The UNTOLD Power of a Calm Mind - You'll NEVER Feel Stress if you Realize this by Swami Mukundanand
1 The need for Mind Management, we discussed that this mind is so powerful, in the worst of circumstances, if you can control your mind and bring into it the proper thoughts, you can be perfectly happy and Inspired while on the other hand in the best of circumstances, if the mind is agitated, you can feel miserable and wretched - so our happiness doesn't depend on what we possess but the state of our mind https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=45 2 we also discussed that this mind is the factory for thoughts and thoughts are little bundles of energy that shape the very face, the countenance, of our appearance. Those thoughts impact our health and they also affect our effectivity at work, so for a better life, to be better to feel better and to do better, it behooves (is our duty or responsibility) us to pay a little bit of attention to understanding and practicing the science of mind management https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=88 3 the mind belongs to us but it is not us, as a spoilt little child, it may create random thoughts which may not be to our benefit. We are not obliged to accept every thought that our mind creates and that leads to the witness Consciousness, the mindfulness. You watch your mind so how do you implement these teachings in everyday life - you listen and hear from Swami ji and then leave them at the temple and go back home as you were https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=136 4 Bhagavad Gita on Mind Management Fortunately for us, the Bhagawat Gita presents a technique called karma yog. What is karma yog, to be in yog, while you are doing your Karma, so what is yog ? Yog is union, it refers to the union of the individual consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness, when your mind is in Divine Consciousness, full of noble sublime thoughts, imbued with love, kindness, generosity, tolerance, patience - so in such a state of mind, if you can do your works, that is the karma while doing your daily duties, if you can be in yog that is karma yog https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=183 5 so presently, we are pretty far away from that Ideal. We do our works, everybody does, but while doing the works, we experience stress, anxiety, tension, anger, greed, frustration, hatred, envy envy. Amongst these, one of the most common nowadays is stress, this is a stressful period era in human history https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=253 6 150 years ago roughly, the richest man in America and the world at that time was John Rockfeller. On a particular day he had a decision to make as the chairman of the Standard Oil Corporation in Houston. He had to sanction the movement of goods of the corporation from Houston to Chicago by railroad, the question before him was whether to insure them or not. Insurance would have cost him $150, now he was a billionaire but $150 was stressing him out because of his inability to manage his mind. So he said should I save the money and take the risk or let the money go down the drain and lower the risk. He said let's play the gamble and saving on the insurance he let the goods depart by train. Once the train left from Houston Station, the news came that a storm had developed on the way, now he panicked what did I do ? Penny wise and pound foolish, I will end up losing tens of thousands of dollars, he decided to use his clout (influence) with the insurance company. He arrived at their office and they had closed for the evening, he insisted that they come back and open the office since he was their number one customer, he made them give him the insurance policy and at midnight he walked out of the office with a sigh of relief. In the morning he got the news that the train had reached Chicago station intact, the $150 had been wasted. Now that stressed him out so much that till p.m. in the afternoon, he was spacing up and down his office room, that stress began to tell on his health, day in and day out until doctors warned him if he continued leading this kind of a life, he would not have more than three years to live. Rockfeller made a value based decision, he instituted the Rockfeller foundation, that did tremendous charitable work around the world. With those changed thoughts, he continued to live for another 25 years, this story is from the 19th century https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=292 7 today we are in the 21st century, when life has speeded up beyond anybody's imagination with WhatsApp and Skype and Pagers and mobiles and instant messaging systems, until