Emotional Satisfaction...

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam ~

I have completed our level two course " lifecycles and lifestyles "

and am reviewing the manual~

there is a question that stays with me and I would LOVE for others to

share their view...(:

in chapter 5 Study guide PG 72 question #5 ~

Yogi Bhajan addresses emotional satisfaction saying;

 

" the most important habit that we must break by this stage of life is

the habit of emotional satisfaction. What can this mean? Are we to

live unsatisfied emotionally, sustained only by a disembodied

discipline, detached from the rich, intense flow of emotional life?

Or is there a more profound insight at the center of this

entaglement? If we abandon the reliance on emotional satisfaction,

from where do we derive our satisfaction? "

 

I have sat with this and must say that I still cannot wrap my arms

around this...

when I think of my life, (I'm in my late 40's) and I view where I am

at and the things that fill my days do fulfill me emotionally.

Whether its watching a sunset, giving our home love, seeing an

uplifting movie, enjoying the company of another, listening to

beautiful music, practicing yoga, serving a nice meal, being in

nature, gardening, laughing etc...all bring me emotional

satisfaction, feed my soul and have me feeling happy and content.

For me to feel " emotional satisfaction " from the things that are part

of my life IS what brings the richness to my life.

I would LOVE to have others share their view on this topic, what is

it that I am missing or not understanding?

with blessings and gratitude ~ Jiwan Shakti Kaur

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam! It's easy to confuse emotions and feelings. A yogi feels things

deeply, very deeply, and is sensitive to and enjoys all the experiences you

describe. What Yogi Ji is talking about is the habit to constantly seek

emotional satisfaction. That's what leads people to serial love affairs,

overeating, sex addictions, etc. It's a hole that can never be filled.

That's quite different from awareness, in which satisfaction lies in every

moment, without attachment or seeking. Just pure, deep awareness, joy and

feeling.

 

Life is sweet. Even when it hurts, it's still sweet.

 

Does my explaination that make sense?

 

Much love and many blessings, ......G

[Guest guest]

SAT NAM ,I have to be brief..He didnot mean not enjoying life ..remember ,your birthright/? It's simply related to the ego...all the things and desires we have that are from the unconscious to satisfy the ego,so separated from the union with the true self .If you practice ,that distinstion should organnically happen to you !. jiwan jot kaur.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for asking this!! I really want to take that particular

level 2 course but haven't done it yet. I have had trouble with

this concept as well. What lifestage was he talking about for

releasing that " emotional satisfaction " ? I wonder if he is making a

distinction between emotional happiness and spiritual connection, and

if so, what are the tools for us to distinguish? When someone feels

a craving for emotional satisfaction, what does it signal about their

disconnection from spirit? Versus, when someone is

happy " emotionally, " does that signal a deeper spiritual satisfaction

that is more permanent and unchangeable, i.e. not related to " mood " ?

 

Love & Light, Kartar Kaur

 

 

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " Jiwan Shakti Kaur "

<wolfsister_harmony wrote:

>

> Sat Nam ~

> I have completed our level two course " lifecycles and lifestyles "

> and am reviewing the manual~

> there is a question that stays with me and I would LOVE for others

to

> share their view...(:

> in chapter 5 Study guide PG 72 question #5 ~

> Yogi Bhajan addresses emotional satisfaction saying;

>

> " the most important habit that we must break by this stage of life

is

> the habit of emotional satisfaction. What can this mean? Are we to

> live unsatisfied emotionally, sustained only by a disembodied

> discipline, detached from the rich, intense flow of emotional life?

> Or is there a more profound insight at the center of this

> entaglement? If we abandon the reliance on emotional satisfaction,

> from where do we derive our satisfaction? "

>

> I have sat with this and must say that I still cannot wrap my arms

> around this...

> when I think of my life, (I'm in my late 40's) and I view where I

am

> at and the things that fill my days do fulfill me emotionally.

