Mental Fitness

We all love to laugh in a cheerful response to a humorous situation, word, image, enactment or even our own thoughts.

Some days we don’t seem to be provided with any stimulus where laughter would be appropriate. There are days when we don’t laugh at all.  These are also the days that don’t seem to be our good days.

Our best days are when we have enjoyed good company and exchanged interesting conversation or ideas, when we have smiled and laughed in sincere good humour.

There of course can be negative type of laughter  associated with anger, frustration, cynicism or even cruel feelings but genuine laughter is motivated by genuine joy and pleasure.

We all find that socially popular personalities are able to cheer others up by their comic attitude, witty speech, talent for telling jokes and getting the bottom line right, and by expression of their positive, outgoing character.

The old saying “Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone..” is very true. Laughter is fortunately ‘catching’ and a few people experiencing spontaneous laughter can make others join in the experience, even though they have no idea of the original cause for mirth.

Group laughing sessions are trendy in some societies. The purpose is to give vent to emotions that help us to feel in a good, positive mood. Such therapy groups are becoming quite popular.

To keep cheerful in spite of no one around who is a natural comic or who can ,by habit, be able to make fun that gives you a chance to smile or laugh, is more difficult.  But we have to be able to cheer ourselves up, nevertheless.

To keep a simple image nearby in our home or office – one that makes us smile when we see it, is a great help in keeping our sense of humour sensitive  and our minds aware of life’s pleasant moods and perspectives.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: cheerful, good moods, humorous, joy, personality, smiling

There is nothing so disturbing about our modern lifestyle as the shocking realization that our children are casually playing with the idea of suicide.  Not only this, they are also playing out the drama of attempted suicide and seriously drafting suicide notes in preparation for such an action.

But worst of all, we have the statistics of the numbers of young people who go through with it. The critical age group would seem to be from 15 – 25 years. In one year in Australia, in 2003 there were 270 deaths by suicide in this age bracket.

It is difficult to evaluate how and why this situation plagues our society and threatens its future and what can be done to reduce the problem on a scale grand enough to produce positive results. It could be that we have to deal with each individual case through continuing counseling as well as alerting teachers and parents to the need to teach teenagers ways of coping with negative moods and to remain aware of any indications of severe depression developing in their charges.

In the climate of the present economic downturn, males in particular are in trouble, both in rural and city areas. Both workplaces are threatened. Greater job losses will inevitably increase outbreaks of depression and actions of suicide amongst all age groups.

It is understandably the most demeaning situation for men with lifetime experience in a trades or professions has no hope for anything by rejection of their job applications, regardless of their skills.  Increasingly, vacancies will be filled by young applicants.

Some older men and women accept the challenge and re-channel their energies into areas of creative endeavour of their own to establish successful enterprises. Others get more and more depressed and so we have not only our youth but middle aged and elderly people becoming vulnerable to the idea of suicide to escape their difficult circumstances.

Although there is little we can do to help the mental and emotional suffering of others whose choices remain their own responsibility, it does not debar us from being willing to help anyone we meet and who is open to receiving our moral support or even practical help if that is appropriate.

Suicide is instilled in our life teachings as against secular and spiritual law. Although we must keep flexible enough to debate these issues, most of us inwardly tend to believe that it is best to face our difficulties rather than to run away.

Many problems are common to us all and in addition, each of us has unique factors to deal with either in our personality or soul, or in our circumstances. When we overcome, we feel successful. To encourage everyone to persevere is something to remember,  as it is important for our own future welfare.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: Depression, fearing the future, financial problems, job losses, psychological well being, social despair, youth suicide

It is not often in early life that we are encouraged to undertake training of our emotions. Perhaps a little restraint over the negative ones and unconscious encouragement of our finer one is the common experience in early home life as we respond to outer circumstances and whatever family life teaches us.

 We are not aware of the power that emotions have. They can steer us to future happiness or to damage our healthy intellectual development or interfere with our mental fitness as well as our physical well being.

