Tag: #mind

A piece of mind

Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com

Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, the harvest can either be flowers or be weeds.

– William Wordsworth

Mind, as psychology defines is broadly, all intellectual and psychological phenomena of an organism, encompassing motivational, affective, behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive systems; that is, the organized totality of an organism’s mental and psychic processes and the structural and functional cognitive components on which they depend. In simple words, our mind is what we are and what we perceive. All of our actions and reactions are the result of what our mind thinks is the best to do being in a particular situation. Our mind is no doubt an indispensable part of our body and no human being on the face of earth can function properly without being in the “correct/ right state of mind”, as said by many.

Every single person present on the surface of the earth has a mind of his own. People think differently, talk differently, react to a same thing differently and so on. Everything we do differs from the other person. It is all because we have different minds. For example, some people like to listen slow songs whereas some prefer upbeat songs, some like to watch football whereas others watch cricket and the list goes on. Even while being in the midst of a discussion, we find many different opinions and ideas from the people present in the discussion. This is how different and varied our thoughts or our minds are. It is not that we are not aware of this fact that all people have a mind of their own and it is hard for any two people to be totally alike in their thoughts and perceptions, but still here we are fighting for the superiority of our thoughts and beliefs.

This blog is not about staying quiet even if you see something very wrong happening or someone with wrong beliefs imposing himself on you/ others. This blog is about what actually we should fight for. These days it is very clear from the ongoing scenarios that how fragile our minds have become and how we live in the constant fear that someone might come at us telling that our thoughts are wrong, because we all believe that our beliefs are free from any flaws. We get angered by small disruptions in our thoughts and vent in out on anyone who differs with our opinion. These all may seem very complicated to understand and anyone reading it must feel this to be some sort of rubbish. But all I ask of you is to take a moment and sit quietly for a moment, put our egos aside and retrospect what we are fighting for. Let’s put ourselves in the place of the other person and think why he/she feels that they are correct and what would we have done being in their place. It is very easy to point fingers at others and do our level best in proving someone wrong just to get the euphoria of being correct but it is very difficult to get to the mind of the other person and understand his thoughts and beliefs. I am not saying this justifies the crimes committed by a criminal or it justifies the actions of any violent protester burning the vehicles in road just to prove that what they believe in is true in all forms and there should be no debate about it. What I want to convey with this is know what you are fighting for, ask yourselves whether it is worth arguing others, ask yourselves what you will gain from proving yourselves correct and try to understand the other’s point of view before jumping into an argument. I know it I not easy to understand someone, but what I know is being patient will help a lot in this regard. It will take a lot of time to be able to actually put ourselves in someone’s shoes. But it is not impossible to do. Although it will take some time, I hope we all grow up from the constraints of our thoughts and be the one in command of our mind.

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PROCRASTINATION AND PRODUCTIVITY


Since the global pandemic, covid 19 had made a lot of changes in our ways of life, we are facing a lot of problems also. Nowadays, as most people and students work and study from home, their procrastination also increased. The habit of procrastination was present in most people, but this change to work from home increased this habit to a certain level. Procrastination is the habit of delaying an important task, usually focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. The biggest challenge these procrastinators feel is the inability to start. The word procrastination originated from Latin “procrastinatus“, which itself evolved from the prefix “pro” meaning and “crastinus” which means “of tomorrow”. This can lead to make us feel guilty or ashamed and it leads to reduced productivity and makes a chance to not achieve our goals.

So it is important to stop the habit or reduce the habit of procrastination for achieving our goals. The first step to reduce procrastination is to realize that one is procrastinating. This understanding is important to tackle to this. If one is doing low priority tasks instead of high priority ones, and waiting for “right time”are the signs of procrastination. So realizing that you are procrastinating is necessary. The next step to tackle this habit is to understand why you are procrastinating. Lack of organization can sometimes lead to procrastination. The use of to – do lists to schedule tasks, can reduce this problem to a certain extend. Even a to do list user can still procrastinate. The fear of failure and poor decision making can lead to procrastination. So, after understanding that one is a procrastinator, and why you are procrastinating the final step is to adopt procrastination strategies. Various anti procrastination strategies are making to do list, organized tasks, prioritizing tasks, write down the tasks etc. Promising a reward after completing a task is also another method to avoid procrastination. Minimizing distractions like turning off social media notifications and television are another method to avoid procrastination. There are various mobile applications for users to avoid procrastination, and to stay focused for doing tasks. So by following these steps one can avoid the habit of procrastination and achieve their goals.

Spirituality

Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that touches us all. People may describe a spiritual experience as sacred or transcendent or simply a deep sense of aliveness and interconnectedness.

