Your Experiences

Retail Therapy

by Sabah
Perth, Australia

After trying to practise self-observation for a few months, I had a blissful experience. I was working in a shop, and serving a lady who seemed grumpy towards me. Usually when I felt someone was being rude to me, I would feel wronged and automatically react by being rude back.

On this occasion, I began feeling the familiar rise of indignation within. Thoughts like, ‘Who does she think she is?’ stormed angrily in my mind, and my body became stiff as I held up my head and pretended to be disinterested in her. Then, I became aware of this chain reaction happening inside me, and was surprised and sorry to see the contempt I felt. Like a fish taking a baited hook, I had been hypnotised by this negativity. This jolt of self-awareness brought me to my senses, and I made efforts to continue the transaction in a clear and objective way, without the interference of my judgements.

As I continued to observe myself, I began to notice a beautiful sensation overwhelming me inside. A real sense of love and gratitude filled me, both for my own existence and towards all people who are searching in some way for lasting happiness and fulfilment. I felt love for this lady I was dealing with, as I comprehended the true reason for her behaviour. A written description of this joy does not do it justice; I’ll just say it made me feel truly united with other people and life. It was a natural and spontaneous way of being, and I experienced the truth of the existence of that particle of divinity inside me.

This experience has motivated me to improve and grow spiritually, so I can feel this happiness and love more frequently. It was one of the best experiences of my life and made me see that there is so much more to being alive than I had realised.