“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” With that line from Gautama Buddha, a mental well-being session started at Parul University during International Week 2026 . As led by Dr. Dipal Patel, who has run the university’s psychological services for around 16 years. Her take was super clear and practical: Mental well-being isn’t complicated, and the tools are simpler than we think!
Let’s Explore Positive & Negative Fronts of Mindfulness!
Dr. Dipal Patel busted one of the biggest mindfulness myths doing the rounds online: “Mindfulness doesn’t require yoga mats, special gear, or some next-level breathing techniques.”
It is not necessary to have any specific devices to develop your mindfulness skills.
– Dr. Dipal Patel
Mindfulness can be practiced while speaking or eating. Its true opposite is something we all do: mindless scrolling. When you watch reels for two hours and cannot recall a single one thirty seconds later, that is the absence of mindfulness, because you were never truly present. Mindfulness is simply the reverse: presence in the process.
The Power of Observation
She said, “Self-awareness begins with observation. In today’s times, students are facing pressures, having screen addictions, facing cyberattacks, and having a shortage of real friends. But the best part about life is that a friend can solve anything. To prove how much we miss, she presented a video with 21 hidden changes in the vase, the background, and even the entire body that most people failed to notice. The reason is simple; they weren’t looking for them. Being an observer is the very first step towards helping someone whose silence is hiding a struggle.
A Safe Place to Talk: The In-Sight Cell
Dr. Dipal Patel leads Parul University’s In-Sight Cell, and its rules are designed around one goal: making students feel safe to reach out. As she put it, “no questions asked; we don’t ask their name, department, or enrollment number.” Students can walk in anytime, share their problems, and either find a solution or simply not face the problem alone. The university also runs an online service with a large network of counsellors available around the clock, in multiple languages, so students can speak in the language they are most comfortable in. This service is free, anonymous, genuine, and judgement-free, and it’s a reminder that asking for help is a strength and not a weakness.
Understanding Your Mind: The Iceberg
To explain how the mind works, Dr. Dipal Patel used the famous iceberg model, noting Freud’s insight that “if you know the problem well, half the problem is already solved.” The conscious mind, what we are aware of right now, is only about 10 percent. The subconscious is another small slice. But the unconscious mind is 80 percent of the emotions we feel but can never express. She explained that they get trapped and later surface in odd ways, such as dreams, slips of the tongue, or forgetfulness. Mindfulness is about bringing awareness to all 3 layers.
Know Yourself: The Johari Window
“You cannot pour from an empty cup,” Dr. Dipal Patel said, using the aviation rule- put on your own oxygen mask before helping others- to make the point that self-care comes first. To build self-awareness, she introduced the Johari Window, which divides the self into four areas: the Open Self (what you and others both know), the Blind Self (habits others see but you do not), the Hidden Self (what you know but conceal), and the Unknown Self (what no one yet knows, which surfaces in a crisis). A simple exercise, having others anonymously write how they see you, can reveal your blind spots and how the world actually perceives you.
Three Techniques You Can Use Today
Dr. Dipal Patel taught the delegates, and by extension all of us, three simple, practical techniques for calming the body and mind:
The Body Scan
Sit calmly and comfortably, uncross your arms and legs, and simply close your eyes. Breathe slowly and move your awareness from your toes upward, and try to feel each muscle group. Visualize it releasing from your feet, calves, thighs, stomach, and shoulders and then to your hands and head; that’s how you can release physical tension!
Box Breathing
For moments of stress when you cannot focus: inhale deeply, hold briefly, inhale a little more, then exhale all the air slowly with a soft sighing sound. Making a sound as you exhale, Dr. Dipal Patel noted, is genuinely good for the body. It is a fast way to reset a racing mind.
Grounding With Your Five Senses
When your mind is running too fast, come back to the present through your senses: find five things you can see, touch a few different textures, listen to the sounds around you, notice a smell, and taste something. Engaging all your senses, she said, instantly makes your brain happier, part of why a busy, sensory place like a mall can feel oddly soothing.
Focus, and the Moonwalking Bear
Dr. Dipal Patel showed a second famous video: viewers counting basketball passes almost entirely missed a person in a bear costume moonwalking through the scene. The point was gentle but profound.
We are so busy thinking about the small stuff that we forget to live our life properly.
– Dr. Dipal Patel, Parul University
So preoccupied with daily tension, she said, we fail to notice the beautiful things happening right in front of us. Mindfulness is, in part, simply widening our attention enough to see them.
Six Thinking Hats for Better Decisions
Finally, Dr. Dipal Patel shared a tool for calmer group decisions: Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, where everyone “wears” the same perspective at once to avoid conflict. Using the example of people buying a house together: the White Hat looks only at facts (budget, options); the Red Hat shares feelings; the Black Hat weighs risks; the Yellow Hat looks for benefits; the Green Hat generates creative ideas; and the Blue Hat makes the final decision after reviewing everything. Thinking one “hat” at a time keeps a group focused, reduces arguments, and leads to better decisions.
The Simplest Advice of All
Dr. Dipal Patel ended with a lovely reflection that psychology touches everything: “Psychology is that potato that goes with all the vegetables,” useful whether you teach marketing, engineering, or social work. And her simplest mindfulness tip needs no technique at all: do whatever you do with your full consciousness involved, even resting. If you are tired, she said, just rest fully and completely; that, too, is mindfulness. If you are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a counsellor, a trusted person, or a service like Parul University’s In-Sight Cell; support is always available. Subsequently, if you wish to become a practitioner in this field, then explore psychology programs at Parul University, including the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology, Bachelor of Psychology (B.Psy.), and Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, and build your understanding of human behaviour, mental well-being, self-awareness, and psychological practice.
FAQs
What is mindfulness?
It’s about remaining fully present in whatever you’re doing, whether talking, eating, or resting. It doesn’t require yoga mats or special equipment; mindfulness is simply being present in the process.
What are the mindfulness techniques?
It’s being fully present in whatever you’re doing. Whether talking, eating, or resting, it doesn’t require yoga mats or equipment; one can simply inhale, hold, inhale a little more, and then exhale slowly, and that’s how they can feel better.
What’s the effect of the Johari Window?
It’s a self-awareness tool that bifurcates the self into 4 areas: Open self, blind self, hidden self, and unknown self. To be precise, it helps you understand your blind spot and how others can perceive you!
