Fear to Fearlessness: Surviving the Himalayan Tsunami

Getting there

After months of on and off preparation, the moment had finally arrived. I was back in India and this time it was to the Himalayas in Northern India. I had planned to spend two weeks of solitude in the mountains. It was my first trip to the Himalayas, let alone a trip of silent contemplation. 

Food, Mood and Exercise

Based on a talk given at Weight Watchers, Bradenton, FL June 2013

The life cycle of every cell in the human body goes through three processes, namely creation, preservation and destruction. Food is the main source of energy for creative processes in cells. One of the main goals of life is the preservation of happiness, the human mind ceaselessly pursues happiness from birth to death. Exercise, by promoting healthy blood circulation helps in the elimination and destruction of cellular toxins.

Both humans and animals have the need for food. However, obesity is a problem unique to the human species. In the wilderness, you don’t come across obese animals or birds. An overweight tiger will not be able to hunt for food, an obese deer will not be able to escape predators and a bird that puts on a few extra pounds may not be able to take flight. Animals are instinctual eaters whereas humans are predominantly emotional eaters.

Hunger instinct is a basic survival mechanism for the body. The human mind, by turning this survival instinct into a social and emotional concept, has made food a source of comfort. Right from our infancy, we either eat to live or live to eat. Eating to live generally promotes good health and living to eat ultimately results in disease.

The conquest of the mind. Lessons in practical spirituality from from Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Part 1

Art of War, is a book written by Sun Tzu over 2000 years ago. It consists of thirteen chapters. This is a commentary (based on Sun Tzu’s work), that will hopefully help with the conquest of the mind.

Sun Tzu said:

The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

Commentary

The success, happiness and prosperity of a nation depends not only on the direction set by the people governing it but also requires the cooperation of the masses. When nations get along, the world is at peace. In recorded human history, there has not been an age when peace has reigned throughout the word. The ego one of the sources of this constant conflict among human beings. Ego makes us overlook the fairly obvious concept that all humans are similar in physical form and therefore the suffering and happiness that we experience is also experienced by others. Everyone is striving to attain the same goal of happiness. Ego drives us to trample on the trail to happiness that others may have created for themselves and in the process our own path to happiness gets stepped on by others. Fighting wars to physically annihilate one’s enemies can never solve the problem. It only removes the physical body but does not change thought.

The conquest of the mind. Lessons in practical spirituality from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

Life is a game that is played between the earth and the skies

Man and animal arrive on sandy shores to claim their gift

Man is given the mind and the animal hide and paws

Going their separate ways man battles a mind adrift

A game is a test of wit between friends

A war is a test of wit between enemies

These last so long as the earth and skies do not part

The earth and sky reflect the body and mind

What do you take for the battle within

Where friends and foe may not enter

The game of deception begins the night

The morning star declares the winner

The feet move and the mind turns for the battle without

The mind is subdued and stilled for the victory within

-N.Seshadri

Taming the mind - Part VI

A butterfly begins its life on a leaf that is vibrant and green

The leafy home is heaven till wings give it flight

A human is a tiny speck in the endless void of space unseen

The earth is home so long as the mind dreams into the night

A newborn baby is graced by the mother’s touch

Hands that are soft as silk cradle life

The newborn clings on as a caterpillar on a leafy crutch

Moving on all fours a human enters the jungle of life

The body is free as long as the legs have their might

Worldly lights appear to strengthen the mind for the voyage ahead

At the journeys end the cold earth is a steady witness to the body’s plight

The secret to the treasures of the mind remain unsaid

The caterpillar wisely stays on the leaf despite having many legs

Wings of freedom set the butterfly free from its nest

The human mind flaps its wings chasing fantasies

Wisdom dawns when the wings of the mind are laid to rest

Wings of a butterfly take it from the bondage of a cocoon to freedom

Wings of fantasy take the human mind from freedom to bondage

                       -------------------------------

The human mind can be compared to the roots of a tree. A tree root is generally hidden underground. The human mind is also not visible to the naked eye. The root is the basis of a tree. The mind is the basis for the body. The root supplies water and nutrients to the tree, provides stability and also stores nutrients for later use. The mind draws in nourishment in the form of sensory inputs, it provides a sense of direction and purpose to our lives. Memories and experiences are like stored mental nutrients that we can draw upon whenever we chose to do so.

Taming the mind - Part V

The human eye can discern only a very small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This small slice of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see is also known as visible light. Light is an intriguing phenomenon. It has no mass. The basic unit of light is called a photon, which is a tiny particle of light. Sunlight that reaches earth starts its journey deep inside the sun. There is a continuous stream of light is liberated from the surface of the sun. This light takes about 8 minutes to traverse the approximately 93 million mile journey to earth. The world we see around us in daylight is a result of a continuous stream of light particles striking the photosensitive part of the eye called the retina. When a particle of light lands on our retina after a 93 million mile journey from the sun, its energy is absorbed and this particle of light ends its existence at the back of the human eye.  

The energy generated by the impact of light on the retina sets off a cascade of reactions and the resulting electrical impulses are carried from the photosensitive cells of the retina to the visual cortex at the back of the brain. Here an image is constructed based on the light input that falls on the eye. Although all the image processing occurs at the back of the head in the visual center of the brain, it is projected in front of us giving us the illusion that this image is created in “in front of our eyes.” When our eyes are open to the world around us, the mind can be thought of as a dark auditorium where thoughts are like shadows lurking in the background. These thoughts continuously interpret and catalogue the stream of images that the brain processes every waking moment. When we close our eyes, this dark auditorium like mind changes. The shadowy thoughts that appear to have entered through the back door of the mind, now pierce the realm of our consciousness through the dark space in front of us. 

Taming the mind - Part IV

In the dark of the night
As moonlight filters through many a tree
The misty air reflecting the moon’s light
Life seems still as the deep blue sea

As the sun rises up on the horizon’s east
The misty darkness gives way to life at dawn
The mist condenses into dew drops of nature’s feast
Dew drops trickle down blades of grass as tender as fawn

The nectar of life nourishes both man and beast
As the sun arches across the sky to the west
The dance of life goes on forgetting it’s leased
Till the sun sets and the blade of grass goes to rest

To the worldly man, the fiery sun is the spice of life
To the wise man, the cool moon is bliss of life