February 2, 2022
Notes by Dhruva Shreejay
Review
We reviewed the first 4 of 9 virtues to always be happy:
Viveka – prioritization, our ability to know what is important and do it.
Vairagya – cheerful acceptance, how we can happily accept what is happening. The steps to cheerful acceptance are:
- Understand we can’t control everything
- See the positives in things
- Find ways a “bad” situation can help you learn
Shama – quietude of mind, control of our thoughts. The steps to achieve quietude of mind are:
- Get a better relationship with our devices
- Keep our bodies and spaces clean
- Focus on service – help your agitated mind by thinking about something other than your problems by helping others
Virtue of the Week: Dama (Discipline)
Dama – discipline, our ability to do things regardless of our likes and dislikes. Do something out of your comfort zone instead of what you want to do. The opposite of discipline is indulgence.
The ability to do things out of your comfort zone is called willpower.
Story:
Shankar ji said that he once ate food without salt. He thought it wouldn’t matter because he barely sees salt in his food. When we first ate, he was surprised. He couldn’t eat the rest of the food. He said it tasted like cardboard. The reason it tasted so bad is because when we eat, we have high standards. The adjustment from salt to no salt was difficult.
Lesson
We learned that there is a chemical in our brain called Dopamine – a chemical that makes us feel pleasure when we do something we like. After we do something fun or pleasurable for a long time like playing videogames, it starts to feel normal, and the pleasure disappears. Shankar ji asked us if we were bored by reading a book. If we were used to playing videogames in our free time, we’d say that reading a book is boring. This shows how our mind tricks us into thinking that pleasurable things feel normal.
RAW (Reflection Adventure of the Week)
Sleep on the floor for one night. Since we’re so used to sleeping in comfortable beds, sleeping on the floor may be difficult for some of us. If we’re ok with sleeping on the ground, Shankar ji encouraged doing it for multiple days.