The Mind Monitoring App, Staffanstorp (2025)

09/06/2024

Most of us go through the experience of stress and anxiety at some point in our lives. Though their sources are different, often stress and anxiety can be confused with each other because of the similarities in their symptoms. For instance, many of the emotional and physical symptoms like restlessness, loss of appetite, uneasiness, tension, headaches, high blood pressure, loss of sleep, etc., are shared by both stress and anxiety. However, both stress and anxiety are different.
Stress is our body’s way of preparing itself for an eventuality. It is our response to internal or external stimuli called “stressors.” For instance, stressors could be situations such as a tight deadline at work or a public speech that has to be delivered. Stress subsides once the stressor has been removed. So, after delivering that nerve-racking public speech, you would certainly experience a decrease in stress. Though moderate stress can help us meet challenges in our lives, care should be taken to ensure that it does not develop into excessive or chronic stress, which is a state where you remain stressed-out frequently.

Anxiety, on the other hand, is triggered without the presence of any external stressors. It is a group of feelings that we experience when there are no obvious stressors. Anxiety is associated with excessive fear and worry about what might happen, even in the absence of a threatening situation Unlike stress, anxiety persists longer. In more severe cases, it can escalate into anxiety disorders.

Since stress is connected to the number and intensity of thoughts that we have in our mind at a certain point in time, Mind Monitoring suggests the "Thought Hunter Meditation" to dissociate from them.

Since anxiety is connected to feelings, Mind Monitoring suggests the "Emotional Health Check Meditation" to periodically assess your emotional state of mind.

Stay happy, celebrate life! :)

25/05/2024

There is a saying that there are two kinds of people. The first are those who are genuinely rich and the second are those who act rich.

Similarly, when it comes to living one's life, there are two kinds of people. One kind dares to live their life according to their own understanding of their personality, and the others get swayed by the opinions, expectations, and mindsets of others or society at large.

Those who live their lives according to how they would like to live it are usually happy. They don't need to draw inspiration from others or from their surroundings or situations. Since there is a harmony between how they perceive themselves and how they live, there is an internal peace that propels them forward. To them, life is time that needs to be spent well. To them, every day is something to rise up for.

On the other hand, people who get swayed by others' opinions and expectations lack a constant sense of harmony in their minds. They are very sensitive to how others perceive them and hence their internal harmony is very much dependent on how they think others perceive them. An innocent remark or mild criticism can disturb this harmony, making them highly sensitive.

To understand what one truly wants, one needs to understand the attributes of one's personality. And to truly get a handle on one's personality, one needs to observe it in silence. One needs to watch how it interacts with the world, what triggers it, what propels it. Such observation leads to genuine understanding, like: Do I have an emotional or logical personality? Is my personality creative or methodical? Is my personality a team player or a solo player? When do I experience true harmony... on doing what?

To observe one's personality going around and interacting with the world, one must be self-aware. And to hone the skill of self-awareness, one must spend time with oneself.

And spending time with oneself yields results much greater than you expect.

Stay Happy! Celebrate life!

27/04/2024

Relationships are about caring and sharing. When a person does not have anything but unhappiness and negativity to share, that relationship may not last long. This is because a reasonable amount of positivity is needed in a relationship to face the challenges that the world throws at it. Hope can survive only in positive minds, and hope is the energy that drives us forward and propels us to overcome obstacles and challenges in our lives. Hence, it is always advisable to work on one's unhappiness and resentment before getting into a relationship. Assuming that a relationship is going to be this magic antidote that will fix your issues could be a misguided understanding of yourself, which could push not only you but also your partner into an unpleasant entanglement.

To remove anger, unhappiness, and other unpleasantness in your personality, you would need to work on your mind/ego/person. This involves spending reasonable time observing your mind in play, that is, observing your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and sensations. This observation will gradually settle your mind and will make it less jittery. As your mind rewires, fresh shoots of positivity begin to emerge. Over time, you will realize that you like spending time with your personality.

Your mind is now ready for a relationship, and you are perfectly ready to share your positivity and your life with your deserving partner.

Stay happy! Celebrate life!

