What do we mean by Soma Bandit – the flow of consciousness (Soma) is interrupted, energy levels may feel depleted.
Maybe someone you know fits this description? A family member, friend or an acquaintance who emotionally drains us– the Soma (Energy) Bandit.
Some people just wipes us out because they are "needy". They may not internationally sap our energy but it happens and we can be left feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Making a quick exit may not be an easy option when it comes to family or close friends..
What happens very quickly is the body starts to print out what is happening inside of us.
At this point we can go through a check list -
* What am I thinking about?
* What am I feeling inside my body?
* Do I feel an aversion with this person/situation?
* Do I want to fight or flee?
* Are my reactions to the person/situation showing up in my behaviour and body language?
At this point I may not be listening but reacting by wanting to avoid or remove myself.
So what can I do?
First step is self referral. Notice my feelings and emotions.
Do I feel an aversion from past experience (Premiture Cognitive Commitments or PCC’s)?
Do I recognise that I have similar traits or characteristics that need to be corrected and that is why
I am feeling the aversion?
So, what can we do? We have a choice at this point - do I avoid (flee) the situation? There is nothing right or wrong with this option but you may want to stay and play, listen consciously and feel empathy. We can always learn from others when we look at ourselves first. Practise compassion and learn to understand from another persons perspective. See the experience as an opportunity for growth and having a positive reaction. When we choose love consciously it multiplies and grows very quickly. The other person will notice you are not reacting the same way. What may also happen is the person or situation is defused and the outcome becomes a positive one. Happiness bubbles up rather than the feeling of depleted energy.
Over time change begins to happen to the way we think. Situations do not bother us so much. Our twice per day Meditation practice changes the nervous system, the feeling of calmness remains with us throughout the day. The intellect changes the script and the mind and body begin to print out a different response. The mind sends a different message to the brain.
Meditation become such an important part of our day. Without it the changes and lifestye we have cultivated are not sustainable we may revert back to being stressed and blaming others for how we feel again. Our health suffers and the people around us suffer.
These wise words are from my Teacher Thom Knoles.
“When people learn to meditate, their adaptation capacity expands. Their tolerance for change expands.
Their recognition expands that they are, in themselves, the source and cause of their own experience. Meditators progressively let go of the conviction that, “someone else caused my
experience”.
Radiate love and joy for all the world to see.
Love and Jai Guru Deva
What does ‘Jai Guru Deva’ mean?
‘Jai Guru Deva’ (pronounced ‘Jay Goo Roo Dave’) is a meditators salutation - we use it to say hi, bye, when greeting other meditators etc. or anytime we feel grateful for the supreme knowledge of life we have received as meditators - (we can say it to ourselves silently when we feel this swelling of gratitude in our hearts).
It literally means:
Jai: Glory to, Joy, Hail.
Guru Deva: In our case we are referring to Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (the person you see in the picture during your initiation) but in every generation the teacher is referred to as
Guru Deva. Guru Deva is really a title that has become a name.
Guru; Gu - means darkness, and Ru - means a remover.
Guru means a remover of darkness.
Deva means a shining one and is the source of the English word, Divine.
When we say Jai Guru Deva, we are giving thanks to whoever we feel is the source of supreme knowledge to us and in our generation that is ultimately Swami Brahmananda Saraswati.
