What Tools do you Have in your Tool Box?

When fear envelops you, how do you ride it through? When panic or anxiety overcomes you, how do you respond? When you find yourself confronted with regrettable situations, what do you do? To achieve true success we have to master our emotions and master our SELF. But how can we do that? Recently, I was introduced to Raja Yoga, an ancient, and the highest form of yoga, which brings the mind and emotions into balance. It is a route to self-realization. I found the idea of self-mastery and peace of mind very attractive. Who does not want peace of mind in an ever changing world filled with much turmoil? The introductory class consists of eight sessions: the first three lessons are on The Art of Self Mastery, and the final five on The Ancient Study of Raja Yoga Meditation. After the first self-mastery class, we were given a tool, a handout really, Our Mighty Powers: The Most Effective Powers in our Lives for us to study the nine powers: Tolerance, Truth/Honesty, Co-operation, Humility, Accommodation, Discrimination, Love, Judgment and Withdraw. For homework, we were tasked with integrating the use of the tools into our daily lives. The only way I knew how was to read and study them so that they became a part of me. In my life, I thought that the most important power was Withdraw, which is the same as letting go. Like many people, I have separation issues, staying in relationships that are bad for me, not wanting to let go of my writing for public consumption, and replaying bad situations over and over again, desperately trying to understand what went wrong. After consistently studying and reflecting on the nine powers, it dawned on me that they are all connected. In no time I started to feel a shift in mindset within me. I opened myself up to an entirely new feeling. How might this tool work for you? The nine powers Tolerance: We use this power to conquer our SELF, ego, anger and so on. Truth/Honesty: We present situations as they really are, without adding or subtracting from the whole picture. Honesty is facing the consequences for the sake of truth. Co-operation: We treat each other with mutual respect. Humility: We achieve respect for SELF by respecting others. Accommodation: Ability to be flexible in any situation, and with any personality, without feeling like we have “given in” or made a sacrifice. Discrimination: Our aim is to attain independence so that we are not influenced by situations and the emotions of others. We monitor our thoughts, and differentiate negative thoughts and actions from positive ones. It takes great power to stop our negative thoughts from taking us in the wrong direction. Love: This is the highest language, and if we speak the language of true love, we are understood everywhere. Judgment: We need wisdom to use this power accurately, and we should only judge ourselves, because we are the only ones who know what our true intentions are. Withdraw: This power allows us to detach ourselves from situations and personal conflicts. This is a true controlling power and we need the intellect to alert us when it is the correct time to withdraw. Exercising this power saves us from regret. There isn’t one route to success, and remember that Raja Yoga should be just one of the many tools in your tool box. If you are looking to reconnect to your higher self, this is one tool that can help you. This is certainly the way I view it.