Anecdote #27

The mind of ours is engineered to play games with us and these can be extremely vicious and consuming. Jealousy, hatred and fear are feelings fostered and festered by the mind. I believe that there is a distinction between the mind and the self. I agree to the fact that the mind is instrumental in influencing the self but the two cannot be mistaken for one. To rise above pettiness, irritability and all such  whirling negative emotions one must learn to listen to the inner voice. If we go on ignoring this voice then in my opinion it will tend to fade over time. Your definition of right and wrong may be completely different to mine but I think we can’t walk away from the fact that there are some universally accepted truths. The mind is an omnipresent energy which perpetually tries to deviate you from progress. It releases an array of negative feelings which pricks you like needles. Some days tend to feel worse than the others and these are the days which hurts the self. When we indulge in words or activities that seem wrong, it feels like  a heavy blow on the self. We tend to become unforgiving and bitter with ourselves. The most common advise to tackle anger and it’s brother emotions is to take deep breaths. Honestly for me this fuels my anger even further! Then what should one do? I feel there is no fixed formula, yes there are suggestions ( often listed across many magazines, newspapers) but they don’t necessarily work for everyone. It’s crucial to find a unique way for mental detoxification.A very effective method which is also practical is that an individual must try and engage himself or herself in an activity involving movement such as cooking, going for a walk or doing certain chores because it derails anxiety provoking thoughts. As soon as we indulge in a new activity our focus changes which provides a relief from the chain of destructive thoughts. I cannot emphasise enough on the fact that an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Get out, do something and  evaluate yourself or else you will eventually get trapped into the vicious cycle of mind games and pessimism.