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🧘 The Non-Reaction Practice If you struggle with mental exhaustion and inner conflict, the key to peace isn't fighting your feelings—it's learning to pause your automatic reactions. The Root of All Suffering All unnecessary distress stems from automatic, unexamined reactions. This "unseeing" state, where you react before understanding the truth, is the source of inner turbulence. The first step is to seek understanding, not escape. Identifying the Cause of Your Pain Suffering often traces back to fundamental sources. Ancient wisdom identifies key forms of #suffering, including: - Encountering what you dislike. - Separating from what you love. - Having desires that go unmet. The Seven Desires Much of this suffering is driven by the "Pursuit Mind," which branches into seven core desires: 1. Survival 2. Sleep 3. Greed 4. Sex 5. Indolence 6. Enjoyment 7. The Desire for Recognition Acknowledging the Desire for Recognition The need to be affirmed—by family, peers, or colleagues—is a major source of modern frustration. When affirmation is lacking, we feel defeated. The path is not to deny desire, but to accept its presence. Be aware: "This feeling of wanting approval is just an internal force dominating me now." When strong emotions arise, follow these steps to manage the reaction: 1. Verbalize the Internal State (Observe): Acknowledge and name the emotion you are experiencing (e.g., "I am feeling frustrated"). This fixes the fluid emotion and shifts focus from the external trigger to your internal state. 2. Focus on the Physical Senses (Ground): Redirect your attention to physical sensations, such as the contraction of your abdomen while breathing. This grounds your mind in the present, similar to #mindfulness practice. 3. Categorize the Thought (Classify): Mentally label the nature of your thought: Is it Desire, Anger, or Delusion? If you are stuck in rumination, try shifting attention between darkness (closed eyes) and the reality before you (open eyes) to distinguish thought from reality. Stop Making Unnecessary Judgments Constant judging—comparing good vs. bad, or valuable vs. worthless—is a key source of self-doubt and inner conflict. The inevitable result of comparison is someone feeling inadequate. A fact (e.g., "I didn't get the job") is different from a judgment (e.g., "Therefore, I am worthless"). Obsession with the judgment is the true pain. 1. Immediate Self-Awareness: As soon as a judgmental thought appears ("I am better than X," or "This person is wrong"), immediately recognize: "Ah, I just made a judgment." 2. Reject the Judgment: When others criticize or form opinions, refuse to be swayed. Maintain #independence: "That is their opinion, I will not adopt it." 3. Observe the Motivation: Realize that most judgments (whether self-aggrandizing or self-denigrating) offer only a fleeting, superficial sense of satisfaction, not true happiness. Handling Interpersonal Conflict Inner turmoil is rooted in your emotional state, not the relationship itself. The Food Analogy: If someone hurls negative comments (food) at you and you refuse to "eat" it (react), the negativity remains with them. You are not obligated to consume their emotional offering. Dealing with the Past Do not react to past memories. If you are angry at someone from a previous argument, you are actually reacting to your memory of them, not the person standing before you. Treat everyone as if they are a new person. People change moment-to-moment; don't judge the "new" person based on the "old" memory. Seeing Through "Virtual Competition" Much of modern struggle (for status, wealth, academic standing) is a man-made virtual competition. It’s irrational. You can feel superior without actually being superior, and vice-versa. The path is not to win or quit, but to engage with compassion. See those struggling to win as "pitiable people constrained by desire." Adopt a mindset of understanding and kindness instead of rivalry.