Saturday, April 5, 2003
M A I N   F E A T U R E


Shun fear, live zestfully
D.C. Sharma

RESEARCH in the USA shows that man is living in constant fear. Fear narrows one’s vision. Due to fear, precious life energy is lost.

But healthy, balanced fear is meaningful. Fear thus gives man a useful experience also.

Truth is that man is never safe. Things constantly change. We lose even the most precious things sooner or later. Should we go on worrying about such things for ever?

Dr Daniel Gilbert has recently discovered at Harvard University that people often overestimate their future emotional reactions. He states that such effects wear off much quicker than predicted. Time heals all wounds.

The remedy lies in optimism. An optimist sees opportunity in each eventuality. He creates the conditions he desires. Thus favourable circumstances follow.

 

Research shows that 95 per cent of the people think in a negative way. Just a little effort can change this negative attitude. The first step is to be on your own. Why think as others think? Why join the company of those who always brood? Writer George Meredith once said, "The wind that fills my sails propels, but I am the helmsman."

God has given man the powers fit for the gods. Man has only to discover the secret. Anyone can change the flow of one’s thoughts. The effective way is to substitute the negative with the positive. John Milton had said: "Mind is its own place, and can make a heaven of hell and hell of heaven."

When people fear that they are inferior to others, their nervous system gets plagued with fear. Prufrock, a character in T.S. Eliot’s poem, worries about what the ladies would think of him: "They’ll think how my head is bald... how my arms are thin..."

Here is an anti-depressant. American psychotherapist Gay Hendericks has discovered that people feel sad when they are unable to control their anger. The anger over their inability to deal with situations makes them sad.

In an anxious mood, their diaphragm freezes. Their lungs don’t expand fully. Their breath quickens and becomes more shallow. They need to calm down. Like our yogis, they need to breathe deeply.

Deep breathing is life-enhancing. Inhale, first expanding the abdomen. Then inhale up to the rib cage. Finally, fill the upper chest. To exhale, begin at the collar bones. Then exhale from the stomach. And finally, exhale from the lower region.

One to five minutes of this exercise can work wonders. Not only shall your worries run away, you’ll also feel a real zest of living. Life shall be thrilling! But patience and trust alone show rapid results.