“When we say something like ‘I am sad,’ or ‘I am angry,’ we define ourselves with a certain emotion”, said Dr. Susan David, an award-winning psychologist in a recent interaction with Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at Harvard University. Identifying yourself with emotion just prolongs the emotional state that you are in. The disadvantage of doing that? You harm your mental health and you can end up doing things you later regret. Gurudev gives an example, “People who are involved in criminal acts just act out of an emotional outburst. They don’t intend to do what they have done.”
So, how do you navigate emotions? Gurudev gives five solutions.
Make your emotions healthy
Healthy emotions are those that stay only as long as they draw a line on the water. When a child gets angry, they begin smiling in no time. For adults, to smile back, they need a lot of time. It can even take months. It is okay to be agitated and upset. But how long can you be upset? If we know our own breathing patterns, we can be in charge of our emotions. Breathwork and broadened awareness can make us more centered.
Become aware of your cultural narrative around emotions
In some parts of the world, we express our emotions a lot. On the other side of the planet, you bury your emotions so much, which becomes a huge pressure. That gives rise to psychological and physiological issues. There is a cultural narrative around emotions that actually leads us to lose our way from ourselves.
Meditate to watch your changing emotions
Emotions are always changing. The intensity changes. The expression changes. Yet there is something in us that does not change. To realize the change, there needs to be a reference point of non-change. Because of that center, you can notice the change. Being that point of non-change is meditation. This practice of going back to your center of non-change helps you become a witness to your emotions, instead of getting embroiled in them.
Understand the emotion-body connection
Every emotion is linked with an energy center in your body called a chakra. At the navel center, the emotions of greed, generosity, joy, and jealousy arise. Fear, anger, love, and hatred are linked with the heart chakra. When someone has hatred, they have no fear or love. The throat chakra is associated with grief and gratitude. The center between your eyebrows is linked with anger and awareness. Opposite expressions arise from the same center in the body. It is the same life force that gets expressed in different ways. When you observe a negative emotion at a particular center in the body, you can transform it into a more positive one.
Become aware to step back
When someone does something that upsets you, there is a sensation of anger that arises in you. If you are aware, you will have a filter on whether to act on it or not. When you are not aware and the upsetting emotion overpowers you, you may end up saying or doing things you later regret. That is the time when you need to step back from your emotions and handle them to your own advantage.
