Imagine the ocean, vast, deep, powerful and constantly moving. An oceanic blue where it appears if sky becomes ground and all there is is the depths of endless waters. Waves rising and falling, loud and terrible. Calm seas without a hint of turbulence and an abundance of friction points of water smashing rock, coral, trees, or sands. The emotional body of the Yogi is no different. It is an ocean of feelings that comes and goes without effort or any possibility of an end.
To be Yogic means to apply awareness to emotions and know them clearly so that you can not only feel them more profoundly but also not allow them to shift the ground of your being.
I am absolutely not proficient in this; its almost hilarious how contrary to my purpose and persona that my own human level conditions can be. If you were to have watched me as I built “Tiny Temple” with my wife and friends by my side. I was swearing into the camera, editing out little fights we had while trying to help me learn how to talk to an audience without feeling so self conscious, stupid, and silly for putting myself out there in the public domain. It was truly comedic to see a calm me on camera talking about meditation and spiritual practice while knowing full well what went into making some of my short talks on Instagram or bigger talks on You-tube etc.
Self-regulation takes time to learn if you’ve survived trauma and grown up in a home marked by constant moves, anxiety, poverty, and an overemphasis on chanting rather than fostering consciousness first—but it’s essential.
A father has to learn how to stay calm in the storm of emotions that arise in a family. Its stoicism but on a whole new level. Getting triggered has become something that I’ve noticed only brings problems and creates an environment that is so uninviting for children. To bring safety to the home is the primary duty of the Father. To establish predictable order you need fair values and open, kind, and clear communication.
To remedy harmful emotions that arise, we need good strategies and spiritual tools to help. Emotions can be massive tsunamis capable of acting on us in ways that are terrifying and confronting, so we need things that actually work.
1) Breath, allow yourself to focus on your breathing pattern, slow it down and link it to your pulse
2) Mantra, to protect your own mind from the negative thoughts that will arise when confronted with big emotional situations, arguments, or fights. The mantra “Hrim” or even “Kreem” can be very powerful in providing emotional protection and support.
Visnu mantras and Devi mantras are both very good for emotions and protection from negativity.
3) Somatic activity like movement, patting, jumping, stomping gently or shaking to help move the energy so that your nervous system doesn’t get locked in fight or flight
To all the Guys out there holding it down with your wife and kids, needing a little help keeping calm and managing or identifying your hurt feelings, this ones for you…
I mean I wrote this for me as a reminder, but I hope you get something from it too.
See you next time.
Jai Nitai
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