Emotion

As Yogi Bhajan said, emotion can be either a catalyst for devotion or it can create commotion.

It seems that the ego really likes to pull at us, creating a neurosis that may seem at times maddening. We go back and forth between light and dark, heaven and earth, love and fear. At times, we love ourselves and other times, we want to run away from ourselves. We love what we do and then we hate it. This is what happens when our emotions become commotion. It becomes a noise that gets us out of being present to heaven: beauty, joy, abundance, and peace, here on earth. Through the commotion, we distract ourselves...

Sometimes distractions are a great companion and other times, they simply create more commotion. I notice that when I impulsively act from emotion, it tends to feed guilt and shame. Perhaps this is because guilt and shame are at the root of our belief in separation from God and has been so ingrained in our culture and conditioning since at or before birth. The difference, I find, is when I pray; when I shift my awareness and focus my attention on my devotion to Love, to God, that which is greater and higher than my ego. With prayer, even before I do something to distract myself, everything becomes more sacred. I notice that this brings me the greatest peace.

I pray for this remembrance always.