The Messenger - The "H" Word

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Tuesday, 14 October 2008

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The "H" Word

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Written by Vaishali

Does what
we give
our attention to
affect our
emotions?

“Happiness”. It is something we all want. The constitution of the United States ensures our protected right to pursue it. But what exactly is it?

Vedic psychology says happiness and enlightenment have something in common: being in the present moment with an open heart, and not having a problem with it. Being with “what is” and not judging it, not resisting it, but being with it––one with an open-hearted perspective, not an intellectual posturing.

Let’s take, for a moment, people who are severely challenged due to mental developmental issues. A friend shared with me that at the time of his 16 year old daughter’s birth, doctors told him she would not live very long. A severe medical complication would not allow her to develop mental capacity beyond that of a three month old baby. She tells me how incredibly happy his daughter is––always smiling, laughing, just in the moment. He said that without his daughter, he would never have seen the face of genuine happiness. She is the ultimate happiness teacher, unconditional in her relationship with it.

Does what we give our attention to affect our emotions? Absolutely! If you are aware of all the things in your environment that “need” to be taken care of, while being in the present moment with an open heart, you have discovered the pivotal element. There is no judgment or rejection of yourself for how you got to this moment, merely an acceptance of “what is” that frees you to now respond to what is in your best interest. “Okay, it would serve me to lose a few pounds. I can do that. I got myself here, I can get myself to where I need to be.” No whining, no gnashing of teeth, or screaming cries of the pain that originates from denying oneself the joy of empty calories; simply accepting “what is” in one’s own best interest, because there is no other agenda or dysfunctional focus.

I was in a car accident, and it took me nearly a decade to fully recover. For years I could not work, make money or think as clearly as I had before. Now, I am thrilled to be able to carry out simple tasks without anguishing frustration. I am grateful beyond measure to be able to make enough income that I have to now file a 1040. What I have learned from my friends, and from my own life, is that happiness can be unconditional.

If happiness seems a rare or foreign event in your life now, it is simply because being in the present moment and not having a problem with it, is not the attitude you have the most practice at. Consider how much of your attention is consumed with worrying about bills or what body parts are sagging. Imagine how different your life would feel if you practiced not having a problem with the present moment to the same degree you have practiced blaming the present moment for delivering something you are dissatisfied with.

Clearly there is a connection with having a problem with the present moment and being tense, angry, anxious, depressed, and lonely––it is perversely ironic how we cling to this practice. We stubbornly hold a grudge, clutching it against our breast as if it were our firstborn.

Vedic psychology says it is the ego part of our consciousness that literally “hates” the present moment, because it sees the present moment through this blaming filter. Every time you find yourself projecting off into the future, or reliving something from the past, you are experiencing the ego’s subtle hatred for the present moment, by distracting your awareness away from it. Enlightenment, the process of freeing our minds from any limitation, does not happen in the past or the future; it happens in the present moment. That is why it is essential to practice being here now.

The added perk to being in the present moment––with an open heart––is that the tyranny of the ego loses its power in that state. The ego needs some source of unhappiness in order to maintain its hold over the human mind. The ego likes to be the master of our lives, pushing us around emotionally––training us to serve it by constantly surrendering our attention to things we can find fault with. When we practice accepting the present moment as it is, we are in actuality cutting the ego off from its biggest food source, and forcing it back into the servant role it is designed to have.

What if a more meaningful, enjoyable and healthier existence could be obtained by simply choosing to relate to this moment with an open heart, instead of a toxic opinion?

There is an old saying that the longest journey one will ever make is the eighteen inches from the frontal lobe down into the heart. If you can find your way out of your head and into your heart, you will find happiness has been waiting there for you all along. And by the way, “welcome home!”

VAISHALI intimately understands the journey of moving the mind from imprisonment to liberation. Born into an abusive, alcoholic family, she knows first hand the impact of being raised in a hostile environment. She has been diagnosed terminal twice. These experiences have shaped her book, You Are What You Love Purple Haze Press.
Vaishali hosts her own weekly “You Are What You Love” on Clear Channel’s KTLK in Los Angles and Santa Barbara web-cast on www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/vaishali.htm. Vaishali has appeared on Oprah & Friends XM Radio. Visit www.purplev.com

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