Wisdom's Light

Wisdom’s Light

Tara Bennett Goleman, in her book ‘Emotional Alchemy’ writes “For the light of wisdom within everyone” on the dedication page. The book’s foreword was penned by the Dalai Lama. He observes: “As a Buddhist I have learned that what principally upsets our inner peace is what we call disturbing emotions. All those thoughts, emotions, and mental events that reflect a negative or uncompassionate state of mind inevitably undermine our experience of inner peace. All such negative thoughts and emotions as hatred, anger, pride, lust, greed, envy, and so on have the effect of disturbing our inner equilibrium. They also have a taxing effect on our physical health. In the Tibetan medical system, mental and emotional disturbances have long been considered causes of many constitutional diseases, including cancer. Disturbing emotions are the very source of unethical conduct.

Equilibrium . . . balance. In the absence of harmony within our living spaces, we become unbalanced, and in all of nature, imbalance is the beginning of the end of any eco-system or civilization, any species and its survival. It is the same with our bodies, that personal eco-system for which we are responsible while in our lives on this planet. In the frenzied rush to meet our obligations, personal and otherwise, it would be well to consider whether balance has been achieved within our complicated frameworks. Balance for ourselves, for our families. The food we eat, the air we breathe, our work environment, our communities, social interactions, and our friends must ‘square up’ with our bodies and minds at all times.

Blood pressure, heart and breathing rates, digestion, and many more bodily functions respond negatively to stress. In other words, stress is damaging to our bodies, not simply a temporary nuisance. Long term damage can and will occur if we fail to find a method by which we calm ourselves. Stress is by any definition an off-balance condition. When we feel ‘out of balance’ in any situation, it affects us physiologically. Our autonomic nervous systems react . . . we soon begin to believe that we have no control . . . and our solution may be to take a drug to suppress symptoms which alarm and inconvenience us.

The light of wisdom as Ms. Goleman sees it achieves calm in one’s mind, so that mindfulness becomes the practical application during moments or times of emotional disturbance. Realize that all of us has the capacity to change, to move toward taking care of ourselves, putting our own bodies and minds in balance, achieving harmony within and around us.