not at all excited
recently in the late evening class on a Thursday, we have spoken about the current fashion in language for exaggerating and whitewashing experiences with the use of off the shelf phrases such as ‘excited for’ (looking forward to) ‘passionate about…’ (serious about) and ‘perfect’ (OK). This type of emotional inflation is a problem for us all, as one student remarked “Good used to be good enough but now it seems nothing short of outstanding will do.” But if it’s always outstanding, what stands out about it? You get the drift.
this is not just me being picky about semantics (as if!) I am reminded of the workshop I attended in London a few years ago with A G and Indra Mohan on the subject of Yoga and Mental Health.
mohan urged us not to get elated or depressed at the results of our actions but to remain level. He said “Don’t open a bottle – good or bad. Stay steady in your mind. Good mental health is not getting elated or depressed. Remain balanced.” He suggested that inflating internal excitement or misery serves little purpose. Would we not do better to foster peace, contentment and joy, however outmoded they may be?
yoga gives us the tools to help us with this. The third strand of kriya yoga is īśvara praṇidhāna. Mohan offered the translation – ‘staying steady with the results of the actions’.
Peter Hersnack’s translation was ‘trust in Life’. Trusting in Life seems to me to be a wonderful idea to carry us calmly through the very darkest week of the year.
“The deeper interconnectedness of all things and events implies that the mental labels of “good” and “bad” are ultimately illusory. They always imply a limited perspective and so are true only relatively and temporarily.” Eckhart Tolle