mind over matter

so what seems like the inevitable finally happened. i got sick. but, luckily not the stomach kind of sick that you would expect most foreigners to get (speaking of foreigner, i have an interesting post on this coming soon), but the fever and cold kinda sick. and let me tell you, it has not been fun. getting the chills and a cold straight from alaska is not the most pleasant feeling in this tropical feeling. so, i want to tell you guys how i got over this ailment.

it all started with what i thought were allergies. i’m highly allergic to what seems like every particle that’s in the air, so basically air. well, if you’re unaware, there is a lot of dust in india. i mean a lot. every where you walk, you’re inhaling a good amount of dust and pollution. so, it started off really mild, as in just a few sniffles and sneezed every now and then. typical allergy systems. nbd. my mom was coming in a few weeks and she was gonna bring my zyrtec for me.

well, she came, and i took that zyrtec everyday, but nothing happened. ok, still, it’s only been like 2 days, it’ll take some time to kick in. well, it’s safe to say something kicked in, but it wasn’t the zyrtec. i got sick. sick like with chills and runny nose, and i don’t want to do anything but lay in the bed sick because my body was so achy. bleh.

it didn’t help that i hate taking medicine. i really don’t want to put in anymore chemicals in my body than i do already, so naturally i got yelled at by aunt, grandmother, and mom for not going to the drug store to help shake this. i was gonna fight this and let it run it’s own natural course.

but here’s how i actually got over my sickness: i kept telling myself that i’m okay, and that i wasn’t sick. and i know it sounds silly, but self-pity isn’t going to help you feel better. i don’t know the exact psychology behind it, but it has a lot to do with attitude and perspective, and this is something i learned very early during college. if i’m going to have a negative attitude going in, then how can i expect to have a positive attitude during? positivity breeds positivity. it’s as easy as that.

our brain is the most powerful organ, and if we choose to actually use our brain for the better, then we can make a lot of situations into favorable ones. we have the capability to manipulate any situation. but are we going to manipulate it for the positive or negative?

here’s a daily encouragement that is perfect for this situation:

It is only natural that sometimes we fall sick. But we must see that sickness as a sickness that originally exists in life, based on the principle of the Mystic Law. In other words, there is no reason to allow yourself to be controlled by illness, for it to fill your life with suffering and distress. From the standpoint of eternal life through the three existences, your fundamentally happy self is incontrovertibly established.  Daisaku Ikeda

Mosquito Bite Count: I squashed a mosquito 5 minutes ago | Serious Craving: Olive Garden Bread Sticks

peace and love all.

here come the monkeys

The monkeys finally came this morning. My dad and my grandparents told me they’ve become a problem lately. There’s this huge tree outside our apartment that they just jump onto. Well, it was in the middle of my yoga class, and we were doing pranayam (here’s a quick page on pranayam) and all of a sudden these monkeys start jumping into the tree. There were probably about 10 of them. And it’s safe to say that I was thoroughly freaked. Monkeys can be vicious little creatures. But, it was so hard to concentrate on my breathing and my practice the rest of the morning, and I increasingly got frustrated. The worst part about this is that I let this affect the rest of my day.

I’m thinking about how often I have let something so little affect so much of my being. Not only that, but how often have I gotten distracted so easily and so easily fallen off the track I’m on. I’m someone who 1. gets distracted very easily, and 2. If something bothers me, it won’t be long before that frustration comes out. Let’s tackle on issue at a time.

Numero uno: distraction. I partially blame this on the fact that I’m a multi-tasker. Yes, this comes in handy a lot. But, it also creates a short attention span for me. I have a really short attention span. If you send me a YouTube link that’s more than 45 seconds, it’s doubtful I’ll watch it. Distractions happen in my life a lot.

Numero dos: frustration. Yes, I’m an emotional bottler-upper. Yes, I know this is not good for neither me or for the relationships in my life. This is a particular issue that I’ve been trying to work on, but sometimes it’s just really hard. What’s worse is that it then becomes really easy for my frustration to affect many areas of my life.

So how does this tie in with the monkeys? The learning point for me is that I need to learn to not let such insignificant things gets in the way of my overall goal in life. If I lose my focus, it becomes so easy to pummel down roads I know aren’t good for me. The question then becomes how do I stop myself from letting outside forces get in the way? One tool (or I guess two?) that I’m learning plays a huge role in my life is introspection and retrospection. Having these conversations with yourself allows for accountability; there is a definite need for self-accountability.

The first day of my yoga class, my teacher told me the reason for sitting straight so that your neck and spine are in a perfect line. The fluid in your spinal cord flows up and down all the way to the sacrum, but if there is one kink from sitting hunched, or not straight, or whatever, it slows down the flow of the fluid, which in turn isn’t good for your back. We can take this and apply it directly to our lives. If an obstacle comes our way, we need to learn to just straighten it out so that it doesn’t affect our over life. I’m on a direct path of spirituality, and I can’t let distractions and frustrations create a road block. I want to get there quick. I don’t have the time to let something so insignificant as monkeys slow me down.

Today, step back and think about something that has frustrated you or distracted you. If you look at it from the grand point of view of life, was the time you wasted really worth it? That one test, that one argument, that one bad day are just teeny events in your entire life. Don’t let them get in the way of what you want.

Mosquito Bite Count: 3 + 1 on my face | Serious Craving: Cherry Limeade

you know, just chillin

the freaking monkeys