In
the last fortnight Mr. Shree Kumar, experienced life-coach, renowned
motivational speaker and master of EFTT has presented two sessions at SHAFA
HOME, Delhi regarding the 'meaning of happiness' and 'finding personal freedom
through love'. These sessions lasted for 2-3 action-packed hours incorporating
discussion, question and answer and practical EFTT (Emotional Freedom Tapping
Technique).
As addicts, we
have subconsciously 'hard-wired' our brain to perceive, consume and digest the
negative aspects of life and totally become oblivious to the great
opportunities life throws at us. All the resentment, pain, anger, hurt, shame
and guilt that used to bubble away inside us could not seemingly be subdued
without a drink or a drug. The vitriolic poison we had fed ourselves and our
seething resentment against the world gifted upon us salient ongoing
justifications to continue using our substance. We were walking around with our
eyes tightly shut to reality…even now in recovery, many residents wonder exactly
what happiness looks like. It is all well and good to say we love [whatever it
is we love] and feel happy [doing whatever it is we do]…but the real question
etched on our pensively contemplated faces is…”how did love and happiness free us to achieve our potential?”
We felt it was high-time for Mr. Shree to bestow upon us some of his pearls of
wisdom.
The session initially began on a discursive level and
then slowly transitioned into “hands-on” EFTT practice. Braving the intense
humidity, our residents were not deterred to put in their very best effort to
stay awake and alert...residents discussed their happiest moments in life and
what their personal definition of “happiness” was. Many of the residents gave
the typical answers of “being with family, opening their own business, being
rich” etc. But these were all generic answers. Mr. Shree urged us to think out
of the box; to delve below these surface level explanations…
Mr. Shree recalled his fascinating personal
experiences. It became evident to see that below his calm and composed
demeanour, he had also faced some intensely rocky patches in his life, nearly throwing
his life severely off-course. Threats of infertility and a near-on collision
with alcohol addiction did not force him throw in the towel and admit defeat.
He embraced life’s challenges and proactively sought to find solutions to his
problems. Mr. Shree never resigned himself to doom and gloom. Through placing mind-over-matter,
he freed himself from his seemingly impossible troubles through the practice of
EFTT (emotional freedom tapping technique) and by remembering the blessings, life
was continuously giving him. This need to ‘constantly see the positive side of
all negative situations’ is what he was emphatically conveying to our fresh
battalion of soldiers. Happiness lies in facing, fighting and conquering
challenges and overcoming self-limiting beliefs.
Our residents
were visibly moved by his earnest and humble admission that despite life’s hard
knocks, Shree Ji never rendered himself to being a “loser” or a “failure”. Happiness
for him did not lie in materialistic pursuits; it wasn’t how much money he
earned, or owning a Rolex watch or Lamborghini… One astute young resident
chipped in with his opinion. For him “happiness is the feeling of contentment
and buoyancy without relying on an external, temporary stimulus…when he would stop
relying on his friends, family, and teachers etc. to validate his greatness
would be the day he achieves total,
unbridled happiness”.
Our residents then moved into the EFTT part of the
session. After taking feedback from last week’s experiences, Shree Ji embarked
on creating a new set-up statement geared around the day’s topic and
discussion…”right now, today, at this very moment…even though I had fallen to
great lows in the past and destroyed my happiness, I accept myself, love myself
and open myself to new insights and new possibilities in life…I will find my
happiness within myself and appreciate how life is shaping me…” Our resident’s
were asked to give their initial physical and emotional tension rating on a
scale of one to ten – 7 was the average. After 3 cycles that number reduced to
3 or 4. EFTT had been a great success for our residents today. Not only did it
get them up and active on their feet, it re-affirmed their sense of capability
and self-reliance. EFTT at a practical level is a cognitive way to
‘short-circuit’ our deep-rooted negative thought patterns. These negative
thought patterns manifest on a physical level; psychosomatically causing ailments
and pains in the body. The session closed with all residents embracing each
other with hugs and appreciative words of encouragement and hope. After all, to
keep it you have to give it away!
Essentially, "it all starts in the mind". Whatever
seems to occur in our lives is a direct consequence of how we decide to channel
our thoughts. After all, a well-known ‘neuro-linguistic programming’ (NLP)
maxim proclaim “where thought goes, energy flows”. Feeling happy is a decision
only we can make for ourselves, no-one else can give ‘happiness’ to us on a
silver-platter. Consider this analogy…Life throws everyone lemons, but the fact
of the matter is, wise people choose to utilise those lemons to make sweet
lemonade. Others absentmindedly choose to chomp through the acrid rind and
swallow its eye-wateringly unpleasant juice, unaware of the fact lemonade can
be made. Life is a succession of choices
and actions. Happiness lies in selecting the most fruitful choices that can
bring us opportunities to triumph at life. Once we initially open our rusty floodgates
and allow joy and positivity to enter our lives, we will be pleasantly
surprised with the successive oncoming presentation of life’s beautiful gifts
for us!
A warm and sincere vote of thanks to Mr. Shree Kumar
for presenting an endearing and super-engaging session from all of us at SHAFA
HOME.
To view pics please click on the link below:
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