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SECTION 5. Scenario Exemples of When-Which-How
Nurse at a Hospital
Small Family Farms Threatened by Large Corporation
Autistic Child
Businessman Coping with Unhappy Employees
Racial Prejudice
Woman Commuting Home
Financial Stress
Difficult Decision
Natural Disaster
SCENARIO EXAMPLES OF
WHEN-WHICH-HOW
The following scenarios provide examples of people from various walks of life who discovered the when-which-how technique, made a decision to practice it, and improved the quality of their lives, as well as the lives of those around them.
Nurse at a Hospital. A nurse at a busy hospital is under continuous stress from the overload of patients and the overtime hours required to meet the demand. Before discovering the when-which-how technique, the pressure of her job had been affecting her health and her family life. In fact, her husband had developed cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy and yet she did not have the time to devote to his care because of her responsibilities at work. She couldn’t take a leave of absence or quit her job because they needed the income. Consequently, she was even more resentful toward her patients because it seemed to her that she was giving more care to her patients than to her own husband.
Now, having discovered when-which-how and practicing the technique for a few months, she feels somewhat better at every level of her life. She has more energy, she is more alert and efficient, and most importantly, her emotional life is less chaotic and anxiety-filled. Now her emotional state is positive, stable, and manageable. Her new-found positive emotional stability has spread to her co-workers, for they are less irritable. She wonders if this is because her emotional attitude and behavior are reducing the stress and irritation in her co-workers’ energy fields.
Prior to her work with emotional self-mastery, she had become irritable toward her patients, often treating them as objects rather than as people. Because her negative emotions were so entrenched, it took some effort for her to align with the energetic heart. The line of least resistance for her was through the virtue of compassion.
At first she felt ashamed of herself for becoming so callous and cold toward her patients, but the virtue of understanding allowed her to see that she really was a good person, but due to a combination of complacency and stress she had simply lost her way. Through her work with the heart virtues she has restored her balance, aligned with the energetic heart and can now apply when-which-how to her patients, co-workers, and family.
Small Family Farms Threatened by Large Corporation. A man who is a third generation farmer is worried about the recent takeover of family farms in his region. A large, international food corporation is buying all the farms around him and he doesn’t understand what is happening to his world.
He turns to the six heart virtues for guidance, and it is the virtue of understanding that brings some light to his mind. He begins to read about world affairs and economics, topics that have never interested him. As he takes a deeper interest in these matters, he begins to see the larger picture. Although he does not agree with what is occurring to him or his farming neighbors, at least he comprehends the reasons for these upsetting changes.
Somehow, he finds it within himself to send forgiveness to the executives of this large consortium, for he realizes that they are under pressure from stockholders to increase the value of the corporation’s stock. It is all so complicated and there does not seem to be any one individual person to blame for this terrible situation.
As a result of the insights granted by understanding and the freedom given by forgiveness, he feels compassion for himself and everyone involved in this problem. He sends compassion to everyone. This may not have solved the problem, but at least he no longer feels angry, bitter, and hopeless. He can now think clearly because he is more positive and understands the challenge. He now applies valor to facing the situation knowing he has the energetic heart virtues to light his way forward.
Autistic Child. A couple has two children, one of whom is autistic. During a family birthday celebration the autistic child suddenly loses control due to all the stimulation. The mother immediately seeks to calm the child by holding him and externally expressing compassion and understanding in calm, soothing words. At the same time, the father visualizes the virtues grid expanding outward into the room, encompassing all the guests.
The mother’s loving response to her child is the same as it has always been, except for the addition of the when-which-how practice. Ever since she and her husband began working with emotional self-mastery, they have noticed a vast improvement in their emotional responses to everyday situations, especially in regard to their autistic child.
Now that they are working from the heart, they have more strength and energy to deal with their child. They are confident in the power of love because they have observed the calming effects on their son (as well as their daughter) through their work with the heart virtues.
Businessman Coping with Unhappy Employees. The owner of a small business is negotiating with his employees for an increase in wages and better working conditions.
In the past, he would have eliminated the employees who initiated this “trouble,” and mollified the rest with an inconsequential increase in pay, explaining that this was better than losing one’s job.
After discovering the practice of when-which-how, he now has a different outlook on these matters. Although he must keep costs down to stay competitive, he now realizes that he has been too stingy toward his employees. Managing the costs of doing business is only one aspect of running an efficient enterprise. The other aspect involves the experience and skills of the workers who produce the goods and services he offers. Without these he could not compete in the marketplace at all.
When he first began practicing when-which-how he found himself focused on appreciation. The virtue of appreciation came to his attention immediately. As he worked with this virtue, he realized that much of the trouble he had with his business involved his lack of appreciation for his employees. As he examined this attitude more closely, he realized that he had taken his employees and their skills for granted. He had not appreciated their value to his enterprise. When he braided appreciation with understanding, he came to realize the importance of his employees. This allowed him to adjust his relationship with them through humility. As he internally outflowed these three virtues to his employees and learned to work with the other virtues, as well, he eventually instituted the when-which-how practice on the job and taught it himself.
Now, whenever the time comes for hearing grievances or negotiating wages and benefits, humility allows each party to respect one another’s position and status within the company. Understanding allows them to grasp one another’s interests and concerns. And appreciation allows them to value each other as members of one team competing in the marketplace.