07/04/2024

Mind Monitoring clearly differentiates between excitement and happiness. Excitement is the joy that we experience from objects external to us. This includes people, places, events, thoughts, and material objects. The joy that we derive from these external entities is time-bound ,and disappears after a while. The joy that we experience from the fun-filled parties we have with friends, the excitement of a newly bought home, the exhilaration of a new relationship, the appreciation that we receive from our fellow beings, the elation of a newly bought vehicle - all will slowly wither with time. But that does not mean that we should not value them. Joy, though from external objects, presents us with positivity that is very much needed to face our day-to-day challenges. So enjoy them to the fullest. However, we should understand that they only last for a while. We should also understand that our mind can play some tricks on us when it comes to these temporary elations. Mistaking excitement for happiness, our minds can urge us to consistently seek new things, events, and relationships. For instance, the joy we receive from impressing others (for recognition), can force us to splurge money that we don't have and buy stuff that we don't need. The seeking out of excitements from new relationships can leave us an emotional wreck. The bottom line is that if not questioned, these mental urges can land us in economic and emotional quagmires.
Happiness, on the other hand, is a backdrop of fulfillment, contentment, and peace. Behind the emotional dramas of the mind, this backdrop provides us with a consistency made of peace and positivity. So whenever our mind is turbulent, all we need to do is reach out to this backdrop of stillness and peace. To reach there, all we need to do is to sit in silence with our sense of presence. When all thoughts disappear and our ego deflates, all our worries and desires will gradually melt away.

Stay happy! Celebrate life!

01/04/2024

Everyone is fighting their own battles in this life. Everyone has their own challenges to face. Comparing one's life to another is one of the greatest injustices that one can do to oneself.

What we may find as alluring and glittering in another person's life might not be as alluring on the inside. We need to be aware of the negative impacts of social media and how it can trigger envy and negativity in us. We need to understand that those glittering and glamorous posts may not convey all the truth. We need to understand that comparison can only lead to negative thoughts, and nothing good emerges from negativity. Instead of allowing our minds to generate envious thoughts that only spoil our minds, we need to train them to generate gratitude. Instead of lamenting about the deficiencies in our lives, we need to train them to celebrate each and every moment of our existence, which is running out every moment. We need to understand that the reason why we indulge in comparison is that we let our attention wander around us too much rather than training it to look back at ourselves. We sometimes forget that true happiness has nothing to do with external objects. It is all about the peace and contentment that are generated inside ourselves by spending time with our sense of presence.

So the moment that we catch our minds going about with unhealthy comparisons, we need to remind them that we are "Not Interested" (Have a look at the "Not Interested" meditation). Also, we need to reignite the "Observer" in us by calmly observing our minds at play. When our minds settle down, what we experience is true happiness generated from thoughtless existence.

Stay happy! Celebrate life :)

16/03/2024

Do you ever feel like the weight of the world's problems is crushing down on you? It's tough out there, with all the crazy stuff happening around us. You've got conflicts, disasters, you name it—it's enough to make anyone feel anxious and down.

But here's the thing: while it's important to care about what's going on, carrying all that baggage around in your head isn't doing you any favors. It's like being that frog in the boiling pot, you know? You don't even realize how negative you're getting until it's too late.

So, how do we deal with this mess without letting it mess us up? Well, imagine taking a step back and watching the world like it's a big show. As Nissargadutta, the enlightened master on whom the book I am THAT is based, says and I quote “ If you stand aloof as an observer only, you will not suffer. You will see the world as a show. All happens as if there is a mysterious power that creates and moves everything. Realize that you are not the mover, only the observer, and you will be at peace. Do your work in the world, but inwardly keep quiet.” What he says is that if you can be an observer, not a participant in all the drama, you'll find peace. It's like doing your thing in the world but keeping your cool on the inside.

By practicing this observer mindset, we can shake off all that mental anguish and actually feel better. We're not ignoring the world's problems; we're just refusing to let them drag us down.

So keep on practicing the Observer Meditation and remain an observer..

Stay chill, stay happy!

10/03/2024

Mind Monitoring focuses a lot on the emotions that become the source of anger.
By recognizing and monitoring these emotions, it would be possible to prevent them from generating anger.
However it is quite natural that regardless of how well we monitor them, we could get angry.
And that is quite OK as long as it is possible for us to get out of that anger.
And if we are unable to get out of that anger, it can blow up into rage destroying our relationships and even lives.

In order to get us out of anger, we use the Dissociation Technique.
The technique sounds easy but it needs practice.
When you are angry, just look at the anger. Watch it, Observe it. You will find that immediately you will get detached from anger.

But how is that possible?
Well we learned previously that the more angry we get, the more focused we become. By observing our anger, we disrupt this focus. This lets the energy that was built up by extreme focus, fizzle away.

In the book “ I am that”, Nissargadutta, the enlightened master, explains this technique in detail.
He says “ If you are angry or in pain, separate yourself from anger and pain and watch them. Externalization is the first step to liberation. Step away and look.”
This distancing, stops us from identifying with anger. When we identify ourselves with anger we are its slave and when we stand apart from anger, we are its master.

