Drishti Sanchalan for Healthy Eyes

Your eyes are the doorway to your soul. 

Worldwide, the number of people of all ages visually impaired is estimated to be about 285 million, the majority of them attributed to uncorrected refractive errors (43 percent) and cataracts (33 percent). A report published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology predicted that about 49.8 percent of the world’s population would have myopia by the year 2050.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness".

You want to keep them bright and clear. Proper care and maintaining the hygiene of the eyes becomes imperative for every seeker of a healthy lifespan. Yoga proposes a number of techniques which describe ways of keeping the eyes healthy for as long as one lives. Practice the below-described techniques or eye exercises, whatever moniker we may give them, consistently for a few months for availing the ensuing advantages from the same.

You can also perform Tratak meditation to improve your eyesight. Tratak meditation is a yogic technique that can be done to eliminate the need for spectacles. Sit still in Sukhasna or any comfortable pose. Focus on the flame of a lamp, Sun, Moon or even any object or image.

Vital Eye Exercises:

• Blink your eyes often – Lesser than adequate blinking causes an irritated or dry eye.
• Rotate your eyes – left, right, up and down; clock wise and then anti-clock wise.
• Splash cold water regularly onto your eyes.
• Rub your hand till the palms are warm and cover your eyes with them.
• Try to catch the sunrise – seeing the rising sun is therapeutic to the eyes.
• Practice ‘Jala Neti’ – an ancient Indian yoga technique, meaning ‘Water Cleansing’. Jala Neti is usually performed first thing in the morning or sometimes at the end of the day, if you work or live in a dusty/polluted environment.
• Follow the ‘20-20-20 rule’ for resting your eyes – that is, looking away twenty feet, for twenty seconds, every twenty minutes. Set an alarm to help you remember.

Massage your eyes as it relieves tension or stress by stimulating blood flow to the targeted areas. Begin by massaging your upper eye lids for ten seconds and then massage your lower eyelids. While massaging the lower lids, ensure to massage across the lacrimal bone, located near the inner eye.
And finally, express your gratitude by thanking God for the beautiful gift of sight he blessed us with!

TRY THESE 9 DRISHTIS

Wondering where to gaze when you’re practicing Drishti? The Ashtanga Yoga system identifies nine directions or focal points.

1. Nasagram drishti—tip of the nose

2. Ajna chakra or bhrumadhya drishti—between the eyebrows

3. Nabhi chakra drishti—navel

4. Hastagram drishti—hand

5. Padayoragram drishti—toes

6. Parshva drishti—far to the right

7. Parshva drishti—far to the left

8. Angushthamadhyam drishti—thumbs

9. Urdhva or Antara drishti—up to the sky

Wherever the hand goes, the eyes follow
Wherever the eyes go, the mind follows
When the mind is engaged, expression results
Where there is expression, there is beauty.

 

Chant Simple Sounds for #HEALING

Chanting

Chanting has been used in all cultures for thousands of years to uplift the spirit and activate certain archetypal energies within the self.

Choose a simple repetitive chant, one that you can learn easily so you’re not always trying to remember it. It can be from any tradition but it should be one you feel comfortable with.

Chant A-U-M

Take a deep breath in

As you exhale, in the same breath chant Aaaa-Uuu-Mmm

Feel the “Aaaa” sound in your belly, “Uuu” in your chest area, and “Mmm” in your head

Breathe in again and continue at your own pace for 2-3 minutes

Chanting the Chakra Sounds

• Muladhara. Root chakra. Chant “Lam.” Element: earth. Energy: safe, grounded. Action: I am.
• Svadhisthana. Sacral chakra. Chant “Vam”. Element: water. Energy: in the flow. Action: I feel.
• Manipura. Solar Plexus chakra. Chant “Ram”. Element: fire. Energy: self-mastery. Action: I do.
• Anahata. Heart chakra. Chant “Yam”. Element: air. Energy: love, the drum that needs no drummer. Action: I love.
• Vishuddha. Throat chakra. Chant “Ham”. Element: ether. Energy: creativity, expression, purification. Action: I speak.
• Ajna. Third eye chakra. Chant “Aum”. Element: transcendent. Energy: mind. Action: I see.
• Sahsrara. Crown chakra. Chant: instead of chanting, we just listen. Element: nothing, everything, and all that is between and beyond that. Action: I know.

