Soul Sustenance

Overcoming Possessiveness And Complexes In Close Relationships (Part 1) 

We are all aware and we all experience also that close knit family relationships are a constant source of happiness and love. But these relationships, many a times, also possess the capacity of bringing along with this love and joy, many different negative shades of possessiveness and domination, and complexes and dependencies. These are widespread ailments existing in our family relationships today, but which can be cured. Meditation is a very positive healing process which can cure the causes of these ailments, which exist inside the human souls. Once the causes are cured through meditation, relationships become extremely healthy, which provide the self from others and from the self to others, only and only positivity energy, in the form of positive and empowering thoughts, feelings, words and actions. 

A common sign of these diseases is lack of respect for people close to us. As a result of an un-respectful consciousness, we sometimes behave with our nearest and dearest ones, like maybe our spouse or children or siblings (brothers or sisters) or parents, in such an offensive manner which we normally never and would not ever even think of showing towards people with whom we are not very close. It's not just a question of mannerisms, but of inner respect for the other. So often in families, a particular fixed order in relationships, positions of higher and lower, positions of senior and junior, become established, leading to feelings of superiority and inferiority, the effects of which start penetrating in the relationshipse.g. the mother-in-law is very dominating and takes it for granted that she will be listened to by the son and daughter-in-law. Or an older brother or sister orders around a younger sibling, not giving him/her enough space in which to speak his or her own mind and express himself/herself, leading to an inferiority complex in the younger sibling. Or a wife is extremely possessive of the husband, not giving him enough personal freedom. Once established, these behaviors become permanent sanskaras and tend to be carried with us through life, so that even when we have left the original family relationships and circumstances in which these behaviors existed, we bring the same personality traits into our new relationships and circumstances. 

(To be continued tomorrow ...)