Some may find that their spiritual life is intricately linked to their association with a church, temple, mosque, or synagogue. Others may pray or find comfort in a personal relationship with God or a higher power. Still others seek meaning through their connections to nature or art. Like your sense of purpose, your personal definition of spirituality may change throughout your life, adapting to your own experiences and relationships.

Euthymia-Tranquility

Euthymia is a term used in psychology to define a middle state which is neither too maniac nor depressive. Its commonly associated with bipolar disorder.

However, the history of the term goes back to ancient Greece. The term was coined by Democritus, a Greek philosopher. The term ‘ Euthymia’ can be roughly translated to tranquility, serenity and cheerfulness. According to Democritus, Euthymia referred to a state of calmness and steadiness of the soul in absence of fear and passion.

However, the famous Greek philosopher Seneca had later translated the term and defined it as “believing in yourself and trusting that you are on the right path, and not being in doubt by following the myriad footpaths of those wandering in every direction.”

How is it useful in today’s generation?

We live in a ‘competitive world’ or maybe we perceive the world to be so. Competition cannot be eliminated but participating in it is upto you.
What is a race? It is a sport wherein every contestant runs for the same goal, on the same path. Life cannot be described through this metaphor, In simple words, we cannot run on the same path as someone else just to prove our superiority or ‘capability’. What worked for them, may not work for us and even if we achieve success on that path, we will never feel the satisfaction and contentment which we expected from it.

Euthymia is a concept which preaches of believing in one’s path. It describes life through a simple metaphor. You don’t compete with others but yourself. Euthymia is calmness over rush, confidence over self doubt and contentment over jealousy.

Some of the common distractions which we face are:

Social Media: Often, while we browse social media, we come across glittering pictures of people around us having fun, living lavishly, ‘enjoying lives’, celebrating their wins or a new job. To be honest, it does demotivate us and we develop feelings of envy. Sometimes, even observing a friend’s progress in life can make us envious towards them. We doubt our own present, our decisions, our path and we lock ourselves in stagnancy. We forget that every person has a different meaning of success and is walking on a different path. We scroll through the posts and with each hour of scrolling through social media, we drown deeper into the sea of self doubt.

If you ever drown in it, ask yourself , ‘What Is Important To Me?’. Knowing what you want assists you in having faith and focus on your path. When you know what you want you will spend your time working on it. Scrolling through others’ profiles will become least of your concerns.


Opportunities And Priorities: Euthymia is awareness about one’s path. About one’s purpose. Awareness of our path helps us in identifying our prioritize and eliminate the rest. It teaches us how to say ‘no’. A person who aims at seeking validation or lives on attention may try to grab many eye catchy opportunities at once and end up failing in them all. Life is filled with opportunities and it often tests our belief and dedication by throwing opportunities as hurdles in front of us. When a person knows what they are doing, they also know how to do it and select opportunities which they truly need to progress.

The foreign opinion: Your path may be unappealing to many. Not many will motivate you on your way. However, everyone has their own opinions but it is your belief, dedication and confidence which will help you walk steadily towards progress. When you walk on YOUR path, validation seems unnecessary.

Ego: Lastly, rushing into opportunities and new ways can be a product of ego. Ego cannot compromise. It wants you to be the best in every sphere which is impossible.
Purpose on the other hand demands compromise. A rather healthy and obvious compromise. You cannot master the world but yourself.

When one is content with their path…jealousy, insecurities,doubts,anxiety, and confusion does not pull his/her will down. Euthymia teaches us the basic principles of awareness,patience,hard work, self belief, faith, dedication and focus which are all virtues of true success.


Thoughts Are Yours But Not YOU

Thoughts do not define you.


Isn’t it sounding dumb? Let’s introduce you to a new perspective.

Most of the humans inhabit in themselves a computer which runs in accordance to the instructions. It goes without saying which part of a human it is. It is none other than our brain. The reasons behind our race’s excelling heights but also the main culprit behind its sadness. But it does not define us

How? Still unanswered!

Because the brain is hard to control. Why do you think a person requires a psychiatrist or a psychologist or a therapist to understand their thoughts, reactions and behaviours?

And also…why do you think you want to keep a part of YOU under control?

Because it is not you. And applause to those who become aware of it and consult the right person.

But how do I justify what I just explained?

The subconscious brain acts in accordance to the our thoughts/perspectives and how it usually makes us react to a particular kind of situation.
For example: We may have a habit of getting angry out of nowhere when someone intimidates us . That’s our usual way of thinking in such situation. Fight back!

