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The Practice of The Observer
Emotionality is one of the greatest poisons in life. It is a contagious condition that spreads faster than any disease known to humankind. It is a condition that by its nature is organic and feeds upon itself. The problem created by emotionality is forgetfulness. When you are emotional you forget the nature of Life, of your life, and of the repeated patterns and cycles of your life. When emotionality is reduced, it is easy to see solutions to your problems, to see how they are self-created, and to solve them.
Let me give you an example. There was a young man who had a personality characteristic that kept causing him problems in life. He kept saying things at the wrong time, in the wrong way, to the wrong people. Each time this would occur he blamed the other person for the misunderstanding or the event that had occurred. One day, he was walking in the woods, observing life around him, and blaming his neighbor for being such a grouch. Suddenly, he had the thought, "What if my neighbor is right? What if his point of view is correct? What do I do then? It was a great Ahhhh Haaaa, a satori, and a new thought. He realized for the first time that perhaps it was his emotionality was causing him difficulty and not the words of his neighbor. Shortly after this he began the practice of the Observer Technique and in the course of time found that in every situation, he had the power to make small changes that made each situation he encountered easier and more harmonious.
The nature of the mind is to fluctuate. In the course of the fluctuation, emotionality arises and falls. When you become emotional, it is easy to believe that this is a permanent condition. You are not your mind, you are not the thought thinking that you are your mind; you are not thought.
The nature of the mind is to become attached to a particular
thought or a particular emotion. Thoughts are eternal and are like a river
running through consciousness. You bump into specific thoughts at specific
times and react to those thoughts. Did you ever wonder why it is that of all
the thoughts that you could possibly think, you have chosen to attach yourself
to a particular set of thoughts? Why is this thought arising today rather
than that thought?
Each thought comes with a group of thoughts attached to it. No thought is
singular. This means that if you bump into a specific thought and attach to
it you will also be attaching to its family of thoughts. Be careful of the
thoughts that you think, they will affect your life. You draw experiences
into your life through all of the thoughts that you think. Begin today to
draw new more harmonious thoughts into your consciousness.
To control the fluctuation of the mind and recognize that you are not your thoughts is an important task for anyone who is on a spiritual path. The mind is like a child and must be disciplined in order to learn what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.
One simple practice to lay the foundation for reducing emotionality is The Observer Technique or The Practice of Mindfulness.
The technique is quite simple and can be practiced by anyone at anytime in any place.
It is:
Through the practice of this technique you activate the intent to become more aware and less judgmental. Through the simple act of observing you will enable yourself to change your behavior, to soften your speech, to react more gently to any situation.
As you practice this technique greater joy, wisdom and clarity will come into your life.
If you have questions about this lesson or the technique please write to me at kriyajyothi@spiritualstudies.org.
If you would like more information about Kriya Yoga or our classes please visit our website at www.spiritualstudies.org.
Namaste,
S. Jyothi Pranananda
The Institute for Spiritual Studies is a non-denominational center for learning
dedicated to the Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga.
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