Sunday, December 28, 2014

Anger Management: My Thoughts

Anger Management: My Thoughts

Basic question is: Why does a human being get angry? 
Human being is an intelligent animal. He can see the difference between what is the current situation and what it should be... in other words, expected and actual situation. When there is a difference between his expectations (about almost anything), and the reality, he gets upset. That gives way to anger.

Each and every human being gets angry at something or the other. The trigger level for the anger differs from person to person. Anger, if not dealt with, remains in our minds. Slowly, it becomes deep-rooted, and such an anger can turn into grudge and hatred.
Grudge and hatred are extremely negative emotions, and can harm the person emotionally and physically. They can harm the relationships as well.

There are certain root causes of anger.

1. Many times, something negative happens in the present moment, and we relate it to something similar that had happened in past. That is, a negative situation triggers our memory of a similar incident in the past. That makes us even more angry.

2. Un-reconciled situations: We keep going back to the unhappy situations in the past, that had were not reconciled. For example, we were (knowingly or un-knowingly) treated in an unfair or unjust way by someone, in the past. And we didn't ever confront that person about it. This leaves an impression of anger on our mind, and keeps coming back to us.

3. Helplessness: In many situations, we feel we were helpless, and were not able to do anything. That feeling also leaves an angry impression.

4. Not-my-decision: Sometimes, our lives get affected because of someone else's decisions, which we think, were bizarre and non-sense.

List can go on.

Resolution:
It's best to resolve as many of the above situations as possible, so that they don't hurt you in the long run.  Let's analyze the above causes.
1. Relating to past. Remember that the past is gone now, and you can't possibly do anything about whatever has happened in past. Sooner we realize this, better for us.

2. The feeling of being ill-treated is hard to overcome with. Maybe the person who ill-treated you, didn't mean to do so. Give him the benefit of doubt. Also, if possible, try to avoid him altogether.
Another way to deal with it is: write down on a piece of paper, about what happened. Write as much details as possible. Read it, and then shred the paper. That's one way of getting it out of your system.

3. Remember that, not everything is under your control. There are things that you can control, and then there are things that you can't. If there is something that was beyond your control at that time,.. well... what can you do about it?

4. Remember: a decision taken by someone, maybe non-sense to you, was sensible to that person in that situation. It is unfortunate that it affected your life. But then, there is no point blaming someone for it. Just deal with it.

In short, for almost every situation that makes you angry, there is a possible resolution. Look for it, resolve it and move on.... just so that it doesn't create a permanent negative impression on your mind.

Happy New Year.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Some thoughts

Here are some thoughts that came out of the discussions between me and the preceptor(s). We all know this, but sometimes, writing down our thoughts gives a kind of re-enforcement to them. So, here they are:
1. Let go the past. It’s gone, and not going to return. Whining about the things that happened in past is not going to help you in any way.
2. Quit complaining about people and their deeds. No one is perfect, including you.
3. If something (or someone) does not affect your life, then probably it is none of your business.
4. If you want the peace of mind, you should be at peace with yourself. And for that, you should be at peace with the people in your life, and people around you.
5. Different people act in different ways in different situations. So, if someone was not nice to you today, maybe it wasn’t his/her day. So, labeling him/her as a meanie based on one instance would be unfair.
6. Never say bad things about people (even if they are true). You will not gain anything by that. In fact it will create bad impression about you.
7. Never hold a grudge about anyone, even if he/she has been ‘not nice’ to you. A ‘grudge’ is a negative emotion, and will only hurt you in the end. If you really dislike someone, avoid him/her, or stop dealing with him/her.
8. You cannot probably change your destiny, even if, by some magic, you find it out.
9. Stop worrying about things that are not in your hands. Think about things that are in your hands, and are under your control.
10. Always do good Karma. Even if you won’t get anything out of it, at the least, you will feel happy about it.
11. Put a positive thought, and positive things will happen.
12. Things don’t happen by themselves. There is a definite ‘cause and effect’ relationship behind everything.
13. Be good to others. Do good to others, as much as you can. You don’t have to go out of your way, in order to be nice, but, in your own ways and means, try to be as good to others as possible.
14. It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.
15. If you think you are suffering "because of someone's deeds", do not keep blaming him/her. He/she didn't probably plan it this way.
16. At the end of the day, cleanse your mind off all the negative emotions(hatred, worry, grudge etc), so that you will start the next day with a clear, fresh mind.
17. Take the people by their face value, for what they are. Do not treat them by prejudice.
18. Do not belittle anyone. You have no right to do so, whoever you yourself are.
19. Do not let your ego take over you.
20. Do not keep telling people about your miseries and sorrows. People are not interested in that.
21. Do not expect people to do things 'for you', by themselves. People are not going to guess what's on your mind.
22. You cannot probably control the way other people think or feel.
23. You will be a lot peaceful, if you get rid of 3 things from your mind: Ego, Expectations and Prejudice.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The beginnings

As a first step, I got in touch with a preceptor, or a guru. He was not a 'Sadhu' or anything like that. He was just a simple software engineer, like me.... nice guy. He asked me to take 3 sittings with him, on 3 successive days. During the 3 sittings, he explained me the process/technique of meditation, and the philosophy behind it.
My experience was that, after each session, I felt very light-headed, fresh, and lively. This was a very new experience for me. I shared it with my preceptor. He mentioned that it was a good sign.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

How I got into Meditation ?

I have a bunch of friends (from different circles), who often talk about spirituality, Meditation etc. I used to feel that I am too young to think about these things. I have a friend couple, who, both of them are into Meditation. After having long discussions with them (in person as well as via emails/chat), I realized that, these guys know a lot more that I do, about life in general. They have a definite perception of so many things in life, that I could not have even thought of.
While I was discussing these things with friends, I was also reading about different meditation philosophies and techniques. After doing a considerable and careful study, I realized that:
- Purpose (or goal) of all the techniques is the same: to reduce (and eventually, get rid of) the thoughts that pass thru our mind, and experience the inner peace.
- Philosophies might be different on surface, but underlying principle is the same: to bring out the best in you, and become a good person.

Different people can have different goals, as far as spirituality is concerned (merging with the ultimate/God/Master etc). My goal for turning to meditation was (and is) simple: to achieve peace of mind, to stop worrying, to become a good person, and to (be able to) enjoy life.

My enlightened friend told me that these are just the by-products of the meditation, which you will get anyways. Of course, no harm done by having these goals.

So, I chose the meditation path named 'Sahaj Marg' or 'Easy Path'. Since I do not intend to promote it, I shall not go into the details of it. More info can be found at srcm.org .

In the next posting, I shall mention about my meditation commencement and practice.