The Sixth Obstacle—Feeling Heavy and Burnt Out

We all experience exhaustion, stress, and overload from time to time, so karma reminds us to pay attention to these feelings, slow down, and bring some balance and harmony back into our lives. This is how to overcome the obstacle of becoming burnt out. Being energetic, enthusiastic, happy, and focused is hard when faced with heavy feelings and exhaustion. The basis of life is energy, and what we do with our energy determines whether we survive or perish. To overcome feeling heavy and burnt out, we need to balance our energy, body, mind, and soul, which leads to 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 when we depart this world. What we do take is the compassion, understanding, and kindness we give to ourselves and others. This requires flexibility, strength, balance, and inner peace. Let’s get started. END: The irony of life is that for all our outward strivings and dramas, the sum total always adds up to zero. What we take as we depart this world is the compassion, understanding, and kindness we give ourselves and others. Life is all about our experiences, and how we use our energy in each of these experiences determines whether we live a life of harmony or strife, with the heaviness and dramas that lead to burnout. EGO: Flip your palms up and extend your index finger, symbolizing your ego. The ego constantly strives to excel, be important, and consume. It wants acceptance and love. All of this comes from the Citta or the perceptions we hold in our minds. They keep us in a constant state of fluctuation, making it easy to get burned out. Pull your finger in and place your thumb on top. Take a breath and surrender to your soul. The soul sits back and watches as the mind, the ego, or the “I” strives to feel important and always be right. Once you begin to control the “I”(ego) and see it for what it is: our desires, cravings, distractions, worries, and self-doubt, you can then begin to take control over your thoughts and exercise your free will. There is nothing wrong with the world. It is here for you to use it. You can make it a peaceful and harmonious place or a heavy, dramatic, and exhausting place where you become stressed and burnt out. The antidote to feeling heavy and burnt out is living a balanced and harmonious life. Namaste ~ may you walk the path of life with health, happiness, and peace. Doctor Lynn For books, classes, consultations, and more http://www.doctorlyn.com

The Fifth Obstacle—Unbridled Cravings and Desires

There is nothing wrong with having desires. We are hardwired to seek pleasure; without this, we could not survive. We all desire to live a better and healthier life. But when desires become unbridled and obsessive and lead to cravings that distract us from our karmic work, they become obstacles to a successful life, which means having health, happiness, and peace in your body, mind, and soul. When we have cravings and desires, they bind us and drive us to satisfy them. Once satisfied, we become somewhat peace¬ful until the next craving or desire arises. Cravings keep us in the perpetual cycle of discontentment. Karma teaches us to work on disciplining the subconscious mind so we might draw the thoughts found in the conscious mind into it. Here, we can produce genuine contentment and peace. How? Quiet the mind and observe. The whole point of karma is learning to be content and at peace with what comes into your life and what goes out while observing and learning life’s lessons. When you have genuine happiness and are not attached to anything, you control cravings and desires, allowing you to control your life. Nothing in the world binds you. Yoga reminds us that if we can control the Chitta (fluctuations) in our minds, we can control everything. END: Be content with who you are, body, mind, and soul. Contentment is an inner peace independent of any external force. It means to be independently happy and satisfied no matter what enters or exits your life. When content, you are at peace with yourself and the world. Removing cravings and finding satisfaction is easy when at peace with yourself and the world. EGO: Flip your hands up and extend your index finger, symbolizing your ego. The ego wants acceptance and importance. It sees those with powerful titles and expensive cars and houses as more important than it is, so it craves these things. It believes that these things symbolize acceptance, happiness, and success. And although power and wealth can make it appear that one’s life is more important and easier, in the end, we take none of this with us. Cravings and desires can take on an addictive nature. Desires scatter the life force and keep us in the perpetual cycle of seeking pleasure but ultimately finding pain. Pull your index finger in and place your thumb on top. Take a breath and surrender to your soul. You are connected with your soul when you are truly content and happy. Here, it matters not what comes into your life or what leaves your life. The soul finds joy and appreciation in experiencing life as it is in each moment. Namaste~ may you walk the path of life with health, happiness and peace, Doctor Lynn For books, classes, consultation, and more http://www.doctorlynn.com

