Inner Stress Relief – How to manage your Stress? By Vikas Malkani

The word 'stress' originates from the French word 'estrece' meaning 'narrowness' and is used to depict a limiting or constriction of your power and abilities. You have the feeling of being emotionally and mentally stressed out when you think you have too much to handle.

www.soulcentre.org

Anything viewed negatively has the potential of causing stress in your life regardless of what the thing may be. However, what makes one person stress-full may be quite an ordinary event for another. The secret to releasing stress is to realize that stress therefore is created not by the event or circumstance itself but by the way we respond to what happens to us in any moment of our life. We are the creators of stress and it we alone can provide the solution to it.

In essence, stress is the result of the way you think. And if you develop the ability to change the way you think, you will have in your hands the power to eradicate the stress that you feel.

Here are 3 easy ways to manage the inner stress you may encounter :

1. Act, then Detach

Trying to control every moment and outcome of your life causes more stress and disharmony than any other process.

Take the action the present moment requires, and once the action is done, stop clinging to the results. After your best is done, step back and wait for the results to arrive, then respond to them.

It’s the constant clinging and worry about the results that is the primary creator of stress.

Do your best, then Let-go, and become stress-free.

2. Meditate

You always have two choices in every situation – either curse the darkness, or light a candle. Meditation helps you to train your mind to choose the more positive attitude, always, regardless of the situation. 

Negative thinking produces stress and thinking positively releases it. Remember that stress arises out of the way you think, and since meditation is the skill of training your mind, meditation is also one of the most effective antidotes to stress.

Find a good teacher, and learn to meditate. And whatever the situation, keep your mind focused on the positive outcome you want to achieve, rather than the negative outcome you want to avoid!

3. Chunk it down!

Do things one at a time. Don’t be too concerned about how much there is to do, or how overwhelming some of the tasks seem. Just get one thing done at a time, again and again. Keep your mind focused on the one action you can take now, and do what’s in your power. One step at a time you can climb the highest mountain, and one step at a time you can accomplish the greatest task.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So chunk it down and you will accomplish more with greater ease.

SoulCentre is Asia’s Premier Centre for Meditation, Mindfulness & Stress-Management.

For details of our training programs, connect to www.soulcentre.org

How to be truly happy - 5 Essential Secrets

Do you ever feel caught up in all the mundane things of life while happiness seems to elude you? Do you feel like life is just passing you by? Do you sometimes feel that you are doing so much but that you are not truly happy?

Life is too short to postpone happiness until the conditions are right. So if we are waiting for something is our world to be just right before we become happy, then we are keeping ourselves in an endless cycle of waiting!

Everywhere around, people are trying desperately to find their happiness in relationships, in expensive cars, mansions, overseas holidays, money, the perfect place or the perfect job – and yet after they have experienced some or all of the above, they are still not happy.

Happiness is the special sauce that makes everything else in life worthwhile. And if happiness is missing, then even a life full of wealth and health is not meaningful.

"If a person is happy, life is worthwhile" - Vikas

So how can one become truly happy?

What are the essentials to happiness?

Let me guide you to the 5 essential secrets that will create real happiness for you.

SECRET NO: 1 – START YOUR DAY WITH GRATITUDE

All of us have so much to be grateful for; it’s just that most times, we don’t realize it.

Gratitude helps to cultivate a positive mindset, which will help you to accept yourself for who you really are. Remember, as your day begins, you don’t know what the day will bring to you, but you can decide what you will bring to this day! So choose to bring a grateful and happy ‘you’ to your day and see the benefits happen.

Start your day with a positive attitude and a positive mind-set. Spend 3 minutes before you get active in the morning reminding yourself what is great in your life.

Start your day on a positive note, because a spiritual law is that whatever is inside you is what comes out of you. So if you create happiness inside by being grateful, you will ooze happiness all day, which in turn will make your day a happy one!

SECRET NO: 2 – DURING THE DAY, STRENGHTEN YOUR POSITIVE MUSCLES

As your day begins to unfold, many types of things, results and people will be encountered.

No matter what comes your way, choosing to be positive will help you to stay strong within the challenge and handle it in a peaceful and powerful manner. Even when things are difficult, try being positive and strive to make the best of whatever situation you’re in. It will help make even the most challenging situations easier to bear.

So as you live your life during the day, look for the positive not for the negative.

Often, during the day, repeat positive affirmations about what you want. Do so with faith, feelings, intention and focus. Your mind is the filter for this world around you, so look for the good in every situation, and you are sure to see it.

“Don’t gain all the wealth and lose your soul” - Vikas

SECRET NO: 3 – JUST FOR TODAY, ACCEPT IMPERFECTION

It’s a fact that we all have imperfections. When we stop worrying about our imperfections and what others think about us, and just start being what we are, then we can truly offer the world the best we have. For as long as we are living a life of pretense, we are sure to be tense, and real happiness will elude us.

