Depression

           The primary mistake that person make is  not considering how the mind function.
they thus become trapped by thoughts, mood, and feelings that are transitory. they pass through the field of conscious awareness in a continuous flow. one thing is certain about mental function -- it is always changing
           In the ayurvedic sense mind comprises thinking, intellectual reasoning, memory, emotion and feelings. it is interesting to note that the emotion and feelings are consider so intrinsic to mental function they are not classified as being separate from the working of mind. why is this ?

         What is it that perceives the emotion or feelings? When you say, ''I am depressed '' what is it that becomes aware of this state?

         when you say '' i feel sad '' or i feel bad'' what is it that contains awareness of these passing state ?

some process occurs that not only conscious, but it also aware of what is passing - be it a thought, emotion or feeling. this total function we call the '' mind'' 

     Normally, we do not question what passes through this mental field or mind. we are vaguely aware of thoughts or emotions crossing this field of conscious awareness. occasionally, we grab onto one thought and follow it until it fizzles out.

    The mental perception is often so vague that people in general are not aware that there is not a continuous stream of thoughts but rather many different individuals thoughts passing separately.

Depression, according to this explanation , occurs when a thought or emotion is chosen and then gets stuck in the mental field and won't go away.

It stays inside and goes around and around, until we go mad, get stressed, get depressed or have a nervous breakdown 

All mental troubles result from latching on to a single thought , emotion , feeling and staying  in a relationship with it. this prevents flow of thoughts through the mental field.

you can pick any thought you like. verify this , is this true?  test it and see . do you have the ability to choose and then release any thought that is passing through your mental field of awareness? when you have confirmed this fact, you have empowered yourself.

you have suddenly become master , when seconds before you were the slave. this drastic shift of power results from small but critical changes. you now have the power to choose. you have always that power, but you were only vaguely aware of it or perhaps you were never aware of it . the lack of awareness of this choice enslaves you to anything that passes through your head, good or bad , happy or depressing. by choosing you can change your life, you take charge of your mind and emotion 

your affinity can be of two kinds in ayurveda which gives two different names to distinguish between them . samskaras ( affinity that are picked up in this life ) vasanas (impression that are inherent in human beings)

simply speaking the two different kind of affinities are what get us in relationship with the thoughts and emotion that are passing through the mental fields. this is where the problem begin and when we must assert our choice.

 Neither the thoughts not the emotions are problematic but the relation we have with them can be. 

Example will be beneficial . i get depressed each time i feel my partner is becoming emotionally aggressive. i feel hurt and am unable to express my hurt. i also feel the aggression  is unjustified which adds to my frustration because i am unable to express this, i end up feeling depressed.

    In this example, the depression is clearly the result of two factors, both of which stem from conditioned behavior. i  have learned from my parents and family not only to accept emotional aggression but not to express how i feel about it. to complicate matters, i have been taught to internalize these feelings until i become depressed by the whole matter. this is all conditioned behavior.

ayurveda feels that instead of wasting a lot of time and money on peripheral issues, why not go directly to the primary issue, which is to cut the relationship with the conditioned behavior that creates the affinity?

This method does work. it works with time and patience because we have to relearn or change the habitual manner in which  we have been taught to deal with things.

  it is necessary to understand one other point before the whole ayurvedic picture falls into place. we have seen that we have choice , yet what is this choice?

my teacher put it very  simple and it his advice that i still follow after years. ask yourself if this activity, thoughts, emotion or whatever brings you peace or does it bring unhappiness and disturbances by questioning ourselves like this  things become very simple either a thought bring peace of mind or it brings disturbance 

we have power to choose peace in our lives or we have power choose misery ...therefore change our conditioning or mental habits. this takes some effort and time but it is infinitely worthwhile.

stay tuned for next part continue reading and do comment ... how you feel ..and this is  yours subha signing off