Getting impressed. Is it beneficial?
If we want to sustain our self-respect then our intellect needs our special care. The intellect is such a sensitive filter of the soul, that emotions can blind it. When the intellect(often referred to as the third eye), is blinded we start over-estimating or under-estimating others or situations: see illusion.
And if words seem to impress us easily then it's words that will hurt us very easily...
}Whatever impresses or depresses us, influences and even moulds our awareness at that moment. We lose the invaluable ability to create our own thoughts and feelings and these are influenced by the impression that we have allowed the other person to leave on the sensitive film of our heart.
Sometimes the impression or depression is such that we completely give ourselves over to it. We give up our power to others, and we allow them to dominate our emotional world; we become emotional hostages. The results of allowing oneself to be impressed are varied and on different levels.
Examples
For example, when we are impressed by the other's position; it is fine to respect the authority and the position of the other, but when we allow their position to impress us, our ability to relate to the person in a subtle way is blocked. This can make it difficult for us to be an authority in our own life… it's easy to understand that disappointment would naturally follow
Another example is when we are impressed by the achievements of the other and put them on a pedestal… so that they become unreachable. We compare ourselves to him or her and have weak thoughts of ourselves, such as we are not as good or effective as them, or we might feel jealousy or guilt. All of this acts as an obstacle on the path towards our own achievement.
Realization
It is good to recognise and appreciate the achievements and skills of others, but when we allow them to impress us, in some way, we submit ourselves to their influence and we weaken our self-esteem and our respect towards ourselves. Without realizing, we use the other to fill a gap that we feel in ourselves. This will not always work. It will not strengthen us; rather it will create a co-dependency and dependencies weaken us.
Exercise
When I become impressed let me have a break… for a few seconds let me ask my self… my eternal 'room-mate': "Is this person, who I'm impressed with, giving me a message that I just can not decipher at the moment? Which virtue or power am I admiring? If I am able to recognize this virtue or power in the other person it means that I myself also have it; it's already deep inside me in a dormant state… let me start awakening it by applying it. Let me be grateful to him/her for his/her message."
