DEPRESSION
Friend: How does one do the contemplation when I am depressed?
Reply: I am not a psychotherapist and I can only share the non dual understanding as it may be of help, or maybe not. There are professionals that deal with crisis levels of emotions.
Contemplate the following non dual pointers:
When you say: ” I am depressed”, you are not referring to the state of the Self, you are not referring to ‘I’, you are referring to a sensation/mentation. You are referring to the body mind that you are confusing to be the Self.
When you say: “I am depressed”, you are referring to something you are witnessing.
You can call it a temporary internal weather.
You are not referring to the Self. When you confuse yourself with thought/sensation, you will trigger the emotions and you feel prey to them, like a fly in the spider web.
Depression arises as thought/sensation
Not as Self.
Also contemplate that this internal weather you are calling depression is exacerbated by more and more thought and by resistance and desire.
Use the metaphor of the infinite sky and the clouds:
The infinite sky is the Self (Consciousness/Awareness) and the clouds is the thought/sensation (depression).
Which one are you? The infinite sky of Awareness or the clouds of thought/sensation? Is the infinite sky of Awareness engaged in trying to remove or alter the clouds?
Friend: I understand but I am unable to see beyond the depression.
Reply: Notice how resistance is hiding behind such a thought. Thought is trying to keep you focused on the thought/sensation and not on the wide open sky of Awareness.
There is a neutral space that is the Self that is available to you. Relax into it and allow it to guide you.
You are That and not what arises and dissolves.