•Or,we may get worried when smallest of things are left undone. Maybe because our thoughts murmur all possible negative consequences the undone tasks may have

•Or,We may get frustrated when something does not go our way because our thoughts might just block out any possible scope of understanding.

How many times do we end up crying or saying to ourselves “This was not me. I didn’t meant to do it” to ourselves or to the person concerned?

What is similar in these three examples?

Guilt. Surprise. Cluelessness. Breakdown. All of which takes place after we have reacted. But why?

Because it induces toxicity in us. We do not want to react that way but we feel imprisoned.

The kind of thoughts which we nurture towards a certain situation(negative thoughts)stimulate such reactions and when the reaction is delivered, it makes us feel terrible. We end up questioning, why did we act like that?

The answer is, because of our own perspective!
The way in which we usually perceive a situation gets registered deep inside our subconscious mind and its so deeply registered that mostly, we cannot stop ourselves from perceiving things the same way in every situation.
The subconscious mind has observed you thinking one particular way and it has understood how to think thereafter.

Then how do we change the instructions which we gave to this computer?

Be aware of the instructions you give to it. Being aware is the key to controlling your thoughts.
Be aware of the development of this habit of thinking negatively. Be aware of your perspective and how it is controlling you.

Every situation is neutral. We are not really controlled by a situation but by our thoughts regarding the situation.
A positive mindset diverts our mind to the brighter side of the situation. To the goodness present in it. Such a mindset gives us happiness and makes us humble.

A negative mindset is rather cynical. It makes us feel terrible about the situation and thus,we end up acting terribly.
In such a situation we do not control our thoughts but it controls us.

A negative mindset attracts negative vibes, things and sometimes negative self proclaimed prophecies may end up becoming our reality.

But how do we control it?

•Consult a psychiatrist or a therapist. I put it the first because it is important too. The fact about getting medical assistance for mental health is talked about so rarely that I decided to put it as a possible and probably one of the best ways to control your thoughts. Speak it out to them.

•Meditation. Changing your thoughts require you to calm yourself down the first. Meditation gives you an understanding of the true nature of your thoughts by making you calm and relaxed. When calm, you can question your thoughts and be crystal clear about the reason behind its existence. Delete the instructions from the computer by questioning its importance.
Be calm to hear the voices in you

•Engage in positive activities. After deleting the old instructions which your computer was habituated to, you require a set of improved instructions.
Meditation can be the best instruction because it teaches us how to control our thoughts and get a clear understanding of our emotions. Reading self help books help further in understanding your subconscious mind and therefore, helping you understand how to instruct it and get control over it. Yoga helps you to stay active, healthy and can greatly control the stimulation of anger and frustration by assisting you in controlling your thoughts. Pursue new habits. Keeping yourself busy with habits which add up to your growth and development can do wonders to your perspective.
Drinking enough water can equally boost your thoughts. Water absorbs energy and when you surround yourself with positive activities, habits and people, it absorbs the best. Remember, more than half of your body is water. Travelling is an all time favorite therapy for most. Its benefits goes without saying. Go somewhere far and spend time with YOU. YOU and your soul deserves attention.
Practice helping and humility. You can never ever absorb the N of NEGATIVITY in you when your soul is open for all.

At the end of it all, if you are confused between thoughts and emotions, let me explain my take on it.

Thoughts stimulate emotions which in turn stimulate reaction.
Understand your emotions and control your thoughts. The lock is the subconscious mind and awareness is the key.


Top motivational quotes to awaken the beast hiding in you

Motivation is something that helps you grow. Not only from inside but also from all aspects, all ups and downs in your life, whenever you feel low why do you need motivation? Have you ever thought about it. Here, is the answer because motivation is something that helps you to grow, that helps you to be you, that makes you. It has the power to awaken the beast hiding inside you.

” Your perspective with either become prison or your passport.“

-Steven Furtick

” Realise deeply that the present moment is all that you ever have. “

– Eckhart Tolle

” How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.“

– Rupil Kaur

” The Secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.“

– John C. Maxwell

” Burn the past, Turn the page, Move on.”

– Safura Arsh

” Act as what you do makes a difference, IT DOES.”

– William James

” Excessive fear is always powerless.”

– Aeschylus

” A good Education is the foundation of better future.”

– Elizabeth Warren

” Between thinking and seeing there is a place called knowing.”

– Carolyn Myss

” You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

– Henry Ford

” Believe you can and you are halfway there.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

” Take care of your body, It is the only place you have to live.”

– Jim Rohn

” If you hear a voice within you say ‘ you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”

– Vincent Van Gogh

” Ofcourse motivation is not permanent. But then, neither is bathing: but it is something you should do on a regular basis.”