> Whether its watching a sunset, giving our home love, seeing an

> uplifting movie, enjoying the company of another, listening to

> beautiful music, practicing yoga, serving a nice meal, being in

> nature, gardening, laughing etc...all bring me emotional

> satisfaction, feed my soul and have me feeling happy and content.

> For me to feel " emotional satisfaction " from the things that are

part

> of my life IS what brings the richness to my life.

> I would LOVE to have others share their view on this topic, what is

> it that I am missing or not understanding?

> with blessings and gratitude ~ Jiwan Shakti Kaur

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Jiwan Shakti Kaur:

 

That is an issue I have been grappling with not from having read the

thought by Yogi Bhajan or anyone else... more because Life it seems is

guiding me there. So I have this to share...

 

Some of what you describe is not necessarily emotional satisfaction,

it may be spiritual satisfaction.

 

We always get emotional satisfaction when we do a good deed... but

it's not a high in the same way... The question is: did we do it in

order to get emotional satisfaction or because our soul demanded it?

 

The other day a man asked me if I would get him something to eat. I

usually try to help but this was stretching me a little because i had

other plans with my time... I liked the idea of giving him food rather

than money... and since I did not want to give him more work by

requiring that he also finds a place to warm up his food, I invited

him to a local restaurant for a take out. It took quite a while and I

talked with him to get to know him a little. Out of nowhere I started

to understand something. He wanted me to drive him to the mission.

When we were alone in my car I told him that I am a Home Health Aide.

I go to people's homes to help them with different things, some

personal, some house cleaning. So, I told him, if God sent you to me,

there are no mistakes, this isn't random, God wants to help you. So I

invited him to open himself to being helped, so his life would be

easier, so he could take a bath once in while...

 

He told me he was helping people on the street by going to a local

church and getting free bibles for them when they requested them. I

told him that was a good start but that did not give him food, or

shelter... You can have all that I told him, just ask for guidance!

And when I dropped him off at the mission, I gave him the money for

the night and some extra to give him hope. And when he thanked me, I

told him: " Don't thank me, thank God! "

 

See, what I got was that it really did not come from me, it came

through me. My satisfaction was simply of being part of the grand

scheme of things, of being a God's helper. But that is true every

moment of my life... there is no seeking to satisfy an emotional need.

 

When I eat a good meal, I can appreciate it two ways. The first one is

what most people do perhaps, eat greedily... the second is to thank

God for every bite, out of gratitude. The first approach is emotional

satisfaction, the second goes straight to the soul.

 

So the issue is not so much that emotional satisfaction is evil... But

seeking it is an addiction... Instead, it is the spirit that we need

to feed... It is a question of priority.

 

Another aspect of it is that feeding emotional satisfaction comes from

not feeling high. That usually comes from entertaining too much

negativity, so we need to compensate, seek gratification... When we

let go of the negative, we start feeding the spirit, we heal also, and

we don't need emotional satisfaction.

 

What are your thoughts now?

 

Awtar Singh

Rochester, NY

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam,

emotions are the " wrapping " around experiences, beliefs are wrappers

around truth. if I have a beautiful sandwich to-go, wrapped in

cellophane, I don't eat the wrapper, I eat the sandwich and recycle or

dispose of the wrapper. neither do I consume emotions when I want an

experience of reality, nor consume beliefs when I want the truth.

emotions and beliefs are always with us, but they're not the point.

and not to make pursuing them a habit (although many seem to do this

every day).

 

many Blessings,

Krishna Singh

 

Kundalini-Yoga , " Jiwan Shakti Kaur "

<wolfsister_harmony wrote:

>

> Sat Nam ~

> I have completed our level two course " lifecycles and lifestyles "

> and am reviewing the manual~

> there is a question that stays with me and I would LOVE for others to

> share their view...(:

> in chapter 5 Study guide PG 72 question #5 ~

> Yogi Bhajan addresses emotional satisfaction saying;

>

> " the most important habit that we must break by this stage of life is

> the habit of emotional satisfaction. What can this mean? Are we to

> live unsatisfied emotionally, sustained only by a disembodied

> discipline, detached from the rich, intense flow of emotional life?

