Dear Meditators
Vedic worldview about arrogance.
I recently listened to a talk on arrogance with Thom Knoles –
Go here to listen
If I believe I am unworthy or not good enough or I behave as if I am different/better. To think I am something other than what I really am is a form of arrogance. Behaving in a negative way to gain attention is arrogance.
When I first heard about this topic, I didn’t think of arrogance as low self-esteem. Arrogance to me was someone who’s behaviour was smug, a know it all, someone who belittled people in order to feel better and more important than others.
The following scenario happened to me a long time ago – A colleague used my ideas about a project and had received all the praise for it. They were MY ideas not theirs. I suffered and reacted inwardly. I had created a situation where I would not speak up and I felt angry and frustrated. I had my own insecurities which began to show in my work and in my relationships. My strategy was not sharing my ideas at all with anyone, but that didn’t stop the suffering or have the desired effect. I had to learn a different way of thinking.
Then, I learned to meditate and I learned that I was causing my own unhappiness. I learned that I had to change my behaviour and communicate differently. My behaviour changed and the way I felt about myself changed. This had the desired effect and I thank Vedic Meditation for that.
When someone is behaving with arrogance, I know it’s not about me. I ask myself the question “what’s it like to be you?” If I can offer some knowledge to that person I say- “I’ve had some experiences in this area if you would like to chat about that?” I wait to be asked first then I chat with them. I don’t react, I send them love instead because I know there is a reason for their behaviour. I learned to have compassion and empathy for others.
As we know – people will always behave from their own level of consciousness they are in at that time.
Today I will share my knowledge rather than taking offence or reacting. I remember that the negative thoughts about myself cause my own suffering. I know from my own experiences that my thought patterns about myself changed because of my twice daily meditation practice. I have learnt to say “STOP” to negative thoughts. I have learnt to listen to my inner Nature, my intuition, to go with my fine level of feeling called charm and follow the ideas and thoughts that come to me from there. My thinking process changed and the thoughts about myself and of others changed.
I also liked reading the explanation of arrogance @ Psych Mechanics
Love to everyone, Jai Guru Deva
Liz
