Being One’s Own Counsellor:

A Consciousness Approach
Pulkit sharma

Clinical psychologist
 A Review Of Contemporary Counselling
•People don’t recover, they relapse or develop a
new type of disorder
•New approaches are often discovered and brought
into counselling. Initially, there is a lot of
enthusiasm and hope, but with time it is the same
old story
•Sri Aurobindo, based on his experiences with
Integral Yoga had a vision that the human mind is
only one milestone in evolution of consciousness
and that there are more milestones to be covered
 The Eternal Counsellor
•In Yoga Sutras, Maharshi Patanjali highlights
that ‘Isvara’ or The Divine Consciousness is
the earliest teacher and guide. He is the
teachers of all teachers
•The ‘Isvara’ is within each one of us but we
are not aware
•What matters the most is that when we
surrender ourselves to The Divine, we get
connected to this great teacher
 What I need will be given to me; if I pray I
shall have an answer; if I am in a difficulty
and ask for help, the help will come- and
not only will it come but it will manage
everything. And when it is like that, there is
not a prayer which does not get an answer,
no aspiration which is not realised
– THE MOTHER
 1. Cultivate Faith and Surrender

•Enemies of faith:-
1. Fear
2. Loss
3. Too much ignorance
4. Too much knowledge and scepticism
5. Conflict
•If we keep our faith intact and don’t give up
under any circumstances then whatever
happens is best from spiritual point of view
 Building Faith

•Through Aspiration
•A Childlike Trust
•Stop Being Conflicted
•Be Active
•Don’t Be Egoistic But Feel Gratitude
 Surrender

• Supreme grace is not partial, it neither rewards us nor punishes

us. However, for the grace to manifest itself and transform our
being certain conditions must be met

• Our surrender must be total, active and sincere

• We need to do rigorous purification in all parts of our bring so that

everything within us wants only the Divine
• The surrender must be active so that one willingly gives oneself to
the Divine
• One must be sincere and not make any excuse to continue with or
give in to a lower movement
 Change your thoughts if you wish to
change your circumstances. Since you
alone are responsible for your
thoughts, only you can change them.
You will want to change them when you
realise that each thought creates
according to its own nature
- Paramhansa Yogananda
2. Always Make Positive Formations

• Often we sit back and allow all kinds of negative

thoughts to inhabit our mind

• Some people constantly see negative things as they

have depressive tendencies, others do it out of fear
so that they can avoid or master their anxieties

• There are still others consumed by rage and envy

who find solace in imagining disasters.
 Contd.

•People who let negative thoughts rule their

mind create a recipe for disaster at various
levels

•Therefore, under all circumstances one

must make a positive formation with a
definite aim
 It is God who gave us feelings, and
therefore it is important to honour all
feelings
- The Qur’an
 3. Be Open To All Feelings

• People get into a deep mess not because of the

negative emotions per se but due to their difficulty
with negative emotions

• There are some people who get washed away in the

affective storm

• There is another class of people who are so scared of

negative emotions that they constantly deny these
feelings
 Contd.

•Society perceives negative emotions as a sign

of weakness, immorality or disease. These
widespread faulty beliefs are responsible for
difficulties that individuals experience in
handling negative feelings
•The first step is to openly experience and
observe the emotion but prevent any kind of
action. Sit still and let emotions come up in
your mind. Witness them but refrain from
acting on your feelings. Develop empathy for
your feelings
 What makes you weep, my friend? In
you is all power. Summon up your all-
powerful nature mighty one and this
whole universe will lie at your feet. It is
the Self alone that predominates and
not matter
-Swami Vivekananda
4. Develop Self-Love

•Often people get stressed out and

anxious because they don’t trust their
resilience. They feel that they will not be
able to handle things
•They either shy away from making an
attempt or even the minor setbacks
devastate them. They give up easily
Contd.

•All of us are born happy and positive. As

we grow up we are exposed to criticism
from our parents, family, friends,
teachers, partners, bosses and children
•This damages our self-esteem and
confidence. We cannot have a healthy
self-esteem until we discover and break
free from these negative generalizations
 You should not be so dependent on
outward things; it is this attitude that
makes you give excessive importance to
circumstances. I do not say that
circumstances cannot help or hinder-
but they are circumstances, not the
fundamental thing which is in ourselves
-Sri Aurobindo
4. Change Your Attitude

• People who thought that adversities will help them grow,

function better and develop immunity to psychological and
physiological problems

• In contrast, those who believethat adversities will harm

them displayed impaired mental and physiological
functioning

• Therefore, if we can alter our perception and accept various

difficulties as disguised opportunities for growth, we will be
healthier and function better.
In a Nutshell

•It is important to remember that

within ourselves exists the greatest
counsellor and healer
•We need to stop submitting to our
mind and constantly try to connect
the higher consciousness
THANK

YOU