WORRY is the sympton of the FEAR syndrome which occupies 90% of our emotions. The subject of WORRY was researched over a thousand people and concluded that : 

40% of all worries concern matters that never occur
30% of worries for things that have already occured and can't be changed
12% relate to illnesses, mostly imagined
10% relate to friends, relatives and kids who are probably capable of taking care of themselves
Leaving only 8% as some cause or basis for worry! 

Worries can be dispelled by comparing them to air bubbles in our breath. We can't keep our breath submerged for long and must exhale these. However rather than let these surface we should channelise them into a separate "bag" or  parking place  and dispel the full bag periodically.   Dada Vaswani, the great Hindu sage, prods into realising the uselessness of worry and suggests practical steps to dump the habit. These are:

1. As and when worries show up, immediately throw them into a "worrybin"  with a strong lid
2. Live one day at a time, each day brings its own strength and wisdom to face any problem
3. Count your blessings rather than your problems, otherwise you are prone to depression
4. Develop a healthy sense of humour and keep yourself busy all the time
5. Set aside one day a week to worry and open up the worrybin - by this time most of the worries have evaporated!

Learn to DISCONNECT

Here is what Deepak Chopra, the great New Age Guru, postulates:

In order to acquire anything in the physical world,you have to give up your attachment to it. This does not mean you give up the intention or the desire, but that you give up your attachment to the result.

This is a very powerful thing to do because the moment you combine intention with detachment you will have that which you desire. Anything can be acquired through detachment because this is based on the unquestioning belief in the power of your True Self.

Attachment on the other hand is based on fear and insecurity. It is drawn from poverty consciousness because all attachment is to symbols: cars, houses, money, clothes, airplanes. Symbols are transitory, they come and go. Chasing the symbols creates anxiety and ends up making you empty inside because you have settled for the symbols of the Self in exchange for your True Self .

Detachment is synonymous with wealth consciousness because the True Self is the source of wealth and abundance and now there is freedom to create. Only from detached involvement can you enjoy true joy and then the symbols of wealth are created effortlessly as a byproduct.

True wealth consciousness is the ability to have anything you want and to be grounded into this experience you have to be grounded in the wisdom of uncertainty. In this uncertainty you will find the freedom to create anything you want and won't feel compelled to force solutions. When you force solutions on problems you only create new problems. However when you put your attention on the uncertainty,  are comfortable with it, witness it and wait for the solution to emerge out of the chaos and confusion, then what emerges is something fabulous and exciting.

A profound state of alertness and  preparedness in the present will emerge once your field of uncertainty meets with your goal and your intentions. Attachment saps your energy, however with detachment comes  crystal clear vision. Once you have this perception, you will openup a whole range of possibilities and further unveil the mystery, the wonder, the excitement and the adventure of being alive.

Go beyond I, me, myself

A recent Harvard study identified that information/intelligence accounted for only 15% of worldly success. The balance came from attitude.

The Eastern science of self-management or  Vedanta focuses on attitude and the inner workings of the mind and shows us the way of achieving tranquil mind and sharp intellect.

To start with motivation - what drives most of us forward is the desire for a better car, a bigger house, more money and so on. This fixates you on what you don't have  and agitates the mind. Here Vedanta does the opposite - it fixates you on the infinite  abundance of what you already have. Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart in appreciation of all that the universe has bestowed on you .

Who looks outside dreams. Who looks inside awakens.

From being obsessed with scarcity and fear, you are now in an "always contented" mood and get into a kind of payback mode, to offer your talent as an offering to all those who are part of your welfare. The mind remains calm, creativity is at its highest and you think of solutions that elude a self-centered person.

The meaningful life

Accordingly to Martin Seligman, the father of modern positive psychology  <<The pleasant life  is the hedonistic experience of taking in as many of life's pleasures as possible, and is probably how most people construe happiness.Then there is the good life  -getting absorbed and losing yourself in the things you do best - all the better if this helps others. Finally the meaningful life - here identifying with a cause or an institution supplies a sense of belonging to something much bigger than you are. >>

The upshot:

Awake - the pleasant life is not the path to reaching pure happiness, but a vortex of intoxication
Aspire - keep the goals in sight, do your best however with detachment  to lead the good life  
Achieve - more than simply passive experience. Because happiness is not merely a quest but a conquest to go beyond hedonism, and reach out to the meangingful life which disciplines us, purifies and therefore strengthens us. It teaches us sympathy and love and without love none may be truly happy.

Prayer

Prayer is but a thought repeated with fervour. Between the myriads of mechanical and meaningless repetitions, there are moments this is heartfelt and is an outpouring of the soul.

Physically, prayer provides a unity and focus on the body's trillions of cells to join together for a common purpose.

When prayer is decoupled from I, me, myself and attachment to the outcome, it becomes a very powerful release of the energy within us to achieve what we want. A purity of purpose looms and harnesses not only the hidden powers of the self, but of the entire universe to conspire in the unfolding drama. Thoughts (from prayer or otherwise), have potency not only for the person thinking them, but also to influence the surroundings.

A sensitive mind easily absorbs the vibrations emanating from the thoughts of the people it associates with. After all,  visits to holy pilgrimages are made because the  visitors soak up the positive vibrations of faith. Plants, trees, animals all respond to thought. Deep thought and the prayer that goes with it has the ability to extract knowledge from a higher dimension.

The sense of relationship and communion  with a divine being has deep psychological benefits. Prayer can organise anxieties, alleviate worries, offer a sense of comfort and connection, and solidify communities.

In the end, prayer is about realms of consciousness as yet unexplored - be it the spirit or soul or some yet unlabelled transcendent part of being. Whether or not prayers are actually answered does not matter to the true believers - the act supercharges the soul into the positive effects of gratitude, hope, purpose and renews the energy of the supplicant. 

 Visit  http://1stholistic.com/Prayer/default.htm  for added information on prayer.   

Meditation

Finally, perhaps the most powerful gift from the East to the West is meditation - this is a whole field of its own long-reaching benefits and is a gradual process of self-discovery.