It is all in the mind. Control your mind and you control your life. It is the mind that matters.

This is a fictitious story and the character Rina does not have any resemblance to any person living or dead. I have tried to explain the process of mind control that we all do unconsciously. As it is an unconscious activity we might forget to practice it during the most difficult of times. I am just trying to make the process a conscious one so that we can have one more weapon against adversity. Life is beautiful friends just keep attending the tests. Failure or success doesn't matter, what matters is how you continue to row your boat against the stream. Just be there that's the secret. 😊😊  

Rina was happy and content with her life. She had a good job, good friends, cooperative colleagues, a good boss who always thought about the growth of the business, good friendly neighbors, and a beautiful house in the heart of the city. She did not have to worry about anything. And everything looked so perfect until December 2019.

"I read this news about some virus infecting everyone. I was concerned but did not think it to be very big. I felt that it could be similar to a flu virus and so did not bother much about it. After all flu viruses are everywhere and do affect people. People recover within three to five days. In the worst-case, it might take up to one week."

 

But unfortunately for Rina, the end of 2019 did not look good. 

"I did celebrate the New Year with my colleagues but everyone at the party looked anxious. We were discussing the ifs and buts of all the possibilities that could happen in the next few months."

 

The beginning of 2020 and the next few months after that changed everyone's life drastically. 

"We were asked to stay at home, as the virus was spreading fast and was life-threatening. They called it COVID-19. By August 2020, I lost my job. The company was not making profits and so decided to close down. I was staring at a future that was scary. Fear had taken a grip on me and I was thinking about what would I do next. I spent hours alone doing nothing and slowly I started to move into depression. I was becoming hopeless day by day."

 

Fortunately for Rina, her mother called her one day. They spoke for some time and her mother felt

something was wrong with Rina.

"What is it with you, Rina? You aren't speaking much. What is troubling you? Things in life change and you have to learn to face the challenges. Go deeper inside your mind, you will find all the answers." 

Rina couldn't answer her mother's questions. She apologized to her mother and asked for some time. Rina then decided to come out of whatever she was facing. She had to understand the reason behind her sadness.

 

"I definitely had to look into my mind. Probably cut the weeds that had grown and were not allowing me to think clearly. I closed my eyes and observed my thoughts. I asked my mind, why was I not like before? To my surprise, my mind unveiled short but striking sentences - I don't have a job. I cannot go out and visit my friends. I don't have a normal life anymore." 

Rina was clear as to what was troubling her. She had to tackle these thoughts and as her mother had said, Rina decided to face the negative statements one by one. 

 

"Let me now break down these thoughts into single sentences and dissect them further. 👋 

The first thought - I don't have a job - A negative statement because of a negative situation in life.

The second thought - I cannot go out and visit my friends and my parents. - Again a negative statement because I don't have a social life.

The Third Thought - I don't have a normal life anymore - A negative statement probably the most negative one when compared to the other two statements."

I don't have a normal life - On going deeper into this statement Rina could feel that this statement was pulling her further down. This statement was causing sorrow and suddenly life became a jigsaw puzzle riddled with questions like, "If I don't have a normal life then what life I have? What is this life all about and what am I doing?" 😟 

 

                                 Fig(i): Breaking down, Sequencing and Analyzing the thoughts

Rina chose not to come out of the imaginary space she had entered, as she had yet to complete this mind game. It looked like she was meditating but without ignoring the questions her mind had for her. 

"Hey, why do you think a job is important?" After a pause, her mind reacted harshly 😡. "How will you take care of yourself, and what about your career? Don't you want to live independently and have a good career?" 

Rina now was able to understand that she could handle her mind as a separate entity. She dwelt further into this space and this time she spoke with care.

"Oh, my dear mind. I realize that you are alarmed. I would like to tell you that I have saved some amount and this will take care of me till I find a good job. I will immediately start looking for a job. And I promise you that during this difficult time, I will not be fussy. I will be okay to take up a decent assignment that can pay me enough to keep me going. Is this fine with you, my mind?" 

It looked like Rina's mind too wanted the answers to these questions and her mind replied, "Yes I am happy about it, my dear".

As Rina's mind responded softly to her, things were getting friendlier between them. 

Rina now put forward the second question, "I am not able to go out and meet my friends and family, why are you upset about it?" Rina's mind sighed 😔, "Ah, Rina, you are not able to enjoy life. I have not seen you being happy or laughing loudly. Your life has become boring without friends". 

Rina acknowledged the problem and the solution she could see was "Okay, dear mind, I cannot meet my friends but I can always call them. Perhaps I can make a video call and connect with all of them. We can have fun this way too. It will be a little different but don't you think we need to accept the changing times and behave accordingly?" Mind happily surrendered 😀"You are right Rina, you can do this."

 

For the third and the final part, Rina asked, "So my dear mind, now do you think I will have a normal life? Now, do you think I will be the same Rina I was before?" Cool and composed her mind said, "Yes, true Rina. You will have a normal and a happy life. Good that you are able to adapt to the inconsistencies of life ".

 

Rina was lying on her bed when she had taken up this mind exercise. As she answered the questions she gradually fell asleep. The next morning she got up happy and more focused. She noted down the questions and her answers. She immediately took time to look for jobs. And bang within three days she found a decent home-based job. She then called all her friends and spoke to them. With a few who agreed she arranged a conference and a video call. They all enjoyed speaking to each other. Some who needed advice and counseling, Rina could offer that effectively as she had gone through the pain. She spoke to her parents and Rina's mother was happy that things had begun to look normal for Rina.

 

This exercise could be tried not just during the pandemic but during other hard times as well. In some cases, if the statements are many and if we do not know how to start and where to start, then just pick three or four very important statements, question them, and try answering them. For example, in Rina's case the most important question would have been "I don't have a normal life anymore, what should I do?". Answering this question would have led her to tackle the other two statements i.e. "I don't have a job" and "I am not able to visit my friends and family". There are many other ways to control our mind, but this was a new and innovative way of mind control that Rina tried. By breaking up the problem, sequencing and analyzing the statements, putting them as questions, and answering them one by one, Rina was able to control her mind and control her life.