Moreover, you can’t expect people to be perfect all the time. Perfection comes when you’re ok with imperfection.

Our ideas about the way the world works are based, in part, upon our expectations. Those expectations color our experience, good or bad and influence our reactions and responses to just about everything and everyone that we encounter.

Expectations help us form a world view, but they can also skew that world view in unexpected and sometimes unwanted ways. The more the expectations, the more the disappointment.

Being a perfectionist will not make you happy, I promise. So ease up a little bit, check the expectations you carry and lower them if necessary, and see how much more you can enjoy life.

You will be happily surprised.

SECRET NO: 4 - TRAVEL LIGHT

Keep your mind light. Carry the good experiences with you, and the lessons from the bad experiences. Both will help you and make you a better person. But carrying negative memories will only take your happiness away.

The best short-cut to happiness is meditation, which teaches you to train your mind to be calm and happy. Never put the key of your happiness in anyone else’s hands.

“Life is not a race, don’t make it so” - Vikas

SECRET NO: 5 – HUG TODAY. IT WON’T COME BACK

So many people keep themselves constantly busy, but spend their whole life waiting to start living. And in the meantime, this beautiful gift from life called ‘today ‘is passing by forever!

Give your attention to the value of today. This day is your life, and you are alive only today! So value it, cherish it and live it fully while it is here. Because it’s soon going to be gone forever.

Take action in your life on the problems you face, if any. Any action is better than burying your head in the sand, hiding from the world, and more importantly yourself. But at the same time, don’t let your pains and problems define your experience; you also have a lot of blessings in your life, so let that be the flavor of the day!

"Create happiness, don’t wait for it!" – Vikas

Quit waiting for life to work out. Make a change and take control. You control your own happiness; don’t waste any more time waiting for it to come find you.

So embrace and HUG your life today. Bring some happiness, understanding and gratitude to your life today!

“H – Happiness; U – Understanding; G – Gratitude” - Vikas

There is always a lot in life to be happy and grateful for. Start living in the only moment that matters, right now. The more you are focused on the past or the future, the more you are missing out on happiness right now.

Pay attention to this day and make yourself truly happy, no matter what!

Meditation Class - The importance of a teacher

With the introduction of Google, we spend many hours researching and reading "stuff" on the web. We soon become an expert on any and every topic by reading second hand information in huge amounts.

So can we learn mediation on the web, and do we really need a teacher?

The simple answer is "Yes" you can learn meditation (to a certain extent) on the web and "Yes" you do need a teacher if you are serious about Meditation.

So why do I say you need a teacher?

First, the mind is a tricky little devil, and over 60,000 thoughts are whizzing through in any one-day. So you sit to meditate and some of the first thoughts that come in are;

• “ Am I doing this right?”

• “ What should I be thinking?”

• “ How do I stop thinking and have no thoughts “

This is natural and most of us start out like this on our journey with meditation. Having a teacher with you allows you the confidence and freedom to ask these questions and to be guided on correct answers.

Having no thoughts is one of the many myths of meditation; it's a little bit like expecting the heart to stop beating once you tell it to.

So a teacher also dispels these myths.

Having sat through 12 years of meditation classes I have heard so many myths ...

•  You have to sit cross legged to meditate

•  You have to shower before you meditate

•  You have to place your palms on your knees and make a lotus shape with your fingers to meditate

•  You have to meditate for over an hour to benefit

•  Meditation is religious

•  You cannot meditate during your menstrual period

These myths, and many more, are easily dispelled by a teacher and thus put the mind at peace.

A teacher will explain clearly what meditation is and what it is not.

A teacher will also listen to what you are saying and be able to guide you as an individual to experience the technique that is best for you.

After all there are thousands of techniques in meditation and it’s not a "cookie cutter" experience where everyone is precisely the same.

A teacher will also see your habits and challenge you a little to see them for yourself. After all meditation is all about getting to know yourself and to see how your own thinking and actions bring results in your life.

So sign up for a class today!

SoulCentre is Asia’s Premier Centre for Meditation

Our next program is on 16/17/23/24 August

We have 10 am and 7 pm classes

How to Meditate – A simple meditation technique for beginners

Many people believe that Mediation is "difficult" and have preconceived ideas about what you have to do in order to meditate.

Allow me to clear your mind and to dispel some of these myths and in doing so encourage you to meditate.

The myths are as follows:

1) Meditation is religious - This is simply not correct. Meditation predates religions and is simply a practice that brings stillness and peace to the mind. Hence all religions use it in their teachings.

2) You have to sit cross-legged to meditate - Again this is not correct. As meditation is ancient, often there were no chairs around in the good old days and so people sat on the ground and “naturally” sat cross-legged. In today’s modern world you can meditate sitting down, lying down, on a plane, walking, at your desk …you name it – you can meditate doing it.

