Your Conscious, Friendly Mind – Day 26
Your Conscious, Friendly Mind Day 26
Stress Prevention: Being Good Gardeners of Our Minds
The Wise always tell us to be a good gardener of our mind and be watchful where the weeds are growing. Weeds grow in the garden of our mind and cause stress in our lives. One of the common weeds of our mind is aversion or dislike. We each have our preconceived notions of right and wrong and we love to possess our desires. If we don’t get what our mind is set on, for whatever reason, we are unhappy. It may be a person or an object, but mind dwells on that and most often we overlook the weed’s root, which is in the ego and attachment.
There are people who are very frustrated, for they aren’t getting that which they think will bring happiness. Many offshoots come from this one frustration. The areas of “dislike” spread, the mind space is cluttered, the person starts to grow angry and hateful, and the cycle of negativity spreads its tentacles. Inevitably stress happens!
Stress is a silent killer that is inevitable in modern life. It is like a termite, because it devours what’s inside. Sometimes stress is good because it garners our attention, but most often it is an enemy that may come in the garb of a friend.
Stress can kill those who are surrendered to the default mode of unawareness, those who have not kept the garden of their mind free of weeds. But those who learn the art of being aware and mindful through daily practice of yoga, pranayama (breathing), meditation, healthy diet, and proper rest can convert stressors into tools for self-transformation.
