The Four Great Passions

Combating deceit is a challenging journey that requires strength. But remember, the antidote to deceit is honesty. While the truth may be complex and difficult, it's also a reassuring guide. Like the story of the yogi, the truth is a complex path. Combating Greed requires flexibility. The antidote to Greed is generosity—not just with your money but also your time, words of kindness, and a helping hand. Combating Anger requires balance. The antidote to Anger is kindness. It takes balance to remain still amid a storm and wait for calmness to return. Pride is the fourth great passion. The antidote to pride is humility. Pride is a false sense of self-worth. It is good to be proud of yourself for your accomplishments, but when these become means for believing we are better than others, we experience the great passion of pride. Practicing humility can sometimes be difficult in a world of inequality, exploitation, and injustice. Humility is the ability to look deep within yourself only to realize that we're all the same at the core of our existence. It means to remove judgment. Humility calls upon us to question ourselves, our motives, and our actions. In this way, it teaches integrity and honesty. When we look inward and observe the workings of our minds, we don't always like what we see. Our minds can be downright infuriating, irritating, and humiliating. It takes great courage and humility to look deeply and own up to what we see. But the rewards are tremendous: cultivating honesty, integrity, kindness, and discernment. How we relate to ourselves and the people in our lives directly impacts our happiness level. Being humble requires that we trust ourselves enough to live out each day as if it were our last and, at the same time, be the change we wish to see more of in the world. Let's start working on strength, flexibility, balance, and peace. END: Be proud of yourself. There is a big difference between having self-worth and being prideful by comparing yourself to others with a sense of superiority. Remember the humble dirt of the earth. Without the dirt, we could not exist. Pride can often be seen as arrogance and conceit or believing oneself to be better than others due to status, money, or material gains. Just remember that things of the material world can come, and they can go. It takes courage and humility to look deeply within and own up to what we see. But the rewards are tremendous: cultivating honesty, integrity, kindness, and discernment. We are all different, but we are all equal. EGO: Flip your palms up and extend out the index finger, the symbol of the ego. When the ego rises in self-importance, inequality, exploitation, and injustice will increase; if the ego subsides, these will subside. The more profound our humility, the deeper we connect with the core of our being. We realize that we are all the same. We should pass through this life with one mission – to master our existence by finding joy and peace. You can't find true happiness and peace with inflated self-importance and at the expense of others. Pull your finger in and place your thumb on top. Take a deep breath and surrender to the soul. In mythology, Shiva is an image of the higher self, who slays the prideful ego for the sake of compassion. Through infinite compassion and understanding of the higher self, Shiva forgives the ego. How we relate to ourselves and the people in our lives directly impacts our level of happiness. Being humble requires that we trust ourselves enough to live out each day as if it were our last and, at the same time, be the change we wish to see more of in the world. Be honest, generous, kind, and humble, and remember not to fall into D-GAP – deceit, Greed, Anger, and pride. Namaste~ may you walk the path of life with health, happiness, and peace. Doctor Lynn For books, classes, consultations, and more http://www.doctorlynn.com