Freedom from Depression and Anxiety

Twenty five hundred years ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as the Buddha, observed that life on earth is filled with suffering. In fact, this turns out to be a common observation that occurs at some point to nearly everyone on a conscious spiritual path, and it is just as true today as it was when Buddha walked the earth. Even when the suffering is not direct and obvious, such as when a person is in great physical pain, the quiet mind may observe an underlying sense of emotional distress. There is a sort of background gloom that pervades the world which always seems be present, infecting life with a general sense of depression, anxiety, and guilt. The great teaching, A Course in Miracles, explains that we experience constant strain because earth is not our natural home, and therefore we are living and trying to function in an environment that we were not created for. The Course teaches that the perception of both time and space is a form of dreaming, much like the dreams we experience at night during sleep, and that the only way to fully free ourselves of the pain that underlies our existence here is to awaken to our Reality.

I have discovered through my own experience of this suffering that—while there may not be a way to completely eliminate it from our day-to-day lives while we are official earthlings—there are steps you can take to minimize it:

Step one involves ridding yourself of the impulse to attack and judge others or yourself. The more attack thoughts that cross your mind, the greater your own personal pain will be. Most people do not realize how deeply their thoughts affect their feelings. Begin actively replacing judgment with forgiveness and anger with unconditional love and you will experience a powerful shift in your mood.
Step two is to focus on living in the present moment. Do not allow your mind to become preoccupied with thoughts regarding the past or future, but learn how to live comfortably in the present here and now. The more you do this, the freer you will become from fear and depression. As you begin practicing present moment awareness, you will observe that when you focus on the past, you will tend to feel depressed, and when you focus on the future you will arouse anxiety. Only the present moment offers freedom from the emotionally toxic states of anxiety and sorrow.
Step three is to know yourself as more than just a physical body and personality, but as an eternal spirit who is having a human experience. The more deeply you are able to experience your spiritual self, the safer, happier, and more at peace you will feel.

These three steps can be summed up as follows: Seek refuge from the pain of the dream world by going beyond it. You do this through the development of unconditional love, present moment awareness, and direct experiences of yourself as a spiritual being, which can be accomplished through practices such as meditation.

The Two Forces

If you learn to be quiet enough to examine your thoughts with genuine honesty and become deeply attuned to your feelings instant by instant, you will begin to realize a disturbing truth: there is a war raging inside of you, and it has been present as long as you have been alive. This war is an ancient struggle that affects all human beings to one degree or another. The cliché image of a man with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other—both whispering opposing advice into his ears—reflects our timeless struggle between the positive and negative forces within us.

This conflict is continuous, even when we aren’t aware of it. It only seems to go away when one side or the other is dominant, which is always a temporary state. An individual may tend toward one end of the spectrum or another, but until a firm commitment is made to accept only loving thoughts, the inner battle will continue to rage. Left unhealed, this struggle leads to all types of emotional imbalances, including depression, anxiety attacks, mania, anger, feelings of meaninglessness and hopelessness, regret, hyperactivity, doubt, uncertainty, and fear.

One opponent in this battle always speaks negatively. It interprets all things from a perspective of darkness. It tends to judge others and lash out in anger. Or it may turn around and attack you directly with feelings of inadequacy, depression, anxiety, or a mixture of these and other dark feelings. It does not matter whether this force is seeking to vent on someone else or you. Listening and agreeing with it will always cause you pain. In contrast, the other opponent in this struggle always speaks positively. It looks on others and yourself gently. It forgives when mistakes have been made. It speaks quietly of happy interpretations and offers compassion when your path in life has grown difficult. Identifying with this positive energy source more will lead you to increased levels of happiness and peace.

Learning to release this conflict is the path of all true spiritual healing, regardless of an individual’s religion or beliefs. The way to advance is to become increasingly dedicated to the voice for peace within you. Learn to be quiet in thought so that you can better distinguish the two forces at war in your mind, and be determined to side with the one that brings emotional peace to you. This is a commitment you would be wise to remind yourself of every day.

Embracing Change

Every fall our senses are bombarded by change. You wake one day, step outside and realize the morning breeze suddenly has a nasty bite to it. Gradually the leaves of deciduous trees turn from green to golden and bronze, and spin to the ground leaving branches as bare
as a skeleton’s fingers.

Change is a part of our world—in fact it is all around us, all the time, not just in fall. Yet many of us are unsettled by change, and so we fear and resist it. One of the primary reasons for this reaction stems from basic programming lodged in the human psyche. Change can spell disaster, not only for individuals, but for entire species. Failure to adapt to major environmental fluctuations has extinguished many species. As a result we are hardwired to resist change. What happens, however, when the status quo is the threat? The human race is confronted by this very scenario right now. Our scientists have started to realize that we are gradually destroying Earth’s environment and depleting the natural resources that we—and the planet’s many other residents—depend on. Now, it seems, we will have to learn not only to tolerate change, but to actively embrace it.

