Mental Fitness

In conjunction with our efforts to lead a practical life and fulfil personal aims and ambitions, we have the accompanying additional shadow that is there to remind us to look after and cultivate our minds so that our thoughts can project a constructive influence.

It is a magic occurrence to experience the difference that a positive tonic thought can have upon your emotions and mental state.  There is no secret about the power of self persuasion. It is only the practical application that can present a difficulty in with-holding benefits. It is offered as a ‘technique’ in many mind-training programmes and cultures including the practices of the yogis. 

As the system of Yoga is one of self culture, all the techniques are basically designed to help the individual help himself. The wonderful thing to realize is the scope for creating our own tonic thoughts. We have freedom to employ conscious concentrated thought to build up our mental strength without any censure or limitation imposed by others.

A basic elementary application is the inward affirmation applied in building up our own self image through focus upon each of the good qualities we wish to express in our personality and being. For instance we may aim to reduce a lack of self confidence by affirming all our  own recognized strengths in which to feel proud.  Another may deliberately work to strengthen in turn all the qualities that serve as their ideal.

The exercise is known as Japa. This is done through silent mental repetition in privacy and ideally in circumstances similar to meditation that requires peace and quiet. 

Additionally we can draw upon the powerful wisdom inherent in the literature of our culture, and the wealth of knowledge we have inherited from others who have experienced similarly and have overcome and prospered.

Some examples of fine ideas are offered in the Page on Quotations on this site, but each must choose for themselves the simple, tonic thoughts that affirm what they seek in self culture and that result in a sense of true well being.

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Thoughts are real energies released by the human brain – energies likened to magnetic and electric impulses. These energies are broadcast into our mental atmosphere and can be ‘picked up’ or ‘tuned in to’ as we do with wireless, although through the medium of our subconscious antennae. There are good quality thoughts and some terrible ones. We must recognize that there are thoughts that vitally nourish our minds and those that are poisonous to our well being.

With disregard or rejection of time honoured values in culture, our mental climate is becoming threatening. Classical values are being replaced by thoughts and attitudes that are damaging. Their acceptance indicates a collapse of our social values and principles. It is only the positive, noble thoughts and aspirations that uphold any civilization. Denial of them limits further progress or heralds the downfall of a people.

That may seem exaggerated statement but just think about it for a moment.

Can you depend upon the powerful media outlets to present you with fine thoughts and reports of noble deeds, examples of high moral behaviour and positive news gathering? All indications are that the contrary is the case.

Deplorable values and violent rather than civilized behaviour is the main tone of daily news reports. We are presented withhappenings that are discouraging rather than nurturing quality social life and positive attitudes. This type of mental programming is the basis of a great degree of mental depression in the community.

In our western countries, the criteria for news ‘content’ is sensationalism. Reports are rated and duly welcomed according to the extent of crime, corruption, rape, murder, and violence from domestic issues to the international front. The bias towards negative subjects seems additionally polluted by the focus upon sex of some kind to appease the current addiction and the degraded appetite for perversions of all kinds including unforgiveable harm to children.

If thoughts and ideas are food for our minds then our libraries are available to offer an alternative abundant and wonderful range for individual choice of nutritious and enriching reading matter. Here we are left free to browse and nourish our minds according to our better values and those of our inherited culture. It would seem that as long as ‘hard copy’ books remain available through publishing houses, we will at least retain our freedom of choice of mental nourishment as we insist upon in selecting our food.

To avoid mental pollution that is even more dangerous an issue than pollution of our physical environment we must be alert to withstand efforts to programme our thoughts negatively. But we must assert our freedom to determine for ourselves the quality of material that we consume in our responsibility to develop and maintain health of mind and body by recognizing and avoiding toxicity in all its forms.

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Anger, whether is ourselves or expressed by others, is a sign of weakness, demonstrating a lack of emotional self control.

Emotional anger when out of control can do harm to ourselves and motivate us to harm or hurt other people or even material things.

Pent up frustration and stress could be readily excused as we try to cope with life and react to our difficulties and problems. However, we all have to find a way to channel this energy in an appropriate and constructive manner – until we find a positive way to act in life.  Then, increasingly, as we find the strength to focus constructively, our reactions are less of a problem.

Most angry people are reacting, often without conscious thought.  The cause is more often than not from emotional rather than rational issues. Someone who is mentally well does not habitually display anger. As we do we like to feel repressed anger in our own  personality, we do not appreciate it in the mood of any companion.

Anger is a recognized symptom of mental illness when it is firmly established as a habit Anger is a condition when emotional energy can well up from the subconscious and is capable of erupting like a volcano with equal potential to harm or hurt.

That hurt begins with the physical and psychic hurt to the one who is feeling anger. It starts with their increased blood pressure, nervous and muscular tension, interference with normal physiological function and by contributing to their totally negative self image. No one reflects with joy upon their past displays of anger or is proud of their demonstrated loss of self control.

So many people who have, in anger, just inflicted pain upon another will say “I didn’t mean to do it!”  But this is not good enough. The act was committed by them, no one else, and it is they who are responsible whether it is a physical action or related to subtler behaviour.

All anger, whether held inside us or expressed towards others is harmful. Anger can lead to broken relationships, poor health, violent behaviour and ‘crimes of passion’ including road rage or murder. And those whose anger has been allowed to grow unchecked are often inclined to suicide.

Unfortunately anger is infectious. When someone displays anger towards us, it is easy to react in defence and respond angrily, even though we were relaxed to begin with. We have to practise resisting such reaction.

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