Don't Get Trapped By Your Emotions

Jan 10, 2004, 12.02am IST

Rohini Singh Chopra.
Have you ever wondered why you sometimes feel low, drained, energyless? You might feel so after a stressful period — because of trying circumstances, a spell of hectic work or sudden trauma.

Often, you are unable to pinpoint a reason for it. And for some of us it may have become a state of being; a joyless, purposeless existence. Each of us has been given the gift of life fuelled by the life-force or prana. Why does this precious resource dwindle, sometimes to desperately low levels?

Take a look at the following energy-guzzlers:

Worry: For many of us this is as natural an activity as eating or sleeping. We worry about things that we are convinced are doomed to happen: that those who are ill will not recover; others who aren’t, will fall ill; bad times will remain bad; good ones will take a turn for the worse; children who are in school will not get admission into good universities; those who have might not do justice to the opportunity given to them, bright children of marriageable age will not find good alliances; and of course good potential candidates might turn out to be not-so-good. In fact, as a worrier can tell you with conviction, nothing in life is certain so there is much to worry about. It is responsible to worry. There is always ample fuel for the fire of worry. And this is a greedy unsatisfied fire, always ready to devour more. It is a vicious story of burnout.

What does this mean in energy terms? Consider this: Energy follows thought; so as you continue to feed that fire — as you think negative thoughts about all the things that may not turn out as well as you wish, you are actually giving energy to those very occurrences that you wish to avoid. As you continue to obsessively think about them and imagine the consequences, energy continues to flow to them. Often you find them manifesting, little realising your role in their creation. Soon you feel drained, unhappy, low in energy.

Resentment: If worry drains you with fears of the future, then hurt, resentment and regret keep you chained to the past. As you nourish memories of people who have hurt you or let you down, of circumstances that have betrayed your expectations, or of unfulfilled dreams, you are only draining energy to something that is in fact dead and gone. Think about it: Somebody said something hurtful to you years ago. You can still remember and talk about it with tears in your eyes. The person meanwhile is no longer a part of your life; he may even have passed on, but you continue to leak energy to this thought. No wonder you wake up feeling life is unfair and joyless; a burden rather than a gift.

Guilt: This is one of the heaviest emotions that wears you down as you continue to carry it. We all make mistakes, feel regret or remorse over situations in our lives; commit acts of omission or commission. But we cannot let go; we believe it would be irresponsible to forgive. So we continue to internally condemn and scold, instead of learning from the fall and getting up to move on. It is much like climbing a mountain with a heavy trunk tied to your back. How can you really look around and enjoy the view?

Is all this just glib talk? Can we really decide not to worry for the future or let go of our disappointments of the past easily? Can we just as simply forgive others and ourselves? Can I be emotionally free to decide?

(The writer will teach a radical energy therapy called Emotional Freedom Techniques on Jan 17 & 18. For registration contact: 95124-5063004, 2350324, 98-111-09015 or 98-111-21711.)