Thought watching - A basic type of meditation

THOUGHTS are one of the deciding factor of human beings. Everyday, while you wake up in the morning, sit on your bed in a convenient posture and close your eyes. Place your right palm on your left palm and keep them on your legs near your navel point. Do not open your eyes. WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS. Let them flow one by one. Do not brood over. Do not analyse. Just watch them and do not follow them. It is not as easy as you think. Watching your thoughts without following them takes time and is an art.




At a point of time, you will feel no thoughts. This state will last for only fraction of seconds.This is TRANQUILITY- the state of Non-duel. Attaining tranquility is difficult, but not impossible. If you practise regularly, you can master this. If you ask me, I would suggest you to watch your thoughts daily for a minimum of 15mts in the morning when you wake up and in the night before you go to sleep. This will help you in self realisation and also keeps you brisk throughout the day. Doing this before going to sleep will help you get deep sleep.

Thought watching is a type of meditation, where you need not involve any action. You may experience tranquility any day. Even the very first time you do this. When you attain this state of tranquility, you are enlightened with knowledge. You are newly born soul with full of joy. Whatever you do will blossom with full of love. Wherever you go, you will be surrounded with sweet aroma. All other living things, including human, will long to be by the side of you . You will always be in a state of bliss. Your approach towards every living and inert thing will be equal. You will become impartial. What else do we need in our life except this? Love and peace will surround us wherever we go. Meditate and try achieving this state and free your soul. Share your experience by writing to psraghunathan@gmail.com or leave a comment here sharing your experience.

Does our attitude affect our way of living?

As I was browsing, I came across this article. We all have a lot of questions about our health and how we can be more healthier. Just read this article and you will find out that 'YOU' are the reason for your body's wellbeing. The below is an article by Chris Woolston from http://healthresources.caremark.com

Curious about your health and your future? You can put yourself through a battery of medical tests, fill out stacks of questionnaires, and see every specialist in town. But for a simple and surprisingly reliable prediction, just ask yourself a simple question: How healthy do you feel?

Do you want to know more about this article. Do Click here

10 Tips to Boost Your Positive Energy

Knowing that positive energy can do miracles in our life, its high time that we take control and generate more positive energy. I am sharing the 10 tips to increase the positive energy generation quoted by Larina Kase.

Wouldn’t it be great to pop out of bed in the morning, have flowing energy throughout your day without any caffeine or candy bars, accomplish everything you want, and feel great? For most people this would be a dream—we could all use more energy!

I’ll share with you 10 simple tips to boost your energy each day. The key is consistency. You need to do these things regularly to feel the cumulative effects.

1. Plan important activities when you have the most energy.

This is one of my favorite tips. Plan your schedule around your energy level. Choose activities and projects that are naturally energy producing at your low points in the day. If you drag in the morning, plan one of your more enjoyable activities first thing. It may take some time to transition your schedule but it will be worth it!

2. Do the work you love.

Nothing is as energy increasing as passion and enthusiasm. If you have no interest in your work, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever have optimal energy. This doesn’t mean that you must love everything you do but at least some of it must utilize your natural talents and interests.

3. Boost your energy by getting regular exercise.

This certainly does not come as a surprise to you. You know that you exercise makes you feel good and boosts your energy. You just need to do it—regularly.

4. Know your personality style.

Your personality determines what is energy draining or producing for you. If you’re naturally an introvert you typically recharge by quiet time on your own. If you’re naturally an extrovert, you typically gain energy by social time with others.

5. Eat right and watch your energy soar.

This is another one of those tips that you already know but, if you’re like most people, probably aren’t doing. A diet rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, and fiber will help you sustain energy and avoid the sugar roller coaster that you get when you eat sugary snacks.

6. Keep the big picture in mind.

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of stressful situations and feel exhausted. If, however, you remember the big picture including why you’re motivated to achieve your goal or why the small stuff isn’t that important, you’ll feel energized.

7. Drink water.

One of the most common causes of fatigue is dehydration. We often mistakenly assume that we’re hungry but the fatigue culprit is often thirst.

8. Celebrate and reward achievements.

The more you focus on your achievements, both large and small, the more success focused you will become. This will help you achieve more and all this achievement is sure to boost energy.

9. Avoid energy-vampires.

You know these types of people. Just being in their presence seems to drain your energy in the blink of an eye. Use assertiveness skills and limit your time with them.

10. Take physical and mental breaks.

Monotony is exhausting. Periodically give yourself a break by a few moments of mindless activity and quick stretching exercises or walking.

If some of these tips stand out to you as more energizing or practical, select those and focus on implementing them consistently. You’ll get and keep your energy flowing.

Overcome Frustration with your MIND!

Hi people...I know it’s been long time...Now that I'll be able to share with you my views on a regular basis let me start with frustrations...


We all know frustration is a slow poison. Once we open our door for it to join our life, it'll become the master and you'll loose every beautiful second of your life. Everyone gets frustrated at one point of time. Usually when we reach your saturation point in any activity that we are forced to do. Frustrations can happen at work, at home and even with our relationships.

