A lot of people struggle with turbulent emotions and addictive behavior. They spend years in psychotherapy and at times they are able to overcome addictive habits through will power, only to have a recurrence and go back to old ways. From my experience, and also through observation of many people , I have discovered that a lasting change from unwanted behavior can be achieved through the practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness has been interpreted as many things. My view of it is that it is remembering to bring your awareness to the present moment without getting emotionally or mentally engaged in the situations and circumstances surrounding that moment. When we do this we get the insight that most of our turbulent emotions and addictive behaviors are conditioned responses in our nervous system, which have been programmed during our childhood and growing years.
For some people, bringing their awareness to the present moment seems like an abstract or confusing instruction. In fact, it is quite simple. You can come to the present moment by shifting your awareness to your breath, or you can bring your awareness to the sensations in your body. Others may find it easier to let their attention rest in the space between objects. This can be the space between breaths, or the space between movements. Once you find the method of mindfulness that suits you best, it becomes easy to access your silent presence.
For many years I would periodically take a few days of absolute silence. During these periods after the initial adjustment of not engaging in conversation, not reading a book, not watching TV, or going even on a computer, I found I would then slip into a profound silence which allowed me to experience something that cannot be described. I was bathed in mystery and felt that I was inside God’s mind. These days when I’m on a long trip on an airline, say 17 hours from India to the US, I will practice total silence with my eyes closed during the entire time. It will frequently bring me into the same exquisite realm of silence or mindfulness.
As a result of this “vipassana” practice there is spontaneous awakening of intuition and conscious choice making. It’s like taking a spiritual bath and renewing yourself. Old habits and behaviors die hard, but silence and witnessing awareness are definitely a means of stepping out of river of memory and conditioning and seeing the world again as if for the first time.
Published at knol
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and your spirit. I am always inspired by your insight. I can here somthing 10 times and not really get it, but when I hear it from you it sounds so natural. I think ” of course, I’ve always known that.” And when I read your books or articles I can hear your voice in my head. Just being able to imagine the sound of your voice and your peaceful demeanour makes me feel like you are speaking to me personally. Your expression is comforting and loving. I am always looking forward to what you have to share. I would like you to know that you have made a significant and positive impact on my personal journey. Love, Robin.
17 hours with eyes closed the entire time?? Let’s maintain a thread of
credibility her Chopra..
And that is how we discover that we can
influence someone’s path by showing them ours,
but it is up to them what they choose to follow.
How is this different from sleep? Or is sleeping the equivalent of being in the mind of God?
i stopped my addiction to cigarettes, to marihuana and my
compultion to be thinking every moment for solutions to my problems
by retraining my mind to be silent unless i can do something about
any given situation in the present time. i also got cured from the cronic
diarrea i had for the last 5 years. i guess it was from all the stress
generated from a lifetime of compulsive thinking.
all of that just by thinking correctly and thanks to choppra and his
books that helped me by encouraging me.
I too have found Deepak’s books healing, and full of ways to find the inner peace needed to counteract the stresses everyday life was throwing at me.
Also I was suffering from ulcerative colitis until I discovered his words, yoga and meditation. Although not a deeply religious person, since reading his books I now feel more at one with the universe – I feel refreshed and as if I am seeing and really appreciating the good and simple things in life for the first time. Letting go of materialistic dreams and enjoying what I already have – my family, friends and neighbours, my pets, the ocean nearby, the countryside around us, my new-found health, and my ability to begin each day with a feeling of calm and contentment.
Living in the moment stops me feeling so stressed and anxious about things that may (or may not) happen in the future, and I cannot thank Deepak enough for the way he has helped me change my whole life.
The peace I have gained now I have learned to follow his advice means I am so much calmer, less angry, less worried, less stressed – and I have had no symptoms of the UC for over three years. I find being mindful of things happening to me “right now” and trying to look at them more dispassionately really helps me to deal with problems in a way that doesn’t damage my emotional or physical wellbeing. Two or three deep, calm breaths and I am at peace, so I can only imagine how healing being silent for long periods must be.
I know exactly what he’s talking about. I can
tell you all that its true. the undescribable
part that is. Its all true, and I just find it
exciting that someone else finally gets it!
Silencing the mind , I tried it and can only get results when at home in a quiet enviroment . I would love to live my every minute in silence , Is there any methods to help me , i tried listening to my breathing constantly while I,m at work and its does work but not to the level that I want it to … Please help