– Zig Ziglar

” The only way to do a great work is to love what you do.”

– Steve Jobs

” It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

– Lou Haltz

” Nothing will work unless you do.”

– Mayo Angelo

” Do one thing everyday that scares you.”

– Anonymous

” If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

– Jim Rohn

” When I hear somebody sigh, ‘ Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’

– Sydney Harris

” Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

– Winston Churchill

” All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.”

– Michael John Bobak

” The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

– Vidal Sassoon

Here are some of the motivational quotes that if you implement in your lives will be successful for sure. Motivation will help you to achieve all your goals and so are these quotes.

Television and Video Games are Corrupting the Minds of Youngs.

Mankind has a great history of inventions, and one of it’s greatest inventions were ‘Television’. This word is well known to us. Entertainment was the major reason for the invention of television, but it’s said “Every coin has two sides” even television has its demerits.

Viewing television has become a popular culture and every one enjoys it. One of the most used technological commodity ,has become a threatening problem for the today’s youth. It is Corrupting the young minds and leading them to dark future. The young mind’s are not able to sense the negative impact of this entertainment gadget.

Watching television is waste of time. Youth’s are not able to distinguish between good and bad content for their minds. Most of the programmes casted on the television illustrates distruction, violence, sex , bullying and many other negative things. Young minds are brainstormed in such a way that they try to implement the depicted things in their real life.

Watching crime shows influence the young mind in a negative way as they are not able to pick up the positive aspects of it. Psychologically the wrongdoer is shown in a good light and this in turn encourages the youth to get inspired from them lead them to actually becoming a criminal.

Now days television shows comes with variations like drama, comedy, suspense and many other. The show producers are minting money out of the illogical shows and destroying the young minds imagination. They are detached from the reality and are made to believe and imagine what they show is correct, superstition are also encouraged. Gradually the people get addictive to this type of content and the imaginative power, IQ level is reduced to nothing. Hence Roald Dahl has rightly said,” It clots the child’s mind, it makes the mind as soft as cheese.”

Television are not the only component that corrupts the youth’s mind but video games are one of them. In this modern generation not only an adult but also children know how to used different electronic devices. Video games are basically a person’s imagination which they make them into reality through technology. These games make a person’s mind habitual to play it. Their minds are completely focused in this unreal world that they forget they have a real world, which in turn make them less social and creates a lonely environment. They lose their interest in other important things like studying, etc.

Author John Leo has explained that ” Children who are heavy viewers of television are more aggressive”. Watching television and playing video games makes a person prone to obesity and mental disorders and affects their personality. So we should take care before it’s too late , as they say “Prevention is better than cure.”

Volcano Eruption

“We are, all of us, growing volcanoes that approach the hour of their eruption, but how near or distant that is, nobody knows- not even God.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

We always talk about , what it would be like to see volcano eruption in front of your eyes ?

How amazing it would be like to find out , how the volcano erupt ?

There are many things that we don’t know exist in our earth 🌍. Do you want to know about it . If yes , than read the editorial .

Introduction

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and most are found underwater.

The word volcano is derived from the name of Vulcano, a volcanic island in the Aeolian Islands of Italy whose name in turn comes from Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology.

Many ancient accounts ascribe volcanic eruptions to supernatural causes, such as the actions of gods or demigods. To the ancient Greeks, volcanoes’ capricious power could only be explained as acts of the gods, while 16th/17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler believed they were ducts for the Earth’s tears.[87] One early idea counter to this was proposed by Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), who witnessed eruptions of Mount Etna and Stromboli, then visited the crater of Vesuvius and published his view of an Earth with a central fire connected to numerous others caused by the burning of sulfur, bitumen and coal.

Types of eruptions

  • Hydrothermal eruption. An eruption driven by the heat in a hydrothermal systems.
  • Phreatic eruption. An eruption driven by the heat from magma interacting with water.
  • Phreatomagmatic eruption.
  • Lava.
  • Strombolian and Hawaiian eruptions.
  • Vulcanian eruptions.
  • Subplinian and Plinian eruptions.

How do volcanoes erupt?

Deep within the Earth it is so hot that some rocks slowly melt and become a thick flowing substance called magma. Since it is lighter than the solid rock around it, magma rises and collects in magma chambers. Eventually, some of the magma pushes through vents and fissures to the Earth’s surface. Magma that has erupted is called lava.

The explosivity of an eruption depends on the composition of the magma. If magma is thin and runny, gases can escape easily from it.
Explosive volcanic eruptions can be dangerous and deadly.

