VICHAR
Before I started writing this blog, I was overthinking about the topic itself. I tried to push the deadline further away ( basically procrastinating) because I was unsure if I'll be able to briefly put it altogether. There is so much to write and one blog post isn't enough to sum it up. So I took up a major section just about VICHAR which literally means thought.
Excessive thinking = An Uncontrolled Mind
Vichar - Our daily thoughts about absolutely anything and everything. People, work, goals, financial pressure, family, health, liabilities, time etc, the list goes on and it's endless. We are constantly affected by these thoughts and have zero control over what should and shouldn't affect us.
It is exhausting to be mentally drained by the end of the day and not realize how much time we spent thinking - mostly about unnecessary things.
We do OVERTHINK.
Our thoughts comprise of past memories, future imaginative thoughts, dreams and also every present continuous passing moment has a thought linked to it. These thoughts are generally either positive, negative or neutral and the way each one of us functions is obviously different. Therefore,
The key question here is HOW aware are you about your thoughts and WHY do you have them in the first place. The WHY is important to figure out because mainly that's the reason you can't fall asleep at night and it needs to be fixed immediately - I'll write another post on that!
Overthinking is a major cause of stress and worry. When someone says don't overthink, do you really know how to do that? We hear it so often but don't have a way to apply it or don't know how to stop these thoughts and have very little control over the mind.
It's funny, we have been living our whole life with a head on our shoulders and are completely unaware about its behavior and effect on our day to day activities. Unfortunately nobody taught us how to listen to our thoughts and mind the mind.
Let's first understand the 5 States Of Mind or Chitta Bhumi according to the Yoga Philosophy.
Kshipta - Restless/Scattered
Moodha - Dull/Disinterested
Vikshipta - Occasionally focused or disturbed
Ekagrah - Continuously concentrated or focused for a long duration.
Niruddha - There comes a point when you have no thoughts - mastering the mind.
Now being aware about the state of mind is progress. We need to consciously figure out what state we are in so that we fix or change that state. So the next time you sit and overthink about something, find no motivation to do your tasks or just laze around and waste a good day.
Try and Follow the SWS principle.
SWS = STOP - WATCH - SWITCH
First step - Becoming aware that you're overthinking.
Second step - Watching your thoughts and analyzing the current state of mind which needs to shift.
Third step - Switching it with a pleasant/positive thought - motivate yourself to focus on the matter at hand and BE IN THE PRESENT.
Avoid being in a dull or restless state of mind and try to move towards the occasionally concentrated and focused mind. When you develop a focused mind, it helps you to be proactive and productive.
You have to experience the change in your state of mind to really believe that such simple techniques really work well. We are so caught up in our mundane fast-paced lives that we aren't conscious about our thoughts at all. The mind is so powerful and for us to be in no control of it is the same as a car being driven without a driver.
Yoga is a consistent practice to stop these fluctuating thoughts and bring the mind to a complete balance. It helps us to maintain and bring a behavioral change as we manage our state of our mind - which is interlinked to the overall energy, positivity and peace of mind in our lives.
A balanced mind is a healthy mind.
Excessive thinking = An Uncontrolled Mind
Vichar - Our daily thoughts about absolutely anything and everything. People, work, goals, financial pressure, family, health, liabilities, time etc, the list goes on and it's endless. We are constantly affected by these thoughts and have zero control over what should and shouldn't affect us.
It is exhausting to be mentally drained by the end of the day and not realize how much time we spent thinking - mostly about unnecessary things.
We do OVERTHINK.
Our thoughts comprise of past memories, future imaginative thoughts, dreams and also every present continuous passing moment has a thought linked to it. These thoughts are generally either positive, negative or neutral and the way each one of us functions is obviously different. Therefore,
The key question here is HOW aware are you about your thoughts and WHY do you have them in the first place. The WHY is important to figure out because mainly that's the reason you can't fall asleep at night and it needs to be fixed immediately - I'll write another post on that!
Overthinking is a major cause of stress and worry. When someone says don't overthink, do you really know how to do that? We hear it so often but don't have a way to apply it or don't know how to stop these thoughts and have very little control over the mind.
It's funny, we have been living our whole life with a head on our shoulders and are completely unaware about its behavior and effect on our day to day activities. Unfortunately nobody taught us how to listen to our thoughts and mind the mind.
Let's first understand the 5 States Of Mind or Chitta Bhumi according to the Yoga Philosophy.
Kshipta - Restless/Scattered
Moodha - Dull/Disinterested
Vikshipta - Occasionally focused or disturbed
Ekagrah - Continuously concentrated or focused for a long duration.
Niruddha - There comes a point when you have no thoughts - mastering the mind.
Now being aware about the state of mind is progress. We need to consciously figure out what state we are in so that we fix or change that state. So the next time you sit and overthink about something, find no motivation to do your tasks or just laze around and waste a good day.
Try and Follow the SWS principle.
SWS = STOP - WATCH - SWITCH
First step - Becoming aware that you're overthinking.
Second step - Watching your thoughts and analyzing the current state of mind which needs to shift.
Third step - Switching it with a pleasant/positive thought - motivate yourself to focus on the matter at hand and BE IN THE PRESENT.
Avoid being in a dull or restless state of mind and try to move towards the occasionally concentrated and focused mind. When you develop a focused mind, it helps you to be proactive and productive.
You have to experience the change in your state of mind to really believe that such simple techniques really work well. We are so caught up in our mundane fast-paced lives that we aren't conscious about our thoughts at all. The mind is so powerful and for us to be in no control of it is the same as a car being driven without a driver.
Yoga is a consistent practice to stop these fluctuating thoughts and bring the mind to a complete balance. It helps us to maintain and bring a behavioral change as we manage our state of our mind - which is interlinked to the overall energy, positivity and peace of mind in our lives.
A balanced mind is a healthy mind.
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