The two modes of our mind

 

Our mind is versatile in that it has two modes of functioning: 1. Witnessing mode, 2. Immersed mode. Most of the time, a majority of people are in the immersed mode. Many are not aware of the existence of witnessing mode and do not use it consciously. At times, people fall into it and revert back without awareness. Spirituality and religious practices are by way of design intended to bring mind into a witnessing mode. However when done compulsively without knowledge, it does not serve that intention. When we function exclusively in the immersed mode, we are prone to emotional pain and suffering. The way out is to just switch our mode.

Immersed mode: People think and thoughts keep pouring in and out. We are so enamored by thoughts that they hold our attention exclusively. In immersed mode, we are so fused with our thoughts that our body responds to its content. Accordingly, we experience various body sensations and feelings. If the content of our mind is peaceful, our body feels at ease. On the other hand, mental turmoil is reflected by uncomfortable sensations in the body.

The content of our thoughts can be related to the present or could be of the past or future. Whenever the thoughts are related to the here and now, actions are more appropriate and we also feel more mentally energized and balanced. When past or future thoughts predominate, sadness or anxiety can arise respectively.

When we are convinced that thoughts are true and believe in them fully, our body and actions mirror its content. This can lead to inappropriate behaviour and affect even relationships adversely. This is the so-called “normal” human suffering. Yet so much of it is unnecessary and is perpetuated only because we do not know how to switch modes.

Witnessing mode: When we resolve to observe instead of getting involved in thoughts, we are witnessing. This mode can be easily attained by mindfulness or grounding. Without the jargon, this only means to start looking around – look at the space, listen to the sounds, feel your breath, and body sensations. You can also observe the thoughts come and go without engaging with them. When we start attending to the here and now through our various senses without our attention being fully taken up by thoughts, we start to switch. We do not resist any thought. We do not go along with any thoughts. We just stay as a witness to what is unfolding – thoughts, body sensations, stimuli in the environment. There is a feeling of not knowing. We can allow that to be and ease into it. This is a moment of freedom.

In the witnessing mode, thoughts do not linger. They float by like passing clouds. As long as we do not engage with the thoughts, they will not stay as our attention is the only energy that powers them. No matter what the circumstances are, this mode is ever accessible to us. Thus, we are at any moment potentially free from suffering. We are also in our most resourceful state in this mode. We can choose which thoughts we want to engage in. It is important to have a clear idea about our goals in life. Then we can observe the thoughts and choose to engage with thoughts that bring us closer to our goals while letting others go.

Thoughts are not facts. Thoughts are assumptions we make about reality. They are not right or wrong in themselves. It is more helpful to categorize them as useful or not. Those thoughts that serve to realize our goals are useful. Otherwise, not. Once we know to switch to the immersed mode and have discernment in which thought is useful or not, we are utilizing our power.

Every thought we choose to fuse with, rides our attention and energizes itself impacting our body, emotions, and thus our actions. When we stay in immersed mode, we have no choice over what thoughts can possess us. This is the suffering of mankind. Yet, we always potentially have the power to be free. This is realized only when we switch to the witnessing mode.

In our daily lives, we take up so many roles – of worker, of parent, of spouse, of sibling, of offspring …. There are myriad situations that necessitate us to fuse with many thoughts. If we are aware and choose, we are versatile. Without awareness, we are but puppets in the hands of fate. This is like taking up a role in a drama and becoming so obsessed with the role and the mask that we wear for that role that we decide to go home wearing the mask. That would be absurd right? No more than how we carry around obsolete thoughts and fuse with them sacrificing our power and autonomy. Key is to recognize when to put on the mask and when not. That is freedom.

Thoughts about who we are can become a prison for us. We feel compelled to defend these stories in our mind. If I believe the thought that “I am honest,” then I must label a person who is not agreeing with my perception as dishonest. I have taken up a mask and pushed one on another person as well. Then we wage wars to uphold these masks. Such unnecessary suffering!

Who I am cannot be defined. As also every one else. To do so, is to deny our true identity. When we recognize that thoughts are not facts, when we switch to witnessing mode, we connect with who we are beyond stories and self definitions. We drop our masks. To be able to switch, to know when and how, this is a fine line to tread. Yet to do it is to fulfill our destiny as a human being. 

 

Welcome 2025!

