Elevated blood pressure, poor sleep, decreased sexual potency, habitual bickering in the family, fragile happiness easily broken: these dis-eased states and more co-occur when the mind and heart flow in chronic irritability.

What do you want to create? In what direction is your mind actually oriented?

Healthy blood pressure, restful sleep, optimal sexual potency, harmonious relations in the family, durable happiness not easily broken: these easeful states and more co-occur when the mind and heart do not flow in chronic irritability.

Mind-body are yin-yang are heads-tails: one never not influencing the other (yet these binarisms are themselves effects of a more subtle cause). Agitated mind produces agitated body produces agitated mind; peaceful mind produces peaceful body produces peaceful body.

BUT!! Since the human psyche is multi-layered, it is quite possible and indeed highly probable that at this moment you are at peace in one field of relationships and quite the opposite in another field of relationships. Victory–that is to say, optimal health in every sense of the word: it goes to one who discerns the whole story and patiently works where work is needed; it eludes the one who narrowly views the partial as the total and works not where the work is needed.

A chain is composed of individual links, and is only as strong as its weakest link. Take, then, an example of a chain with 20 links. You use this chain to drag the burden to which you’ve yoked yourself; ones who love you, who depend on you, who trust you are thus affected by the state of this chain. If the chain is strong, then there is confidence in one’s work. If the chain is weak, then there is lack of confidence in one’s work.

Victory–that is to say, optimal health in every sense of the word: it goes to one who discerns ah, here is where my chain is strong and there is where my chain is weak…let me work where work is needed, on fixing these weaknesses; it eludes the one who narrowly views the strong links of the chain and ignores the weak links and says ah, look at these strong chains! aren’t they magnificent, and the work I do—I’m so proud of it! Come see!…I don’t have to do any work on this chain, no work is needed!

A chain is the sumtotal of its links; our health is the product of our habits. Skillful habits are like strong links, unskillful habits are our weak links. And so dear friends, we get to the core of today’s post: persistent irritability of mind betrays an unskillful habit betrays a weak link in the chain.

To remedy this problem, to make this weak link strong again requires us to: 1) deeply and objectively explore the issue of irritability in our relationships, and 2) commit to supplanting the wrong ideas at root with the corresponding right ideas. Important long-term work, dear friends.

Relevant questions include:

What are manifestations related to an irritable mind? Ideas include:

• anger
• impatience
• attitudes of I’M BETTER THAN YOU
• attitudes of you’re not as good as I am
• attitudes of i’m worthless and powerless, and therefore i need you to make me happy
• repression of sexual energy
• hunger for touch and yet scared of it
• states of disorganization, messiness
• prideful attitude that I deserve to get what I want
• fearful attitude that I may not get what I want
• sleep that is unrestful

What are other manifestations of an irritable mind?

In what ways are these manifestations of an irritable mind alive and well in your life right now?

In what ways might this persistent irritability come forth from a wrong idea?

Is it possible that a personality flaw, a shortcoming in character, some short-sightedness, some narrow-mindedness in you right now is responsible for irritability in mind-body?

Where are you quick to blame someone or something else for your lack of inner peace? Is such a position even right? Is it possible that some or all of the burden of responsibility falls on you?

In what way might you actually enjoy maintaining the status quo though your conscience tells you change is necessary? Examples of these cheap payoffs include not having to be self-responsible and maintaining the false appearance of goodness.

What are the noble traits that correct the tendency toward irritability? Examples include patience, humility, commitment to truth.

How can we cultivate the right momentum which results in curing the dis-ease of irritability?

My hope is that you find greater health, wholeness, and fulfillment, dear friends. Catch you down the road, J*

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