Thinking, not enough Feeling.

He walked in circles.

'Close your eyes and carefully listen to the music of nature. Focus on your breathing and try to stay away from the ideas of Earthly pleasures.' 

....his refined vibrations offered a calming spell to the rambling mind. But, it barely gave protection from a constant flurry, early morning at 6:00 AM. I was sure of catching a cold by the end of an hour-long session and profaned a few who were guilty of bringing me to the Ashram, in the chilling winter of November. 

I sat in the lotus posture, bare-chested, donning a loin cloth. My eyelids fluttered before I managed to close them. I waited for the next instruction. There was a long pause before he re-emphasized on listening to the music of nature. I tried hard, but all I could hear was the humming sound coming from the nearby forest. Frustrated, I mumbled - 'Almighty! Could you please increase the volume. It's hard for my ears to catch this music.' 

The girl, next to me, giggled, breaking the reverie and my inner voice said, 'Game Over Buddy.'

He walked towards me and gently placed his hand on my head. Though my eyes were closed, I could feel his gaze on me and warmth from his hand. He was quiet, but his fingers softly gripped my skull. I decided not to react and waited curiously for his next move. 

A few seconds later, he removed his hand and asked, 'what are you thinking right now?' I was not sure if I had to open my eyes so blindfolded I said, 'I am thinking about the music of nature. I don't know what it means.' He paused for a few seconds and then asked again, 'how are you feeling right now?.' For a moment I thought, both the questions meant the same and juggled with them. 

He said, 'open your eyes, think a little and explain how are you feeling right now?' I decided, to be honest, and said, 'I think I have a feeling of resentment, I am missing my comfort zone.'

He smiled, the class was dismissed early, and we all followed him to a large hall in his Ashram. He folded his legs and settled himself on a small wooden podium. While the morning tea was served, he spoke through the microphone. 

Thinking & Feeling - are two different things and it is important we understand it well before we get to our next session tomorrow morning. 

Many believe that thinking is about brain and feeling is about heart. To a large degree, this is correct. Since it is a vast topic, am not going to get into the nuances of it, but it is important to understand its simple application. 

If I may ask you - right now, what kind of thoughts you have in your mind? Are these positive or negative or mixed? Would you be able to give me a firm answer? 

I am sure you all are trying hard. Now, take a moment and tell me how are you feeling inside - Are you feeling okay? Or Are you feeling sorry? There could be other emotions too. 

While we contemplated the answer, he continued.

The distinction between thinking and feeling is not always easy, as many thoughts seem to reflect emotions, while many feelings appear to arise on the back of specific ideas. In this way, the two are intimately related. So emotions can be experienced on many levels. It can be a gross sensation, where you perhaps experience tightness in the chest, or butterflies in the stomach, or it can be a lot more subtle, with maybe a slight sense of heaviness in the body, or even just a 'feeling' that something is not quite right. 

Having said that, in the last 30-40 years, there has been a paradigm shift. It is rather unfortunate that we, the human beings have slowly moved away from feelings and rely too much on thinking. There is a strong need to maintain a balance between the two. Even the law of attraction works on feeling and not just on thinking. 

For example - If you are thinking of attracting wealth and imagine it all the time. Unless you feel you have achieved it, the law of attraction won't work. This is the single most important reason for human beings to comply to the laws of nature. You are here in this pious atmosphere, but if you continue to think of your job/home/problems, nothing will change inside you, unless you start giving importance to the sensations in your body.   

In short, it is important that we pay close attention to what we are feeling. You see, if you are feeling good inside, it will spark wonderful ideas, and if you are feeling down, it will attract bad thoughts in mind. When you consciously start moving away from thinking, towards feelings, you will see your life take a different turn.

He stood up and walked out of the room leaving us spellbound.

“We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.” Charlie Chaplin