 

It is New Year’s eve once again. It would be a cliché to say that it came too soon. Yet life does seem to be flitting by. We humans scatter hither and thither to make a living. I get several clients who come to me complaining of how lazy they are and enquire how they can motive themselves to become more productive. I look at how they spend their time and it usually turns out that they don’t have a minute to spare and are bursting at the seams with activities. Doing, doing and more doing. Compulsive doing. Then they find themselves browsing social media or Insta incessantly or falling ill which they call their “unproductive” time.

Our culture has created human robots who get anxious when they stop doing. I ask the clients about the narrative in their heads that spurs them on to keep doing. Invariably they recollect parents or teachers who spotted them as children enjoying a quiet moment of contentment or brilliant creativity and called it a “waste of time” and to quickly switch to studying which is “the stuff that matters.”  

Addictions are a coping strategy to get away from the pain of not feeling okay. Many grownups cannot spend a quiet moment anymore. We have come up with the term “boredom” to normalize this condition. So, we pride ourselves in having a hectic life. Yet deep within us there is the yearning to be, to just be. To connect intimately with the moment, with nature, with the life that pulsates through us. It is a state of still aliveness which I call “being.” The body-mind complex obliges for a while to meet the cultural pressures. Then its natural impulses gather force. There is a complete or partial breakdown as a result.

I usually startle my clients when I tell them that the remedy is to do nothing and connect with their innate creativity by feeling the life pulsating through them. They smile when I tell them that we are human being and not human doing. I also invite them to think of what is important to them in life. This New Year, I hope all of us can find our unique balance of being and doing, orient our doing in the way of our values and shine forth like the sparks of life we are.

 

Work-life balance

 

In an era when work has quietly entered our homes and personal spaces after the advent of Covid, it has become increasingly difficult to delineate where and when work ends and personal life begins. Without a clear physical boundary to highlight that transition, often we wander aimlessly in a purgatory of switching seamlessly from workspace in our laptops to YouTube videos in an instant. We lament that there is no time. We yearn for the closure of switching off our laptops and coming home to relax.

It is important to know what we are capable of and what we require to start setting those boundaries up. Self awareness is key. Some important questions to ask ourselves are: 1. How many hours do I want to work? 2. How many hours do I need to rest, play, and relax? 3. How many hours do I want to spend with my friends and family? The answers will vary from individual to individual and that uniqueness needs to be valued. For example, I am a morning person and require at least seven hours of sleep so I am off to bed by 10 pm and get up at 5 am so I can have a productive day ahead.  I do not take up any work that would jeopardize that.

Another important point to ponder about is the extent to which we want to engage with the digital world – when, where, and how? Once we have some clarity about our needs, we are well on our way to creating boundaries. For example, I do not use my digital devices on Sundays or after 7 pm most of the time unless it is an emergency.

When we have an idea what are needs and feelings are about how, when and where we want to work, it is up to us to implement that in our lives. We can use our creativity and look for options that support our choices. When we honor who we are, work and life will fall into place harmoniously.

Peace that passes all understanding!

 

There is no enemy!

 

In the movie Matrix, when its principal character Neo realizes the real nature of the matrix and accepts the truth about himself, he says to himself “there is no enemy” while carrying on a fist fight with Agent Smith. So also while thwarting away multiple personal boundary violations, I say with a smile, “there is no enemy.”

I can just hear you ask me despairingly “What the hell! Are you telling me that punk who cursed at me and is trying to stab me in the back is not my enemy??” I am repeating it again, “there is no enemy.” What is bringing forth this kind of foolish idealism may be your next query?

Well, most of us believe in God. I can start the explanation only with the base of spirituality, sorry. One core assumption in most religions is that this universe is replete with the presence of the One. Also that man is at his essence one with God. Accepting that as the fundamental truth, I have arrived at my aforementioned conclusion.

If everyone is one with God at his essence, then that must be our true abiding nature.  Therefore all are good. Yes, I also make that other vital assumption that God is good. At any moment, a human being is just a cluster of body, thoughts and feelings plus as we earlier presumed, the spirit of God. Now we all feel that we have an abiding “I-ness.” Whether at age 5 or age 50, I feel that I am me. Hope that is true for all of you. Since this I-ness is a constant, it must arise from something that is a constant as well. We know that the body we have now is not the one we had at birth. Also the thought we have at one moment is not the one in the next moment. Feelings are the impact of thoughts on body i.e. physical sensations. With the ever-changing nature of body and thought established, we have no doubt about the fleeting nature of feelings. So that brings us to the conclusion that our I-ness arises from the spirit of God because that is all that is left, right?

