Bakersfield.com

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From the moment we wake up in the morning a lot goes on in our minds worrying us constantly.  Let it be a simple task as brewing coffee to our taste or an important issue like child’s education or saving for retirement.  Food, traffic, work, shopping list, weekend plans, family, relationships, health, social life, gas prices, and deadlines are just a few that occupy our minds and continuously demand our attention.  For many of us, life is like driving in the fast lane, but we are too far from becoming super humans to handle our daily routine efficiently.  As a result a lot of us experience stress and suffer from related physiological and mental disorders. 

When we manage our minds, we manage ourselves and in turn our lives.  This was the topic of the Mind Management workshop held Saturday morning at the Bakersfield Memorial Hospital.  This third annual workshop started with the opening remarks of Bakersfield psychiatrist, Sanjay Vaswani who emphasized the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual effects of stress.  Lobsang Rapgay, Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCLA, gave an insightful lecture on Mindful Living.  He elaborated on the intricacies of the thought process and how awareness of our thoughts and deeds can improve our lives.  Emanuel Maidenberg, Professor from the same department, spoke about Anger and Its Management.  Maidenberg explained anger as one of the protective emotions like fear.  He stressed on the importance of understanding and accepting anger.

Another speaker was Swami Ishwarananda, a Senior Minister of Chinmaya Mission of California.  Ishwarananda stood out among the speakers not just with his strikingly bright saffron robes and well groomed beard and long hair, but also with his lively presentation of Mind Management lecture that had a perfect blend of science, spirituality, practicality and humor.  This software engineer-turned-spiritual leader presented, to a group of a hundred enthusiastic participants, his technique of ‘efficiently worrying’ to manage stress.  When worrying is inevitable, doing it efficiently is his advice.  When worry doesn’t give you a break, you take a worry break.  Allot some time, preferably in the evening when you are relaxing, to think about worries and the action plan.  This way, you do not let your worries interfere with your activities all the time.

Ishwarananda developed the formula, m = ne X r, where m = misery, ne = negative emotions and r = resistance.  When you resist the negative emotions, misery multiplies.  When r is zero, your misery will also be zero.  This is philosophy in a formula.

Carol Ferguson of Channel 29 Eyewitness News acted as master of the ceremony.  Vote of thanks was delivered by Bakersfield gastroenterologist, Anil Mehta.  Participants asked various interesting questions during the panel discussion moderated by Stafford Betty, Professor of Religious Studies, CSUB.  “There seemed to be a lot of hunger for metaphysical issues in addition to questions about anger and its management” said Betty.

Bakersfield resident Stacy Hungerford, who attended the workshop with her husband William, said that she found the information very useful to handle stress and anxiety as they affect our health and living.  “He is a man of the world knowledge, not just religious knowledge,” she said of Swami Ishwarananda.  

Another participant, Lisa Fennimore, has been attending these annual workshops for the last three years.  “Today’s workshop helped me to understand how physical illness is caused by negative emotions.  I have learned some simple solutions (from the presentations) to deal with these emotions” said Fennimore.

“People usually do not pay as much attention to their mental health as they do to their physical health” said Anil Mehta, one of the organizers of the workshop.  “Since mind and body have a strong connection, knowledge of the mind is very important for overall well being.  We are encouraged by the support and interest our community is showing for healthy living.”

“I really learned a lot from the diversity of view points and the wealth of information.  I wish more people attended and benefited from this workshop” said Stacy Hungerford.

This annual workshop is free to attend and was co- sponsored by Chinmaya Mission of Bakersfield and Bakersfield Memorial Hospital.  Information on such future events can be obtained by visiting www.chinmayabakersfield.org.

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Surendra Dara, PhD, is an entomologist and founder of Laugh To Live (www.laughtolive.org).