Letter # 14: "One-minute Lesson"

I have the privilege of hearing many personal stories as I go about doing my work, which includes doing cognitive therapy. It's a wonderful and proven technique for alleviating negative emotions. So get rid of negative thoughts. Constant negative thinking may lead to depression and anxiety. See Cognitive restructuring.
Our past experiences have much to do with our present state. I know one person who is now in his late 50's, and one of 15 children. Yes 15. The person came from a poor family. It reminds me of the children's rhyme of the old woman who lived in a shoe.
There was an old woman,who lived in a shoe;
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do;
She gave them some broth, without any bread;
Then whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed.
Now, that kind of life as a child will definitely have its effects decades later. The person asked me, "Why is that the twenties and thirties were fine but an emotional breakdown came later, in the forties?" I replied that if the foundations of a building were weak, then as you build taller and taller on that fragile foundation, the increasing weight would bring on problems. In other words, the mounting problems of life weigh a person down and if the emotional foundations were weak, a breakdown can occur. I did months of cognitive therapy, which helped the person. "You can't learn this in one minute," joked my patient. I replied seriously, "You want a one-minute lesson? Then here it is: Read Psalm 29:11 "God himself will bless his people with peace." Replace the "his people" with the names of each of the 19 siblings, the mother, the father, all others and your own. Keep saying: "God himself will bless (name here) with peace."
I had the person do it right in my office with the result that the pain of old in the person's chest evaporated immediately.


God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.

I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.

Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2007
“Practicing goodwill makes for a good life."
Tel: 604 273 6641 (also for fax on request)

http://jasbhopal.com/

References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.