The Four Obstacle obstructing your karma— REVIEW

Ill health, self-doubt, boredom and apathy, and scattered or careless behavior are the first four characteristics that keep us trapped in the perpetual cycle of karma. Overcoming these requires awareness, calmness, and shifting our mindset toward contentment and peace. It is difficult to find contentment when life hands you illness, restlessness, self-doubt, and distraction. However, karma reminds us that these challenges arise so we can work through them and experience true peace. If we never faced them, we would never learn how to accept life's struggles and joys. No one gets through life without encountering these four obstacles and many others. How we work through them is how we work through our karma. Today, let's focus on awareness, contentment, and peace. Ego and the Path to Peace EGO: Flip your palms up and extend your index finger—representing the ego. The ego often asks, “Why is this happening to me?” It forgets that obstacles are simply part of life’s experience. The ego can easily slip into believing it is the center of the universe when, in reality, it is just a tiny part of the vast, interconnected whole. Now, pull your index finger in and place your thumb on top. Take a deep breath and surrender to the soul. The soul understands that we are here to experience all of life—the sadness and joy. The soul observes, experiences, and then chooses the best path toward peace and contentment. The ego gets in the way and gets us stuck in the obstacles. So, we are reminded to be aware, be still, observe, and then choose the path that leads to peace and contentment. That is how we work our karma. 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

The Fourth Obstacle—Distractions and Carelessness

When we are distracted, we are often careless, leading to mistakes, injuries, and poor judgment. Success in life requires focused effort and a careful approach. Without focus, the mind becomes scattered, and a scattered mind is precisely what karma yoga teaches us needs to be tamed. If you are trying to master something, you must give it your focused attention; otherwise, nothing gets completed. We must also be careful with our energy; otherwise, we waste time and effort, and nothing gets accomplished. Wasting time and effort can harm the health of the body, mind, and soul. Yoga reminds us to be present, aware, and careful about what we think, say, and do. This requires conscious awareness, which is what it means to work your karma. If you know the things that distract you and scatter your energy, you will be more careful about how you use your energy. Use it for the right purpose, at the right time, with the right amount of focus, and you will succeed. Emotions, feelings, desires, and cravings scatter the life force, and it isn't easy to find peace and tranquility when it is scattered. Tranquility, of course, takes work, which is what it means to work your karma. END: Life will always present us with obstacles to overcome. Awareness of these obstacles and the valuable lessons they teach us is working your karma. It is easy in today's world to get distracted by all that is happening around you. That is why karma reminds us to still the mind and focus on the important things: your health, joy, enthusiasm, self-knowledge, and self-worth. Master these and be like the warrior; focus on your energy and then carefully use it at the right time, with the right amount of force, for the right purpose, and you will succeed. EGO: Flip your palms up and extend the index finger—your ego. The ego is always looking here and there in the outside world for its worth, validation, and enthusiasm. The ego is constantly distracted in its quest to survive and thrive. It forgets that we need focus and caution to survive in the world. Distractions and carelessness can lead to stress, ill health, lack of enthusiasm, and self-doubt. Pull your index finger in and place your thumb on top. This is the symbol of the soul. Take a breath and surrender to the calmness of your soul. The soul reminds us to stop and think before speaking and acting. When the mind is focused, we can direct our energy to create a more carefully directed life for ourselves and the world. To do this, remove distractions. Stay focused on what is important and be careful where and how you direct your energy. In this, you will work your karma and prosper. Namaste~ may you walk the path of life with health, happiness, and peace. Doctor Lynn For books, classes, consultation and more http://www.doctorlynn.com