#100HappyDays / Day52
Happiness is - "Being guided by my inner voice and affirmations"
There are two specific instances that I want to share in order to describe the moments of happiness for today.
The first one was a beautiful example of how my inner voice guided me. I have a daily Skype call with my parents around 5.00-5:30 pm in the evening. This time is more or less fixed and only deviates if there are conflicting schedules at either end.
Today I finished lunch around 2:30 pm and got this urge to do the Skype earlier. Upon making the call to dad, I found out that my Bhabhi's (sister-in-law) brother had just popped in for 10 minutes along with his wife and both boys. Amol is a very dear friend and to see them all felt wonderful. While talking, my dad also announced that the lovely couple were in town to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary and so that gave me an opportunity to wish them personally.
The second incident was actually an argument between me and Urvashi which threatened to spiral out of control. There were harsh words exchanged (mostly from my side) and in the past the battle of ego's would have continued until things became ugly. Both of us had valid viewpoints but that is what ego is all about - never backs off, never believes or accepts mistakes.
Here is when I remembered one of our self affirmations that we both have a habit now of saying to each other every morning - "I am slowly and steadily removing EGO from myself". That helped us to back off and walk away from the flashpoint to cool things off.
The argument ended and after a few minutes of quiet reflection, I realised my mistake and apologised for my harsh words which were certainly unwarranted and hurtful. In my right mind, I would never have been so rude to Urvashi given everything she means to me.
So I will now complete my atonement by publicly apologising to my sweetheart and also remember another affirmation that we have - "I choose to fill my words with love and joy"
These two examples led me to contemplate on the situations, my behaviour and also the lessons that I need to learn in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
I begin by comparing the natural way of living that I am used to (driven by my mind), vs. the option of following my inner intuition (guided by my voice of conscience). It is only when I observe carefully and notice the consistent trend of divergence of opinion between the two that I am able to understand the facts and differences
Mind:
1) Is aggressive and dominating - attempts to hog the entire time available and keep driving me from one thought to another incessantly
2) Is pre-occupied or programmed to jump from one topic to another and never to focus or concentrate on one topic for long
3) Wants to be entertained each moment - like a child wants to play video games or watch TV instead of studying
4) Does not distinguish between wrong or right i.e. Is happy to take the short cut in order to avoid working hard
5) EGO takes control in case of arguments or fights and tries to win the battle at all cost. Famous Author Dr. Wayne Dyer defines EGO as "Edging God Out"
Swami Vivekananda described the mind thus - "There was a monkey, restless by his own nature, as all monkeys are. As if that were not enough someone made him drink freely of wine, so that he became still more restless. Then a scorpion stung him. When a man is stung by a scorpion, he jumps about for a whole day; so the poor monkey found his condition worse than ever. To complete his misery a demon entered into him. What language can describe the uncontrollable restlessness of that monkey? The human mind is like that monkey"
Conscience or Inner Voice:
1) Is always soothing, soft spoken and gentle. Waits for an opportunity to speak and only gives guidance - does not force any decisions on me
2) Always guides me on the right path irrespective of the difficulty of the circumstances or consequences
3) Focusses on resolving disputes amicably and accepting my own faults and mistakes
4) Does not interfere or overrule my choices anytime. It always waits to be heard rather than imposing itself on my judgement
How often does that quiet inner voice get a chance to speak? When do I get a few precious moment when the mind-chatter quietens and my attention span stretches long enough in order to have a connection established with our inner voice. It happens randomly and without any conscious effort. Mostly, it is pure coincidence and it is completely natural for me to completely miss the distinction between my thoughts (from the mind) and the voice which comes from within heart. It appears as my mind presenting alternative options and more often than not the louder and aggressive voice wins.
On reflection, it comes out clearly that the CHOICE is always with me. Consequently the outcome or the path of my future depends on who I decide to listen to and how I choose to react to each situation.
The final question remains though - how do I make the right CHOICE, especially in situations of emotional turbulence given the accumulated stress of daily life which is interestingly also called a "Grind!"?
There are no magic bullets but it is a journey which can be undertaken by each and everyone of us. The one word that we must remember as a very important state of being comes from Bhagwad Gita - "Stithprajyna" which means "Equanimity" i.e. Keeping calm or retaining poise or balance in all circumstances. This is a simple practice of following the cycle of "Action....reflection....introspection....improvement" repeatedly till we get what we are looking for. In simple terms, override the EGO gradually and reach a balanced state of existence which leads to peace, joy, love and does not diminish any of our productivity towards achieving our worldly goals.
These two moments made for an intriguing but ultimately happy and learning day for me.