Humans and volcanoes

Volcanic eruptions pose a significant threat to human civilization. However, volcanic activity has also provided humans with important resources.

Although volcanic eruptions pose considerable hazards to humans, past volcanic activity has created important economic resources.

Volcanic ash and weathered basalt produce some of the most fertile soil in the world, rich in nutrients such as iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.

Volcanic activity is responsible for emplacing valuable mineral resources, such as metal ores.

The paradox of volcanoes was that they were symbols of destruction but also life. Once the lava slows and cools, it solidifies and then breaks down over time to become soil – rich, fertile soil.
She wasn’t a black hole, she decided. She was a volcano. And like a volcano she couldn’t run away from herself. She’d have to stay there and tend to that wasteland.
She could plant a forest inside herself.

Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

Link

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL ILLNESS?

Mental health and Mental illness are not the same, though it seems so they both are entirely different concept. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Mental health reflects” our emotional psychological and social well-being “Affecting “how we think, feel and act “, mental health has a strong impact on the way we interact with others, handle problems, and make decisions. And Mental illness refers to “conditions that affect a person’s thinking feeling, mood, or behavior.” These can include but not limited to depression, anxiety bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.

Christopher M. Palmer, MD, director of McLean’s Department of Postgraduate and continuing education, pointed out that mental health and mental illness are similar to the concept of physical health and physical illness. He said the term mental health, implies the absence of illness or disorder. But there are a lot of ways people can be mentally healthy or ill, just like there are many ways people can be mentally healthy or ill, just like there are many ways to be physically healthy or unwell.”

By increasing the understanding of mental health and mental illness can help eliminate stigma and other barriers that keep people from seeking help when they require.

Mental illness affects more people than that we think, it is that we should understand what these two terms mean, the given prevalence of mental illness throughout the world. The WHO points out that around 800,000 individuals die by suicide each year, also about 20% of world’s children and adolescents have a mental disorder and depression affects about two hundred and sixty plus people worldwide.

The thing with all mental health disorders is that none of them define the entire person. Although their symptoms might impair their ability to do things others are able to do, they still have areas of strength and competence. Whenever we talk about health versus illness, it’s always important to remember this.

Being mentally healthy enables you to feel, think and act in ways that help you enjoy life and cope with its challenges. Poor mental health may result in feeling unhappy, difficulty thinking clearly, or feeling overwhelmed by stressful situation. Resiliency (The inner strength that you use to cope with stressful situations) is also a major part of mental health. Building resiliency can help you avoid being overwhelmed by stressful situations. This in turn further builds resiliencies gives you confidence to know you can get through difficult times when they come up again. It’s important to give your mental on going health and attention. There are things you can do to maintain good mental health, and other factors that influence mental health to learn about to help you build your understanding.

While mental health is always there and may be positive or negative, mental illness affects a person’s ability to function over a long period of time. It’s not the same as feeling sad, unhappy, or stressed because of difficult situations. People with mental illness feel distressed regularly and may not feel in control of their lives .

Give yourself a break

In todays’ fast-paced world we tend to overwork ourselves because the environment is so competitive that we forget that our body and mind need rest sometimes. You must have found yourself tired and felt helpless at some point of time in your life, right? When you do too much work and when you finally take a rest you are not able to rest your mind, it may be a sign that you need a break. Similarly, if you feel devoid of energy to continue your work or you can’t sleep at night you need to take a break.

Burnout is the state of mind when it is exhausted and you feel physically exhausted too. At that point in time, you must consider being generous to yourself and take a break from everything that is going on. Many people feel that a break would leave them behind others but that is not the case, because everybody has their growth path, they grow at their own pace. Racing against time, overworking yourself will not help you in succeeding instead it will leave you exhausted. Sometimes a break in life is very important for a better comeback. If you feel stressed or you feel like you have tried your best but still the universe is conspiring against you, that is the indication to take a break.

Taking a break could be different things for different persons, for some it may be going back to your hobbies, for some it may be to take rest for a few weeks and do nothing. All of this me-time is valid, you don’t need to do anything productive in the meanwhile, you should not feel any pressure to do a task during your break. Giving yourself a break means giving your mind rest from all the whirling emotions that you have been feeling for a while.

Some people might say that you have given up, but you should not care what they say, everybody deserves a break from time to time. If you do not give yourself a break your mind will get exhausted and you might lose interest in all the activities in life.

