Smile inside🔗

Once an Indian movie star who had attended one of the meditation programs asked me a very funny question. He asked me, Swamiji, how do you manage to keep smiling all day? Doesn’t it make you tired? I was shocked! It was the first time I had heard of anyone feeling tired because of smiling! Then he explained that when he is shooting, he has to plaster a smile on his face for hours, it made him really tired. Naturally, the facial muscles begin to hurt if you force them into one position like that. Not only the face, the whole body can get exhausted if we make a continuous effort to smile when we don’t feel like it. At least, this person was doing it for his films. We do this even in real life! Most of the time, we smile only with our lips. Very rarely does the smile come from inside us. Actually, faking a smile all the time can be more stressful than just being normal (i.e. grumpy!) So when you’re tired from all the false smiling, unwind with a real smile – from inside.

Lie down or lie back comfortable in a chair. Close your eyes and relax with a gentle sighing sound. Now, start feeling a smile growing inside you. It doesn’t start on your face, but from deep inside you. It is a gentle, delicate smile that is unfolding in your heart. Slowly, it is spreading to every part of your body. Feel the smile warming your limbs. Your whole being is blooming with this beautiful smile. If you can feel it on your lips, let it play there also. But enjoy it within. This smile is not for others; it is for you. Slowly open your eyes. Carry this smile inside you wherever you go.