As with every skill, we need to train ourselves to detach ourselves from anger.
If we analyze further we would notice that there are two virtues needed here: One we need to increase our self-awareness so that we realize that we are getting angry and second, we need to use the dissociation technique to create a distance between anger and ourselves

Stay happy & celebrate life!

# technique

02/03/2024

We have learned that anger is a secondary emotion that is triggered by primary emotions like disappointment, sadness, humiliation etc.

We also know that once in a while we all get angry. And this is quite OK, as long as anger is expressed constructively.
It becomes an issue when anger gets transformed into rage. This transformation from anger to rage happens in a matter of seconds. Rage is the extreme and violent form of anger which can unleash massive destruction with the potential to destroy lives and relationships.

Hence it is vital to understand a bit more about anger and its transformation to rage.
If you observe closely, you would notice that when we are angry, our level of focus increases.
The more angry we get the more focused we become. This focus can create a couple of issues for us. First, it generates a tunnel vision that cuts us off from the ground realities .
This decreases our general awareness of the situation. Secondly this increased focus increases the pent up energy associated with anger. So the more angry we are the more focused we become and the more energy we possess.
The combination of these two, i.e. increased tunnel vision and the built-up of energy within us, results in an explosive combination. This is what we call the Rage, which is uncontrollable anger.
Rage results in a lack of judgement. This is when we say we’ve lost it. We’ve lost all self-control. This loss of judgement pushes us to temporary madness and this is when we carry out terrible deeds. Hence rage mostly results in violence and aggression.
So if you’ve wondered how an otherwise sensible person has ended up doing certain things that were never expected of him, well this is how.

Mind Monitoring prevents us from reaching this state of rage by not only monitoring our emotions but also presenting us with the "Dissociation Technique" to help us dissociate from anger so that it does not flare up into rage.
We will look at this technique shortly.

Take it easy and celebrate life!

17/02/2024

The first tip to have a happy and contented life is this - Do not give over importance to others!!

This may sound mundane and dry. Yet this is one of the fundamental steps towards a happy life.
When you stop giving too much importance to what others think or say about you, the level of freedom that you enjoy also increases. Freedom is nothing but another shade of happiness.

Remember one thing. No matter what you do or do not do, no matter what intentions you have or do not have, people will judge you and people will have opinions about you.
That is how the world is! The earlier you accept that fact, the earlier you can position your mind to address these judegments, criticisms and opinions.

But mind is fragile and to handle the judegments of the world, you would need to make it strong.
How do you make your mind strong? You make it strong by giving it the company of your awareness!
Establish a routine to sit quitely and observe your mind.. just like a parent observes his/her child play. Observe the coming and going of thoughts, observe the emotions, the feelings they generate.
Be with your mind, be with the personality that you THINK you are. and just as the tired kid returns to his/her parent, observe the mind subside in your awareness, observe those thoughts dissappear...
This company assures the mind/personality/ego that no matter whatever happens, you the awareness will always be with it.
This will give your mind the courage and the ability to pursue its likes without the fear of being judged, as long its acts do not hurt people, and are ethically and legally right.

This will give you the courage to find those nudgets of golden times in your life.
This will give you the oppurtunities to do what you love doing and meet those like minded souls with whom you can share the joy of your pursuit and happiness.

Celebrate your existence! Celebrate life!

04/02/2024

We learned earlier how we can identify negative thoughts. We call them negative because they are pessimistic, self-critical, and tend to focus on the downside of situations. These thoughts can contribute to feelings of anxiety, stress, sadness, or a generally negative outlook on life.
Some examples of negative thoughts are:
"I'm always wrong; nobody values my opinions."
"I know I'll fail the exam, so there's no point in studying."
"My colleague didn't say 'hello' because they must be mad at me."
"I'll never be as successful as them."
"I must excel in every aspect of my life, or I'm a complete failure."
"I'm only attractive if others say I am."
"If I don't look perfect, I'm not a worthwhile person."
"They did not invite me because i am not good looking."

We also learned how to identify negative people.
We call them negative because their minds are habituated to generate negative thoughts and hence negativity in general (Scroll down to earlier posts to know more about negativity).
Both negative thoughts and association with negative people can impact our mental wellbeing.

So the question is, if you could identify negative thoughts is it possible for us to reduce them?.
The answer is an astounding YES!
Since mind is habitual in nature, it is very much possible to change its habit of generating negative thoughts.
The first step is to develop the skill of identifying such negative thoughts. For that, you need to monitor the thoughts that your mind generates. Whenever you catch a negative thought you strongly tell your mind "Not Interested"
This gives a strong indication to the mind that you do not entertain such thoughts that it generates.
Also congratulate yourself for spotting this thought, for you are opening up the door to a happy existence. Whenever negativity arises, use this technique and you would be amazed to find the results.
As your mind realizes that there are no takers for these thoughts, it gradually stops generating them. Just like a filter in a water tank filters out the dirt, this meditation filters out the negativity from your lives!

