On the dreadful night of 26th Nov 2008 , I had finished my dinner and switched on the local news channel to catch up on the news for the day. It was 11pm late in the night and all the news channels were talking about the series of terrorist attack that took place in Mumbai.
The terrorists entered Oberoi Trident by breaking in through the side doors shooting at guests and throwing grenades recklessly.
The news channels were full of live disturbing video footages of the atrocities that were taking place in Mumbai. The video footages of gun fires and bomb blasts were played on repeat loops to etch it into the minds of whoever was watching news. My body began to shiver and my mouth went dry. I was not able to move from my couch , somehow I mustered the courage and switched off the television and went to my bedroom to get some shut-eye.
The next day I got up from bed assuming it must have been one of those ridiculously convincing dreams. I could not fathom the fact that such a brutal terrorist attack had happened , I felt light headed and dissociated. I needed extra attention to respond to people around me as I was emotionally scarred from the event.
The following weeks were a living nightmare, all the news channels playing those horrible visuals of the shooting between the terrorist and the task force. I decided not to watch TV for a while. But I will never forget that day or how I felt. This is the birth of fear, with our media etching the visuals and the horrible feeling into our deepest part of our psyche.
At exactly this moment I decided to adopt an “Unshakeable” mindset. I decided to be committed to unwavering confidence with an impeccable peace of mind and being calm amidst the rising storms.
One of the ways to conquer fear is through gratitude. Tony Robbins says you can’t be fearful and grateful at the same time. I began to follow a gratitude routine where I would clear my mind and say thank you to the universe.
The process is simple , I follow few breathing patterns followed by a gratitude prayer.
I sit comfortable , still and start breathing deeply from the bottom of my abdomen for 5 counts. I inhale deeply hold the breath in for 2 seconds and exhale. Initially I use both the nasal passages. I then hold the pranava mudra in one hand and close the nostril with the thumb of the right hand and inhale with left nostril and also exhale through the same nasal passage. I alternate between right and left nostrils and continue this for 5 counts In brief this type can be described as quick breathing with the left nostril and right nostril. I continue this for 5 counts on both the sides.
I keep my neck straight ,my spine upright and close my eyes as this helps attaining concentration. I relax my muscles in the body through a progressive relaxation process and bring the focus only to my breathing. I remain focussed for 15 counts before starting my gratitude prayers.
Gratitude prayers :
I think about the source that has brought me to this life. I thank the source for giving me everything in my life.
I think about the people who love me.
I think about the people whom I love.
I thank the source for giving me a healthy body and sound mind.
I begin my awareness on all the things that are perfect in my life – my body , my relationships , my finances , etc.,
I begin my awareness on how safe I feel and how divinely protected I am.
I begin to send love to each cell in my body and thank them for functioning tirelessly.
I then begin to think about the wildly important goals that I want to accomplish and the steps I would be taking the following day. This will take 15- 20 minutes of brainstorming action plans.
Then I hit the shower and start my day with a big bang!