Bi-polar

Our emotions propel us through extremes,

from elation to depression, 

from good experiences to bad, 

from happiness to sadness: 

a constant swinging back and forth.

Emotionality is the by-product of hope and fear,

attachment and aversion. 

We have hope because 

we are attached to something we want. 

We have fear because 

we are averse to something we don't want. 

As we follow our emotions, 

reacting to our experiences, we create karma: 

a perpetual motion 

that inevitably determines our future. 

We need to stop the extreme swings 

of the emotional pendulum 

so that we can find a place of centeredness.

– Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, Gates to Buddhist Practice: Essential Teachings of a Tibetan Master

I know something about bi-polar because my father had it. It’s a weird energy running through you, and equally strange behavior that follows. Awakening may feel like it because we experience these exultations when we are connected to the Flow, just as we are bound to go through depression when our self once again got the better of us. Yet, different from bi-polar, our behavior never has to change. Surprisingly, even our energy doesn’t seem to vary that much to the outside word. Excited or depressed, we always do what needs to get done. We always recognize the messengers of the Beyond and do what we have to do whether we like it or not. Don’t go by happiness or pain, make the consistency of your action your yard-stick. Recognize that no matter how you feel, you are already ‘There’. Discover that reliable centering technique that allows you to return to the center no matter what the circumstances.