“There is a lot to worry about!” – seems to be a reasonable conclusion to everything happening these days, both on a personal and global level.
“My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened.”
– Michel de Montaigne
On the upside, research shows that 85–91 per cent of what we worry about never happens, and suggests the 15 per cent that did happen was manageable, and also a valuable learning experience. The conclusion? All told, 97 per cent of the time, there is nothing to worry about.
What about other obstacles to well-being? UK research in the workplace shows 60 per cent of employees report anxiety, slightly lower for depression. Seventy-four per cent feel so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope. Concerning statistics revealing you are not alone if you experience these.
Nor is it surprising as we face challenges with health, money, relationships, and the pressure from the amount of things we have to do with the time available. Then there is the impact of global situations and general overload from all the sources of information we have to consider and make choices about.
Whatever the statistics, the experience of worry, stress, anxiety, and depression are real and increasing, making us feel unsafe, and out of control.
How do we counter all that?
Feeling safe, no matter what
Can meditation provide an answer? Yes but, different methods of meditation vary hugely in their effectiveness in empowering the self for any real change.
Any challenge to our mental, emotional or physical health begins with an identity crisis. Rajyoga meditation (yoga for the mind) re-educates us about our true identity, and provides a clear way to return to an ever-increasing state of wholeness and peace. It gets around the challenges most people face with meditation, not having a transformational power to focus on and connect to. Without which it is very difficult to concentrate.
Rajyoga precisely defines our identity as a soul. The soul resides inside the brain, behind the eyes. As a subtle (non-physical) energy, it cannot be seen, but once fully understood it can be experienced using insight, a faculty of the mind we all have.
In contrast, the mind has for a long time focused on an externally derived identity, constantly searching for solutions outside. The result is a sense of self that is inconsistent and chaotic, literally a reflection of the outside world. Unsurprisingly, this creates an underlying sense of unease, triggering a continual and exhausting search for answers, ultimately giving rise to the issues of worry, stress, anxiety and depression.
There is a huge dissonance between what I have grown to believe is my identity – based on, for instance, gender, age, abilities, roles, socio-economic factors, and “what happens” in my life – and the truth of who I really am, something extraordinary, eternal, safe, stable, peaceful, powerful, contented, some of the intrinsic positive qualities of “I, the soul”.
Committing to a daily practice of Rajyoga meditation, we can rekindle “soul conscious” awareness, a feeling of well-being no matter what challenges we are facing in life. We experience internal chaos reducing, worries lessening, and peace returning.
The practice also naturally allows us to tune into the subtle, yet very empowering Divine energy, which transforms our state of mind and moves us towards fully experiencing our innate positivity, benefiting everyone around us too.
With that powerful state of mind, I can feel good no matter what, and practical solutions will emerge. One could then ask, “what on earth is there to worry about?”
Matthew Earl works as Head of Business Growth & Partnerships, and is a Brahma Kumaris Rajyoga teacher based in London, UK.
