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Simple Ways of De-stressing

Stress which is known as silent killer is a major problem now-a-days. During the day we build into our system a number of tensions. These arise out of conflicts in a work or family situations. Our a period of time, these tensions accumulate and become intolerable. We come across many people who are constantly annoyed, irritated and their temper frequently. This type of behavior is a result of the intolerable nature of the tensions inventory accumulated over the years. In fact we should always remain calm and mentally at peace. In the words of the Gita. “Prepare for war with peace in they soul. Be in peace in pleasure and pain, in gain and in loss, in victory or in the loss of a battle. In this peace there is no sin” So, we need to understand the basis of the relax-in meditation technique. In our mind, each thought originates from a source. In fact, although our mind may be flooded with thoughts at a particular moment, in actual practice one though has followed another. In between these thoughts is a void. The objective of the technique is to reach the void or the source of all thoughts if we can hold on to this void, we would automatically repress all thoughts and ideas flooding into our mind. We reach a state of great silence.  

The first step in securing this state is “concentration” The mind must be fixed upon an object or a thought and that thought must be held firmly and other thoughts removed which is called meditation. We have to concentrate on one though only i.e. a mantra, A ‘mantra’ is not something without meaning, to be repeated parrot, like. It is an aid to concentration and is used to help the practitioner concentrate on a particular though. In the R-I technique, the ‘Mantra’ is to be repeated mentally, making the thought softer and softer until the thought a ‘mantra’ disappears and the void has been reached. This is the basis of the technique.
The most important aspect of practicing this technique is the setting. One should select a room where no one else is present. If the lights are dim, its better.
To achieve a sense of detachment or separateness, it is not necessary to hide in a cave. As the ‘Gita’ says “ net by refraining from action does man attain supreme perfections. Even when you are not concentrating on your ‘Mantra’ after some time, you will begin to feel as if you are looking at your thought. Thus you can separate your thought from yourself. The thought becomes like an image or a photograph which your consciousness. In fact, when other thoughts flood your mind, you will be aware of it and must remove them with your willpower.
The position or posture is equally important. Patanjali, who gives an excellent exposition of the yoga  philosophy, suggests the position of being seated firmly but in a relaxed state. The Hindu Yogi generally assumes the lotus postures where he sits cross-legged. His feats are drawn in, resting against the top of the thighs. This requires extreme flexibility of the limbs. If people find it difficult then they can opt for a comfortable chair. The chair must be upright and the seat must be firm. Make yourself comfortable in that chair and keep your back erect. Your chest, neck and head must be in a straight line. There must be no strain. This is important. Now it’s the time to select a ‘mantra’. The ‘mantra’ I suggest way strongly is the word relax. Repeat the word “relax” again and again. Try and concentrate on this word. Try and remove all other thoughts from your mind. In the beginning you will find this extremely difficult. Thoughts are waves and a member of waves will try to sulimerge the one thought on which you are trying to concentrate. However, whilst making this effort you must be completely relaex. The way you repeat the word “relax” is extremely important. The ‘mantra’ for this stage of the technique is given below:
Mantra
Reeeeeeee …............ laaaaaaaaxse
Once you are sure that your are only thinking the word, keep on repeating the word mentally, but gradually let your repetitions soften. You will feel that your tension are leaving your system. You will find a stage when there are no thoughts not even a single thought not even a word “relax”. This requires practice. Remember to concentrate firmly but very lightly, i.e. without any strain. Now let us come to what are healthy signs or indicators of success. Your breathing will slow down. You may also find that you take extra deep breaths occasionally. Some people even your. This is because your system is not used to the solve breathing which results from the use of this technique. You therefore take the occasional deep breath. There is nothing wrong with that. After some sessions, you will notice that you are taking fewer deep breaths of this type. After more sessions, you may not take any deep breaths at all.
You may even hear your heartbeats or feel your pulse mentally. This also is a healthy sign.
As you “dive in”, that is begin to reach the super conscious state, you may find the vision darkness. You may even get a feeling of something going within yourself. However, when this happens, you will know that you have “dived in”. This is an excellent feeling as it indicates correct results.
In your state of awakened awareness, you may find that you have become less emotional and that your mind has become shoe per. Our mind often gets clouded by our emotions. This spoils our ability to think clearly. Practice of this technique will help you develop a calm state of mind which is way important.
After you have practiced with the word “relax” for at least four sessions, you may proceed to the next stage of in “in” aspect. After repeating the word “relax” in your sessions for about five minutes, say the word “in” repeat this word in the same dragging, slow way as you did the previous word. Drag out the “eee….” Sound of the word. As you do so, think of going within yourself. You will find that you will dive in much quicker and perhaps get a sense of extreme bliss or happiness. In fact, it may not even be necessary for you to say the word “in” as the word “relax” can be quite sufficient. However, the use of the word “in” often helps people to get in quicker. You are really thinking of going within yourself and uniting with the “self” within yourself and uniting with the “self” within you. This is the ultimate objective of this type of mediation reaching the stage of super consciousness or Samadhi. To summaries, in the words of Sri Ramakrishna, “withdraw the mind completely from all objects and dive into the Atman” i.e. the self within you.
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