Hello and welcome to episode 122 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today is part three of releasing negative emotions faster.
If you haven’t seen episodes 120 and 121 then I suggest you watch those episodes first so you can get the full benefit from this one.
Lifetime training
The easiest way to release negative is through lifelong training. These methods that we talk about will last a lifetime. Time cannot destroy these methods. The first step was knowing the difference between thoughts and thinking. Thoughts are good but thinking needs to be destroyed. All those emotions that are associated with thinking: fear, anger and hatred need to be destroyed. We need to destroy thinking because doing that will help us speed up our execution.
There were three steps involved. The first was to get back to the shore, this is really important. Then we need to destroy thinking and then we need to execute. We covered these steps in great detail in episodes 120 and 121 so if you would like more information you can watch those episodes.
We spoke about how throughout our whole lives we are acting and reacting. Our lives are a combination of actions and events. Ignorant people act first and then worry about their reactions but the wise men and women get a hold of their reactions first. They control their reactions and then they act. They follow Krishna’s advice by destroying thinking, controlling the senses and then going back to the shore. The ignorant go to step three first but the wise start with step one, they go back to the shore, destroy thinking and control their reactions.
We spoke about two great exercises. The first was the scales and we spoke about how thinking will weigh down the scales and bring you down with it. The consciousness is light and will lift you up. We should not fall to the side of circumstance, time and place. We need to destroy thinking and move to the lighter side, the consciousness.
The second exercise we spoke about was pausing the screen. When you pause the screen you see ten times more detail and you get to know the director who is no one other than God.
We spoke about keeping a journal where you answer three questions:
1)Who are you?
2) Why are you here and
3) What are you supposed to be doing while you are here?
Writing one line answer to these questions once a day for thirty days will destroy thinking. When you keep this journal you will automatically go back to the shore and thinking will be destroyed automatically.
Experiences and emotions
Today we will expand on all of this information. Today we will talk about the difference between experience and emotion. Everything we react to is emotional and it only gives rise to pain and pleasure. We attribute that to experience but the great ones say that experience is not an emotion. They say experiences are only of the soul.
The great ones define experiences as that which helps us manifest the Brahman. Anything that helps manifest the consciousness is an experience. Everything else is an emotion. We see through the screen of emotion but we need to start seeing things through the screen of consciousness.
Pain and pleasure
Pain and pleasure are not experiences. They are just pain and pleasure. It is only when you manifest the consciousness that you experience the soul. Answering those three questions will destroy thinking and help you experience the shore. Your experiences will be so rich.
This next piece of information is very important and I want you to write it down. Experiences burn Karma. “Just as fire burns everything to ashes the fire of knowledge destroys all works to ashes.” This means that the right experiences will burn through your karma and your thinking and lead you back to the shore. Emotions, however will fuel karma. You will get more sattvic, rajasic and tamasic gunas, you will have another mould and life will go on and on.
So experiences burn karma and emotions fuel them. Emotions will just make things tough so step out of them and into the consciousness. Don’t let emotions ruin your life. Just keep your journal for thirty days and it will help you so much.
Sacrifice
There is one more thing that can help you along with the journal and that is sacrifice. Krishna says that the entire world is bound by works other than those done as sacrifice. The way to move from emotions to experience is to add the element of sacrifice. So what do we mean by sacrifice?
Well we all have things called pain points. They can be things like money, health or relationships. You have to categorize the pain point as a sacrifice. Assign it as a sacrifice and it will destroy it. Otherwise it will fuel karma and destroy you.
Let me give you an example. Vivekananda also spoke about it. Vivekananda travelled around a lot and he would stay in various places with young women and he said he gave every woman he met a category. Some he would categorize as his sister or mother and as soon as he did that he looked at them in a totally different way. By seeing them as a sister or mother he completely removed that veil and it made the relationship very beautiful. There would be no doubt that the relationships would be anything but respectful.
So write your journal and then include all your pain points be they in relationships, work or money. List them as a sacrifice. Let’s say you don’t want to go to work then write it down as a sacrifice that you will do to earn money for your family. It will really change your perspective. Make it about someone else, doing something for someone else. Your thinking will be almost totally destroyed and you will be a stronger person because of it.
I am doing this because……
I will not bother about this because….
Everything after because is a sacrifice.
Remember we cannot change the world or its events so there is no point in worrying about them. When you label them as a sacrifice they will never bother you. You will never be bothered by time, space or circumstance. You will consciously be destroying thinking. You will be detached which means your productivity will sky rocket and your execution will be lightning fast. You would have made the transition from emotion to experience.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
