When you’re feeling low, Read this!

This is my 101st blog, If you did not know, or if you’ve missed reading some of my blogs, I’ve made a list of My Top Blogs, to begin with. 

In this blog, let’s talk about the un-talked. It’s our not-so-good or low-feel or low times, sadness, depression even. I’m just another person, so I too have experienced these at varied levels.

Get ready. Let’s begin. This is going to get deep.

Buddha said, “Life is suffering”. Have you ever felt like that? Ultimately, if you leave space for nothingness, you’ll realize that that is all there is. There is nothing in this world other than YOU, the self. So, it’s obviously the natural state for every one of us to be in sadness or depression even, if we’re trying to search for something other than that.

In the world we are in, nobody seems to care about this reality, and that provokes our primitive brain to think about all the other things people seem to value – money, fame, expensive lifestyle, etc. We forget the life that’s in every moment. If you feel like “Life is suffering”, that means you just took a moment and separated yourself from your life to see the suffering throughout the process. Of course, it is true objectively that where there is desire, there is suffering. And we’re designed in such a way that we constantly desire. At the least, a hungry man desires to eat food. So, what can we do to make ourselves not feel “Life is suffering”?

If it is an immediate survival problem, definitely solve that by using both sides of your brain. But if it is a psychological problem, do not try to solve it externally, because the only way to solve it is through learning to let go. I’m not saying just let go of your desires. I’m suggesting you let go of the tendencies you have to cling to the “suffering” part of life. And you can do that after you become aware of the exact mechanism of that particular tendency of yours.

Here are some of my learnings from when I was in “not-so-good times”. This is personal, but I thought it might help many in “not-so-good” times. I’ve acquired them not now or in one day or in a year, but gradually through each of my “not-so-good times”.

When you’re feeling low. Remember this:

1. Listen to your favorite music (for me, the legend – U Srinivas’s Mandolin. And I use this at my lowest point, thankfully it’s been a long time since I’ve been at that point). Music, especially, classical music has the power to restore you to your best self, after which you can try to think, rationalize, understand your situation, and let yourself back to the world at ease. This is a painkiller or a band-aid, but nevertheless, we need it to begin with when the pain is very intense.
2. God is with you. [ If you do not believe in God, you can replace it with Universe. Ultimately, everything is one, so that should be enough to say you’re not alone ] This is not your first low feel. Remember how you overcame your previous low, remember there was light, and it was God who directed you, who is and gave the light. He was there for you back then, and he will be there for you now too! If this is your first low feel, then brace yourselves, there will be more! 
3. Observe what you are thinking about. Are you thinking about your work or about the results you expect to miraculously happen? That answers why you’re feeling low. 
4. Ignorance = Pain. Try to see what you’re not seeing, and from where the pain originates from. “This too shall pass” is true, but the other half is, “what are you gonna do about it?” Do you learn from what’s happening, or will you just feel the pain? Or worse, try to avoid pain by distracting yourself from it through external stimulants.
5. Fight the resistance. [ I must keep creating, always.] [ This was one of my first personal discoveries ]. [Read the blog: 8 simple facts to beat resistance]. Get back to your routine, filled with these 9 Habits that changed my life.
6. Moreover, Your ultimate intent is liberation! So, don’t fuss too much about the happenings in this materialistic world. Just practice, meditate, and serve.
7. Not everything applies to you. You need not overthink unnecessarily because there exist planes of reality or in other words different levels/planes of truth. The higher you are in this hierarchy, the less you need to bother about the lower levels of truth. The truth that matters will be coherent/ remain the same at all levels. When you’re facing contradictions, this might help. But of course, this applies only if you’re moving with awareness towards LIFE, not when you’re trying to avoid something out of fear. (Fear is born of ignorance)
8. Consider that you are experiencing low feelings because you’re not listening to what the universe is trying to say. Listen! And be grateful that soon you’ll be enlightened by a bit of truth, a bit of realization. You’ll realize a bit of either how your brain works or how life works or both even, who knows, get ready. Welcome the truth with grace!
9. It’s none of your business. It is not your business to make suffering for yourself! And this also applies as it is not your business to interfere or get involved in other’s work paths.
10. Everything is meaningless. Nothing matters. You don’t matter. No one matters. No matter how much you try to convince otherwise. When no one and nothing matters, that should not be the point of suffering, it should be liberating if you truly realize it.
11. You’re probably expecting too much. And you know that desire is the cause of suffering. Remind yourself that you have an intent, not desire, so it cannot influence how you feel. Remember that Intent is process aligned, not result-oriented. 
12. Have patience, and faith in the self.
13. Time is uncontrollable. Patience again. We are trapped in time, yes. You desire the ultimate Wisdom, ultimate health, and ultimate freedom to do what you love & serve mastery to humanity. But it takes time. One step at a time. 
14. All questions will be answered. But just not right now. The universe knows when you’re ready to realize a particular bite of truth. 
15. Whenever you see yourself complaining about life being unfair. Ask yourself this, is life being unfair to you in providing you with a fulfilled life? Or is it just that you want some increment in merely a metric system? 
16. Whenever things do not happen your way, you need to practice wisdom. You must take pleasantness from that process of just observing from a point.
17. Enjoy your gifts. If you can be honest, you have everything. All that’s required to live a life of fulfillment. Acknowledge that abundance. Do not be bothered if someone else also has everything. So be it. You enjoy your gifts, that’s all. 
18. You may be suffering an Upgrade. 

This list might become even longer in the future, with more lessons I’ve learned, but I wanted to not further postpone sharing this with you. Through this blog, I know I’ve barely tried to furnish the surface. If you’d like to share your situation and reflect on it together, please feel free to ping me.

Thank You

Sanath Kumar Naibhi