In the world we live in, it’s easy to get caught up in the past, dwelling on missed opportunities, regrets and failures. However, living in the present is essential for personal growth, happiness and overall well-being. 

Here are 10 practical tips to help you live more fully in the present:

1. Acceptance
Begin by accepting that the past is gone and cannot be changed. Embrace the lessons it has taught you and use that knowledge to fuel your growth.

2. Practise Mindfulness
Cultivate mindfulness by bringing your awareness to the present moment. Practise meditation and pranayama to help you focus on your breath and the sensations in your body.

3. Be Grateful
Focus on the positives in your life by practising gratitude. Acknowledge the blessings you have received and the progress you’ve made.

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A beggar was living on a city footpath for many years. As a stranger passed by, the beggar asked him, “Sir, will you spare some coins for me?” The stranger replied, “I don’t have any change with me. But what is that box on which you are sitting?” “I don’t know. It has been there for so many years.” But the stranger encouraged him to open it, and with some difficulty, they together opened it and were quite taken aback. It was full of gold!

As you have begun the new academic year, it is worth considering the above story taken from the famous book The Power of Now by the British author Eckhart Tolle. In the book, Eckhart exhorts us to be aware, awake, and fully present in the moment we live. The present moment is all we will ever have, so live in the here and now. Yet, people spend a lot of time thinking and planning their future. If you take a break and listen to your mind for 10 minutes, you will notice that your mind repeatedly speaks about the same things.

Your present moment is putting foundation to your future. Unlike animals, human beings are gifted with a higher level of consciousness which is fashioning your life. What you repeatedly think today will be unfolded in your life in the coming days. A rich man’s son thinks in the present moment that he will be rich like his father. A poor man’s son thinks that he will not be able to become like that rich man.

The greatest treasure that everyone owns is one’s consciousness of NOW, by which one can alter one’s destiny. You and your mind are not one but distinct and independent. Your identity is separate from your mind, thoughts, and perceptions. If you watch your mind silently, with eyes closed, you will observe how it loves to escape either to the past regrets or future worries. So, it is challenging to become conscious of the present moment and to observe our thoughts without judgement.

Therefore, silently watch your thoughts. This way, you can have mastery over your thoughts, retaining those that help your happiness, and rejecting what is harmful. You are helpless regarding your past or future, but you can handle the present moment now when you can deliberately insert a great idea or delete negative ones. So, fill your present moment with those thoughts which you wish your mind to dwell in. All the things that you see around were built, discovered or invented by creating the mental images at their present moment and pursuing them moment after moment.

In this issue, we happily present the great story of Kaavya Karthikeyan, who conquered Mt Everest in her mind years before she actually reached there on 20th May 2024. The story of Elon Musk too is the same. So remember, you are sitting on the treasure box of NOW! The same is possible for you in every aspect of your life. Give it a try!

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By nature, humans are friendly, pleasure-seeking, compassionate, kind, giving and forgiving creatures. Our “nature” or personality really comprises of unique inclinations that we cultivate in our thinking, feeling, and behaving to serve ourselves as well as connect with the larger world around us. Yet, from infancy and childhood, as we advance into teenage and adulthood, seeds of negativism begin to sprout. And some of them blossom into large spanning trees that colour our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours negatively. This unconstructive thinking clouds rational judgement and interferes with personal, academic, and interpersonal advancement.

You don’t feel good when you’re angry, sad, frustrated, upset, jealous or aggressive, right? By repeatedly feeling these negative emotions you could develop a thinking error that is commonly called a negativity bias. Like an anchor that locks the ship at sea, this makes you focus on that one bad thing even if there is a mountain of good things right in front of you. Think about the following situations:

• When your teacher (who always loves your work) told you once that your assignment wasn’t good enough, you can’t stop thinking about how bad you are.
• When your best friend’s invitation to a party does not reach you due to a technical glitch, you think that your friendship has ended.
• When you were asked to speak in front of the class, and your mind went blank, and you could not think of what to say, you felt like you were stupid.
• You said something about a friend in front of everyone that embarrassed him, and now you feel you cannot face your friends anymore, ever again.
• Your parents did not acknowledge your dance performance and you thought that nobody ever appreciates you or notices that you’re good at what you do.

All of them may have made you feel like you are not good enough or others are insufficient and that the world is an unfair place. You could become cynical and passive-aggressive too. You might change your outlook towards yourself and others and become pessimistic or negative. However, with deliberate effort and practice, you can learn to let go of negative thoughts and create a more optimistic outlook towards your life, irrespective of the bad that happens to or around you.

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Do exams, whether unit tests or finals, stress you out?
Not enough likes on social media, does it stress you out?
Does your parent’s behaviour stress you out?
Do your relationships stress you out?

If your answer to any of the above is yes, then this article is for you.

In today’s fast-paced world, teenagers face an increasing amount of stress from various sources. Academic pressures, social expectations and personal challenges can take a toll on their mental well-being. While stress is a normal part of life, it’s crucial for teenagers to develop healthy coping mechanisms.

Here, we will explore five mindful de-stressors — positive ways for teenagers to unwind and restore balance in their lives. By embracing these techniques, teens can cultivate a greater sense of calm, boost their overall well-being, and navigate the challenges they encounter with resilience.