There are many ways to give yourself some me-time:

  1. Book yourself a spa appointment and enjoy the massage.
  2. Read a book you’ve been wanting to read for some time but you couldn’t get time to do it.
  3. Go out for a morning jog, the fresh air would feel great.
  4. Go out for a swim or go out to play your favorite sport.
  5. Do nothing get in your bed and get a sound sleep.
  6. Take a hot water bath and then cook something for yourself and eat it. Self-made food tastes great and it gives you a sense of accomplishment.
  7. Meditate and exercise or do yoga.
  8. Get away from your screen and talk to someone you like to talk to.
  9. Watch a feel-good movie or any of your favorite movies while eating your favorite snacks.

Stress

Stress is the response of an individual towards an event which is beyond his/her ability to cope. When faced with a challenging or threatening situation, an individual undergoes stress. Stress is not necessarily bad, in fact term eustress is used to describe the stress that is good for an individual. This is the least level of stress which actually helps a person to achieve peak performance and managing problems. If however, this stress starts growing inside, it causes body’s wear and tear. It is called distress and it is this stress that is unhealthy for an individual.
Stress is caused by external events. These events are called stressors. Some examples of stressors are: crowding, examination pressure, bad relationships etc.
Individuals responses towards a stressor varies from one another. It largely depends on perceived events and how they are interpreted. Past experiences often help in dealing with stress. If an individual has handled a similar stressful situation well in the past, he/she is more likely to do the same in the present. The opposite also stands true. An individual who beliefs that he/she is in control of the situation, often experience less stress than those who have no such sense of personal control. Self confidence is a key in overcoming stress.
When faced with stress, our body produce a stress reaction. It can be physical, emotional or behavioural or a mixture of all. The first reaction is usually the physiological one, wherein adrenal glands release hormones responsible for fight or flight response. During stress, a hormone named cortisol is also released in our body which provides energy. Emotional reactions may include negative feelings like fear, anger, anxiety or depression. Behavioural reactions however depend on individuals that whether they choose flight response (forget everything and run) or fight response (face everything and rise).
How an individual responds to a stressor aslo depends on the nature of stress. The intensity and complexity of a stressor as well as whether it is predictable or not influences the nature of response it induces. It has been observed that stress which is intense, prolonged, complex and unpredictable have a more negative effect on people in comparison to the stress which is less intense, short lived and predictable.
There are various types of stress. Physical stress relates to the stress that is related to our body. It is much easier to deal with than the psychological stress which generates in our minds. This psychological stress is very subjective and unique to the person experiencing it. It includes frustration and internal conflicts. Social pressure, life events and daily hassles or experience of traumatic events also contribute to psychological stress.
Stress has various adverse effects on an individual. Emotional effects like mood swings, anxiety, depression, increasing tension, decreasing confidence are very common. Physiological effects include increased heart rate, slow digestion, hypertension etc. People may even suffer from mental overload and loose their ability to make sound decisions. Poor concentration, disrupted sleep patterns, reduced work performance are some other effects of stress.

Paradox…

A logically self contradicting statement is a paradox. Also known as antinomy. You can say it is a sentence that runs contrary to one’s expectations. Actually it’s just a smart mess. It does have valid reasoning but leads to a self contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion. It might seem absurd but is kind of the ultimate truth. That’s what makes it all the more interesting.

Let’s see some of the many interesting paradoxes that exist and try to understand them.

•Achilles and the tortoise 🐢🏃

One of the “greatest” there is. It was put forward by the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea in the 5th century BC. It so happens that the great hero Achilles challenges a tortoise to a footrace. Being the hero that he is, he allows the tortoise a headstart of 500m. No doubt, when the race starts, Achilles is at a must faster speed than the tortoise such that by the time he has reached the 500m mark, the tortoise has only walked 50m further than him. When he has reached 555m mark, the tortoise has walked another 0.5m, then 0.25m, then 0.125 m and so on. It is a chain of such infinite small distances with the tortoise always moving forwards while Achilles always has to catch up. Now, logically, Achilles can never overtake the tortoise. Except, of course, intuitively he can overtake.

Don’t think of it in terms of distances and races but rather as an example of how finite value can always be divided an infinite number of times, no matter how small its divisions might become!

•Birthday paradox 🎉🎂

This is personal favourite. It is maths based by the way. Probability to be specific. You have already heard of this probably. It goes like this that in a group of 23 randomly selected people there is a 50% chance two of their birthdays match. Interesting? Wait. In a group of 367 random people there is a 100% possibility atleast two of their birthdays match. Sounds like such a small number. It counts as a paradox because we can’t handle such numbers.

•Crocodile paradox 🐊

A crocodile snatches a young boy from the riverbank. Pretty common situation right? Anyways, his mother pleads with the crocodile to return the boy. The crocodile being in a fun mood, wants the mother to guess if he will return the boy or not. Takes one guess to get the boy out safely. It looks simple – the mother guesses he will return the boy, if she is right she gets the boy, if she is wrong, the crocodile gets the boy. If she answers that the crocodile will not return him, however, we end up with a paradox!