So here I go with some more crazy thinking: I am me because I am in essence one with God. This also holds good for you. Therefore, we are all good and share the same essence. This is our real nature. However we know that our behaviour really sucks at times. But this behaviour is just an external manifestation of thoughts and feelings. We have already concluded that thoughts and feelings are just fleeting phenomena. Therefore all our stupidity is just a passing cloud. In essence, we are all good – you, I, the whole truckload of people out there. Ergo, we are sharing one essence, full of goodness, and therefore there is no enemy. Only behaviour that really doesn’t work and that is okay because it passes. So again, I repeat, there is no enemy. Yes, I said it again. Please feel free to hit me with the nasty comments.

Better to be happy than right!

Heaven on earth

 

Love, acceptance, forgiveness and gratitude are the ways in which we keep ourselves healthy. These are not great qualities that we want to foster to earn our place in heaven. These are living realities that we must shape in our lives for us to have the best of health physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually in the here and now. These are necessities that we cannot do without.

When a situation arises and we respond to it with an attitude of acceptance, the body does not needlessly go into a fight-flight mode. What does this mean? Usually whenever we deem a situation as not being in our favour, our body senses danger and the sympathetic nervous system is aroused. This is the part of our nervous system that is activated when we are in a state of stress or dis-ease. Our perspiration, heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, blood pressure all rise. Energy is released as we go into a state of alertness and our digestive system slows down. Our body prepares itself for either a battle or for running away. Either way, we are releasing adrenaline and such hormones that prime our body for action.

When we sense that the danger has passed and we are safe, our parasympathetic nervous system starts operating thus renewing our depleted resources and repairing our worn out body. However when we are in a constant state of resistance to whatever is happening in our life, in and out of daily arguments, there is no such rest periods for our body to renew itself. We are then in a state of constant activation of the sympathetic nervous system and our body is in a perpetual state of stress. Ultimately this wears the body down and we crash either physically or mentally or both. Migraines, backaches, anxiety, depression etc. are all various ways in which this dis-ease of the body and mind manifests itself. The way out is to face each moment with grace so that we can avert disease.

What you tell yourself each moment, determines how healthy you are eventually. So stay tuned in the frequency of love, acceptance, forgiveness and gratitude because these keep your body and mind in the pink of health.

The Fertile Soil

The soil eagerly prayed,
For the seed to be laid.
She had long been in turmoil,
With her many days of toil.
Though she was ploughed through,
Not a single sapling grew,
Only ugly worms burrowed through.

The soil yearned for his presence.
After a thousand years of penance,
There was yet no sign of grace,
Her heart was an empty space.
Into this void would he enter,
To be lodged in her heart's center?
An answer only he could render!

Suddenly the heavens burst forth,
With mighty thunder and froth.
Rain splattered heavily,
Lightning stuck her steadily.
As rocks were crushed into pieces,
Water splayed through her crevices,
She bore his caresses and teases.

Into this moment of creation,
Surrendering with renewed passion,
She unfurled her wily curls,
Going back and forth in twirls.
Heaven and earth were one,
And she had finally won
A fair place under the sun.

WHEN TWO WORLDS MEET

This is an age of expression. With the blooming of social media, people can increasingly reach out and communicate their deepest ideas to a wider audience at the click of a button. Is this the death knell for the introvert or is this the perfect time to be one?

Extraverts bloom in the presence of others whereas introverts peak when they are alone. Our educational, occupational, political, and corporate business systems all favour those who can mingle with ease and communicate effectively. Ergo, it is an extravert’s world. Some even view with suspicion and ridicule those who shrink from social contact. So it seemed that there was no space to be an introvert anymore. Then the lockdown happens. Social distancing is the new norm. People are able to interact with the outside world only through a technological interface. Have the tables turned?

Internal world vs. external world

Large families that are bursting at the seams offer no opportunity for seclusion. In schools, introverts are bullied. Their psychological boundaries are violated in the name of normalcy. There are of course introverts of various hues and degrees. Yet on the whole, they feel more deeply than extraverts. They also take in a lot more. They reflect more. Thus introverts end up expending a huge amount of energy. They feel drained in crowds. They feel overwhelmed by the enormity of their internal processing and have difficulty understanding their own emotions. Consequently they do not express their own needs.

Emotions offer us clues as to what we require. Extraverts interpret this information naturally and meet their needs readily. They also have much less data to deal with as they are not the quiet observers that introverts are. Therefore the world does not tire them out. They are energized by interactions with the outside world because this is where they can express and fulfil their requirements with ease. They are appreciated for the exuberance and vitality they display. They too come in all shapes and sizes. Introversion and extraversion lie on a continuum and we have people who are anywhere in between. However for the most part, extraverts have poorer understanding of the needs of others. Introverts on the other hand are attuned to other people to a greater degree and therefore offer empathy and support instinctively.

