five-minute delay to a destination, or as huge as the death of a loved one. As a student, life can be stressful with overbearing assignments and internals. This becomes stressful as all this piles up right after the midsemester break with no time to relax. We all face obstacles, which is how life works and ironically, it is these obstacles that keep us occupied in our routine-based lives. It gives us a push away from the everyday rituals and monotonous behaviour. Many of us enjoy these little pricks, some resent them, and the remaining do not want to face them at all. Some become so used to these daily hassles that they often do not even realise the gravity of what has happened to them. On the other hand for many, the slightest inconveniences hold the power to ruin their day. It is here that the idea of inner wellbeing comes to mind. We have all heard of stories of people transforming their lives through books, classes, and seminars, and becoming better individuals.

The bigger question becomes, how many end up staying the same throughout? Inner healing does not happen in a day, the lives of Buddha and Mahavira are examples of the years of mediation that one must do to achieve such unearthly feats, to begin with. It is a gradual and slow process, like medical treatment or a fitness regime. The transformations are always temporary in nature, and one needs to mould their mind with continual practice to achieve maximum results. The human mind is a very complex enigma that has wonderful, and miraculous features to it that surpass the earthly plane. For thousands of years, the sages of India called ‘rishis’ had proved the same. They had, through continual and rigorous mediation, opened their chakras and achieved feats that seem inhuman in today’s age. One may desire to achieve such transformative abilities, yet not all of us can invest the time and energy to be able to achieve them. Being part of an age where everything in our lives mostly revolves around speed and technology, it does not mean that selfactualisation cannot be achieved.

The answer to it is as simple as the Sacred Games chant we have become used to hearing now – Aham Brahmasmi. Brahma, the creator, resides in one’s soul or Atman, and is nothing but the abode of creation and creative power. We believe what we wish to believe, and we hold on to our perceptions and inhibitions, but the moment we prepare ourselves to see beyond our rigidity of thoughts, we become free of our bonds. Thus, you must understand that eternal bliss or happiness of the being is possible for every one of us. If one wishes to invest even a few minutes of their time in life-altering activities persistently, one will achieve peace, calm, and a stress-free environment where creative energies can be released to bring a positive change in the mind and space that we occupy. The most effective and simple exercise would be to concentrate on one’s breathing as one assumes a comfortable position for a span of just five minutes. It is all but a matter of faith – not in any external idol, religion, or God-men, but in the power of our intrinsic energy as a vehicle to transform our stress into positivity. One’s present should be of concern only if one wishes to change it for a different or a happier future. There is a need for change. It all begins today, if we keep our buzzing phones aside, and take a few moments to ourselves for the sake of positive mental health.

Feature Image Credits: Mindful

Stephen Mathew

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