Hi Friends,
Welcome back to my blog on FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. I concluded my last post with a suggestion that we go on a holiday from life. I received some questions on that proposition, some prompted by disbelieve. Well, let's see.
I would like to discuss one spiritual exercise in this post.
What I suggest, to begin with, is that you consider honestly facing up to whatever dissatisfaction you are currently experiencing. It could be circumstantial or existential (our fundamental unhappiness within) or a mix of both.
As you consider your dissatisfaction, it is possible that much of it could be attributed to circumstances - the situation you are in, what other people may have done to cause the unhappiness, or other sources of dissatisfaction. Is it possible to get out of your circumstance? Is it possible to significantly change it? Is it possible to stop dealing with the persons responsible for your misery? Often you have the freedom to exercise some choices, which you are not exercising. That has to be your call. Beyond this, you still have to question yourself. How much of your unhappiness lingers that cannot be further assigned to any situation or person? If you cannot honestly blame anyone, you are possibly at a dead end. But if you honestly reach this point, you have taken the first major step in your journey towards FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. For now you are ready to squarely face the basic human condition.
Many of you are already struggling against a kind of unhappiness that you are not able to ascribe to anyone or any thing external. This probably manifests as unanswered questions about what could be the ultimate purpose of life, a sense of void, hopelessness or anxiety - all uncaused. You are more ready than many others for the next step that I am going to describe in this post.
Now let us come to the first spiritual exercise.
Whenever you find time, settle down in a relaxed position. Do this when you do not have anything pressing to do or engaging your mind. If there is something nagging you, deal with that first.
Now, just focus your attention inwards into your body. Feel yourself as a body. We humans have got so mind identified that we often take our bodies for granted. How often do we just silently observe our hearts beat? Try following the rhythm of the heart beat. Just observe it passively. Don't get involved in it. Gradually you will understand the difference between just observing and getting involved. Notice your inhalation and exhalation. Mentally feel each part of your body. Just observe the liveliness of each part.
Those who are already caught in depression or angst, will be able to feel the pain of our existence. Stay with the pain. Please do not try to analyse anything. The mind just loves it. Be a passive observer of the pain. Focus your attention to whatever psychic pain you feel. Do nothing about it.
Those who consider themselves happy and content and have no complaints against anyone or anything, may also notice some basic discomfort or uneasiness that was probably overlooked before. If this is what you are going through, then you are on track.
What do you do with your mind? Thoughts will keep coming in. Do not fight your mind. Be a passive onlooker of your thoughts. Observe your thought come and go, as you see traffic go past on a road. With time you will be able to master the art of not getting latched on to your thoughts. Yet it is important that you do not try to resist any thought or try to control your mind. Your mind may try its best to attribute whatever discomfort you are feeling, to things external or other persons. Instead of getting into any analysis or causes, just observe the discomfort.
Remember, just like we recognize our hands and feet as parts of our body, try to see your mind also as part of your existence. You are not the hands and feet; they are part of your existence. You can experience them. Similarly, you are not your mind. With practice, you will be able to treat your mind also as an experience of your existence. You are probably too mind identified now. Focusing your attention to various parts of your body helps you to become less mind identified. This is only your first exercise. You will gradually be able to appreciate that you are not your mind. Mind is just a tool available to mankind - a very valuable tool indeed! Just like our hands, feet or eyes. Recall, that in my previous post, I had stated how our body has a role to play in our journey.
With sustained attention to the pain or uneasiness, you will notice that it actually diminishes and may eventually dissolve. If this happens with you, remember, you have just taken the first step. You have embarked on a journey. You have not reached FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS yet. Don't rush to somehow reach the end result. Enjoy the process itself. There are many more steps to be taken. It will take time.
It is best to do this exercise when you are not hard pressed for time and your mind is not preoccupied with anything very pressing or urgent. One good time to do this is when you go to bed at night. Before you start on this, keep away your phones, laptops, iPads or any other gadgets!
You can make this a regular practice. Gradually you will be able to do this exercise wherever you are with some time at your disposal: while traveling, waiting in a queue, even in office, if you have nothing else to do! It will take you some time to reach that state.
While I have described this as an exercise, those of you who are feeling uncaused depression, meaninglessness, emptiness or anxiety, make it your stance to just be with that feeling. Accept it. Do not fight it. Focus your attention to what happens to your body, internally, when you feel the meaninglessness. Accept that the external world is meaningless. The more you try to find meaning, the more you will get caught in the pain of meaninglessness. if you feel depressed, stay with the depression. Do not resist it.
I hope all this is not too much in one post. I have tried my best to ready you through my earlier posts. You can always go back to the previous posts by clicking on the blog archives appearing at the top right corner.
Do share your feedback with me.
Cheers!
Deepak Chatterjee
http://fundamentalhappiness.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/deepak.chatterjee.944
@Deepak33C
Views are personal
Welcome back to my blog on FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. I concluded my last post with a suggestion that we go on a holiday from life. I received some questions on that proposition, some prompted by disbelieve. Well, let's see.
I would like to discuss one spiritual exercise in this post.
What I suggest, to begin with, is that you consider honestly facing up to whatever dissatisfaction you are currently experiencing. It could be circumstantial or existential (our fundamental unhappiness within) or a mix of both.
