Finding joy in life at home

Many of us around the world are finding ourselves in the unusual situation of being confined to our homes. When we are confined to our place of residence, it can remind us how much we miss meeting friends, enjoying the freedom of nature - we can even start to miss our work environment and the chance to speak to colleagues. However, whilst we live through this challenging situation, there are a few things we can consider to make the most of the situation.

Routine. If we are not used to being fixed in one place, it can be daunting to have 16 hours to fill. The best way around this is to create a routine, with hour slots for things like exercise, work, study, reading, entertainment, meals. Having a fixed routine helps to avoid falling into a trap of passively looking at screens to pass the time. It can also give a sense of accomplishment if we do our work for a few hours in the morning, we can feel like we deserve some relaxation. Another part of a good routine is to do something different at the weekend - have a day of doing something very different.

Exercise routine. An essential part of any daily routine is having exercise. This can be anything you are able to do. If you are allowed out for one piece of exercise, you will appreciate even more the opportunity to run. Sri Chinmoy encouraged running as an excellent complement to meditation and the inner life. Running helps to clear the mind and cultivate a sense of dynamism.

“In the morning if we can energise ourselves with physical activities, then we can accomplish so many things during the rest of the day. That is why I say sports and physical fitness are of supreme importance. If we neglect the physical and let the body become weak, then the mind also becomes weak.” – Sri Chinmoy

If we are regular, we will feel better for giving the body much-needed exercise. If running is not possible, we can definitely be inventive with home exercise routines, even in the smallest of spaces. There are 650 muscles in the body, try to give them all a workout!

Meditation. If you have never tried meditation before, now is a great opportunity, in that it will be much easier to find time. The best is to choose a fixed time - a time when it will be quieter in the house like early morning is excellent. Generally, it is best to learn to meditate from meeting like-minded people who can offer guidance and meditate in a group. But, since that is not possible at the moment, you can still do your best to learn on your own. Don't worry about how good you are at keeping the mind still. The most important thing is to cultivate the inner hunger and feel meditation can really change your life for the better. We have a home meditation course here.

Singing. It is always good to try something new. Singing can be an excellent way to lift our spirits. Here there are some simple meditation mantras. If you can get into the flow of the mantras you will find you can gain the benefits of meditation without having to worry about quietening the mind so much.

Dealing with stress. This can be a stressful time. We may worry about the health of our friends and relatives, and we may have worries about our own financial situation. For many of us, life has been turned upon its head. Rather than filling our minds with worry and concern, it is better to spend that time offering our goodwill and prayers to our friends and family. When we worry, we only offer a negative energy. Instead of worrying, we can use the same time and energy to offer our concern and best wishes to those around us. This will give a sense of doing something in a positive spirit.

Do you want to be always happy?
Then give up fighting
For negativity
And learn the beautiful art
Of self-encouragement.

Sri Chinmoy

Learn to switch off In these times, we do need to keep up with what is happening in our society, but we don't need to become news addicts, checking our phone several times through the day. Once or twice is best. Avoid scrolling through news feeds and social media - especially first thing in the morning and late at night. If we are filled with anxiety, watching the news or spending too much time reading things online can exacerbate these worries.

Read something new. Many of us are now working online. We work on a computer and we then relax by watching a screen. By the end of our day our eyes can get tired and our head a little fuzzy. Reading a good book is an excellent way to enter another world and escape the world of computers and phones.

Speak to friends. We are social beings, if we are isolated, it is even more important to keep in contact with friends. Sri Chinmoy was a great advocate of speaking on the phone and not relying on impersonal electronic communication. He observed that when we send texts and emails, it only touches the mind of the other person. But, if we speak to a person, we can bring our and their hearts to the fore. It is a good discipline to get in the habit of ringing one friend per day, and seeing how they are getting on. It will give more inspiration than just sending a text.

Related

• From the Front lines at Scottish Poetry Library - Janaka Alan Spence a member of the Edinburgh Sri Chinmoy Centre gives his thoughts on living in lockdown and how he makes use of more time for meditation and singing.
• Home meditation course at Sri Chinmoy Centre.org