> Or is there a more profound insight at the center of this

> entaglement? If we abandon the reliance on emotional satisfaction,

> from where do we derive our satisfaction? "

>

> I have sat with this and must say that I still cannot wrap my arms

> around this...

> when I think of my life, (I'm in my late 40's) and I view where I am

> at and the things that fill my days do fulfill me emotionally.

> Whether its watching a sunset, giving our home love, seeing an

> uplifting movie, enjoying the company of another, listening to

> beautiful music, practicing yoga, serving a nice meal, being in

> nature, gardening, laughing etc...all bring me emotional

> satisfaction, feed my soul and have me feeling happy and content.

> For me to feel " emotional satisfaction " from the things that are part

> of my life IS what brings the richness to my life.

> I would LOVE to have others share their view on this topic, what is

> it that I am missing or not understanding?

> with blessings and gratitude ~ Jiwan Shakti Kaur

>

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam

 

Great question Jiwan Shakti Kaur!

 

To paraphrase your posting:

You said that in the level two course " lifecycles and lifestyles "

Yogi Bhajan says;

 

" the most important habit that we must break by this stage of life is

the habit of emotional satisfaction. "

 

You asked " What can this mean?

Are we to live unsatisfied emotionally, …. or is there a more

profound insight at the center of this entaglement? "

 

 

I will not pretend to have " the " answer to this.

If anything I may shift the ground of the question from why to how.

 

While you encountered this in Yogi Ji's teachings,

the issue is also well represented in the Guru.

 

I offer that the issue here is that of " attachment. "

Attachment means to want things that feel good to last longer

and things that do not feel good to come to an end.

Non-attachment means to take what comes as it comes and as it goes.

Not only to just " take it " but to accept it as one more gift.

In JapJi we find a list of ways people are suffering followed by;

" Eh bhee daat taree datar " – which means " even these things are your

gifts. "

 

 

In the " Dhan Dhan Ram Das Guru " chant we find:

Lab lobh kaam krodh moh maar kadhay tudh saparvaari-aa.

Greed, desire, lust, anger and emotional attachment –

You have beaten them and driven them out of those

who are still householders and living with family.

The entire family is blessed.

 

Consider also the similar somewhat " mysterious " ideas

found in these quotations from Guru Ram Das, Raah Suhi (p 757-11 SGGS)

(found also in English in Singh Kaur's song " I would make myself a

Slave " on the Peace Lagoon CD #1);

 

dukh bhee tujhai Dhi-aa-ee. ||2||

Even in pain, I will meditate on You. ||2||

 

jay bhukh deh ta it hee raajaa dukh vich sookh manaa-ee. ||3||

 

Even if You give me hunger, I will still feel satisfied; I am joyful,

even in the midst of sorrow. ||3||

….

…… jo dayveh so khaa-ee. ||5||

…. whatever You give me, I take. ||5||

…

ji-o paraanee jal bin hai martaa ti-o sikh gur bin mar jaa-ee. ||15||

Just as the mortal dies without water, so does the Sikh die without

the Guru. ||15||

 

So for me the issue is more about how one gets to this place where

even suffering is accepted graciously as a gift. I think perhaps

this is what is meant by Chardi Kalaa – but I am sure others can

clarify that much better than I can.

 

One other thing I might suggest is that when we have experienced the

Divine mystical experience of the Naam, including the state of and

merging with pure consciousness – that after that all Earthly

pleasures and pain might seem trivial. But I have not been there yet,

so I am only speculating.

 

Wahe Guru!

Nam Hari Kaur, Eugene OR

[Guest guest]

Thank you Jiwan Shakti Kaur, for sharing the teaching. I'm feeling

some hours of pondering time for this. What comes to my awareness

first, without much 'thinking' are concepts of emotional, spiritual, an

intellectual states and what is entailed in the satisfaction of each.

Also surfacing is the thought of satisfaction as a habit. Do we cease

the desire to expand and explore when we are satisfied?

It will be interesting to read the responses.

Sat Nam,

Guru Gopal Kaur