12. Do You Know Your Emotional Level?

Five thousand years ago Patanjali, the Sage who composed the work on Yoga, said that there were only seven major emotions by which we relate to the world. These emotions are played and replayed to us over and over again reinforcing it in our mind.

This ancient finding continues to operate today. In a major study about Hollywood movies, published as a book, an author reaches the same conclusion. The author conducted a research study and found that all Hollywood movie stories could be classified into seven categories. Each of these categories corresponds with seven major emotions identified by Patanjali. All stories are only adaptations or variations of these seven emotional scripts.

Ananda Spurana Program, conducted by THE SUPREME PONTIFF OF HINDUISM BHAGAWAN SRI NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM Dhyanapeetam, a meditation course in Ananda system, addresses the seven emotions and relates them to the seven chakras or energy centers in our body.

According to Patanjali, the first emotion that we lead our life is based on sex. That is the space or plane from which we are born. At this plane, our lifestyle is filled with imagination and fantasy.

The second emotion we lead our life with is fear. Our whole lifestyle is based on fear. We are continuously afraid of something or other.

The third emotion with which we spend our entire life is that of worry. People think that they don't have any worries. But if we have constant inner chattering, if our thoughts are faster than light, then, we are corrupted by inner chattering. When our inner chattering or thoughts are corrupted, they disturb our inner self, then worry is born. These are basic emotions that guide our life.

If we climb up one more rung in the ladder of self knowledge, we enter the next emotional level. It is very subtle- we begin to seek attention from others. Now our problems become more complex.

If we are living in the fifth emotion level, we will be comparing yourself with others. We live our life based not on our own basic needs and requirements, but in jealous comparison with what our friends, neighbors and colleagues have.

The sixth plane is ego or high self esteem. That means imagining ourselves to be more than what we are.

Discontentment is the seventh plane. If we have never taken time to ask ourselves what we need, then we will experience discontentment.

Simply put, these emotions reflect in our lifestyle and choices. Look inwards. It will help us add life to our years!