Why do we get frustrated?

It’s very simple. When something happens continuously in a way against our thoughts! We generally expect a lot from our life. We want to be rich. We want to have all the luxuries in life. We want our love. We want and want many things in life. When our wants turns us down, we feel frustrated and lose hopes and there’s the starting of our end!

Our thoughts are the key factor for our frustration. When we realize this, we can surely overcome them with the help of our THOUGHTS!

Now, what can frustrations do to us?

What the heck! What can they do to us? We can't leave them unnoticed. We can't let them rule us. On doing so we will loose ourselves. We will be hypnotized by them. We will never in our life again know what is Happiness, what is Laugh, what is love, what we can achieve, our talents etc. It'll keep you arrested in a witch’s world...here I mean bad witches! We will not be able to take proper decisions. Ultimately we will not have fun! Before we even realize that we are trapped we will have lost half of we precious life.

How to overcome frustration?

Frustrations are nothing but our own thoughts. We are the owner of our thoughts. We can do miracles. The only cure for your frustration is YOU and ONLY YOU! Your thoughts. Do not ponder on thoughts that give you the negative energy. Do not waste your time thinking about the past mishaps or past worries. Past is Past. You can't change it. Also do not involve your thoughts more towards your future. Live you’re present. Try to change your attitude. Love your surroundings. When you are able to control your thoughts and focus them on one single motto you will surely achieve it in no time. The thoughts will create a positive energy which will help you to achieve your goals. When things start to happen in the way you want it, I bet you will never get frustrated in your life.

Also personally, I request you to meditate in a very peaceful, sielent place in your home. During this time, the most important thing is you need to concentrate on the thoughts which flow in your mind. Focus them on your immediate goal. Keep on chanting what you want daily at the same time and at the same place. And before you even realize the positive energy would have been created and would have started to work for you. Good luck!

How can Thoughts and Emotions influence and get influenced by Food.

How many of us believe that food we intake plays a major role in our mental and physical health? All of us know that it is very important to have proper diet to avoid physical illness. But, how many of us have realised that it also plays a vital role in improving our mental health. I would say less than 1%.Hope you agree with me. With this in mind let us move forward in understanding the process.

Food and our mind have cause-and-effect relationship. What is this cause and effect? It is nothing but Newton’s third law – “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. It is as simple as this. Whatever we intake undergoes a chemical reaction and then is converted to energy – positive or negative. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels and pressure levels are associated with changes in mood and energy, and are affected by what we eat. The ways we think, feel and behave are influenced by what we’ve eaten. Also, low levels of the mineral zinc leads to eating disorders and low levels of omega-3 oils leads to depression. These are scientifically proved.

Influence of thoughts on food:

A very important fact is that, when we cook, our thoughts play a major role. Do you know how? Let me explain. For example, if we are in an irritated mood while cooking, the taste of food will be hot even if we have put the correct proportion of ingredients. Our thoughts flow into the food we cook and produce an impact by reducing or increasing the nutrition of the food and also affect the taste of the food. There are examples where food even after 2 to 3 days of preservation has not got spoiled due to positive thoughts during cooking. Thus, food can heal our illness if cooked with positive thoughts. Hence we will have to make sure that we don’t fight with our husband or children before cooking, as it will highly influence the food we cook and will lead to illness- both physical and mental.

A fundamental thing for you to consider will be: is there any one food or type of food that I eat nearly every day or in particularly large amounts? The basis of a healthy diet is about achieving a balance between wide varieties of foods, where the variety is spread out over a number of days. Certain foods are eaten on most days, by most people, perhaps because they are generally considered healthy to eat. The foods and drinks that most often cause problems are those containing alcohol, sugar, caffeine, chocolate, wheat (such as bread, biscuits, and cakes), dairy products (such as cheese), certain artificial additives (or E numbers) and hydrogenated fats. Other commonly eaten foods, such as yeast, corn, eggs, oranges, soya and tomatoes, may also cause symptoms for some people, sometimes.

Influence of food on thoughts:

Food is made up of nutrients, which include protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Proteins and carbohydrates play vital role. These two macro-nutrients are instrumental in the manufacture and transport of the neurotransmitters, or brain chemicals, the chemical substances, made by the brain and other organs, that transmit thought. The main neurotransmitters for our purposes are the alertness chemicals (dopamine, norepineprine, and adrenaline) and the calming chemical (serotonin).

Three of the many amino acids in protein contribute to making these neurotransmitters: tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. The first two are involved in the building of dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline; these are the "alertness chemicals," and cause us to be mentally energetic and alert. Tryptophan is the precursor to the brain chemical serotonin, which is the "calming chemical" and makes us more relaxed and calm.

A large amount of protein foods does not make things even better, but instead creates the opposite: sleepiness and lethargy. When you eat a carbohydrate food with some protein (as in a grain and bean combination, or a chicken sandwich), the carbohydrate will allow for more tryptophan uptake by the brain, and create a calm and focused mood.