everybody is experiencing stress and the pandemic has enhanced the experience of stress, so the question then arises as to how should we handle the stress and that that is why Stress Management has become a very talked off theme https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=498 8 it was about 11 years ago I was in Chicago, when the IIT Alumni Association of Midwest came to know that Swami ji is also an alumnus of IIT. They used to have a monthly meeting to which they invited me and they said you speak to us, many of their members were even 10 years my seniors, they were at the CEO level in different organizations. I asked them what do you want me to speak about ? How to attain God ? They said no that is all old-fashioned, not all of us believe in it, so you talk to us about Stress management, I said fair enough if you don't believe in God, at least you believe in stress and that was when I did a little bit of research, let me ask Mr Google about Stress Management https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=544 9 The Natural response to Stress so the first scientist to research this theme and theorize it was Walter Cannon in 1936, his theories have become famous since then, as the fight or flight response. So Walter Canon he analyzed that when an animal, a creature, is subjected to a life-threatening situation, there's a hormonal response that triggers off. The physiology is such that it enhances the creatures chances of survival, so the heart starts pounding, the blood pressure increases, the blood is diverted away from the digestive system, away from the organs to the muscles, the body breaks into a sweat to cool down the muscles and the mind is riveted at the object of the threat - all of this enables the animals to do one of two things - either fight to save your life and if the threat is more powerful then take flight https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=607 10 The Power of a Calm Mind to deal with Stress now unfortunately the same physiology is hardwired in our human personality as well, the threat we experience is not to life it but it could be an emotional threat or a financial threat, a social threat and any kind of little threat we experience, the same thing happens, our blood pressure increases, the heart starts pounding, the brain signals to the hypothalamus which indicates to the adrenal glands to enhance the secretion of epinephrine and cortisol and these two hormones, they make the liver increase the production of glucose that increases the energy available to us. But unfortunately none of this physiology helps us because it's not a life threat https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=698 11 we need to keep calm & relaxed, think things out, analyze the subtle nuances and then make the best decision, which is not possible when your heart is pounding or you've broken into a sweat and the problem is enhanced if the stress continues for long intervals. Now for the animal it was a 15 minute stress period, but if it's a market sales target that you were supposed to meet by the month end and you are stressed out 3 weeks in advance, the stress is going to remain for 3 weeks, that means the glucose levels will remain high and hence medical science says there's a direct link between stress and diabetes and further the arteries start getting hardened while the blood pressure has increased this results in the weakening of the heart and that is why there is a direct link between stress and cardiac problems https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=770 12 in fact if I ask Mr Google today, it says that 33% of our physical ailments have a bigger or smaller correlation with stress like fibromyalgia, lupus, ulcers, irritable bowel etc. and so on, so forth. The stress is also called the executives’ disease, that means executives are more vulnerable to it because of the high performance environment https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=846 13 can any of you identify with it? I see my satsangis who are in IT, my God, they have to interact with teams in India, teams in USA. They're literally working all day long as the corporate houses are squeezing you for the money they pay and the consequence is all the stress that you experience so the need for Stress Management https://youtu.be/3fs-svsnwrA&t=889 Transcript Introduction 0:02 today we are in the 21st century when 0:06 life has speeded up Beyond anybody's 0:10 imagination with WhatsApp and Skype and 0:14 Pagers and mobiles and instant messaging 0:17 systems until everybody is experiencing 0:22 stress so the question then arises how 0:27 should we handle the stress 0:30 and that is why