Develop emotional awareness to dive into inner peace

All of life is a reflection of our inner state of being. As is the surface of a pool, so is the reflection. When we see into a pool or a lake that has very less or no ripples, we see our face reflected as a clear and undistorted image. Suppose there are several ripples or any disturbance or debris on the surface, the underlying serenity cannot be experienced. In the same way, in our inner space, if there are unresolved emotional or mental issues from the past experiences, they distort our current experience. We then cannot feel the inner peace that is already within us and that remains constantly with us in all the circumstances life presents to us.

So let us see what exactly are these disturbances that obscure our inner serenity. Many of us face painful and hurting interactions with others, usually in close relationships, sometime or other during our lives. As we face these situations, most of us do not allow ourselves to fully experience and integrate the inherent emotions because we consider them as 'bad' emotions (such as anger) or ‘undesirable emotions’. Such emotions remain unresolved and are then pushed into our unconscious. Whenever there is any similar situation in future, these unresolved emotions influence our perception of that situation. It behaves something like a coloured lens through which we see the situation only in that specific colour. Moreover, each new recurrence of such painful emotions keeps adding up more emotional baggage to what already exists in the subconscious. If we then allow this emotional density to fester in our subconscious for too long without finding a solution, it may also manifest into serious health issues. Some of the strong emotional experiences define our belief systems and become habitual patterns of thinking. Breaking free of such patterns becomes a hard, if not impossible task, unless the emotional baggage is resolved.

In fact, there are no 'bad' emotions - all emotions are tools for self awareness. If used rightly, they can show us both the ‘cause’ and the ‘possible action’ for that situation. Let us consider a simple example. The emotion of anger shows us where we feel a threat, may be to our sense of identity, our point of view or our sense of rightness. At the same time, it also shows us how we may 'defend' our identity or our point of view or our best interest, in the best possible way. But if there is past unresolved anger within us, our reaction to present situation will not allow us to respond in right manner and we build up more anger instead of resolving the issue. While a ‘healthy’ experience of anger actually prompts us to state our stance or our point of view, calmly and clearly, in that situation. If there is unresolved anger from past experiences, we start reacting in an exaggerated manner, may be we get agitated or shout or fight with the person. Consequently, we lose valuable opportunity to set the situation right, but make it worse. 

Most of us heard of a serene and cool pool, Manasa Sarovar, some where in Himalayas near Mount Kailas. But the real manasa sarovar is inside us as a calm inner space. Our ‘heart space’ is the only source for lasting serenity and tranquility. So let us now address the crucial question, how do we experience this serenity that is already within us?

Imagine for a moment, you are in a dark room without any light. As you grope around the room, you feel a sharp razor. You also realise that there is a man holding this sharp razor and he is wearing a mask. What thoughts pop up in your mind in that moment? Do you feel panic and confusion? Is your immediate reaction to run from that room or continue in that place and switch on the light?

We need not continue to live life through the lens of past unresolved experiences. It is not too difficult to bring awareness into the unexplored regions of our heart that are holding on to unresolved anger, unexpressed sadness or unaddressed envy. As we bring more awareness to these aspects of ourselves, we discover that they remain ‘dark’ and painful only to the extent that we do not examine and embrace them. As we continue to bring light to our heart space, we sense the lightness that always envelops us and we deepen our experience of life as a serene and joyful event that it really is.

Ramakrishna Maguluri