On a smaller scale, learning to embrace change can be incredibly meaningful to you as an individual. If your own personal status quo is littered with destructive tendencies or negative thought patterns, or if you just feel as if there is something inherently missing from your life, you too will need to come to peace with change if you hope for a better life. In fact you will have to do more than just come to peace with it—you will need to seek it out and actively incorporate it into your life. If there is one message I wish to share with you this season, it is this: Whatever you do, don’t settle for a mediocre istence. Make this fall a time to set aside your fear of change, and embrace it instead. Exchange sadness for happiness; conflict for peace, and a life of just going through the motions for one of conscious, intentional living. That’s positive change so inspiring you will never look back at your old self again, and you will want to share it with everyone you love.

Cleaning Your Connecting Link

When you become quiet and very still, and turmoil ceases to take up space within your mind, then you will realize your mind is not a tiny, limited biological organ which belongs to you and you alone. The brain may be a part of your personal body, but mind is quite a different matter. The mind is a sea, joined with all minds, and its depths run vast and deep. The Mind behind all minds is brimming with pure creative energy, which is always available to serve you in whatever way you need.

Perhaps it does not seem this way to you, but if not, listen up! Within your mind is a link that leads deep into the center of your being, connecting you to your core self. Core self can be likened to soul or spirit. It is the pure part of you that was there before you were born into the world, and will be there after your body dies. Don Juan, the great Yaqui Indian teacher of Carlos Castaneda, called this link “the connecting link to intent.” Each human being has their own such link, which joins them directly to core self and Spirit. Life energy flows from Spirit, through core self, and ultimately into your own human life and mind, and body. This is the same energy which fuels your life, keeps your heart beating, and your mind thinking. Nothing you do or think could occur without this energy and the link that channels it to you.

The problem most people have is that their “connecting link” has become dirty, and so this energy is not able to flow freely anymore, as it did when they were children. You can see how bright and clear this energy flows in infants and young children. Just take a moment to look into their eyes, and listen to their laughter. The light you see in their eyes and the joy carried by their laughter is the light and joy of Spirit, shinning through their link bright and clear. As we move into adulthood, however, we begin focusing more on the outside world, as opposed to the world within us, our personalities grow and mature, and judgment, fear, and guilt begin invading our thoughts. These negative thoughts and emotions gradually tarnish our link to Spirit, and by doing so make us feel separate from each other and our Source.

In order to clean this link, it is imperative to heal your thought system. This task, which is without a doubt the most important life task any of us could undertake, is best accomplished through an organized process of healing psychical wounds, reprogramming your thought system, and developing a direct awareness of your core self through meditation or similar spiritual exercises.

Begin this process, first of all, by making some time every day for spiritual practice during which you intentionally shift your focus inward, toward your core and away from conflict thoughts. Also, it is equally important to begin cultivating quiet thoughts centered around compassion and forgiveness. The more consistent effort you make toward purifying your thoughts, the cleaner your connecting link to Spirit will become and the more natural joy, personal empowerment, and peace you will experience.

Be True to Yourself

Too often, too many of us are unfaithful not only to others in our lives, but even to ourselves. We don’t love who we are enough to even understand what true fidelity means, much less to practice it. Fidelity at its heart implies honesty, and what is honesty but being true to what we stand for and believe in on every level of our being? To be truly honest means that your actions do not conflict with your words, your words do not conflict with your thoughts, and your thoughts do not conflict with your feelings. Everything you say, do, think, and feel is in harmony. This state only becomes possible when you love and fully respect what you stand for, heart and soul.
    

I have come to realize that this state only becomes possible through the dedication to unconditional love, because it alone is free of ego objectives, which always clash with each other. The dedication to unconditional love, on the other hand, doesn’t have a personal agenda, other than to heal and spread the message of peace. It cannot even clash with those who do not value peace, for this would turn its entire message into an empty gesture, a sheep in wolf’s clothing, a nice thought with an empty chest where its heart should be.

Be true to yourself on every level, by being true only to unconditional love. Realize that whenever you judge another person, you are aligning yourself with ego, and thus cutting yourself off from love. This always weakens you and causes pain and conflict.

For one week practice this very simple exercise, which will help align you with love. Begin at simplest level by refusing to say anything behind someone’s back that you would not be willing to say to their face. Also, notice all temptations to violate this exercise. Watch your impulses to attack, judge, gossip, and belittle others. Most importantly, observe how such impulses make you feel about yourself, how they affect your mind and your own emotions. Contrast this by also paying attention to how loving thoughts and gestures feel. The lesson? What you give to others—even at the level of thought—always comes back to you. Harbor loving thoughts for others, and you will learn the greatest lesson of all—to love who you are. Then, and only then, will you respect yourself enough to be true to yourself.