Happiness is - "Being guided by my inner voice and affirmations"
There are two specific instances that I want to share in order to describe the moments of happiness for today.
The first one was a beautiful example of how my inner voice guided me. I have a daily Skype call with my parents around 5.00-5:30 pm in the evening. This time is more or less fixed and only deviates if there are conflicting schedules at either end.
Today I finished lunch around 2:30 pm and got this urge to do the Skype earlier. Upon making the call to dad, I found out that my Bhabhi's (sister-in-law) brother had just popped in for 10 minutes along with his wife and both boys. Amol is a very dear friend and to see them all felt wonderful. While talking, my dad also announced that the lovely couple were in town to celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary and so that gave me an opportunity to wish them personally.
The second incident was actually an argument between me and Urvashi which threatened to spiral out of control. There were harsh words exchanged (mostly from my side) and in the past the battle of ego's would have continued until things became ugly. Both of us had valid viewpoints but that is what ego is all about - never backs off, never believes or accepts mistakes.
Here is when I remembered one of our self affirmations that we both have a habit now of saying to each other every morning - "I am slowly and steadily removing EGO from myself". That helped us to back off and walk away from the flashpoint to cool things off.
The argument ended and after a few minutes of quiet reflection, I realised my mistake and apologised for my harsh words which were certainly unwarranted and hurtful. In my right mind, I would never have been so rude to Urvashi given everything she means to me.
So I will now complete my atonement by publicly apologising to my sweetheart and also remember another affirmation that we have - "I choose to fill my words with love and joy"
These two examples led me to contemplate on the situations, my behaviour and also the lessons that I need to learn in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
I begin by comparing the natural way of living that I am used to (driven by my mind), vs. the option of following my inner intuition (guided by my voice of conscience). It is only when I observe carefully and notice the consistent trend of divergence of opinion between the two that I am able to understand the facts and differences
Mind:
1) Is aggressive and dominating - attempts to hog the entire time available and keep driving me from one thought to another incessantly
2) Is pre-occupied or programmed to jump from one topic to another and never to focus or concentrate on one topic for long
3) Wants to be entertained each moment - like a child wants to play video games or watch TV instead of studying
4) Does not distinguish between wrong or right i.e. Is happy to take the short cut in order to avoid working hard
5) EGO takes control in case of arguments or fights and tries to win the battle at all cost. Famous Author Dr. Wayne Dyer defines EGO as "Edging God Out"
Swami Vivekananda described the mind thus - "There was a monkey, restless by his own nature, as all monkeys are. As if that were not enough someone made him drink freely of wine, so that he became still more restless. Then a scorpion stung him. When a man is stung by a scorpion, he jumps about for a whole day; so the poor monkey found his condition worse than ever. To complete his misery a demon entered into him. What language can describe the uncontrollable restlessness of that monkey? The human mind is like that monkey"
Conscience or Inner Voice:
1) Is always soothing, soft spoken and gentle. Waits for an opportunity to speak and only gives guidance - does not force any decisions on me
2) Always guides me on the right path irrespective of the difficulty of the circumstances or consequences
3) Focusses on resolving disputes amicably and accepting my own faults and mistakes
4) Does not interfere or overrule my choices anytime. It always waits to be heard rather than imposing itself on my judgement
How often does that quiet inner voice get a chance to speak? When do I get a few precious moment when the mind-chatter quietens and my attention span stretches long enough in order to have a connection established with our inner voice. It happens randomly and without any conscious effort. Mostly, it is pure coincidence and it is completely natural for me to completely miss the distinction between my thoughts (from the mind) and the voice which comes from within heart. It appears as my mind presenting alternative options and more often than not the louder and aggressive voice wins.
On reflection, it comes out clearly that the CHOICE is always with me. Consequently the outcome or the path of my future depends on who I decide to listen to and how I choose to react to each situation.
The final question remains though - how do I make the right CHOICE, especially in situations of emotional turbulence given the accumulated stress of daily life which is interestingly also called a "Grind!"?
There are no magic bullets but it is a journey which can be undertaken by each and everyone of us. The one word that we must remember as a very important state of being comes from Bhagwad Gita - "Stithprajyna" which means "Equanimity" i.e. Keeping calm or retaining poise or balance in all circumstances. This is a simple practice of following the cycle of "Action....reflection....introspection....improvement" repeatedly till we get what we are looking for. In simple terms, override the EGO gradually and reach a balanced state of existence which leads to peace, joy, love and does not diminish any of our productivity towards achieving our worldly goals.
These two moments made for an intriguing but ultimately happy and learning day for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment