Brahmacharya – Non-Indulgence

October 4, 2023

Notes by Nimalan Senthil

REVIEW:

  • OCH
    • Organize- Everything in its place, and a place for everything.
    • Clean- Keep everything fresh.
    • Healthiness- What you eat is what you are.

 STORY:

  • There was a child who was uncontrollable. (Your Name). The animals started complaining about you for destroying yourself and the forest. Because you keep flying everywhere, you fall down and break your arm. Your parents were wizards, so they gave you a horse made up of Sour Patch Kids as a get-better gift. You were riding the horse, then you started to eat the horse. You eventually eat the entire horse and crash into a tree. You come home and ask for another gift. You get a dragon made up of chocolate. You ride the dragon commanding it to breathe fire. The dragon melts and you fall again, getting hurt. You ask for another gift. This time, your parents give you a snail made out of spinach. Your life starts to slow down. You start to plan ahead and you feel relatively better.

KEY TAKEAWAY:

Do not listen to that lower voice of yourself. Listen to that upper self of you (older sibling representing control and responsibility unlike the younger sibling being more desire-driven).

ACTIVITY:

What is your favorite food? For me it is cake. Is it good for you? No.

Let’s say that you eat 1 bowl of cake. Then 2. Then 3. Then 4. Then 5. At this point, you are in the state of going to a hospital. This is because you did not listen to the upper self, you listened to the lower-self.

RAW:

Whatever your favorite snack is, give it up for 1 week.

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Notes by Saamya Deo

Last week, we searched for a mysterious creature. While everyone was laughing and chatting with each other, there was one man who made sure that everything was in its place, so when they heard the sound that the creature made, he was ready. When they heard the creature everyone was so unprepared, they didn’t know where anything was! So, only the man who was prepared was able to take pictures and track the mysterious creature. 

We learned an acronym. . . . . 

Organization – The purpose of this is so that when we need something most, we will be able to find it

Cleanliness – Being clean helps us focus and keeps us alert, it also makes us feel better

Healthiness – One of the things that Sumanji said was that healthy thinking is healthy living, so what we eat reflects what we are/become (“It’s a lifestyle” – Fellow mysterious creature searcher, Sumanji)

Story

Saamya/whatever your name is (Please act, as if this is you) couldn’t stop moving. Everywhere she went she was running around flailing her limbs, she was really fast. Not paying attention to who she was running into or hurting. Whenever she went home, into the woods the flora and fauna around her talked amongst themselves. “How come she runs around carelessly”. “She is gonna get hurt someday”. What do you know, the flora and fauna were right! 

One day as she was running around, she tripped over a giant and broke her leg. She went back home sobbing. Her wizard parents fixed her up and gave her a horse, made out of SOUR PATCH KIDS! 

This horse was a snack and went super fast too. So, Saamya did exactly what she usually did, run around like a wild animal. When she rode her horse, she ate some of it. Soon most of her horse was gone and it fell apart, sour patch kids when spiraling through the woods. 

When she came home, her parents fixed her up and gave her a dragon. Made of CHOCOLATE! She ate her dragon, as it flew through the air. Eventually, it also came crashing down. She walked all the way back home. 

Now, her parents were concerned, what were they gonna do with their kid? So they decided to give her a snail. Made of spinach. Instead of racing through the woods, hurting people, and eating candy, she now goes slowly, eating spinach. Because the snail was so slow, she had to plan her time accordingly so she wouldn’t be late. With the dragon or horse, it would go so fast she could leave whenever she wanted! 

Saamya did everything she wanted not caring about if it hurt anyone. This version of her is called the lower self. 

The Saamya that was on the spinach snail was quiet and calm. She cared about not hurting anyone and she had self-control. This version of her is the higher self. 

Higher Self – the self where you have values and virtues that you follow, you think about the long-term future, have self-control, and are balanced.

Lower Self – the self that is never satisfied, it always keeps wanting, never content, and unbalanced

First Friend Dwija did an activity with us, where she picked her favorite food to be ice cream. 

What is your favorite food? 

EXAMPLE: Ice Cream

Is it healthy?

EXAMPLE: No, it has way too much sugar in it. 

What happens after you eat one bowl? How do you feel?

EXAMPLE: You are on a little bit of a sugar high. 

What happens after you eat the second bowl? How do you feel?

EXAMPLE: You are bouncing off the walls.

What happens after the third bowl? How do you feel?

EXAMPLE: You can’t sleep and have to go to school the next morning. 

What happens after the fourth bowl? How do you feel?

EXAMPLE: Your stomach is way past hurting and you are sick. 

Eating four bowls of ice cream doesn’t help you, or anyone else. So it is good to . . . . . 

Limit Yourself/Self Boundaries/Parameters – Eat 1 bowl of ice cream – that way you experience that short-term happiness, and you don’t get sick. 

RAW: Give up your favorite food item for the week

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