HOW TO OVERCOME TENSIONS AND HAVE PEACE OF MIND - 4
A number of physical illnesses are caused by tension. They range from anxiety headaches to ulcers. Dr. Guirdham has written a book bearing the title, - Obsession. In this book, he tells us that tension is the cause of several diseases, including asthma, duodenal ulcers, migraine, malfunctioning of the colon and certain forms of epilepsy. And tension always leads to insomnia or sleeplessness. So it is that the demand for sleeping tablets keeps on growing from more to more. Sleep is a natural restorative process. After a day’s work, a person should be able to sleep peacefully. But, today, in many of our cities, the people have lost the art of sleeping. There was a time, whenever I spoke, some amongst the audience would go off to sleep. Some of them would even snore merrily. But, today, the people are so tensed and highly strung that it is impossible to put them thus to sleep.
What is the way of life that we should adopt so that we may not be victims of tension? So let me pass on to you a few practical suggestions:
The very first suggestion is, adopting a positive attitude towards life. This you cannot do in a day’s time. It is a process, but you must start right now. The one teaching which has been given by us by all the great ones of humanity is that man is his own friend and his own foe. You are your own friend and you are your own enemy. No one outside of you can do any harm. It is very easy, in difficult and trying circumstances, to throw the blame on others. It is very easy to say that if such and such a thing had not occurred; my condition would have been different. It is not so! No one outside of you can do you harm. It is you who are your own foe: it is you who can be your own friend. If you would be your friend, adopt a positive attitude towards life.
What is it to have the positive attitude? It is not that the man of positive attitude refuses to recognize the negative side of life. Life has a negative side, a dark side. Life is full of difficulties and dangers. But the man with the positive attitude refuses to dwell on the negative side of life. He looks for the best results from the worst conditions. Surrounded by trials and tribulations, he looks for some place to stand on. Conditions may be very adverse, yet he continues to expect good things. It is an inviolable law of life, that when you expect good, good will comes to you.
Dr. Vincent Peale, in one of his illuminating books, speaks of a Sales Manager of a large manufacturing company, who found that in certain territories, the sales of his product had declined. He called the sales representatives of those territories to the head office, at a conference. The conference was a short and simple one. He tacked a large piece of white paper on the wall and, at the centre of the paper, placed a black dot. He called the representatives, one by one, and asked them: “What do you see on the paper in front of you?” Every one of the salesmen said: “A black dot.” When he had gone the round, he called upon them again and asked them: “Is there anything besides the black dot that you see on the paper in front of you?” They all answered, “No. We can only see the black dot.” Then it is that he said to them: “This is your great tragedy. You only see the black dot: you don’t see the white expansive space that surrounds the black dot. Now go back to your territories and stop seeing the black dots. Look out for opportunities instead of difficulties, and you will find that the sales of our products will go up!”
This it is to adopt a positive attitude towards life. Many of us see only the black dots in our life: we do not see the white spaces surrounding the black dots. So we easily become depressed.
A number of physical illnesses are caused by tension. They range from anxiety headaches to ulcers. Dr. Guirdham has written a book bearing the title, - Obsession. In this book, he tells us that tension is the cause of several diseases, including asthma, duodenal ulcers, migraine, malfunctioning of the colon and certain forms of epilepsy. And tension always leads to insomnia or sleeplessness. So it is that the demand for sleeping tablets keeps on growing from more to more. Sleep is a natural restorative process. After a day’s work, a person should be able to sleep peacefully. But, today, in many of our cities, the people have lost the art of sleeping. There was a time, whenever I spoke, some amongst the audience would go off to sleep. Some of them would even snore merrily. But, today, the people are so tensed and highly strung that it is impossible to put them thus to sleep.
What is the way of life that we should adopt so that we may not be victims of tension? So let me pass on to you a few practical suggestions:
The very first suggestion is, adopting a positive attitude towards life. This you cannot do in a day’s time. It is a process, but you must start right now. The one teaching which has been given by us by all the great ones of humanity is that man is his own friend and his own foe. You are your own friend and you are your own enemy. No one outside of you can do any harm. It is very easy, in difficult and trying circumstances, to throw the blame on others. It is very easy to say that if such and such a thing had not occurred; my condition would have been different. It is not so! No one outside of you can do you harm. It is you who are your own foe: it is you who can be your own friend. If you would be your friend, adopt a positive attitude towards life.
What is it to have the positive attitude? It is not that the man of positive attitude refuses to recognize the negative side of life. Life has a negative side, a dark side. Life is full of difficulties and dangers. But the man with the positive attitude refuses to dwell on the negative side of life. He looks for the best results from the worst conditions. Surrounded by trials and tribulations, he looks for some place to stand on. Conditions may be very adverse, yet he continues to expect good things. It is an inviolable law of life, that when you expect good, good will comes to you.
Dr. Vincent Peale, in one of his illuminating books, speaks of a Sales Manager of a large manufacturing company, who found that in certain territories, the sales of his product had declined. He called the sales representatives of those territories to the head office, at a conference. The conference was a short and simple one. He tacked a large piece of white paper on the wall and, at the centre of the paper, placed a black dot. He called the representatives, one by one, and asked them: “What do you see on the paper in front of you?” Every one of the salesmen said: “A black dot.” When he had gone the round, he called upon them again and asked them: “Is there anything besides the black dot that you see on the paper in front of you?” They all answered, “No. We can only see the black dot.” Then it is that he said to them: “This is your great tragedy. You only see the black dot: you don’t see the white expansive space that surrounds the black dot. Now go back to your territories and stop seeing the black dots. Look out for opportunities instead of difficulties, and you will find that the sales of our products will go up!”
This it is to adopt a positive attitude towards life. Many of us see only the black dots in our life: we do not see the white spaces surrounding the black dots. So we easily become depressed.
-to be continued
(Author: Sri J P Vaswani)
