World Change, Mental Body “Manomaya Kosha” and Tantra
It is easy to be upset when there are obvious things to be upset about. When the world is moving fast around you and there are a million things to do. When your boss, family, friends, or even a stranger gives you a hard time, there are always problems to be solved. What happens if there are not any problems to be solved? There are always issues in the world to tackle, the environment, human rights people starving! If you are blessed enough to not be without, the right thing to do is help change the world, right?
Distractions are plentiful and never-ending when you find yourself alone with no immediate problem to solve, are you then happy? When your surroundings are still, can you then still your mind? Do you use peaceful moments to think about all the things you need to do? This is the modern way of life for many and it comes as a cost. Our state of consciousness is directly linked to our nervous system. Our nervous system regulates our mind and body systems maintaining a healthy state of homeostasis. Our autonomic nervous system regulates our blood pressure and rate of breathing. Learning how to calm the mind has a profound effect on our overall health and life expectance, energy levels, and emotional state.
In Tantric philosophy, it has long been understood that a healthy mind produces vitality for the body and spirit. The mental body or the Manomaya Kosha is composed of an energy field generated by the mind. This energy field is affected by the person’s current state of mind in Sanskrit called the Manas. the literal meaning for the Manas is to perceive and understand. So how we perceive our reality is literally our state of mind.
The practice of Tantra and healing an agitated state of mind begins with breath awareness. The speed of the mind can be controlled through the practice of pranayama breathing. When we are able to slow down the rate of our mental process we can deepen our awareness of self. The deepened awareness of self allows us to become conscious of the internal workings of our body and our emotional state. Watching our thoughts rather than allowing them to run wild brings us to a more holistic understanding of our own experience internally and externally. This in return lengthens or overall health and vitality and calms an overactive mind. In short when we still the mind we improve the quality of our life in its entirety.
-Goddess Yemaya
