Duvet Day Revisited

Duvet Day Revisited

If you've not yet read my previous post about my Duvet Day, I suggest you read that before reading this - it will make a lot more sense.

On Monday, I declared it 'duvet day'. Then blogged about it. Then told a few friends about it. I have had some varying responses, which I found interesting and wanted to share.

Firstly, I'll just inform the reader that in Raja Yoga we are taught to have faith in God, faith in the drama (this world life), faith in the intellect (having studied Raj Yoga principles) and faith in the family (the spiritual family). So I listened to what some of my family had to say about duvet day.

My mother was worried about my moodiness, short temper, mental health. (I really should call her.) She gave some suggestions what was behind it. She thought it was a one-off thing. I wrote back that it was a regular monthly thing and that it probably was not really as bad as I made it sound in the blog (everything seems exaggerated when I'm in those states of mind so I really didn't mean to mislead if I did). She also told me she loved me. Awww. :D

My spiritual sister suggested I speak to a doctor. There is medicine you can take to help such a condition. "After all," she said, "you wouldn't want to strangle your husband." What?! Strangle my husband?! The thought hadn't really crossed my mind. But it makes me wonder about whether it crossed hers!

Another senior sister was concerned that I had gotten so bad that I would need to spend the day in bed. "But I didn't spend the day in bed - I was actually quite productive - that was the point of the blog." But she understood why my mother was concerned. Neither of us are the types to stay in bed, even when deathly ill. So I could see her point.

I also spoke with a doctor friend of mine. I asked him what is causing these bouts of emotion and temper. Am I just going through chemical/hormonal upsets or am I really really good at repressing something deep and troublesome? He assured me that it was more likely to be chemical/hormonal. He also suggested that if one resists indulging the senses, one can become less sensitive to bodily maladies and, eventually, they will hold no influence over the mental state. Hmmm.

Do I indulge the senses? Um, yeah - especially during (or just before) those phases. I get terrible food cravings and I give into them. Especially sweets. And looking back on how I feel after indulging, I can't help but believe he's got a point.

So I will be experimenting with renunciation during cravings. All in the name of science, better health and a better mental state.

Om shanti.

Thank you for reading. For more information on Raja Yoga philosophy see www.bkwsu.org.