If she is right and the crocodile never intended to return her child, then the crocodile has to return him but in doing so breaks his word and contradicts the mother’s answer. And if she is indeed wrong and the crocodile did intended to return the boy, the crocodile must then keep him even though he intended not to, thereby also breaking his word. It’s a brain twisting dilemma.

•Paradox of fiction 🎟️📕

Are you fixated with the harry potter characters? You ofcourse have a crush on the Marvel or DC comic characters. Oh or did you cry when Augustus died?

So here is the paradox. Point 1 People have emotional responses to characters, objects, events etc. which are fictitious. Point 2 In order to be emotionally moved, we must believe that these characters or events by no way exists in real. Point 3 No person who takes characters to be fictional at the same time believes that they are real. All three of these points one at a time can be true. If any two points are considered to be true then the third must be false or else produce a contradiction. There exist various proposed solutions to this paradox such as pretend theory or thought theory or illusion theory.

•The card paradox 🃏

This one is a little bit similar to the crocodile paradox. A little. So I say we have a card with us. On one side, the front side, “the sentence on the other side of this card is TRUE” written on it. You flip and “the sentence on the other side of this card is FALSE”. You take one as true and it leads to a paradox!

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day!🌼

Yoga : Morning breakfast and Evening supper to the Body and the Soul

Article by – Shishir Tripathi

Intern at Hariyali Foundation
In collaboration with
Educational News

In the present times, everyone is just running all the time. Whether the person works in an office, or he or she is a home maker or a student too, everyone is so busy in their daily schedule that hardly few people extract time for their physical and mental self. Along with advancements in the field of technology, there are advancements in the diseases too. New diseases are taking birth and troubling the humans.


Individuals post on social media and say ‘Back to Basics’, without even knowing its true meaning. People think that being back to basics means that living a life in a remote area and eating the forest products. But returning to basics in true sense means living in the same surroundings and adopting the good techniques in life to make it disease free and simple too.


For the Indian people, from the ancient times ‘Yoga’ was a very good way to explore the inner self and finding peace of mind. But, the mentality of the people is just going to an air conditioned gym and spending huge amount of money on gym and the protein supplements. Whereas, Yoga is such a simpler exercise that anyone can do it at their place just with a mat beneath them and some time.


Yoga evolves from the Yoga Sutras which were written by Patanjali. Patanjali was a sage in India who is the author of many Sanskrit works including the most important, The Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are a collection of 196 Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of Yoga. The Yoga Sutras were compiled sometime between 500 BCE and 400 CE by Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions.


Swami Vivekananda was the first person to promote and encourage Yoga at the global level. He published a book called ‘Raja Yoga’ in America in 1985 where he wrote about the productivity and the benefits of yoga for an individual. He took references from the Patanjali Yoga Sutras and told the world about the physical, mental and spiritual influence of Yoga in an individual’s life.


Doing Yoga practices early in the morning at the time of sunrise or after it and in the evening too is so beneficial for the body. Asanas in Yoga helps to cure Vata, Pitta and Kapha defects of the Human body. In the physical body, Vata is the subtle energy of movement, Pitta the energy of digestion and metabolism, and Kapha the energy that forms the body’s structure.
The most beneficial Yoga Asana is the Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation). Under this asana, different other asanas like Pranamasana, Hasta Uttanasana, Hasta Padasana, Ashwa Sanchalanasa, Chaturanga Dandasana, Ashtanga Namaskara, and Bhujangasana. Various other Asana in yoga like Kapaalbhati, Anulom-Vilom, Brahmari,etc which are so helpful for the body.


There are various videos of Yoga teachers teaching Yoga Asanas on Youtube and there are students too pursuing graduation and post graduation in yoga who teach it to others around them. Practicing Yoga and doing it daily afterwards all by self will help an individual to get rid of different types of physical and mental disorders. There is OM chanting too in which the Yogi (person doing Yoga) chants OM, in which there is a practice of breathing along with acquiring spiritual peace at the same time.


At present, the most influential promoter and the best instructor of Yoga is Swami Ramdev. Swami Ramdev is instructing people Yoga in India and all across the globe since 2002. He is the co-founder of the Patanjali brand producing different Ayurvedic products that are useful for the Human body.


Yoga is being practiced by children right from the age of 3, and also by the elderly people of age 65-70 and even more. It is a symbol of Indian culture as it evolved from India. Indians should necessarily know that what Yoga is and how it is performed. It is the reason behind the sharp mind and a healthy body. Not only children, middle aged people and elderly people but the younger generation which is contributing each day a lot in the economy, should practice Yoga each day so that they can tell this precious art to the future generations.

