Freedom
True freedom means to be beyond the influence of others
and of possessions.
Role Induced Stress -
Part 2
It's not at all wrong to treat what we do seriously, but
it's a mistake to believe what we do is extremely
extremely important and we are extremely busy people
living an extremely busy lifestyle. This kind of
consciousness makes us over-serious. A very common sign
of this is carrying a lot of thoughts of one role into
the other. E.g. Aarti, a young mother, switches roles
from a software executive in the corporate sector, a
role which she plays in the entire day, to a parent and
wife in the evening. If she is over thinking about her
day-role while playing her evening-role, it is a sign
she is over-identifying with her day role and there is a
lack of detachment. As a result she starts becoming
over-serious and suffers from role induced stress as a
result. There is a deep connection between seriousness
and fear. E.g. In this case of Aarti, as a result of
attachment to her role, there are lots of fears that she
carries regarding her role of software executive - fear
of loss of position; loss of love, respect and
reputation - either in her company or in general in
society, not succeeding, not getting promoted etc.
because of which she is over-serious and she carries the
role in her head almost all the time, even when she
sleeps. That is why so called extremely busy people
sometimes complain of sleep problems.
This can happen with us, with any role we play.
This kind of stress, just like in the case of the actor
(explained yesterday) is generally made up sorrow, anger
and fear - one of these three different negative
emotions from time to time or more than one at the same
time - phases of dejection or feeling low or a lack
of enthusiasm or a general disinterest in life events;
phases of frustration and experiencing a lack of control
of events and people, due to which there are frequent
outbursts of anger and phases of immense worry regarding
the future, all of which affect our mind, our
physical body, relationships and even success of our
role; although it is our role itself (our
over-identification with it) which is the root cause of
this emotional turmoil inside us. So instead of
benefitting our role, our over-concern for it starts
affecting it adversely.
Fire Extinguisher
The
one way to finish the force of anger is to fill with the
power of peace. The one who remains peaceful in times of
chaos is the one who acts like a fire extinguisher. So
such a person does not get angry because the other
person is angry, but speaks such words that finish his
anger. When I maintain my own inner state of peace and
calm, even when someone is angry, I am able to be
powerful. The power within me becomes a big asset during
such times. My light (power) of positivity helps to
finish the darkness of negativity. All I need to do at
that time is to take a firm thought not to let go of my
inner peace.
Soul Sustenance
The Causes of Fear (Part 1)
Fear can be caused by:
• Ignorance - When you don't know how your colleague in
office is, or when you don't know the intentions of the
other, you are afraid. When you don't understand, you
are afraid.
• A lack of inner preparation for the situation - For
example, if you go unprepared to an exam, you will be
afraid of failing it.
• A lack of clear knowledge on how to avoid or recognize
actions that bring about situations which are dangerous
for one's wellbeing.
• Insecurity in general and specifically, about your
qualities and your own capacity.
• Lack of faith in yourself.
• Mistrust.
• The inability to open oneself.
Tomorrow we shall discuss some more causes of
fear.
Message for the day
The best comparison is the comparison with oneself.
Expression:
The
one who is comparing oneself with what he was and seeing
how he can improve or how he has improved is the one who
is constantly bringing about progress in his own life.
On the contrary the one who is comparing himself with
others is the one who is constantly finding excuses and
leaving behind the opportunities that he gets for
bringing about a change.
Experience:
When I am free from excuses and free
from comparison with others, I am able to be light even
in the most challenging circumstances. I am not caught
up with my own mistakes or those of others, but am able
to constantly add on to my treasure store of experiences
and be richer and richer with every new challenge faced.