The mind is such a funny thing. It is able to take you high to a pinnacle and bring you down to an extreme low. You may be feeling bright and secure within, and the world around you is a happy one, whereas the same world looks dull and sad when your mind is low and not in your control. I figured a lot about mind control and having to consciously shift your mindset into another perspective.

It reminds me of a “Spot the difference” cartoon, which was given to us once during a meditation course. At that time, I did not comprehend the significance of this drill as well as I can now. There was a person sitting on a bench on a sunny day looking at a view of a garden. There were children chatting and playing, with sunflowers in the background looking happy and bright, up to the blue sky. The person has a bright smile. In the second picture children appear as if they are fighting, the day appears cloudy and the flowers look droopy and old. There is a frown on the person’s face and a question mark on his forehead. I looked at the pictures and found five differentiating factors easily. I found the whole exercise rather absurd. The only difference we were told was the perspective of the viewer because his mindset was not at peace. So the whole world appeared negative.
So does the solution lie in being able to control your mind? To be able to observe and not pull yourself into a subjective state, where emotions control the way you view the world. I have noticed that the one thing that people most admire in another (more than success, wealth or lifestyle) is one’s ability to be calm.
I was responsible for conducting a session on image consultancy with the Miss India contestants this year. When I walked in, they were all looking splendid. I immediately noticed five of them to be stunning and perhaps the winners. My first instinct was to imagine what hairstyles would suit them, and thus I started off by advising each one what would suit not only her cut of face, but also her physical persona.
It was three days before the main contest, and I could feel the anxiety around me. This is the time when the competition starts building up along with the emotions of insecurity and fear.
These negative layers are known to be thick and are capable of hiding one’s inner beauty. The phenomenon of looking over your shoulders at someone else, wondering why she is looking better than you starts coming into play. The girls this time have been great looking and promising. I had one session and I knew what I had to speak to them about. “You are absolutely beautiful women,” I said clearing my throat. “Unique! The way you are, is the reason you are here, not because you look like another. There is nobody like you.”
I went on about my experience at an international pageant long ago, and the experience of trying to squeeze myself out of the walls of fear that were coming down on me due to insecurity and competitiveness. “Connect with the beauty within,” I continued “and feel the emotion of why you have brought yourself here in the first place. Be confident of the person you are and believe you are special.”
I spoke to them about other things like how nervousness affects posture, and gave them tips to make them feel special on the D-day. By now all the experts like Marc Robinson, Dr Pai, Sabira Merchant and others on the panel had perfected their walk, talk and skin. They just needed the right state of mind to see the sunny and bright view like in the first picture.
Seventy per cent of them cried when they spoke after this long session was over. They all looked beautiful. I suddenly could not spot those five stunners any more. Their beauty shone through making them look radiant than.
They spoke with the confidence of women of substance and each looked like she had found her “own” again.