There is a trinity of body, mind, and spirit. We started by exploring the body energetically… and then, with our minds, directed our breath. Now we will get straight into spirit, or pure energy. Ready?
For this, allow me to define the word emotion for you. I would like you to understand it as e dash motion, which is energy in motion.
We are all made of atoms. Atoms are in a constant state of vibration. Hence everything, animate or inanimate, is forever vibrating at a certain frequency. When we can match frequencies, we harmonize. Even alchemize – with some practice. But mostly, due to our general state of mindlessness about these subtle energetic vibes, we don't at all perceive their frequencies.
As these energies move, they become thoughts. And as thoughts hit our conscious mind, they trigger our acquired tendencies. Like for example, the thought that a lizard has landed on me might make me tend to jump. However, even before I jump, I might develop the emotion of fear. And that might trigger my habit of screaming when fearful. So I scream, and I jump instinctively… and when I get more aware of my situation, I discover that the lizard was a mere plastic toy a pranky kid threw at me. Here's when you and I allow another emotion to take over and create more mindless actions – like chasing the hysterical kid down the hallway.
Long story short… our emotions determine our actions. And obviously, actions have results. Getting the results you want simply means getting more aware of your energies in motion. Your emotions. Getting the vibes. The vibrations. And how does one do that?
Aha! This is the meat and potatoes! And this is when you bring out a pen and paper. Draw 3 vertical lines on the paper, to create 4 columns. On the top of each column, write the respective headings. First, Time. Second, Period. Third, Trigger. And fourth, Present.
Starting right after you hear this, write the time in the first row of the first column. Next, examine your dominant mood in the last four hours. What were the emotions that got a grip of you? Write the most significant emotion in the Period column. Now check, what triggered that emotion? Let's say I was angry for 2 hours after the kid threw the lizard at me, Anger would be my emotion, and lizard boy would be the trigger. So there, we have three columns. In the fourth, examine how you are feeling in the present. Emotions have a way of going up and down… until we learn to live in equanimity. When you arrive at that state… depends on how quickly you learn to master your energies. So there you are!
Write how you feel currently in the fourth column. Again, for example, I might now be feeling ashamed about my reaction to a harmless joke. Or I might be amused and joyful, if I made up with lizard boy and learned some other silly tricks to try out on my own. So I'd write shame or joy, depending on how I plateaued out.
That is how life is. Ups and downs. And consequences. In the next lesson, we will examine how these consequences are not merely results of actions. They can even be results of non-actions! Meanwhile, create a new row every four hours – that's at least 4 times a day – and keep monitoring yourself. Only what can be measured can be controlled. More about control in the next lesson.