Our emotions are usually left to develop as the individual matures. Adolescence years determine a stage towards acquiring emotional independence, instead of continuing previous patterns and values. So we begin to determine emotional expression and desirable or appropriate behaviour for ourselves.

However, throughout life we all need to discourage the negative and control any destructive feelings in our emotional life. Opportunity for deliberate emotional control comes to us after life experiences serve to demonstrate the destructive potential of emotional energy. We learn that a few moments of uncontrolled emotion can destroy years of previous effort and fortune.

If we wish to freely develop our intellect, we must have our emotions under control and definitely on side so that mind and feelings are co-operative.  If we are not able to rely upon stable and vital emotions, we will never be sure that negative feelings and responses will not rear up to damage our life or enterprises in some way, particularly in regard to relationships.

Our emotions, particularly the finest emotions, also require nourishment in order to grow through the kindness and understanding of others.  

Negative feelings tend to grow as easily as weeds in our nature if we do not undertake constant cultivation in order to keep them under control. Finally we hope to eradicate them from our personality so that we can happily, lovingly and intelligently enjoy life with peace of mind knowing a healthy state of emotional and mental health.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: calm, constructive feelings, contentment, control of personality, emotions, happiness, Mental Fitness

Although it is the most important part of our  representing as it does our direct link we have to our Maker or our spiritual source, most of us have not kept pace with modern neurological science and consequently have limited knowledge of the brain.

We know the brain is housed as a sensitive instrument within the confines of the bony skull. It is shaped somewhat like a walnut, with a division between the hemispheres and all crinkly but much softer in texture than a nut.

Each part of the brain has a different purpose and responsibility and is wired with unlimited connections to transmit commands and to receive information.  Up until now, it is believed that most people only make use of about 1/12 of its capacity.  But that figure is no doubt a seriously inaccurate one if we are to go by the similar assessments of use of our personal electronic computers, capable of so much more than we can fully utilize, particularly if we choose to waste its potential talents in just playing electronic games.

Perhaps only the genius mentality of those who created the first advances in computer technology will ever have some clues to understand how our brain works.  Most of us don’t want to understand how it functions, we just want to rely upon its capacity to do want we want and never crash.  That’s what all of us want of our brain.

The brain begins to make complaint when we have a headache. Sometimes it can be obvious that the cause is a physical one such as after too much coffee, or alcohol. At other times there seems to be no reason at all, except perhaps with nervous tension or anxiety about something. However, the brain in good health doesn’t usually complain.  It functions well enough and remembers most things we want it to. Only later as we age it seems to use the delete button too freely!

If we look after the brain and avoid accidental injury, eat the right food, get proper sleep and rest and be sure to deep breathe and inhale enough oxygen, it is expected to last in good shape for the rest of our life. With some people, it can even hold its own intellectually and even improve in its creative abilities into old age.

But we generally know so little about our brain – the organ that deserves much more than casual interest and respect- at least a little wonderment and appreciation of this precious personal computer that is so central to our existence.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: creative, fitness, logical, Meditation, mental health, register of thought, The Brain

When we refer to matters of general insurance it concerns unexpected and unpreventable circumstances over which we have no direct control other than due care.

 In regard to health insurance however, prevention is the only real insurance against misfortune and disease of any kind. Only by building our health can we ensure that we do not suffer pain and illness in future or at least minimize any problem. There is no other way. There is no amount of money that can replace our vital healthy state or compensate us for lost ability to enjoy life. We must therefore consider that we bear a responsibility to do our utmost to create and maintain our health.

Our disciplinary approach to good health applies to the choices we make in our diet, exercise, breathing habits, rest and sleep patterns. In addition we must include our emotional habits and control, as well as our mental habits of thought and attitude with the last being as important as our physical habits.