In short, extraverts know what their own requirements are but they struggle to figure out the needs of others. Introverts on the other hand excel in fulfilling the needs of others but are unaware of their own. Both have their place in the world and both succeed in their respective spheres of influence. Both are unique, precious and to be loved for who they are. Does this mean that change is not required and they just have to revel in their own strengths? This would have been true if it were not for the suffering.

SUFFERING

Extraverts suffer when their relationships fail because of their poor understanding of others. Introverts suffer when their own needs are not met because of their inability to identify and vocalize their own needs.

A WAY OUT

It is possible to end that suffering with awareness. Being present in the moment, observing self and others without judgment, both can ease their burden. By being mindful of the verbal and nonverbal behaviour of others, extraverts can overcome the deficit of empathy. By being mindful of one’s own body sensations and learning to interpret them as signals of requirements and learning to verbalize them, introverts can begin to fulfil their needs. A balance has to be cultivated in our mindfulness of our internal and external worlds. Extraverts are masters of the external world. Introverts are masters of the internal world. Both will benefit by gently turning the light of their awareness on their unfamiliar worlds. We stagnate when we do not face challenges. When we explore new worlds, our life expands and we discover new potentialities that help us soar higher into excellence.  

When the apple falls...

I was enjoying the laziness of this Sunday morning, wading in its soothing vibrations, when this thought occured to me. How we choose to experience our karma is quite akin to what we will decide to do with an apple that is falling towards our head after we have thrown it upwards.

Some of us may  have compared karma to Newton's third law of motion. Therefore, the energies that we put forward come back with the same force. Quite like an apple we have thrown overhead.

Someone asked me the other day of what happens to the karma of those who repent their sins. It must have stayed in my unconscious like a germ and now suddenly the answer sprouted in the calm air of an unhurried morning. Well, if you throw an apple upwards and you become aware of what you did and become well prepared for its return, you could catch the apple in a basket and bite into its sweet deliciousness. If you keep denying you threw an apple straight up into the sky and stood where you were vehemently, it just falls on your head and voila, you know what that entails. With awareness of our behavioural patterns, come fresh choices like the cool breeze of this blessed morning.

Words that point back to The Truth

Silence is very wholesome. Words seem futile as they immediately negate half the truth. They are broken symbols that elude perfection. Yet words are all that we have for now. When I utter a sentence, I have taken a stance and immediately I am pitted against the opposing argument. Through these absurdities, an identity of half-truths is bred. What was indescribable and complete has now been broken down into shreds and I become then a possessor of this piecemeal identity.

Thus through a web of errors, my self concept is built. This is a bunch of thoughts that I have about myself. "I am Thehseen. I love to write. Blah, blah..." I make pronouncements that underscore this self concept and it grows through interactions, consequent verbalisations and continuing feedback. It grows so monstrous that it then engulfs the reality that it was supposed to be only a representative of. Truth is forgotten. Half-truths fly around like a swarm of flies that encompass the sweet fruit of our essence. In this confusion, people float around like rotten seaweeds unable to anchor themselves in the pristine waters of life.

Once in a while, through sheer exhaustion from the turbulence of life, mind comes to a standstill. Then these fallacies fall away and truth shines through. This need not be the state of the average man.  Through a dedicated effort to stay in the moment, witness the inner and outer space, and feel own bodily sensations, man can go beyond the shackles of self concept and uncover the sweet taste of real self. Transactional Analysis can be an elegant tool that can enhance this attempt and pave the way for this recovery.

We can’t heal what we can’t feel

Emotional pain is not something we can work through in a day and hope to live happily ever after. Pain appears when we least expect it. We don’t get to prepare for it. It just comes up as and when situations we deem as stressful arise in our lives spontaneously. These seemingly insufferable situations are the opportunities for healing. At these times, the pain comes up to the surface for us to engage with it. We can’t heal what we can’t feel. So we allow ourselves to feel deeply. Whatever the emotion be. We feel the physical sensations. All the while gently reminding ourselves that we are consciousness itself and not the sensations or thoughts that arise in it. Rooted in our awareness, we go about our lives as usual. This is the only preparation that is required. And suddenly the pain comes up and we say “Ok, you too are part of this NOW. Hello! What message do you bring?” Meanwhile we keep cultivating positive growth-oriented thoughts that can reap rich dividends in the form of goal-oriented appropriate behaviour. Let our every step be purposeful. Oriented towards our spiritual and personal goals. When we focus on the positive, healing will still take place in the background naturally. It is going to happen intermittently. It is part of your daily life. So just ease into the present moment. Don’t be in a hurry to just get it over with. Just allow everything to be and flow peacefully with life.

