CONQUER YOURSELF
PERSONAL FULFILLMENT AND MANAGING EMOTIONS
In order to live a fulfilling life, you need to be aware of what it is that makes you happy. As long as you are honest with yourself, you can dramatically improve your circumstances. An important question to ask yourself is whether you are headed in the direction you want to go. You may find yourself pressurised into situations you don’ t want to be in, or you may be having difficulty accepting your own flaws. When this happens, feelings of resentment and frustration enter your subconscious. As a result, you feel unhappy with yourself and those around you, which may manifest in heightened anxiety or outbursts of emotions.
The real problem occurs when you victimise others and misplace the blame for you being unhappy with your own self. By doing so, you are only harming yourself.
Anger is a natural human emotion and sometimes we have a valid reason to express our anger. However, some people are so on edge that any offensive word will set them off. If you can relate to this, these emotions of anger could be because you are unhappy with yourself. It is often said in intellectual circles that anger is simply a mask that hides your underlying fears.
• If you suffer from emotional outbursts of anger: Address what exactly is making you angry. Focus on how you can change that so you can steer your life in the direction you want. Remember that your feelings of frustration are the result of either you not planning your life according to your desires, or it is an indication that you have adopted a negative attitude.
• If your loved one suffers from emotional outbursts of anger: Support them. Talk to them and help them find a solution to any relevant problems.
• When someone is expressing anger: It is a good idea to remain silent in the moment rather than reply in anger; this will only escalate into an argument. It is possible the person will realise later that they overreacted.
The idea that anger must be mastered is shared by most religions, including Christianity,
Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism. The Bible warns,‘ Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper – it only leads to harm.’ [ PSALMS 37:8 ]
Prophet Mohammad declared,‘ A strong man is not the one who wrestles others. Rather, strong is one who controls himself at times of anger.’ [ SAHIH MUSLIM ]
Buddha stated,‘ A man conquered by anger is in a mass of darkness.’ [ KODHANA SUTTA: AN ANGRY PERSON ]
Guru Nanak said,‘ Violence, attachment, greed and anger are like four rivers of fire. Falling into them, one is burned, O Nanak! One is saved only by holding tight to good deeds.’ [ GURBANI, PAGE 147 ]
His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi warns,‘ Anger is self-destructive. When you are angry, you harm others- but you hurt yourself more. Rid yourself of your anger, not for the sake of others, but for yourself.’
Another symptom of an unhappy subconscious mind, similar to emotional outbursts, is mood swings.
Your mood is all about your feelings and it can be controlled. Your mood shifts from one set of beliefs to another because of uncertainty in your mind. Uncertainty about what you are doing causes you to be susceptible to feelings of negativity when hurdles inevitably come in the way.
12 MESSIAH HERALD / ISSUE 02 / MAR 2017