Remain happy.. celebrate life!

20/01/2024

Many people have this question: How to reach the state of thoughtlessness and relaxation?
This meditational tip is going to take you to the space between thoughts. This state is nothing but pure awareness. Mind Monitoring calls this the "Home Base" - a secure, relaxing space that you can return to from all the toils and turbulations of life.

So here is how you do it. Select a peaceful place and sit comfortably. The sitting posture is not important.

Now, close your eyes and ask yourself: "What is the next thought that I am going to have?"

You would be surprised to note that this observation will immediately make your mind go blank! It will become empty!!

When the mind starts to generate thoughts again, repeat this question and observation. This will extend the emptiness of your mind.

This is the basis of "Thought Hunter meditation" that removes all thoughts and hence all the associated stress in life.

Soon, it would become very easy to slip into this state of awareness and sheer relaxation. Shoots of happiness will begin to emerge from you.

Your mind and hence your personality undergo pleasant changes, and you will begin to enjoy life better.

Celebrate your life!

18/11/2023

How can i prepare myself for a fruitful relationship?

Relationship is the coming together of two personalities that change over time. In order to have a stable, fruitful and long relationship, you need to prepare your personality for it.

The first thing to do is to come up with a list of values in your life that you will never compromise in a relationship
These values create a framework within which you would be comfortable to live your life as a partner.

For e.g., The need to be respected, need to be loved, need to be independent (both personal and financial), need to have a open, intimidation-free environment for communication etc. may be a few of those values that you can define that your relationship need to fulfil. All these needs need to be communicated to your partner personality and need to be agreed upon.

During the course of your relationship if any of your defined values are compromised, you would need to take this up with your partner personality and an open-minded discussion should ensue to reassure the commitment of your partner personality on those values.

If you personality is continuously disrespected, then you may need to take another look at the viability of your relationship.

To stay true to yourself, you need to connect to yourself. A strong connection with your sense of being increases your mental strength.
Spend 15 minutes everyday to connect to yourself. Try the "Thought Hunter meditation" on the Mind Monitoring App to establish this connection.
Thought Hunter meditation is extremely effective especially for those who are new to meditation.

Remain as your true self to support your personality!

05/11/2023

We all face problems in our lives. How we handle them shows whether we're good at finding solutions. Let's look at the traits of a solution-oriented person.

Solution-oriented personalities face problems head-on . They don't make excuses to run away from issues.
They focus on the problem, not on blaming others.
They look at problems with facts, not emotions.
This approach reduces drama and finger-pointing.
They focus on finding solutions, not dwelling on past problems.
They have a positive attitude, which helps them solve problems.
They don't play the victim.
They often have high emotional intelligence, helping them control situations and people.

In order to posses a solution oriented personality, we need to have a high level of emotional intelligence. And emotional intelligence is only possible if we have both social and self awareness.

To cultivate self awareness, we need to train ourselves to connect with our sense of presence. This training involves sitting in silence everyday for a few minutes and observing our sense of presence.

Stay peaceful!

29/10/2023

Attention is your greatest asset. It is like the investment capital of a company.
What that capital is invested in will determine what results it will bring.

If you withdraw your attention, you get a wandering mind.
If you invest your attention on negative thoughts, it will give you a negative mind.
If you invest your attention on emotional dramas, you get a turbulent, jittery mind.
If you invest your attention on problem solving , it will give you a solution-oriented mind.
If you invest your attention on empathy, you get a soft and sensitive mind.
If you invest your attention on any external objects/things you get a concentrating mind.
If you invest your attention on your sense of presence you get a meditative mind.

From the stand-point of your sense of presence, if you invest your attention on feelings, all your bad/negative feelings will disappear. This is the basis of Emotional Health Check meditation.
From the stand-point of your sense of presence, if you invest your attention on the coming and going of thoughts, they disappear too. This is the basis of Observer Meditation.

The more you invest your attention on your sense of presence you get a more relaxed and happy mind.
Stay happy!

22/10/2023

Our mind is programmed for two things: comfort and safety. Uncertainty means that the mind doesn't have information to ensure safety and hence, it becomes confused and starts triggering feelings of anxiety. And as you know, anxiety is the feeling that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen. Hence, uncertainty often results in unpleasant experiences.