There are special mantras that can be used for healing, but these are best learned from an experienced teacher. However, there are many simple sounds you can use, which are quite effective. These sounds can be chanted silently or aloud, in non-focused activity, or sitting quietly. Chant them and direct the vibration to the area of imbalance.

1. The vowels are what are known as non-local sounds, meaning they will localize and harmonize wherever you direct them:

1)   Aaaa

2)    Eeeee

3)    Eye

4)    Oooo

5)    Uuuuuu

2. Sounds containing consonants generally localize in a specific area, such as the following:

       i.            Mmm – sinuses

     ii.            Nnn – ears

  iii.            Imm – eyes

   iv.            Lmm – nose

      v.            Paam – stomach

   vi.            Kaa Gaa Gha – throat

 vii.            Yaa Yu Yai – jaw

viii.            Haa – diaphragm

   ix.            Mam – reproductive organs

     x.            Maa – heart

   xi.            Sssss – lungs and large intestine

xii.            Shhh – liver and small intestine

xiii.            Who – spleen and gall bladder?

xiv.            Wooo – kidneys and bladder

How can we become like Lord Krishna?

‘We’ in the sense of separate individualities can never become fully like Shri Krishna, who is infinitely beyond us. But we can become more and more like Shri Krishna by attuning our consciousness to Him. This will cause us to naturally imbibe some of his qualities.

On top of that, fill your awareness with Krishna as much as you can, in the ways that feel right to you. Repeat His name(s) in your mind, sometimes also out loud. Worship Him with real devotion, however that devotion can best express itself. Surrender to His feet and cling to them as your anchor. The more that Shri Krishna is lively and joyful in your consciousness, the more like Him you will become.

Lord Krishna is like a huge ocean and the souls being parts and parcels of Him can be considered as a drop of water of that ocean. Qualitatively we can be like Him, just like in terms of quality a drop of ocean has same characteristics that of the huge Ocean. But quantitatively we can NEVER be like him because in front of huge Ocean a drop of water is negligible.

Who is Krishna?

Krishna describes who He is in Bhagavad Gita.

He is the origin and dissolution of everything both material and spiritual, and the origin of all living beings. He is the basis of the brahman and the personification of eternal Time.

He is the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om, the sound in ether and ability in man. He is the original fragrance of the earth, the heat in fire, the life of all that lives, the penances of all ascetics.

He is the creator of intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, control of the senses, control of the mind, happiness and distress, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity, fame and infamy.

He is the possessor of infinite beauty, knowledge, wealth, fame, strength and renunciation. He is the cause of all causes, the first progenitor, one without a second, He is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, His form is endless.

He is the transcendental entity of ever-blissful cognitive rasa, the absolute substantive principle being the ultimate entity who supports all existence. He is the origin and maintainer of the external potency that embodies the threefold mundane qualities, sattva, rajas, and tamas which makes all universal manifestations possible.

He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, son of Mother Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja, brother of Balarama, beloved of Radharani, friend of Shridama. He has inconceivable innumerable attributes, and his pure devotees see Him in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.

He is God with a capital G, and the origin of all other gods who exist only within the material world. He is obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion and possesses the form of a beautiful youth.

Here are some excerpts from the Bhagavad Gita, and how you can use them to resolve your own uncertainties, doubts, fears and confusions.

1.   Think with a calm mind. Lord Krishna said: ...

2.   Give up on results. ...

3.   Treat everyone equally. ...

4.   Don't give in to stress. ...

5.   Be ready for change. ...

6.   Act with conviction. ...

7. Set high standards. 

There are lot of things to learn from Sri Krishna ‘s life and teaching. Our goal is to be perfect. Practicing even one of the many points, can bring us closer to perfection. He has no duty to perform nor he has to gain anything (because he already has everything) yet he does things, just to set an example. Here are a few points:

1.   Be Unselfish towards all.

2.   Be detached. Do not crave for results. Be devoted to your work.

3.   Make your friends/people you meet outgrow their weaknesses.

4.   Stick to a philosophy in your life and adhere to it always. That's your dharma.

5.   Maintain every relationship with heart not head.

Learn essence of holy incidents, not incident!

Both Lord Rama & Lord Krishna were same, acted differently according to situations. This corresponds to us also. One cannot be same every time. One needs to act according to situation!

Always remember in life: Every situation demands you!