3) It’s so hard to meditate - Again this is not correct. We learnt to walk, talk, eat, dress ourselves, drive a car…so why so we think its hard to meditate? What if I told you it was easy peasy?

4) I do not have time to meditate - If you cannot find 5 minutes in your day to meditate - then you REALLY do need to meditate! Make it a routine like brushing your teeth, putting on your clothes, reading the paper. Spend less time checking Facebook and more time meditating – your life will thank-you big time.

Now for a simple technique that everyone can do – especially beginners; it's called "Anapana Sati" or meditation on the breath.

It's best to do it alone and in a space that is less chaotic than a busy office/home environment to start with. So plan 10 minutes when you can be alone and have some 

"me" time.

The technique is easy, try it and feel the difference:

• Sit comfortably / lie down (but do not fall asleep).

• Close your eyes.

• Fix your attention at the tip of your nose.

• Now simply feel your body as you breathe in and breathe out.

• Do a few breaths with awareness and see how you feel.

• Once you master this and you want to advance, you can introduce a count of 4-2-6.

• Count 4 as you breathe in – then hold for 2 – and breathe out for 6.

• Repeat this for at least 5-10 minutes and your whole energy will be calmer.

Your mind and body will benefit as a result and suddenly the world will become a calmer and happier place.

Join SoulCentre and it's team of expert meditators to take your practice to deeper levels. You will love the new you!

Meditation Classes in Singapore

MEDITATION CLASSES IN SINGAPORE

2016 has seen a sharp increase in the number of people turning to Meditation. The pace of life is speeding up; we are all multitasking more often and for longer periods and also the opportunities for distraction have never been greater. It all results in excessive thoughts and a mind that feels as if it is spiraling out of control and has no peace.

I caught up with the latest batch of students who have learnt Meditation Made Simple, a beginners guide to meditation at SoulCentre.

SoulCentre is Asia’s Premier Centre for Meditation and Mindfulness and under the guidance of Vikas Malkani, students are taken through a 4-session beginners program.

I asked them how has Meditation benefitted them and here are some insightful replies.

• Meditation has really benefitted me, I have learnt to see the positive in all situations and to focus on the good in my life.
• Meditation has given me simple tools to use throughout the day and in life to quiet my mind and to be in tune with myself.
• I changed how I view my life!
• It has opened my eyes more to my surroundings and helps me see the negatives that I have let affect me.
• Now I really understand meditation, its simple and the tools are helpful and work.
• How beautiful to get the tools for a happy life.
• It was a truly great course!
• I am more conscious of the good in my life.
• Made me understand that it is me that can bring good things into my life.
• It was so simple – powerful and easy to apply into daily life.
• I am already calmer at home with my children and more understanding with my husband.
• I had learnt meditation earlier but this course was so different – it taught techniques that can be used anywhere! It was so beneficial.

Students leave after 4 sessions like a new person…it was so inspiring to see. And as for Vikas himself, the teacher, this is what they say:

• He is very accessible, calm and clear, I love his style of teaching.
• No words can describe him – thank you Vikas!
• He is inspirational, interesting, informative and encouraging.
• He is an ocean of wisdom; I am so blessed to be able to learn from him.
• He is fun, an excellent storyteller, authentic, clear and direct.
• Lovely, gentle, warm natured and so approachable.
• He vibrates calmness, compassion, acceptance, wisdom and is such an amazing teacher.

SoulCentre holds classes each month and they are in the morning (10 am – 12 noon) and again in the evening (7pm – 9pm)

Check out the website – www.soulcentre.org for dates and for on line bookings.

There is also an On-Line program for mediation on the website – for those who want to learn in their own space and time and for those who simply want to stay connected to the wisdom at all times.

8 tips to find your purpose in life

8 Tips to find your Purpose in life 

I know many of us often ask "How do I find my Life purpose?”

So I tracked down Sally Forrest, Managing Director of SoulCentre to find out some answers.

Sally always encourages those she meets to "Have the courage to follow your heart"

I took time out and met up with Sally to ask her “ How do we actually find our passion and purpose in life?”

Sally gave us some great tips:

1) Never get too busy that life just takes over and you have no time to stop and plan what you want from life.

2) Know yourself - the best way to do this is to meditate!

3) Stop doing things that deplete you .

4) Do not engage in toxic relationships or hang out with negative people. 

5) Plan in “me” time.

6) Do new things - try something different and remain childlike and playful as you pass through life.

7) Really live each day! Participate fully and with awareness.

8) Simplify life - by living a simpler life, you are happier and have more time for you!

"You know once you find your passion as it is a deep driving desire that is burning within you. It leaves you on a natural high and you simply want to follow it" said Sally.

It sounds great, so I am going to go and look for mine now ..........

6 Simple ways to De-stress