The most vital substance for a healthy mind and body is water. Water is the best medicine. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water. Also if we follow proper diet and eat at regular intervals prescribed by our dietician we can control our mental health, and thus our thoughts and emotions.

If you want to learn more on this topic do refer

• The complete guide to food allergy and intolerance J. Brostoff, L. Gamlin   (Bloomsbury 1989)
• Food and healing A. Colbin (Ballantine Books 1986)
• The food and mood cookbook E. Somer, J. Williams (Owl Books 2004)
• The food and mood handbook A. Geary (Thorsons 2001)

Want to Control your thoughts?

Do you think that your thoughts can rule you? If your answer is YES then you are in the right path. Thoughts play an important role in our life. Our thoughts can be so influencing that we can even heal ailments with just only thoughts. Most of us know this. Also we can make things happen in the way you want them with your thoughts. With your thoughts you can do both good and bad. You may wonder how, just keep reading further.

Thoughts are broadly classified as Positive and Negative thoughts. As the name conveys, positive thoughts are the ones that we will have to give more importance as they do more good than the negative thoughts. There is never a moment a person is not thinking. Most of the time, we are carried away by our thoughts. And most of our thoughts are influenced by people around us.

First of all we must watch our thoughts. Just observe them cautiously. Of course it is difficult the first time. But, you know practice makes a man perfect! You will be able to master this art in no time, if you practice it regularly. Now, after watching them, the next step is to identify them. You can easily find out if it is a Positive or a negative thought. A negative thought is not only those which are bad for us but also the thoughts which will affect others are considered to be negative thoughts. After categorising, our major step will be to control the negative and replace them with the positive thoughts. This is not as easy as we say.

We have to replace the negative thoughts with our positive ones immediately whenever we find them taking control. Longer intervals for this replacement will weaken the positive thoughts and hence the effect will be less. When a negative thought comes and controls? Its origin is from the external forces. Majority of them is from the place and the people. They influence our thoughts and thus affect us. But we need not worry for this because; our thoughts will get influenced only to the extent we allow them. So it’s very easy for us now. We must be strong and must not allow our thoughts to get influenced. For this we need to practice.

For example, if you have failed in any of your attempts to complete an activity and you thoughts are in such a way which makes you feel more depressed then they are negative thoughts. Say if you think 'Oh I failed! I could not do it! How impotent I am' all these will add on to your failure and will never allow you to try again and succeed. Instead if you start thinking 'these are my new experience and learning that will help me in succeeding in the next attempt. I can do it!' then you will be a winner always!

When we keep reinforcing positive thoughts over the negative ones, we will soon realise that our negative thoughts are gradually getting vanished and we are in control of our thoughts, in turn our emotions. This will surely lead to a happy and peaceful life.

Attitude is Everything!!!

Most of us are optimistic but sometimes we do become pessimist.This really needs action. When we
become pessimist, we have the wrong thoughts. These thoughts, most of the time are negative.This finally leads to a situation which we don't not like. Possitive attiude always lead possitive thoughts to control and thus fill our life with funa and happiness. Here is an example of a possitive attitude person by Francie Baltazar-Schwartz. This really will create an impact. Do read this and try to welcome possitive attitude to control us.

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.

I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers.

While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied.

The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply... I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Swami Vivekananda's laws for peaceful mind.

Araise, Awake, stop not till the goal is reached!!!

I always wonder why people have jealousy, anger and many qualities that will bring down his/her growth. But, sometimes I myself will be controlled by these kinds of emotions. Though we all know the consequences of these feelings we are bound to become a slave for them. If you all have the same feeling as I have, to overcome these emotions and control them, go ahead and read the following 15 laws preached by Swami Vivekananda.

What You Need to Keep in Mind?

1. Love Is the Law of Life: All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore, love for love's sake, because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.

2. It's Your Outlook That Matters: It is our own mental attitude, which makes the world what it is for us. Our thoughts make things beautiful, our thoughts make things ugly. The whole world is in our own minds. Learn to see things in the proper light.

3. Life is Beautiful: First, believe in this world - that there is meaning behind everything. Everything in the world is good, is holy and beautiful. If you see something evil, think that you do not understand it in the right light. Throw the burden on yourselves!

4. It's The Way You Feel: Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.

5. Set Yourself Free: The moment I have realised God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him - that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free.

6. Don't Play The Blame Game: Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.

7. Help Others: If money helps a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better.

8. Uphold Your Ideals: Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth.

9. Listen To Your Soul: You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

10. Be Yourself: The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves!

11. Nothing Is Impossible: Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin - to say that you are weak, or others are weak.

12. You Have The Power: All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

13. Learn Everyday: The goal of mankind is knowledge... now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What we say a man 'knows', should, in strict psychological language, be what he 'discovers' or 'unveils'; what man 'learns' is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.

14. Be Truthful: Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything.

15. Think Different: All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.