As you consider your dissatisfaction, it is possible that much of it could be attributed to circumstances - the situation you are in, what other people may have done to cause the unhappiness, or other sources of dissatisfaction. Is it possible to get out of your circumstance? Is it possible to significantly change it? Is it possible to stop dealing with the persons responsible for your misery? Often you have the freedom to exercise some choices, which you are not exercising. That has to be your call. Beyond this, you still have to question yourself. How much of your unhappiness lingers that cannot be further assigned to any situation or person? If you cannot honestly blame anyone, you are possibly at a dead end. But if you honestly reach this point, you have taken the first major step in your journey towards FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS. For now you are ready to squarely face the basic human condition.
Many of you are already struggling against a kind of unhappiness that you are not able to ascribe to anyone or any thing external. This probably manifests as unanswered questions about what could be the ultimate purpose of life, a sense of void, hopelessness or anxiety - all uncaused. You are more ready than many others for the next step that I am going to describe in this post.
Now let us come to the first spiritual exercise.
Whenever you find time, settle down in a relaxed position. Do this when you do not have anything pressing to do or engaging your mind. If there is something nagging you, deal with that first.
Now, just focus your attention inwards into your body. Feel yourself as a body. We humans have got so mind identified that we often take our bodies for granted. How often do we just silently observe our hearts beat? Try following the rhythm of the heart beat. Just observe it passively. Don't get involved in it. Gradually you will understand the difference between just observing and getting involved. Notice your inhalation and exhalation. Mentally feel each part of your body. Just observe the liveliness of each part.
Those who are already caught in depression or angst, will be able to feel the pain of our existence. Stay with the pain. Please do not try to analyse anything. The mind just loves it. Be a passive observer of the pain. Focus your attention to whatever psychic pain you feel. Do nothing about it.
Those who consider themselves happy and content and have no complaints against anyone or anything, may also notice some basic discomfort or uneasiness that was probably overlooked before. If this is what you are going through, then you are on track.
What do you do with your mind? Thoughts will keep coming in. Do not fight your mind. Be a passive onlooker of your thoughts. Observe your thought come and go, as you see traffic go past on a road. With time you will be able to master the art of not getting latched on to your thoughts. Yet it is important that you do not try to resist any thought or try to control your mind. Your mind may try its best to attribute whatever discomfort you are feeling, to things external or other persons. Instead of getting into any analysis or causes, just observe the discomfort.
Remember, just like we recognize our hands and feet as parts of our body, try to see your mind also as part of your existence. You are not the hands and feet; they are part of your existence. You can experience them. Similarly, you are not your mind. With practice, you will be able to treat your mind also as an experience of your existence. You are probably too mind identified now. Focusing your attention to various parts of your body helps you to become less mind identified. This is only your first exercise. You will gradually be able to appreciate that you are not your mind. Mind is just a tool available to mankind - a very valuable tool indeed! Just like our hands, feet or eyes. Recall, that in my previous post, I had stated how our body has a role to play in our journey.
With sustained attention to the pain or uneasiness, you will notice that it actually diminishes and may eventually dissolve. If this happens with you, remember, you have just taken the first step. You have embarked on a journey. You have not reached FUNDAMENTAL HAPPINESS yet. Don't rush to somehow reach the end result. Enjoy the process itself. There are many more steps to be taken. It will take time.
It is best to do this exercise when you are not hard pressed for time and your mind is not preoccupied with anything very pressing or urgent. One good time to do this is when you go to bed at night. Before you start on this, keep away your phones, laptops, iPads or any other gadgets!
You can make this a regular practice. Gradually you will be able to do this exercise wherever you are with some time at your disposal: while traveling, waiting in a queue, even in office, if you have nothing else to do! It will take you some time to reach that state.
While I have described this as an exercise, those of you who are feeling uncaused depression, meaninglessness, emptiness or anxiety, make it your stance to just be with that feeling. Accept it. Do not fight it. Focus your attention to what happens to your body, internally, when you feel the meaninglessness. Accept that the external world is meaningless. The more you try to find meaning, the more you will get caught in the pain of meaninglessness. if you feel depressed, stay with the depression. Do not resist it.
I hope all this is not too much in one post. I have tried my best to ready you through my earlier posts. You can always go back to the previous posts by clicking on the blog archives appearing at the top right corner.
Do share your feedback with me.
Cheers!
Deepak Chatterjee
http://fundamentalhappiness.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/deepak.chatterjee.944
@Deepak33C
Views are personal
Sir, faced with uncaused depression, anxiety or emptiness, we tend to run away from it or resist it with something called determination or will power. However these defences actually reinforce the pain and breed conflict. BUT, when we choicelessly observe our state without condemnation or denial, there is an end to conflict. "With the ending of conflict, there is the gathering of a supreme energy which is a form of intelligence.- J Krishnamurty". Your writings are in consonance with this thought.
ReplyDeleteThe use of the word, 'conflict' is very interesting. Actually the conflict is with ourselves. Instead of being in conflict, the idea is to be in oneness with being. Pain is caused because of our 'separateness'. I have only glanced through some books by J Krishnamurthy.
ReplyDeleteProfound insight into human psyche ...!
ReplyDeleteRead on! :-)
Delete