Mortality reminder

We human beings have an advantage over other creatures on the earth. We can perform our activities consciously rather than compulsively. This dimension brings forth a sense of freedom in our lives. However, when we start giving it too much attention, a sense of superiority over others arises. 

This turns out to be a major problem. And the problem is that people start thinking that they are immortals. The fact that one day every person must die is lost in the daily din of exercising power over other less privileged section of society.

When we are reminded continuously that our time here is limited, we tend to perform our actions meaningfully. We also start looking at life at a different perspective. It is not only our life but others too. 

In this notion, the concept of mock funeral has been introduced in South Korea. It has been around for a few years now. Click here to read the full article. 

During the mock funeral, the participants will be made to lay down in the casket and the attendants would place the lid on it after performing necessary rituals. Some of these programs have been designed to curb suicide rate in the country. 

There is a positive feeling towards leading a fuller life after the program concludes. The participants would also be able to handle depression gracefully.

People are reminded about the beautiful things in life that need to be appreciated. More importantly life won’t be taken for granted and everyone would strive to achieve something worthwhile in this precious life.

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Detention vs Meditation

It is a norm in the school to put students under detention when they act disobedient & crazy. Detention is a kind of punishment to the child in order to get him or her follow the rules applicable in general to everyone. The child must probably stay after school hours, perform arduous tasks or just stare at walls.

Robert W. Coleman Elementary school in Baltimore, however changed its approach. It partnered with Holistic Life Foundation to adopt the Mindful Moment program. Here, instead of punishing the children, the program teaches them to wind down and reflect upon themselves. Click here to see the detailed information about the program and its effectiveness. 

The staff of Holistic Life Foundation provide training to children to cope with their fears, anxiety and any other issues that may be facing. They conduct the sessions in a separate room called mindful moment room. Other students are also allowed to go through the training.

The school management has acknowledged the positive environment this change has created. Children who are getting into this program have been able to deal with stress effectively and thus act sensibly.

As an evidence to the success of this program, detention has reduced. Additionally, another nearby school that has utilized the Mindful Moment program declared that the number of detainees has gone down since adoption of this program.

Yes, it has worked wonders on the school children. But it should not just stop there. Every person in the world must learn to live peacefully. 

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Untying the knots of slavery

Humans are social beings. We live in a society, build relationship with other people. Our actions have an impact on ourselves and our surroundings. Based on the social setup in which we exist, we modify & tune our performance. 

It is good to obtain the feedback that leads to changes in our behavior for the betterment of individuals and society at large. However, it is also the trap of our environment which has a say over our emotions. If our near and dear ones praise our actions, it would bring forth a soothing feeling and in turn we will be happy. On the other hand, if there is criticism then it brings misery.

Swami Vivekananda terms this as slavery. He says that if we require someone else to make us happy, we are nothing but slaves. He mentions that in order to break from the clutches of slavery, we have to consciously move away from the way society operates. 

We have to perform actions without any attachment. In his speech on Karma Yoga, he declares that work that is performed as a free-will offering to humanity does not associate itself with any binding attachment.

The goal is to isolate the soul from all objects – physical & mental. When this goal is attained, the soul will realize that it was all alone and wouldn’t necessitate anyone else’s presence or absence to make it happy. 

If we have reached this state, it would possibly indicate that we have been able to successfully break free from the bondage of slavery.     

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What should be your goal?

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Mindfulness...

There are a lot of stuff going on around us. It is easy to get lost with all the din of outside world. Most of the times we don’t even remember what actions we were performing just 10 minutes ago! Majority of us are in such a situation nowadays for many variety of reasons.

It is in this context when one can bring his or her attention to everything that is happening only at the present moment becomes very critical. This process is given the name Mindfulness. 

This activity enhances the quality of our life. It has its origins in the Buddhist traditions, basically carved out of Tibetan meditation techniques and has flavors of Zen and Vipassana.

Jon Kobat-Zinn is one of the pioneers in making mindfulness popular among the western audience. 

He has been actively promoting the use of mindfulness related processes in schools, hospitals and rehabilitation centers.

Here is what he has to say about mindfulness.

Courtesy: Mindful.org

Got excited about making it part of your daily life? Of course, there are lot of resources available on the internet on the topic. 

Click here to read a simple guide to practice mindfulness.

Let us lead a mindful life.

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Do Not Condemn Anyone

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