by Kanchana Moodliar

Yesterday, as I was driving to work I started to think about the workload and bills I had to pay in the upcoming week. My heart began to race, my breath became short and quick and this pain came across my right arm…which of course in the state I was in meant I was having a heart attack.

You always hear of people in their early 30’s having massive heart attacks and suddenly dying. And this out of control thinking went on for about 5 minutes…until I caught myself in the act and said “is any of that happening NOW, right here in this car, is it necessary to be so apprehensive?” And just as quickly as I worked myself up, I managed to work myself down. At that moment I remember giving thanks for the practice of meditation and philosophy.

How many people go through life never having learnt these techniques?

To live in the past, is to live in regret and to live in the future is to live in fear – goes one of the sayings we learn in philosophy – but to be in the present moment is bliss. Every day we all have a chance to access this bliss, and if even for one minute in our 24 hour day we should do our best to find that moment and bask in that feeling.

The power of meditation and stillness has for centuries been taught in the east and has gained huge popularity the world over for its calming benefits. People often ask me what I do when I meditate? I reply “nothing and everything.” For me meditation is a time when there are no real physical actions being done, yet all mental and spiritual action is on high alert. While it calms, it energizes, while it stills it also awakens. Meditation is that moment when you need nothing more. The trick lies in making these moments multiply exponentially.

Today, my wish for you is to find a practice that brings you to stillness and allows you to find your bliss. It will literally change your life.