OBSTACLE 5

Karma Yoga gives us nine obstacles to overcome, so that we might have in our lives, vitality, happiness and peace. The first is ill health. The second is boredom. The third is self-doubt. None of these leads to happiness, fulfillment and success. The fourth is distractions and carelessness. When we are distracted, we are often careless and both of these leads to mistakes, injuries and poor judgement. The fifth is feeling heavy and burnt-out. We all have these feelings of exhaustion, stress and overload from time to time so karma reminds us to pay attention to these feelings; slow down, bring some balanced peace and tranquility back into your life so you can avoid the obstacle of becoming burnt-out. It’s hard to be energetic, enthusiastic, happy and focused when faced with obstacle of feeling heavy and exhausted. So, lets’ take some time and work on being present, balanced, tranquil and peaceful. END: the basis of life is energy and it is what we do with our energy that determines whether we survive or perish. To overcome heaviness and becoming burnt-out we need to balance our energy body, mind and soul and that means to find harmony. It is so easy to get caught up in the dramas and stressors of life and let them lead us to exhaustion. But the irony of life is that for all our outward strivings and all the dramas, in the end, the sum total always adds up to zero. We take none of the dramas, problems and stressors with us when we depart this world. What we do take is the compassion, understanding and ability to observe and let go, remembering that life is all about experiences and how we use our energy in each of these experiences determines whether we live a life of harmony, or one strife with the heaviness and dramas that lead to becoming burnt-out-out. Being burnt-out is truly an obstacle when it comes to being healthy and finding, peace, and harmony. Let go, observe and find harmony. EGO: Flip your palms up and extend out your index finger; the symbol of your ego. The ego is constantly striving to excel, to be important and to consume. It wants acceptance and love. All of this comes from the citta, or the perceptions we hold in our mind. Pull your finger in and place your thumb on top and take a moment to surrender to your soul. Take a deep breath – let it go. The soul sits back and watches the basic mind, the ego, or the “I” with its feelings of wanting to be important and being right. Once you begin to control the “I” and see it for what it really is; desire, cravings, distractions, worry and self-doubt you can begin to take control over your thoughts knowing you can change them as you will; you are not bound by the dictates of the outside world. There is nothing wrong with the world. It is there for you to use it. You can make it a peaceful harmonious place, or a heavy, dramatic and exhausting place, depending upon your approach. If you can control your mind, you can control your energy and when you control and direct your energy you can create a world of harmony and balance – that is the antidote to being heavy and burnt-out; a obstacle worth overcoming. Namaste~ may you walk the path of life with health, happiness and peace Doctor Lynn For more classes, books and private consultations http://www.doctorlynn.com