One of the wonderful things about living abroad is understanding there are so many different ways for things to be done. It’s common to believe how we do things at home is how everyone does things across the world. Every country has its own unique way of looking at the world and creates systems from that perspective. I have been studying the mind from a different perspective explained in the Bhagavad Gita since 2014. It has introduced me to a number of frameworks to understand the mind on a much subtler and holistic level. I want to share with you a different perspective on the anxious mind to see what shifts it might make for you.

Let’s shake things up and see how it lands for you!

SANKHYA YOGA PHILOSOPHY

We’re going to look at the mind from the view of the Gunas (goo nahs).

The most ancient of Yoga philosophies is called Sankhya Yoga. This philosophy is the basis of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras and has nothing to do with the physical body or asana (Yoga poses).. The Bhagavad Gita also weaves it into its teachings throughout and Chapter 2 is titled ‘Sankyha Yoga.’ 

The foundation of Sankhya Yoga is that the entire world consists of 2 eternal aspects: Prakriti and Purusha. Prakriti  is everything that changes and is impermanent. Purusha is That which never changes and is permanent. 

 Applying this to the mind, which changes throughout our life, we can understand that it is under the zone of Prakiti. This is so important to understand! Purusha is the essence of who we truly are, yet we constantly mistake our mind as ‘who I am.’ Because of this we suffer. We are in a constant ‘identity crisis’ without knowing it. The ‘crisis’ comes from this misidentification.  But, the more we understand that there’s no way we can be the mind, suffering will naturally decrease – no matter what is happening!

The Gunas are 3 qualities that everything in the zone of Prakriti consists of – whether human, animal, seasons, and nature or thought, emotions, breath, basic elements. All of it consists of the 3 Gunas. I’m emphasizing this point for an essential understanding – you cannot get rid of any of the qualities, they will always be present, no matter what. They can be decreased and consciously changed, but it’s impossible to discard a quality.  (I’ll come back to this point).

THE 3 GUNAS

So, what are the 3 Gunas?

1. Tamas (tuh muhs) – quality of inertia
2. Rajas (ruh juhs)- quality of action
3. Sattva (sat twha) – quality of purity

The mind, at its highest state is sattvic dominant. But since it is in the zone of Prakriti, it can and will change. Most human beings don’t have a sattvic dominant mind. There might be moments, but most of us have minds that oscillate more between rajasic and tamasic dominant states. To put it in very simple terms: Rajasic dominant minds are highly active and Tamasic dominant minds are filled with inertia. 

The anxious mind spends most of its time with the quality of rajas in the driver seat:

• It’s active.
• Has a hard time focusing.
• Easily distracted.
• Has the desire to keep doing and moving.
• Its energy is upward.

Emotional states that are rajasic: anxious, excitement, anger, joy, fear, euphoria, overwhelm, passionate, irritable.

Notice these emotions are typically associated as some ‘good’ and some as ‘bad’ based on whether they are comfortable or not. Which is why going with this black and white perspective about emotions actually can keep us stuck. It’s more important to broaden the view and understand more of the subtleties of your emotional reactions to effectively move through them.

USING THE GUNAS

So, from this understanding of the anxious mind as rajasic, what to do if you want to consciously change your mind from this state to cultivate a more sattvic dominant mind?

Remember, you can’t ‘get rid’ of rajas. It will always have a presence since the mind is in the zone of Prakriti. In our current way of viewing the mind, we take action to try and stop the anxious reactions to ‘fix it’ or ‘get rid of it’ or ‘stop it.’  These actions aren’t relevant to the gunas since they are constantly changing and they are always present in some aspect. We have been taught to completely discount the natural traits of emotions, thinking we have some superpower that makes us above the natural order of things. Silly humans!

Using the Guna perspective, two paths show up: How to change reactions in the moment and how to change them for the long-term.

We need to know what to do in the moment when the anxious mind is reacting so we can resolve conflict, get out of the ruminating loop of worry and overthinking, and make decisions from a steady, calm place. And, if you want a long-term change, meaning your mind becomes more lasting sattvic dominant, then addressing habits that keep spinning us back into the reaction need to be addressed. A sattvic dominant mind state would look like:

• Responding rather than reacting.
• Being curious instead of judgmental.
• Coming from understanding and not taking things personally.

When most women talk about wanting a calmer mind, typically it’s the desire to experience their mind becoming more stable and calm over time. They want the mind to be calmer, not just find calm in certain situations. So, we need our actions to be focused on both the short and long term change practices. 

Currently, we are focused and take action on the short term, acute emotional reactions to ‘feel better’ right then and there. We have a desire for the long term results of a lasting calm mind, but rarely take consistent action towards making that happen.

SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM CHANGE

One place to start to get the most ‘bang for your buck’, is the last bullet point above, in the list of what a rajasic dominant mind looks like: The energy is upward.

If energy is going up, what will balance it out?

Adding energy that goes down, i.e. is grounding, rooting, or anchoring.

When the mind is rajasic dominant, to cultivate a more sattvic mind state, actions must create energy that brings the energy back down. And not just any type of action that brings energy down. It must also bring the quality of ‘purity’ into the mix, otherwise you might increase tamas, inertia, instead. This is the delicate play of the gunas.

Here’s an example:

When my mind is racing, feeling confused about a conflict and unsure what to do, I want to take action that will clear and calm my mind. I could have a couple of alcoholic drinks, right? That would ‘take the edge off’ and ‘calm the nerves’. But that will increase tamas, not sattva. Most likely the alcohol will make me feel better but I ignore the conflict or, worse, say and do things that might make it worse because I’ve decreased my inhibitions.

A more sattvic approach to when I feel this way is to take time to be aware of my reaction and practice curiosity with it. I do this because I understand that the mind will go to this place at times. I don’t need to judge it or beat myself up for it. By taking time to be aware and curious, this allows the reaction to decrease so I feel calm relief and I increase my understanding of the reaction. I know what needs of mine aren’t being met. Now, I can take action from that knowing, which feels empowering. This is sattva.

START PRACTICING THIS DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

This Gunas perspective and practice not only helps to shift the mind’s state in the moment, but the more we practice, over time it changes that state of your mind overall.

But please, don’t take my word for it! Explore this perspective for yourself and notice what happens. That is an important aspect of Yoga – it’s the science of Self, which means test it for yourself.

My first practice suggestion is start noticing:

• Where is my mind at? 
• What is its energy at this moment? 
• What energy would I like instead? 
• What are the actions that would best help me to cultivate this energy now and for the future?

And here’s another blog post on the Gunas.

Enjoy playing with the Gunas!

Shanti.

P.S. If the Gunas are something you want to explore more as an alternative to the western mental health perspective and find lasting calm for your anxious mind, let’s chat! I would enjoy having a Connection Call with you at any time. Schedule it here at your convenience.