Stress Management has 0:33 become a very talked of theme The need for Mind Management 0:45 we 0:48 discussed this mind is so 0:52 powerful in the worst of 0:55 circumstances if you can control your 0:58 mind and bring into it the proper 1:01 thoughts you can be perfectly happy and 1:07 inspired on the other hand in the best 1:11 of circumstances if the mind is agitated 1:15 you can feel miserable and 1:19 wretched so our happiness doesn't depend 1:22 on what we 1:24 possess but the state of our 1:28 mind we also discussed that this mind is 1:32 the factory for 1:34 thoughts and thoughts are little bundles 1:37 of 1:38 energy that shape the very face the 1:42 countenance of our appearance those 1:46 thoughts impact our health and they also 1:50 affect our effectivity at work so for a 1:57 better 1:58 life to be better to feel better and to 2:03 do 2:04 better it behooves (is our duty or responsibility) us to pay a little 2:08 bit of attention to understanding and 2:12 practicing the science of Mind 2:16 management the Mind belongs to us it is 2:20 not us, as a spoilt little child it may 2:26 create random thoughts which may not be 2:29 to our benefit we are not obliged to 2:33 accept every thought that our mind 2:37 creates and that leads to the witness 2:41 Consciousness mindfulness you watch your 2:44 mind so how do you implement these 2:48 teachings in everyday 2:53 life you listen and hear from Swami ji 2:58 and then leave them at the temple 3:00 and go back home as you Bhagavad Gita on Mind Management 3:03 were fortunately for us the bhagwat Gita 3:08 presents a technique called karma 3:13 yog what is karma 3:16 yog to be in 3:19 yog while you are doing your 3:24 Karm so what is 3:28 yog yog 3:31 is Union it refers to the union of the 3:36 individual Consciousness with the 3:39 Supreme 3:40 Consciousness when your mind is in 3:43 Divine 3:45 Consciousness full of noble Sublime 3:49 Thoughts imbued with love kindness 3:54 generosity tolerance 3:57 patience so in such a state of mind if 4:01 you can do your works that is the 4:04 karma while doing your daily duties if 4:08 you can be in yog that is karma 4:13 yog so presently we are pretty far away 4:18 from that 4:19 ideal we do our works everybody does but 4:24 while doing the works we experience 4:28 stress anxiety tension anger greed 4:32 frustration hatred 4:34 envy amongst these one of the most The Problem of Stress 4:38 common 4:39 nowadays 4:41 is 4:44 stress this is a stressful period era in 4:49 human 4:52 history 150 years ago 4:56 roughly the richest man in America and 5:00 the world at that time was John 5:05 rockfeller on a particular day he had a 5:09 decision to 5:10 make as the chairman of the Standard Oil 5:14 Corporation in 5:15 Houston he had to sanction the movement 5:19 of goods of the corporation from Houston 5:22 to 5:23 Chicago by 5:26 railroad the question before him was 5:29 whether to insure them or 5:33 not insurance would have cost him 5:38 $150 now he was a billionaire but 5:43 $150 was stressing him 5:46 out because of his inability to manage 5:50 his 5:51 mind so he said should I save the money 5:55 and take the risk or let the money go 5:58 down the drain and lower the risk he 6:02 said let's play the 6:04 Gamble and saving on the insurance he 6:07 let the goods depart by 6:10 train once the train left from Houston 6:14 Station the news came that a storm had 6:18 developed on the 6:20 way now he 6:22 panicked what did I do Penny wise and 6:26 pound foolish I will end up losing tens 6:30 of thousands of dollars he decided to 6:33 use his clout with the insurance company 6:36 he arrived at their office and they had 6:40 closed for the evening he insisted that 6:43 they come back and open the office since 6:46 he was their number one 6:48 customer he made them give him the 6:52 insurance policy and at midnight he 6:55 walked out of it the office with a sigh 6:59 of 7:02 relief in the morning he got the news 7:05 that the train had reached Chicago 7:08 station intact the 7:11 $150 had been 7:14 wasted now that stressed him out so 7:19 much that till 2:00 p.m. in the 7:22 afternoon he was spacing up and down his 7:25 office 7:27 room that stress began to tell on his 7:31 health day in and day out until doctors 7:36 warned him if he continued leading this 7:40 kind of a 7:42 life he would not have more than three 7:45 years to 7:47 live rockfeller made a value based 7:54 decision he instituted the rockfeller 7:57 foundation 7:59 that did tremendous charitable work 8:03 around the world with those changed 8:07 thoughts he continued to live for 8:10 another 25 8:13 years this story is from the 19th 8:18 century today we are in the 21st 8:23 century when life has