Shenpa Syndrome

Recently during a Meditation class I came across a word I hadn’t heard before: Shenpa. I was fascinated to find out more about what this Tibetan word actually means. The word Shenpa actually translates into attachment, but a more descriptive translation would be a hook. So what does this mean exactly?

The easiest way I could possibly describe this is with as an example. Imagine somebody, maybe a parent, a friend, a teacher or work colleague, constantly criticises you or the work you do. You start to feel a very familiar feeling. It may be a taste, a smell or some other sense, but whatever it is it’s something that sits very badly with you. We begin to feel almost stuck. We then maybe experience feelings of anger, jealousy and other emotions which lead to words and actions that lead to negative energy. This is Shenpa.

Shenpa thrives on the underlying insecurities of living in a world where it’s always changing. This constant change creates a feeling of great insecurity, a background of slight unease or restlessness. We all want some kind of relief from this feeling, to return to what are SURE we enjoy. For everyone this is different. It may be food, drugs, work, shopping, sex, alcohol. We all know what works for us to momentarily halt our stress and of course in moderation this can be fine, but it can become a problem.

So how can we unhook ourselves?

We can teach ourselves to cope differently with the emotional nature of these hooks. An easy way is to stop following our thoughts and letting them snowball. Shenpa is an itch we need to scratch, but gradually we can weaken our own thoughts and learn to relax by living in the moment.

Love and  Light

Jasmine -  600595