“For a sound body, sound mind and a sound nation, Yoga is the only solution”

Typhoid and low levels of Serotonin

Vaishali Singh

It’s the seventh time I got detected positive with typhoid, the first time my Widal test came out to be positive was when I was in 5th standard and today I am in the second year of my college it’s been more than 10 years but the problem is still there, the typhoid bacteria Salmonella typhi, activates in favourable condition, for 2 years I had no typhoid but still the problems related to intestine were there, I always suffer from stomach and digestion related problems and overtime these problems decreased the amount of serotonin in my body, my poor metabolism and digestive problems ultimately caused me low levels of serotonin which keeps me frustrated and unhappy for long period of time, most of the times I feel so empty, unhappy and lonely, for years I never understood that it was a clinical problem as I never gave it my attention but the research and deep analysis of 2 days made me understood that every mental health problem has connection to your physical health, the low levels of serotonin makes one feel depressed, broken, restless, emotional and unhappy, and overtime this problem can lead to severe problems which can destroy your mental peace so always take it seriously, you feel low most of the times because your feeling can may have a huge connection with your physical health, now the solution to my problem is to keep your body fit with regular Yoga, exercises and most importantly the healthy food, the another important thing is to do the meditation sessions to boost the serotonin, since this february my health condition is poor and I am struggling to make myself happy but today I understood the proper reason so now I can hope I’ll be better with continuos efforts.

Thank you for reading it, the purpose of putting it here was to aware you that if you’re suffering from Typhoid, or any other disease which affects your intestine or may be any other organ, can lead to decrease in your serotonin level and can cause you depression or severe anxiety but don’t be sad instead work for it, first of all just take time to get recover from that health condition then focus upon healthy food, workout and meditation overtime you will be healed.

What is Serotonin? Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, it’s involved in numerous core physical processes such as the regulation of sleep, appetite, and aggression. For more details read this link, https://www.integrativepsychiatry.net/product-category/neurotransmitters/serotonin/

Improve your mindfulness!

How are you coping nowadays? Is everything going according to what you have planned? Or are you making the efforts to change your ways?

COVID-19 has surely changed our way of living life, doing business and definitely changed our perception of life. Our body was programmed to wake up in the morning, doing personal work, dressing up and heading for work, returning to our loved ones and spending time with our families. But now we wake up and we feel like we are running in circles. Waking up and trying to do everything at one go, with overloaded information and then there is a huge feeling of procrastination and it seems like everything is taking a toll on our mind. Nowadays we are always feeling like doing “more” and “better”, and that too in a very short span of time. Now there is no harm is trying to do more and in a better way, but there should be a pause on this. Our mind is taking its own time to adapt to this drastic change and we should be patient enough to give time to our mind.

Mindfulness. Such a long word and yet so simple. It is a state of our mind where we are aware of the present and we are aware of our own behavior at each moment. Study reveals that it is very crucial to practice and imbibe mindfulness so that we do not feel stressed and depressed. Now is the time, more than ever when such a practice can improve us and make us feel alive more than ever.

A few tips by which you can bring mindfulness in your life:

  1. Wake up early. It is a good habit to wake up by 6 AM in the morning and take a whiff of fresh air. It clears you brain and makes you feel energized.
  2. Meditate. Make sure to meditate for about 10-15 minutes in the morning. It will make you ready for the day.
  3. Read newspaper. Study shows that what we study in the morning, we tend to remember it for a long time. Newspaper or a few pages of your book will open your mind to face the day.
  4. Sip green tea. Obesity is the new form of smoking. To reduce the caffeine intake and to ensure our health is in good condition, switch from black to green tea.
  5. Eat slowly and mindfully. Take small bites and stay away from T.V, laptop or any kind of social media while eating. Let your body and mind to enjoy the food.
  6. Talk to nature. Staying within the closed doors will make us sicker. Take some time out and enjoy the greenery outside.
  7. Check you digital time. Always try to keep a tab on the time you are spending on social media or on the screen. For this one can use Pomodoro Technique.
  8. Follow your passion. Now is a great time of you want to follow up on something which you previously did not get time to do. It will also be good to keep stress at bay.

These are the few techniques which one can definitely follow to practice mindfulness. It is advisable to acknowledge that things are tough but we should also be mindful to not let stress build its house in our mind.

Till then, stay safe and be mindful….

Source: https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/articles/6170-be-more-mindful-7-tips-to-improve-your-awareness