Racial Prejudice. A black man is walking to his car and notices a white couple staring at him. He senses that they are afraid of him because of his race. Ordinarily, he would be feeling anger, resentment or disappointment by their negative reaction to him, thereby contributing his own negative emotions to the situation (and to the CHEF).
Now, however, he focuses on his energetic heart and sends them understanding, compassion, and forgiveness. By doing this, he eliminates any negative emotions he might produce and, simultaneously, sends positive emotions to the couple.
Although he cannot single-handedly change everyone’s attitudes, he knows that practicing the six heart virtues has changed his attitudes and behaviors toward others. It just seems sensible, that by reducing his own negative emotions, he generates a presence that is essentially positive and non-threatening to others.
Through the virtue of understanding and compassion, he grasps the wider picture, the sad history of human prejudice throughout the ages. He even recognizes that, as a human being, he too has practiced prejudice. At least now, through the practice of when-which-how, he has greatly reduced his negative contributions to the CHEF.
Woman Commuting Home. After an exhausting day at work, a woman finds herself sitting close to four teenagers on her commuter train. These young people are noisy and are all talking at once. To add further chaos to the encounter, at least one of them is also playing a video game because she can hear the weird noises it is producing.
She has children of her own and realizes that these teens are simply enjoying each others’ company, albeit in a rather boisterous and irritating manner. So, she realizes that this is the perfect time to apply her newly discovered technique of practicing the heart virtues. But how should she approach this situation?
She decides to use valor, so she turns to them and politely asks them to talk a little more quietly. While she is making this request, she is also sending them understanding and appreciation. She feels appreciation is needed because she wants them to feel her respect for them as young people. She wants them to feel her understanding and appreciation of their youthful spirit and abundant energy—their enthusiasm for life.
These feelings resonate with the teenagers. They sense her respect for them and they express their apologies and try to tone down their conversation.
Financial Stress. A young, single mother is running late picking up her daughter at daycare. She can hardly afford to pay for daycare, but she has to work in order to pay her rent and keep food on the table. If she does not get to the daycare center in the next ten minutes, she is going to be charged an additional $20.00, an amount her tight budget cannot cover.
Suddenly, an elderly man pulls out in front of her car and is driving far below the speed limit. She is very frustrated and angry, asking the universe why this has to happen to her. Doesn’t she have enough problems already? Then she remembers that she is supposed to be practicing emotional self-mastery. And, to be honest, at this moment she really doesn’t want to.
Nonetheless, somehow she manages to calm down enough to realign with her heart. She visualizes herself as divine love with the six heart virtues radiating outward in a field around her. She sends forgiveness to the elderly man in front of her, for understanding has shown her that this man may be financially strained like herself. He may be on a fixed income. He may not see too well, but still must get to the store to buy his groceries. He is probably driving slowly to avoid causing an accident. Should he be forced to give up driving?
Suddenly, she feels enormous compassion for this person, after all he could be her own father. How would she feel if someone was cursing at her father or mother because they were driving too slowly? At this point, the virtue of humility entered her energy field and she accepted her situation as just part of the overall circumstances of living in this twenty-first century. She thought to herself, “We’ve all got problems; we’re all in this mess together so why add to the negativity of humanity, when I have an opportunity to send out positive emotional energy.” Just then, the elderly driver turned right and she was free to get to the daycare center in time. She then thought, “It’s amazing how much you can learn in two minutes.”
Difficult Decision. A middle-aged couple is faced with a difficult decision. The husband’s father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and he and his wife must decide whether to care for him in their home or to put him in a nursing home. They are torn emotionally because although they have a spare bedroom, they also have two teenaged children and they worry about the impact this will have on them.
They seek the opinions and the advice of medical professionals, social workers, and family members, but in the end it is really their decision to make. Ultimately, through their practice of when-which-how, they seek the advice of the energetic heart. Even going to this profound source of wisdom, there does not seem to be a correct answer or perfect solution to the dilemma. In addition, their father does not want to be a burden on the family, but at this stage, he is not capable of making an objective decision.
Eventually, the couple decides to try their best to keep their father at home with them for as long as they can. It is agreed that if the situation becomes too difficult for them and their children, they will place him in a nursing home. The virtue of valor gave them the courage to proceed in this direction. This decision feels right to them because they have balanced compassion with understanding. They realize that it will take much compassion and understanding for the entire family to work through this crisis. Therefore, the couple agrees to work hard at integrating emotional self-mastery, meditation, and practicing when-which-how into their lives.
Natural Disaster. People living in a village in Pakistan live in constant fear of another devastating earthquake. Their lives are continuously overshadowed by the memories of the earthquake that destroyed the few possessions they had, not to mention the loss of their small school and medical clinic. Their days are dark and hopeless.
In the meantime, several thousand individuals scattered throughout the world, but connected to the internet are beginning a group meditation at Event Temples. They have gathered in cyberspace at the same time in order to transmit the energies of the heart to all the people in that region of Pakistan where this earthquake took place.
The quantum community of when-which-how practitioners targets, focuses, directs, and transfers the virtues of the heart to this specific region in an effort to lift the emotional pall hanging in the subjective atmosphere of these people. This projection and injection of the light of love lifts the spirits of these people and gives them the needed strength to rebuild their lives.
The next day, in that small Pakistani village, the people feel a little better. Many of the people feel a new hope and regain confidence and enthusiasm for rebuilding their lives. Within a week comes word that the UN is sending them additional building supplies to aid them in their recovery.