So what can we do to alleviate the anxieties triggered by uncertainty?

Try out the following:

1. Amidst the clouds of uncertainty, find out what small aspects we can be certain about to reduce the size of uncertainty and hence anxiety.

2. Plan for uncertainty. We all may need to go through uncertain times and it would be better to prepare ourselves with mitigation plans, if any.

3. Connect with the one and only thing that is certain - Your sense of presence. Everything in this world changes, including your personality, your body, the world, your thoughts, feelings, sensations... But your sense of presence will NEVER change. It is the constancy that is the remedy for uncertain times. Spend at least 15 minutes every day with it. Make it your true friend. Converse with it in affection in the language that it knows - SILENCE!

08/10/2023

Internal conflicts are a common aspect of our experience, emerging from various sources that challenge our ethics, values, and perception of reality. These conflicts often lead to confusion, which in turn, fosters uncertainty. Since our brains are not wired to properly handle uncertainty, they generrate anxiety, and even stress and anger.

Here are the 3 primary sources of internal conflicts.

1. Conflicting Ethics and Values

One primary source of internal conflict emerges when external pressures compel us to act or think in ways that contradict our deeply-held ethics and values. Such conflicts force us to question our integrity, creating a sense of inner turmoil.

2. Desires vs. Loyalty and Expectations

Another source of internal strife arises when our personal desires or beliefs clash with our obligations, loyalty to others, or societal expectations. This can create inner tension as we grapple with competing demands on our identity.

3. Discrepancy Between Reality and Conditioning

Internal conflicts can also originate from a misalignment between the reality we encounter in the world and the beliefs or conditioning we've received throughout our lives. The discovery of such discrepancies can be disorienting and unsettling.

Resolving Internal Conflicts

To mitigate the detrimental effects of internal conflicts, we must cultivate a sense of presence. This practice involves diminishing the dominance of our ego, reducing our desires, and allowing for increased insights and intuitions. Insights and intuition often serve as invaluable resources for resolving inner turmoil. Try out the Thought-Hunter meditation or The Observer Meditation or simply spend some time every day, witnessing your sense of presence,

Living a mind-monitored life, characterized by self-awareness, can help us navigate internal conflicts with greater ease. Ultimately, this approach leads to a lighter, more contented life, free from the burden of unresolved inner turmoil.

01/10/2023

The mind and its restlessness are the main hindrances when it comes to living a peaceful life. To experiece true peace in your life, you need to reduce this restlessness of the mind.

A mind that is always thinking, plotting, desiring and imagining is always restless and jittery. It is like a disturbed lake.

To reduce the restlessness of your mind, you need to reside in the stillness of your sense of presence.
This creates a detachment from the mind (ie thoughts, feelings and emotions)
The more you are able to detach from the mind the more diluted the mind becomes. A diluted mind is like a still lake.
As your mind gets more and more still and diluted, automagically, peace and tranquility begin to generate in you and you would begin to experience peace as you have never experienced before.

So find some time to invest your attention on your sense of presence or self awareness. Still your mind, and peace will be right around the corner.
Try The Observer Meditation or Thought Hunter meditation. Or simply concentrate on your breath.

All the best!

24/09/2023

Constructive disagreements are inevitable in a healthy relationship, especially in partner relationships.
Disagreements are generally associated with emotions. These emotions can hinder the resolution of the disagreement.
Disagreements can become complicated to resolve if the emotions connected to them are strong.
Moreover, personalities with high levels of insecurities or anger can also make it difficult to resolve disagreements

To effectively handle disagreements in a relationship, one has to learn how to objectively handle them, without allowing the EGO to run loose.
To remain objective, one needs to have situation-awareness and self-awareness.

Situation-awarenss helps to continuously guage the temperature of situation.

Self-awareness allows a person to:
1. Take a look at his/his personality as a external observer thus increasing objectivity
2 Decrease levels of emotions in arguments
3. Ensure that ego is kept in check and not to engage in conversatations with the aim of winning an argument or be over-critical about other(s)
4. Concentrate on the point of disagreement rather than the person with whom he/she is disagreeing.
5. Understand that the other person(s) might be coming from a place of insecurities and/or anxieties, and hence be empathetic to the pain-point(s)raised.
6. Replace as many emotions as possible with facts
7. Be solution oriented.
8. Remain patient, tolerant, empathatic and receptive to ideas (open-mindedness)

Mind Monitoring presents the Observer Meditation that increases self-awareness.
The Observer meditation also decreases/deflates the ego. A reduced ego is one of the best tools in resolving disagreements and embracing life with a sense of light-weightedness.

Have a light-weight, happy living!

The Mind Monitoring App