speeded up Beyond 8:27 anybody's imagination 8:30 with WhatsApp and Skype and Pagers and 8:34 mobiles and instant messaging 8:37 systems until everybody is experiencing 8:42 stress and the pandemic has enhanced the 8:47 experience of 8:50 stress so the question then 8:54 arises how should we handle the stress 8:59 and that that is why Stress Management 9:01 has become a very talked off 9:04 theme it was about 11 years ago I was in 9:10 Chicago when the IIT Alumni Association 9:14 of 9:15 Midwest came to know that Swami ji is 9:18 also an aluminous of 9:20 IIT they used to have a monthly meeting 9:23 to which they invited me and they said 9:27 you speak to us many of their members 9:31 were even 10 years my seniors they were 9:34 at the CEO level in different 9:37 organizations I asked them what do you 9:39 want me to speak about how to attain God 9:44 they said no that is all old-fashioned 9:47 not all of us believe in it you talk to 9:50 us about Stress 9:52 Management I said fair enough if you 9:55 don't believe in God at least you 9:57 believe in stress 10:00 and that was when I did a little bit of 10:03 research let me ask Mr Google about 10:06 Stress 10:07 management so the first scientist to The Natural response to Stress 10:11 research this theme and theorize it was 10:15 Walter cannon in 10:19 1936 his theories have become famous 10:22 since then as the fight or flight 10:27 response so walter Canon he analyzed 10:32 that when an animal a creature is 10:36 subjected to a life-threatening 10:39 situation there's a hormonal response 10:43 that triggers off the physiology is such 10:48 that it enhances the creatures chances 10:52 of 10:53 survival so the heart starts 10:56 pounding the blood pressure 11:01 increases the blood is diverted away 11:04 from the digestive system away from the 11:07 organs to the 11:10 muscles the body breaks into a sweat to 11:14 cool down the muscles and the mind is 11:18 riveted at the object of the 11:21 threat all of this enables the animals 11:25 to do one of two things either fight to 11:30 save your 11:31 life and if the threat is more powerful 11:36 then take 11:38 flight now unfortunately the same The Power of a Calm Mind to deal with Stress 11:42 physiology is hardwired in our human 11:46 personality as well the threat we 11:49 experience is not to life it could be an 11:53 emotional threat or a financial threat 11:59 a social 12:02 threat and any kind of little threat we 12:07 experience the same thing happens our 12:10 blood pressure increases the heart 12:12 starts 12:16 pounding this 12:18 the brain signals to the 12:21 hypothalamus which indicates to the 12:24 adrenal glands to enhance the secretion 12:27 of epinephrine 12:29 and 12:30 cortisol and these two hormones they 12:35 make the liver increase the production 12:38 of 12:39 glucose that increases the energy 12:42 available to 12:44 us so unfortunately none of this 12:48 physiology helps 12:50 us because it's not a life threat we 12:54 need to keep calm relaxed think things 12:58 out analyze the subtle nuances and then 13:02 make the best decision which is not 13:04 possible when your heart is pounding or 13:07 you've broken into a 13:09 sweat and the problem is enhanced if the 13:13 stress continues for long 13:17 intervals now for the animal it was a 13:20 15 minute stress period but if it's a 13:24 market sales Target that you were 13:27 supposed to meet by the month end 13:30 and you are stressed out 3 weeks in 13:33 advance the stress is going to remain 13:36 for 3 weeks that means the glucose 13:39 levels will remain high and hence 13:42 medical science says there's a direct link 13:45 between stress and 13:48 diabetes and further the arteries start 13:52 getting hardened while the blood pressure 13:55 has increased this results in the 13:59 weakening of the heart and that is why 14:02 there is a direct link between stress 14:06 and cardiac problems in fact if I ask Mr 14:10 Google today it says that 14:13 33% of our physical ailments have a 14:18 bigger or smaller correlation with 14:22 stress like 14:24 fibromyalgia lupus Etc ulcers irritable 14:29 bowel and so on so 14:33 forth the stress is also called the 14:37 executives’ 14:39 disease that means 14:41 executives are more vulnerable to it 14:45 because of the high performance 14:49 environment can any of you identify with 14:52 it I see my satsangis who are in 14:56 IT, my God they have to interact with 15:00 teams in India teams in USA teams there 15:04 they're literally working all day long 15:07 as the corporate houses are squeezing 15:10 you for the money they pay and the 15:12 consequence is all the stress that you 15:17 experience so the need for Stress 15:21 Management