1. Engaging in Physical Activities

Physical exercise is not only essential for maintaining good physical health, but it also plays a significant role in reducing stress and improving mental well-being. Choose any physical activity that you like and enjoy, such as cycling, swimming, dancing, or practising yoga. Hiking and going on long walks, either alone or with friends, can also be considered. If you don’t like such activities, you can think of dancing or gymnastics. Choose any activity that you can continue to do over a long period. If you like the activity, there are chances that you will continue to do it. These activities can release endorphins, the body’s natural mood elevators, and provide a sense of accomplishment and relaxation.

2. Exploring Creative Outlets

Creativity is a fantastic outlet for stress relief and self-expression. Explore creative activities that resonate with your interests, such as painting, drawing, writing, playing a musical instrument, or engaging in crafts. Check for classes near your residence for these activities, or explore YouTube videos under the title DIY.

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The teenage years are filled with newfound ideas, freedoms, experiences, relationships and discoveries about self and others that were never noticed before, as well as learning to create and nurture relationships. They are also filled with angst, self-doubt, insecurities, social issues, school or college struggles and relationship challenges. Relationship challenges can be with newfound friends and old friends whose values seem to have changed, parents and siblings who are themselves becoming teenagers! Sometimes it is through these struggles that relationships become stronger and last a lifetime. Let’s take a look at how we can ensure that we not just retain but also nurture our relationships through mindfulness.

Mindfulness simply means to be present and engaged, to pay attention, to be aware and conscious of your actions. When you apply these behaviours to your relationships, they can only grow stronger.

Here are five tips to strengthen your relationships:

1. Mindful conversations

Try and remember the last time you had a deep conversation with your friends or family. Be mindful of every moment you spend with them. Do you look at your mobile when you are talking with your family or friends? The phone can be a great distraction. When we don’t look at those with whom we speak with, we lose many verbal cues that can help us connect and strengthen relationships. Be mindful of your habit of losing yourself in your mobile. Take the time to connect with your family and friends and see how meaningful the conversations become.

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Mindfulness means focusing on the present moment while calmly acknowledging and accepting your feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. The tenets of mindfulness apply to mindful eating too, but the concept of mindful eating goes beyond just eating food. Mindful eating means being fully attentive to your food — as you buy, prepare, serve and consume it. Let’s see how mindfulness helps us. 

1. Eating slowly

Do you wonder why your parents insist that you eat slowly?
Here’s why. Science has shown that the body takes 20 minutes to send a signal to the brain to say that it is full. So, when we eat quickly, we tend to overeat simply because we don’t realise that we are full.

2. Chew your food 20 times

Why is this so important? When you chew your food, the saliva gets a chance to mix with your food and helps in the digestion process. Many digestion-related problems, including weight gain or weight loss, occur due to food not being digested properly.  

3. Distractions

Why is it important to put away that phone while you eat? When you are distracted with your phone, you are not paying attention to the food that you are eating. There is a high chance of you missing the signals that your body is giving you when you are distracted. Enjoy the company and the food completely. This will help you slow down too.

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“Money doesn’t grow on trees!”
“When you start earning, you will understand the value of money!”
“A penny saved is a penny earned!”

Have you had any of the above sentences said to you? If yes, this article is for you.

Mindfulness about money is not just awareness about the money that you have. It revolves around your emotions, actions, beliefs and thoughts related to money, too. Do you get stressed every time you think about money? Or do you truly believe that whenever you need money, you will manage to get it from someone? Change your thoughts about money by thinking positively and bring abundance to yourself.

Here are 7 tips for teenagers that teach mindfulness about money:

1. Budget

How to: Whether you are getting pocket money or earning a salary at a part-time job, budget your expenses. Decide how much you will spend on various types of expenses and stick to those budgets. For example, decide on a certain amount of your earnings for food, travel, clothes, gifts for friends, etc. This ensures that you don’t go overboard on any one category. Identify your discretionary spending, such as entertainment, eating out with friends, etc. Set a certain amount or percentage that you will spend on discretionary spending and don’t go over those self-imposed limits.

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“Teenagers today really don’t know how to behave when guests visit!”
“Teenagers today just don’t listen to anything we say!”
“Teenagers today just don’t care about anything and don’t want to learn anything new!”

Have you had any of the above sentences said to you or about you? If yes, this article is for you.

When it comes to social skills, teenagers are often seen as awkward, inexperienced and sometimes downright rude.

Teenage years are fraught with social anxiety. Peer relationships are very important for teenagers and now technology plays a major role in these social relationships. On the one hand, social media helps teenagers get in touch with their peers and others whom they wouldn’t be able to interact with without social media; on the other hand, social media cuts teens away from those they are present with physically! They get so involved with social media that they don’t realise when they are ignoring the people around them, and this includes their peers sometimes!

However, social skills are just like any other skill — they can be learned and practised until they become one’s second nature. Here are 7 tips for teenagers that address the bad rap and improve their social skills:

1. “Teenagers today don’t know how to behave when guests visit!”

Be present: When you talk to someone, give them your full attention. Put away your phone for a little bit. It’s okay to spend less time with them while giving them your full attention rather than being with them for a long time without paying attention to them.

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