Heartfulness – July 2019

You have just taken a snapshot of your inner state.

Most of the time, we float through our days, unaware of what is going on inside us. After doing

this snapshot, reflect on your behavior in the past 24 hours. Were you rude to someone? Did

you feel impatient in a conversation with someone? Can you trace this back to anger inside

you, or restlessness inside you? Outer behavior is always linked to the inner state.

Sometimes situations we encounter trigger a change in our inner state that in turn reflects

in behaviors that we regret. I remember an email from an executive at a partner company

after we had a failed launch of a joint solution. This executive placed the entire blame on our

company without taking any responsibility for their mistakes, and even demanded financial

compensation beyond anything covered by our contractual relationship. I was already not a

big fan of this executive, and this email increased that personal dislike even more. It triggered

all kinds of emotions all at once. I was angry at how unfair his position was, worried that we

would now waste energy on legal proceedings, restless to get out of the situation, and fearful of

the eventual consequences. I walked into a meeting with all these feelings and thoughts around

how to respond. Needless to say, I was unable to focus on the issues that were discussed at the

meeting and came across as lacking clarity of thought. There was a vicious cycle at play here:

RESTLESSNESS

LIKES AND DISLIKES

ANGER

FEAR

DOUBT

DESIRES, WORRIES

AND CONCERNS

DISSATISFACTION

THOUGHT IN ACTION

24 Heartfulness