Stress
Conscious Journey towards a Stress-free State
This presentation was transcribed by Dr. Monica Gulati and delivered on 15th March 2022 at the online programme, ‘Overcome Fear, Stress and Anxiety with the Integral Approach’, organised by NAMAH.
Abstract
Overcoming stress is not so difficult. It depends on your aspiration. Stress is essentially a superficial affliction. If you withdraw from the surface and live in the present moment, you also withdraw from the superficiality and can embrace peace and harmony.
There is a huge amount of stress — both conscious and subconscious that we have to deal with in our daily lives. The basic premise of ‘Consciousness as Medicine’ is that there is no suffering in the present moment, that there is no problem related to the past or the future.
Exercise: relaxing in the present moment
In a situation where one is feeling stress and anxiety one can do the following practice:
Sit by yourself, become conscious of the present moment, become aware that at this present moment none of the factors that are the cause of your stress are there.
Become aware of your body, relax your body, unclench your hands, relax your feet and place them gently on the floor. Relax your shoulders, observe your breath, relax your chest, gently close your eyes and bring a gentle smile to your face. Breathe gently, become aware of the pressure and heaviness around your chest, back and neck. Just let it flow out with your breath. Relax. Breathe in deeply and breathe out all the heaviness. Imagine a door in your heart is opening. This is the door to your inner soul. Gently go inside. As you go inside your heart, feel that it is a totally different space. Immerse yourself in the vibrations of this space. Be there in this inner space. Feel the calm and peace. This inner space is accessible to everyone. Even a few minutes of living in this space can be a life- transforming experience.
Stress and anxiety are in fact very superficial aspects of our being. They touch us only on the surface. At a deeper level, everything is fine. The problems and fears which appear too overwhelming are in fact very superficial.
A small shift from the outer surface, to going within to the inner space, makes us realise that the overwhelming stress that we experience is only at the surface. An inward movement, going deeper within and invoking the Inner Presence, makes us realise the triviality of the outer drama. Most psychological problems are on the surface.
Conscious steps towards overcoming stress
We as humans are not isolated entities. We are greatly influenced by our environment — by the vibrations of the people we interact with, the physical space, the food we take in and everything else. We are thus influenced by our surroundings not only at a psychological level but also at a physical-vibrational level. So it is very important to become conscious of these factors.
We must not worry about things which are not within our control. We must become aware of what is creating fear and anxiety in us. Once we have become aware of the cause of our stress, then it becomes possible to remove its influence. This becomes conscious work. Once we become conscious, all that we need to do is gather ourselves and, in a state of sincere aspiration, offer our problem to the Divine. Now we have the Divine on our side. The sincere act of complete offering frees us from the problem.
We need to take life and our own selves not so seriously. We need to let go of our obsession with our own selves and our lives. We must face things as they are. We must overcome our need to escape from reality. We must see things objectively, free from the emotional mixture. Doing so will allow us to solve many of our problems. We need to trust the Divine and the Divine Scheme. A lot of stress and anxiety is a result of the fear of the unknown. Once we develop a trust in the Divine this fear can be faced.
In the workspace, we can face stress and anxiety emanating from our interaction with others, by knowing that all are children of the Divine. This allows us to enlarge our hearts to encompass everyone and every difference. This way, we can accept everyone as they are and appreciate their differences.
Practising a few moments of withdrawal from the outer self to the inner, to feel the presence concretely within and around, allows us to understand that it is the Divine at play in all circumstances. Once we work with this consciousness, then there is very little scope of the play of the ego and its resultant anger, disappointment, fear, anxiety and so on.
Dr. Yogesh Mohan is the Founder of ‘Consciousness as Medicine’ and is CEO of Saveetha College & Hospitaal in Chennai
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