The 2020s are coming soon upon us. We wish everyone a successful entry into a new decade. 

But let’s take a step back to introspect.

Where were we in our lives at the start of the last decade, the 2010s?

What was the quality of our life then, and how is it now?

What are the good things and not so good things that transpired in the past decade?

Another ten years hence, we will all be in a different stage in our lives and ten years older. The years we have left and the time available for accomplishments are all ticking clocks. Unstoppable and decreasing all the time.

What should be our priorities for the next decade so that we can reflect again in 10 years and ensure that our life is fulfilling and successful?

Many of us try hard in life to achieve many things. We desire for things we don’t yet have, destinations we’ve not been to, or play roles and do activities we’ve not done before.

Uncannily, almost always, only a few of these wishes aspirations are really fulfilled. The rest seem out of our reach, to a point where we begin to feel that perhaps they were not meant to be.

Is that really accurate or is it just you?

By Shankar Ramani, Instructor, Sahaja Online

These days some herbal supplements and alternative medicine experts are on a rampage to create fancy solutions for pretty much every health and wellness need or problem. Recently I happened to read about a supplement that is a carb blocker. These are supplements you can take that help block out carbohydrates once you consume them and hence come with the benefits of allowing you to eat carbs but not take the hit of calories from eating them. You trick the body into avoiding carbs even when you are eating them.

It sounded like magic to me. Indulge as much as you want, but block out the consequences?

As a person close to self-improvement, I find this somewhat amusing. After all, shouldn’t the best form of carb blocker be our discretion in controlling what we eat? Why put carbs into your mouth and then again pay for and consume supplements that block carbs?

Ah, the elusive self-discipline and self-control paradigms, of course. Very few of us can fight the temptation of carbs, day in and day out for years on end. Ultimately, they overpower us. That’s why someone came up with this brilliant invention of carb blockers, setting aside the topic of how well these really work, for a moment.

Anyways, there’s a broader aspect here of how relying on self-discipline and self-control are alone are inadequate for one’s self-improvement. So what else can done do?

Have you ever noticed how you react to problems and crisis situations? Do you get consumed by them? Do you panic and reach out for help? How easily do you give up? Most importantly, how much resilience do you exhibit until the problem is resolved?

Even further, are you seen as a problem-solver for others?

A distinctive feature of meditators is their ability to deal with and work on problems. Here’s how they do this.

Stay Positive – Ever-Optimistic

We are innately optimistic and hence switch to unearthing every possible positive outcome even when faced with adversity. Our negativity fighting attitude towards life gets us to focus quickly on eliminating the root cause of the problem and move towards healing and resolution.

Brooding and getting stuck is rarely in our style of living.

There’s a particular reason for this optimism. The energy that flows inside our subtle energy system and which we draw into is one of pure love and compassion. It is forever benevolent and trying to do good. And hence it’s always driving us to restore the balance to positivity and goodness in our lives.

Ability to Witness The Problem

Meditation trains us to watch ourselves always by separating our attention from the flow of constant thoughts. Once our attention is recaptured and clearly able to focus on truth and reality, this becomes a habit. This is invaluable during a crisis or a problematic situation. We have this unique ability to see and quickly understand what is wrong and what needs to happen. We avoid reacting or being consumed by the situation because our Spirit is watching everything, including the problem, we separate ourselves from the problem instantly.

Recapture The State of Peaceful Equilibrium

Meditators always gravitate towards a situation of peace and calm. We do this at any cost as this is our primary existential state of mind – a state we want to always be in every moment of our lives. We value this state so we can focus on our higher pursuits. Most of the time, we don’t care if we have to pay our way through situations to get to this state. Or find creative ways or change things dramatically in our lives for it.

What might usually scare most people is having to spend money, which in turn comes from a strong attachment to worldly possessions and wants. Change in any form also bothers most people. And then, just being fearful and lacking confidence usually affects everyone in a crisis situation. Not us meditators, though. We organize everything in our lives around our higher, peaceful state of existence.