Becoming like Lord is a demonic mentality demonstrated by demons in past like Ravana and Hiranyakashyap but all was futile.

What to speak about you nobody in this world can become like Krishna because he is God, and we are controlled by material laws while he is controller of material laws.

we can’t even control our age, our death, birth and diseases which functions according to material nature while he is controller of material nature.

He never punishes anybody; we get reactions for our own sins and we blame God because you are putting problems in my life

So just try to be a good devotee of Lord rather than trying to become like him you we more blissful and happier than.

So, our love and devotion should be selfless, without expecting anything from lord. When you will have this love, Lord Krishna will himself give his divine love to you!

No one can truly become like someone else. It is best to admire Krishna and to honor him in our treatment of others.

   

Wandering mind to Wonderful PROPELLING Mind

Wandering mind that happens so often, what do we really know about this process of mind-wandering?

The awake human mind spends from a third to half its time wandering. That’s a big range, a rough estimate, and there are good reasons to be suspicious of it. Estimates aside, though, introspection reports that the mind wanders surprisingly often.

The brain is much more sensitive than other organs. All other organs have specific functions, but the brain has a few specific functions, and the rest is left open. This is the problem of being human. Any other creature has specific goals, nothing more. They must eat well, grow well, reproduce well, and die one day – everything is set. Only a human being is wondering, “Why am I here? What is the nature of my life? Where do I come from? Where do I go?” All these questions only come up when you are human. The difference between a human being and any other creature is that in human beings, the cerebral cortex and other parts of the brain have flowered.

What drives the mind to wander?

Does anything drive it to wander?

What is the mind searching for?

Is the transition from focused thought to meandering thought random?

Is it a failure of control, or is there some dark purpose behind these mental movements?

Why does the mind wander so much?

Because:

1.    It’s wild by nature and mostly remains untrained.

2.    It’s a protective mechanism for human survival, continuously scanning for danger.

3.    It’s looking for an escape route, being confused due to an over bombardment of useless information in current environment.

 A unique human characteristic is our ability to mind wander—these are periods of time when our attention drifts away from the task-at-hand to focus on thoughts that are unrelated to the task.

“This flow of thoughts that we engage in on a daily basis is fascinating and yet it has been largely unexplored.”

OUR TENDENCY TO MIND WANDER

Humans on average spend up to half of their waking hours mind wandering.

There are different types of minds wandering. For example, we may sometimes mind wander on purpose when we are bored with what we are currently doing. Other times, our mind accidentally wanders off without us noticing.

Individuals who are often sad or worried mind wander more frequently compared with individuals who are happy and have nothing to worry about.

People with bored, stressed, unhappy and depressed mood and intoxicated with alcohol consumption mostly suffer with this phenomenon.

Cognitive scientists are currently in a debate about whether mind-wandering is good for us or not. 

Mind wandering (MW) has recently been associated with both adaptive (e.g., creativity enhancement) and maladaptive (e.g., mood worsening) consequences.

Mind-wandering can make you happier…depending on the content.

If you are a frequent daydreamer, your brain may simply have more capacity to think, and can tune out if you are performing an easy task.

Meditation can reduce mind wandering

Just like practicing kicking a soccer ball or throwing a baseball rewires the brain so you improve at those skills, meditation may rewire the brain so that your mind wanders less.

When you practice meditation, you may be constantly bombarded by thoughts. Some of those thoughts cause your mind to wander, simply bring your attention back to the object of focus (e.g., breath).

By doing this repeatedly, you are training your mind not to wander?

The subject of concentration is disgusting, and tiring for the neophyte; but it is the most interesting and beneficial science in the world. When one advances in concentration, when one takes real interest, when one has realized some benefits, he cannot leave the practice. The vital point in concentration is to bring the mind to the same point or object again and again by limiting its movements in a small circle in the beginning. That is the main aim. A time will come when the mind will stick to one point alone.

Happiness exists in the present but hardly anyone lives for long in the present because the mind is always wandering away from the present to something it thinks will be better or something it thinks was better or some strategy to deal with the anxiety that it may lose whatever it has.

Learning to “control” the mind in this way is key, and it definitely doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why they call it a practice.

“There are 2,500,000 gigabytes of storage space in your brain. The top-of-the-line iPhone 13 Pro Max has 1TB .” – The L.A. Times