as a mental problem. In other words, those people (in fact everyone to a great degree, some more than others) who are attached to dogmas and fixed concepts, have a mental problem. Pride in one's country, skin colour, status, religious beliefs and intellectual ability are all mental problems in that people are fixed in their ideas. T h e mind has ceased to be a reservoir of spontaneous ideas; instead, it is a repository of fixed, rigid and stereotyped thought patterns. This is a major block and an obstacle to higher awareness. In other words, conditioning is a mental problem. Also included in this category is the tendency to accept ideas without reflection and personal experience. Many people believe almost implicitly everything that they read or hear, without ever relating it to their own experience. Believe nothing until you have tested it for yourself. This also applies to the contents of this book. Consider the opinions and ideas given, but only accept them when you have found them to be valid through personal experience. Only know and believe that the water is salty when you have tasted it. In fact, we consider blind susceptibility to ideas a n d a t t a c h m e n t to already accumulated ideas as being a major mental problem. O n e should certainly be receptive, but not blindly naive. There are many other problems, too many to discuss here. T he reader will know some of these. They will have to be removed systematically. Most problems, however, will lie below the level of normal perception, in the subconscious. All you will know is that these cause unhappiness, depression, etc. In life without really knowing the reason or the source. These must be recognized and then eliminated. O n e thing we must emphasize is that all mental problems and blocks can be removed; they need not remain a permanent part of your character. All that is required is the need and effort to remove them. Practical rationale To bring about mental peace in your life, there must be a three-pronged approach: First of all, one must try to prevent the occurrence of new problems and disturbances. It is no use whatsoever to empty the mind of existing complexes etc. and still leave it open
and susceptible to new adverse impressions. It
is necessary to make the mind stronger and more resilient to the ups and downs of life. Secondly, o n e must exhaust conscious problems; that is, the problems which you already know and recognize. Thirdly, one must slowly discover a n d eradicate the subconscious problems. These are problems that cause you much pain, unhappiness and anguish in life, but which are buried deep in the unexplored realms of the mind. You feel the result of these problems in the form of depression etc. but you don't really know what the cause is. You may attribute the cause to some outside event or person, but the real cause lies deep in your mind. These subconscious problems must be recognized and then thrown out. These three processes do not occur one after the other, as we have listed, but will take place simultaneously. They will supplement each other. For example, once subconscious problems are recognized (category 3) then they will of course automatically become category 2. Furthermore, as one progressively throws out mental problems, then one's ability to face life situations without being disturbed will automatically be enhanced. In other words, the less mental problems a person has, the more he or she is able to face life with calmness and equanimity. So these three categories are bound together as an integral approach in eliminating and preventing mental disturbances and gaining peace. They should operate simultaneously; we have only separated them for convenience in explanation. These three categories will be discussed in this topic and later lessons also1. In this topic we will discuss simple yet effective methods of bringing about more harmony and peace into one's life on a conscious level. These methods are in fact rather obvious and a matter of common sense, yet they are rarely applied. It is for this reason that we feel it necessary to discuss them. Removal of subconscious problems is of course the most important task, but resolving them on a conscious plane is also of prime importance. In fact, this is the first step to resolving one's deeper conflicts. Self-acceptance Try to accept yourself and your feelings; don't c o m p a r e yourself with others; use your 255
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