 Both emotional and mental influences determine our actions that have the final word in regard to insuring our physical well being. A degree of thought motivates the most basic of our actions and habits, good and bad. Our emotions are equally as powerful and can assist or cripple our intellectual efforts and affect our psychological health and mental fitness.

It is well known that just as a happy person is less likely to suffer serious health problems, great grief, loneliness or deep resentments can create serious disease. Therefore, we must control negative thoughts, dissolve our fears, and correct any negative tendencies of our nature before they manifest as disease symptoms in our psyche. 

 We cannot rely purely upon a monetary health insurance plan. This cannot save us from the consequences of any of our neglect of the natural health rules that govern both physical and mental fitness.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: balance, health, integrated personality, Meditation, Mental Fitness, mind exercises, psychology, relaxation

Just as we have to exercise and look after our own physical health, each of us is responsible for our own emotions – their expressions and restraints.

The emotions are strong and many a time will win in any conflict situation between thought and feeling.  So we have to maintain a co-operative team situation in recognition of their mutual importance yet retain the mind in the role of manager.

Many of us were not well informed in our youth of the importance of emotional energy.  Schooling frequently is focused upon intellect and thinking capacity and failed to point out

that the secret of life success lies in our emotional energy. Our emotions provide the vital key to success or can destroy our opportunities and bring our career to ruin.

Many a person who is successful in the art of living, both materially and spiritually, will admit that their enthusiasm was an important ingredient. They will tell us that they had to learn how to govern their emotions and channel them positively and that it was hard work.

As sporting skills serve as one arena to train in physical control and development, so our daily life offers us a constant training ground for our emotions. There is not a day goes by but we have a chance to exercise positive emotions of peace, joy, love and affection, optimism and enthusiasm in our work, or in our appreciation of nature and good fortune.  Equally we have to exercise restraint to curb angry responses, impatience, anxiety, greed or selfish desires.

What is that part of your consciousness that is aware of how you really feel; seeks to upgrade any poor emotions; cultivates all your good and loving emotions and seeks to direct this energy constructively to a happy outcome?

 It is your own mind.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: calm, constructive feelings, contentment, control of personality, emotions, happiness, Mental Fitness

Our emotions or feelings have a wide range of mood from sympathy, suffering, compassion and affection to envy, anger, hatred and many other less pleasant, negative expressions.

 Positive emotions are those that activate our best aspects of our personality or soul. To experience these brings us contentment, happiness, love and peace. All these feelings can inject a special quality into events and experiences. We will all remember the happy moments in our lives when our finest emotions were heightened. Many of these will have arisen spontaneously. Although it is possible to consciously generate certain degrees of feeling, we usually learn that we cannot use our will to bring us a repeat of those feelings.  Only an echo of them comes through our memory and we are reminded that it is possible to experience such ‘highs’ again.

 We all develop our emotional nature not only according to our innate inclinations, but in conjunction with the environment and circumstances to which we react. The most wholesome emotions are those well known to us when it is our heart that speaks to us, rather than our head.

 We readily accept that anger, fear and jealousy result in disturbances to our psyche. When we are feeling envious we feel uncomfortable. When we are lonely, it is only a step away from giving way to depression. Negative feelings are difficult to live with – in ourselves or in those around us.

 On the other hand, we feel good when we feel happy, and cheerful. Like a magnet, we will feel attracted to those who have a positive, outgoing nature.

 So we need to cultivate our emotions as we do our thoughts. To alter one’s emotional pattern requires time and patience do all efforts involved in self culture.  For us all, our discipline involves restraint in curbing anger and irritation, and all negative traits and consciously exercising the positive feelings that will help us to be inwardly in a harmonious and peaceful state where we can identify ourselves with all that is good and noble. The rewards are great and will endure for our lifetime.

We will know love, happiness and the joy of living because our minds will direct our emotions to this end.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The Complete Self-Help Guide”, offers timely solutions. Read more…

Technorati Tags: anger, emotions, health, Meditation, Mental Fitness, personality, psychology, relaxation, Stress, The Brain