Try grabbing with open hands!

I have often wondered about the way Muslims do dua - open hands raised up. Sitting here in my living room, taking in the fresh breath of a new dawn, an idea downloaded into my mind. Thought of sharing it with you:

As a personality, I feel that I am continuously being made and unmade. Sometimes being stripped to the very core. Sometimes embellished with patterns of thinking, feeling or behaving that I never knew existed in me. So also the other objects in life - beauty, disease, health, wealth, poverty, skills, etc. come and go. Things people perceive as painful are easier to let go of for obvious reasons. Of course there are also addictions to certain painful stimuli that people can develop. But for the most part, people are more attached to the objects of pleasure. But life is evanescent. These objects fade in and out like the words on a ppt. Perhaps the hands remain open when in prayer as an indication of this constant flow. Instead of clasping what we receive and refusing to let go, we ought to keep those hands open to allow these blessings to grace our lives as well as ready to let them flow out with ease when their time runs out. It is scary for the egoic personality to really accept the fleeting nature of these objects. But fear and grief does not touch upon the deeper part of us - our essence. By remaining centered in that part of us that remains unchanged - consciousness - we surrender to what is in peace. How to connect to that stable part? Stay in the NOW, follow your breath, feel your bodily sensations, become aware of your awareness and root yourself there. God bless. 

Temple of our soul

Each moment our body is sensing various stimuli and sending messages to our brain. If we stay alert and rooted in the present moment, we can become aware of these sensations. They hold vital clue as to how our body is responding to the environment. When our mind is floating to the past and future, we  remain ignorant of this important information and thus our behaviour will not be situation-appropriate.

To illuminate this, let us consider a scenario: Manjula is a 30-year-old married woman who works from home. Her mother-in-law (MIL) is very socially active and has countless guests dropping in. Before raising her awareness, Manjula used to be at the beck and call of her MIL. She would be asked to entertain and feed and humour the guests. Even though she had countless other affairs to attend to, she would oblige (passivity - overadaptation). Consequently, her physical, mental and emotional health would suffer and she fell ill often. After Manjula started practicing moment-to-moment awareness, her behaviour changed. When she began paying attention to her physical sensations, she understood that she resented these intrusions upon her time and energy. Her shoulders were tense, jaw was clenched. As a result of understanding the needs of her body and mind, she established clear limits to the amount of time she would spend with her MIL's guests. It would be just enough to be courteous but not so much that it would intrude upon her life. She no longer felt like a Victim. She reclaimed her rightful power and hardly ever fell ill again.

When we ground ourselves in the NOW and are in touch with our body, we have access to the intelligence of our body. Our body becomes our friend when we respect its needs. And it will support us beautifully through life. 

A mirror shatters

I was walking by the TV in our living room when a snippet from the iconic Bruce Lee movie  - "Enter the dragon" captured my attention. It was the legendary scene of the mirrors; Lee moving warily as the enemy hides amidst his numerous reflections. Then an idea enters Lee's mind that propels him into action. Though I don't remember it word for word, it went something like this - "Break the false image and the enemy will be defeated." I stopped in my tracks as I pondered about this precious wisdom.

People have an idea in their head about who they are. This self image is actually just a bunch of thoughts about themselves. Eventually people get so attached to these images that they gradually lose sight of their real essence. In ourselves and in others, these false images create barriers that separates'I' from 'you' and fosters enemity and hatred. I was being reminded that when we let go of the false images, the idea of 'enemy' itself dissolves. We are all one in essence. There is no enemy. 😊

Virtual reality

We are consciousness-energy that proceeds from the One Absolute Eternal Source. As we accumulate life experience, we build neural connections in the brain that signify this information. One such important cognitive structure is the self concept, a neural network that holds all data on the self. The consciousness-energy then gets attached to this self concept and mistakenly identifies with it. This is the cause of all suffering. On self inquiry (who am I?), this is understood. The attachment to the ego structure is dropped in this moment of awakening which comes only by grace. Thereafter through compassionate witnessing, the ego structures melt away at a rate proportional to the extent of surrender in the individual to the One Truth. Thus there is end of suffering.

