Before I start to pen down my thoughts on the talk on Mental Health that happened on 1st September, 2019, I would want to thank the Founder and CEO of CAclubindia.com and his team who stood by the cause and made an attempt to help the community talk about this taboo subject.
I will be ever grateful to my mentor and author of the book 'Meditation the Cure', Naveen Varshneya for giving the light of hope to the youth.
What did we want out of this day?
We wanted to listen, share and look for solutions that could help each one of us understand ourselves better.
Could we do that?
In my opinion, we were experiencing each other's experience and what else could we ask for.
"A ear to hear, a heart to care and a hand to show the way in times of trouble is all that we humans need."
I, Nikita Kala - A Chartered Accountant, an actor, a film-maker and a stylist had an opportunity to share my experience and give the participants a taste of Meditation based on the book 'Meditation the Cure'.
And
Praveen Sharma-Business Head at Interactive Media Private Limited with an undaunted spirit to spread awareness around Mental Health primarily focusing on the youth and working professionals, did what he does the best 'connect and guide.'
While we both were there, it was the group that guided us to do what we did. The group had such authenticity and simplicity that we could so well connect with each other. I have never witnessed a young group so aware and ready to embrace change. Each one of them had an open mind, a compassionate heart and hope in their eyes.
As we started with the day, emotions started to surface. A video lecture by Naveen Varshneya 'The cure is within you' helped them turn inwards. When we talk about Mental Health, it encompasses a lot of negative emotions - anger, hopelessness, helplessness, fear and feeling of not being loved. For better understanding kindly listen to this video. This led us to a meditative session. And boom…
Round 1 of the meditative session had mixed feedback. Some felt calm; some could feel their emotions and some had resistance.
Round 2 took them deeper and with the awareness they could talk about it and actually accept it. Isn't it a beautiful feeling to bring into awareness your suppressed emotions and accept them? It is, trust me you can never quantify how liberated a person feels.
In last league, we encouraged the group to speak up and address their fears and doubts in an open discussion forum. Fear of failure, the pressure of managing their parents' expectations and their expectation from themselves, the resentment towards others and themselves, the obsessive comparison, which they indulge into, and the doubts they have about their life. Sharing with you one such story:
ME: Could you meditate? You were restless…
The Young Man: This session reminded me of the time when we got lost while camping and we meditated for quite a few hours.
ME: So you are fearful?
The Young Man: I don't know….
His fear of abandonment and loneliness surfaced and he was guided to stay with it and observe his breath. Now this suppressed emotion must be subconsciously staying with him in so many life circumstances and situations. Just imagine its power on his actions and reactions…. Isn't it alarming? Our idea was to identify the root cause of the various mental disorders the youth today is affected by.
Could we make them see what they have been ignoring?
Yes, we believe we surely did make them dive deep in themselves and the results were heartwarming. Smiling faces and Self-accepting adults came out of this session.
For the youth (Not a piece of advice but some guidance):
Have a vision and look at the bigger picture to reach there.
Do not set rigid expectations.
Feel your emotions. Do not suppress them.
Be aware of your beliefs and patterns.
Be in your own company every day for half an hour to an hour.
We took our first step towards this cause, let's together work to give the society healthy and balanced young force.
CAclubindia
