The Three Energies. The Forgotten Canons of Health and Harmony. Rami Bleckt

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      For example, influenced by passion, a father who is absorbed in his work may only see his children when they are asleep or briefly at the weekend. Because he is working to supply all necessities for his family, he thinks that his wife is responsible for looking after their children because she is not working, and thus justifies his behaviour. But they also need their father’s love – the energy of the Sun (yang). He may experience success for some time despite ignoring this important part of his life. However his actions create a conflict which triggers nature’s defensive system; nature does not forgive the neglect of children. As a result illness, depression and financial difficulties will come, and problems will arise in various relationships. Not only the individual and his family can be affected, but society as a whole. The effects’ can be even worse if it is the mother that becomes overwhelmed by or absorbed in her career.

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      Such women frequently come to me for consultations in Moscow. I met one lady, divorced and in her late thirties, who wanted a normal family and more children. But at the same time she was neglecting her child from her first marriage, although by sending him to the best school and buying him expensive toys she imagined herself to be adequately doing her duty. Why should nature give her more children?

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      A pleasant, pregnant woman used to work at one bank in Jerusalem where I had an account. She stopped working just a few days before giving birth and I thought I would not see her for a long time. But three months later when I popped into the bank, I was surprised to see her again. I asked her if she was okay and she joyfully replied, “Yes, everything is great, the baby is wonderful”. When I asked why she had returned, she explained that her maternity pay only covered the first three months and the bank would ask her to leave if she did not work. She worked from eight to ten hours a day and most of her salary was spent on child-minding fees. Her main concern was whether she would get promoted the following summer. This shows passion in action.

      Such is the life of many modern women, regardless of the assertion of modern scientists and psychologists that the longer a child is breastfed the healthier he will be, physically and psychologically. During one of the Dalai Lama’s visits to America he was asked, “What is your main message?” People were stunned and confused when he replied, “Ladies, breastfeed your babies!”

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      Recently one businessman came to me for a consultation. His company secretly inspects and monitors the conduct of babysitters when the parents are absent. He almost went bankrupt because so few people wanted to use this service. Parents were worried that if they found out the babysitter was unsuitable, this would affect their work schedule or their social life. Their main concern was that at least there should be someone to look after their children. Eighty percent of those who used his service decided to change their babysitter because they could see how badly their child was being cared for. This is passion – to leave a baby with a practical stranger rather than hinder their own enjoyment.

      Chapter 4

      Being Proactive

      Life should be lived now; it can’t be put aside all the time.

Irvin Yalom

      Being Proactive brings Success in Life

      Sattva means that we act proactively in all aspects of our life, that we plan our lives in a conscious manner rather than carelessly reacting to things or being carried along by others. One of the most important areas of our life is how and what we eat – the eating process is connected to our mind and nervous system and is the first and most basic step to come to sattva. We should be thoughtful about what, how, where and whom we eat with. Of course, we can eat quickly or while walking around, paying no attention to the actual food and process of eating; this however will lead to disease and aggravate the nervous system. It is better to sit peacefully, to say a prayer before eating and spend a little more time if we want to eat under the influence of goodness. Many things in our lives are determined by the way we eat. If we eat properly, it will be significantly easier to establish ourselves in goodness and thus experience improved health and inner peace.

      If we are considering marriage, we should spend a few years preparing for it – read relevant books, study how to develop harmony in family life and how to find a suitable partner. If we want to go to university to learn something new, we should research at least one year before. We need to understand why it is important to us, and if it will suit our nature, mission and goal in life.

      Sleep is also important. We always have many things to do, and to go to bed at ten or eleven in the evening may seem impossible. This happens daily over many years and has a negative influence on our health. At the beginning, it may seem difficult to train ourselves to go to bed early because our mind tries to find excuses. But if we are determined, we will see how everything around us changes, even our relatives will suddenly begin going to bed early.

      Regarding employment, we may complain that we find it difficult to work, are undervalued or do not get promoted. But we need to consider how much time we regularly give for self-education. According to statistics received by American researchers, if we spend at least one hour a day on training ourselves in our chosen occupation, by reading or taking relevant courses to upgrade our qualifications, a powerful energy is produced that increases our chances of success, causing unexpected things to happen. Suddenly we may get promoted, or interesting projects or job offers in good companies come your way. In order to make this happen, we must be proactive – this is exactly how successful people act.

      Genuine self-education implies sattva. When in ignorance we open a book, but have no interest to read or understand it, when in passion we cannot concentrate, are distracted all the time, or we spend five hours at a time studying and then do nothing for two weeks. It is better to study short periods as long as it is regular – for example, such studying is recommended for those training themselves in a new language. This is education in goodness.

      Politics and the Gunas

      Today it is almost impossible to find a political or social system in sattva. They are mainly in passion: most politicians focus on winning an election and snatching lots of money from the state. Much effort is invested in looking good and putting on a show, for example, charity work is performed only under the condition that it gets huge publicity.

      When in ignorance politicians physically abuse each other, engage in revolutions or rebellions. I remember once reading, “There are politicians and there are statesmen”; the difference between them is that the latter’s aims to serve his country and citizens. Statesmen put lots of energy into long – term projects and plan better for the future, which means that sattva is dominant.

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      While in New Zealand recently, I made contact with an old acquaintance that I had not seen for many years. He has lived there for a long time and told me how well everything is organised. Occasionally he works part-time at a hospital as an interpreter and was surprised to see their approach to health care. For example, just after a patient has had surgery, someone is assigned to find out the cause of their disease: poor diet, social problems or something else. Then a medical specialist comes (dietician, social worker, etc…) to help solve the patient’s problems. For patients recovering from surgery or some illness, a caretaker may go to their house and install handrails in the shower and other places. This is an intelligent approach: if this person falls down and is injured, it will cause suffering for him and unnecessary disturbance and expense for the state.

      The Police there have established a department for overseeing multicultural issues, although there are no racial problems. They are trying to prevent such problems from happening in СКАЧАТЬ