Lessons from nature

Over the course of my recent comic travails with gardening, I chanced upon the fact that when replanting seedlings, avoidance of root shock is essential to ensure a timely harvest. It seems that just as hostile stimuli like sudden grief can arrest the entire life of a human being, plants too respond to alien environments with shock and suspension of growth.

Challenging situations like death, divorce, emotional abuse, transfer etc. usurp much of our life force and soon we find ourselves unable to move forward. For years, people get stuck; yet even in this time, important lessons are learnt. If during such a turbulent period, a person receives timely support and care from loved ones, the duration of stasis may be curtailed significantly. So also, a plant will recover its growth rapidly if its roots are given a dip in a growth enhancer.

So if you find yourself in a pickle (as you will if you are human), reach out to someone - be it a compassionate friend or a benevolent higher power. It makes life that much easier. 

The I-story

Words in themselves cannot hurt, even the basest of them. It is the story in our head that gives that power to them. We have the power to change that story. We have the power to be happy and free. But first, we have to know the story.

From the time we are born, we are weaving the story of our lives - "I am Indian. I am intelligent. I hate rice. I am unloved, blah, blah, blah..."

Inwardly, the story takes the appearance of a person which we may call the "little me." This is the ego of the Eastern spiritual traditions. As you can clearly see, it is just a collection of thoughts running in loop. But boy, does this program have us hooked 24 x 7!!

The story is not just our primary entertainment, it is also the window through which we view the world. If we cannot identify the bumps, cracks and colors that adorn this window pane, we buy into a corrupt vision of reality. It is therefore very important to examine our story.

So have you inspected your "story?" How do you go about doing that? What prevents you from taking a closer look?

Real vs. Unreal

In the face of great emotional pain and ego death, what helps me hold on is the remembrance of these beautiful words from the Bhagavad Gita -"What is Real is never lost and what is lost is never Real."

We dont know who we are. Due to our life experiences, we gather a set of thoughts in our head (eg: I am Thehseen. I like biryani, etc.). These thoughts act like an inner person (ego) and we believe this is who we are. Then we get attached to the ego and we start defending our ego and that is suffering. So life and consciousness (with infinite possibilities) taking form of a body gets limited into the box called ego. Ego is just a bunch of thoughts, remember.

In our daily lives of egos interacting with egos, (my way versus your way), there is always emotional pain because egos get bruised. Then we cry and "suffer." And say "Oh my poor life. What is to become of me!!" Who is this me? You dont even know who you are!! You misidentify with ego and then cry when that is being taken away from you!! Can you see the absurdity of it?!

You think you can think your way out of it? No!! All thinking is more ego. You hav to be very still. Earnestly self observe. Stay in the NOW. Gently bring your attention into the physical sensations of body and breath to anchor yourself. Let everyone and everything be as they are. Surrender to life. And maybe by God's grace, you wil one day become aware of the gap between thoughts. And then these gaps may widen. Wisdom and love will flow from the stillness that resides in these gaps.

Every moment, you r you. Yet you never know you. You can never be an object that you can know. You are the subject. You can only know who you are not. You can never lose you (that which is Real can never be lost). You lose many things you know (what was lost was never Real).

So every time someone comes along and tries to make fun of your way and tries to impose their way over you, rejoice. Your ego has the chance to melt a little so that the Real in all splendor can shine more and more. How grateful we should be to these great teachers who appear in our life to release our inner awesomeness from the prison box of the ego.....

An explanation

My previous poem 'Mysterious guest' can be found here: http://tryzt.blogspot.in/2017/07/the-mysterious-guest.html?m=1

This poem is about lovingly meeting our emotions. The mysterious guest is past pain. She presents as an ache in the heart. The general tendency is for us to turn away from it because it is so uncomfortable. But distraction only makes the energy stay stuck. We can instead place our attention gently on the physical sensation of the stuck energy or heartache. Allow it to be without resistance. Without wanting it to go away. Then the feeling softens. Continue to feel the physical sensation of it. Compassionate nonjudgmental witnessing. There may come a flash of insight into the mind. About the reason behind the stuck energy. You can express it. Maybe by crying. Maybe by writing. Or in any way that helps. As you meet your full experience with awareness and acceptance, the energy becomes unstuck. It then integrates with the main energy flow. This is often felt as a blissful feeling. Now you are more whole than before. This is the integrated Adult. What we did was integrate a fixated Egostate. Then another one may show up after a while. And the process continues. And we become more n more whole again. Infinite potential.