All our lives, we are enslaved by our minds, in one way or another way got distracted from primary goal, we are unaware of our emotions and take actions involuntarily. But we hold more power than we know.
The term Self-Mastery is the ability to recognize, understand, control, and make the most out of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual self. It is gained through awareness, understanding, and control over your thoughts, emotions, and actions.
History and origin: Scholastic thinkers such as Aquinas, Francisco de Vitoria, and Bartolomé de Las Casas developed the concept of “self-mastery” (dominium) — later called “self-propriety,” “property in one’s person,” or “self-ownership” — and showed how it could be the foundation of a system of individual rights.
So, what stops you from mastering yourself?
A video of Shaolin Kung Fu master Shi Heng Yi on YouTube has excellently described 5 hindrances to self-mastery. Self-mastery is when you see more clearly and make better decisions.
- Sensual Desire: Temptation of other things during the journey towards the goal.
- Ill will / aversion: Hate towards a certain aspect of the goal, for example, you want to be a businessman but you don’t like to take risks.
- Dullness / Heaviness: “torpor” Dullness of mind and “sloth” heaviness of the body due to lack of energy.
- Restlessness: Unsettlement of mind because it is not in the present moment. You are either too judgemental about the past or too afraid about the future.
- Sceptical Doubt: Indecisiveness of mind, what if this? what if that? is this the right path? These doubts stop you from moving on.
Afterward, he described the 4 step process to remove the black cloud of these hindrances from your mind, which will lead towards clarity.
- Recognize
- Accept — State of your mind
- Investigate: what happens if I remain in this state?
- Non-identity: Its practice, you have to treat your body, mind, and emotions as three separate entities apart from yourself and take an overview of the situation.
We all are different human beings, even our tiniest fingerprints do not match with each other, break the chains of hindrances and carve your own path.
