Channel your mind

Channel your mind

December 2013

While taking a bath in the morning yesterday, a sudden realisation crossed my mind about how powerfully thoughts can affect your body.

I have two taps in the bathroom, one for hot water, and the other for cold. When I turn on the hot water tap, the upper rod becomes hot, and when I turn on the cold water tap the rod becomes cold. I realised that our body and mind also work in the same manner. When negative thoughts enter our mind, it affects our body. The heart is triggered, the brain receives diverse signals and our organs react with palpitations, and hyperactivity; and we experience feelings like fear, guilt or shame.

Bringing only positive thoughts in your mind, or replacing your negative ideas with bright and radiant thoughts, will keep your body functioning normally. Not only that, the balanced functioning of your body will also help you to deal with challenges more favourably.

This realisation hit me hard one cold January morning. The weather being extremely cold and foggy, instead of doing my morning thanksgiving prayer to the rising sun in the balcony, I opted to pray in the temple room. While praying in the temple room that day, I felt the absence of the sun. Dark thoughts began to cloud my mind, and the dense fog outside started to suffocate me. My heart started to beat faster, my head felt constricted, and my mouth went dry. My body felt hot, and I began to pant. I tried removing my cap and shawl in order to feel better, but I failed. Just then I told myself that I was surrounded by divine energies, and nothing could harm me. I chanted the names of the higher energies, visualising the sun and its light. Replacing these thoughts of fear with security and faith brought me peace, my breathing became even, and I felt myself again.

I realised that thoughts are the culprits who affect us and our body functions. Mind and thoughts affect our body powerfully. Sai Baba’s two milestone teachings, faith (shraddha) and patience (saburi) are the most valuable guidelines, and channeling your thoughts on the same lines will help you overcome most situations in your life.

-Suman Sharma, Bhiwadi