This is part 2 of Our Mental Nature series.
Sattva means a state of pure being.
It is the neutral and balancing force that harmonizes the positive and negative. Anything that raises a person’s consciousness is Sattvic for them.
Sattva Guna gives rise to the mind.
It is light and illumination.
It is the quality of intelligence, virtue, wholeness, and goodness.
It creates clarity, balance, and stability.
It imparts harmony, contentment, discernment and peace.
Unless the mind is calm and clear, we cannot perceive anything properly, therefore a person's mental resiliency depends on how much Sattva Guna has been developed in the mind.
A mind with mostly Sattvic energy likes to progress and only dwells on actions that are creative, life-supporting, and healthy. Sattva is the balance of Rajas and Tamas and is responsible for all health and healing.
The cultivation of Sattva Guna is greatly emphasized in Yoga and Ayurveda. It is, after all, the path towards greater awareness and enlightenment, and all the practices and techniques in Yoga and Ayurveda are ultimately directed towards this.
In Yoga, Sattva is the higher quality that allows us to evolve in consciousness for spiritual growth. In Ayurveda, Sattva is the state of balance that causes healing to happen.
We are able to consciously bring more Sattva Guna into our mental state with healing practices that use the life force of Nature through diet and lifestyle.
Types of foods that bring more Sattvic energy to our mind:
Emphasizing sattvic foods in a diet that is first balancing for your unique constitution is a powerful tool for improving health.
Fresh, wholesome, organic seasonal food rich in Prana (life-force)
Nourishing foods prepared with Love
Vegetarian foods: whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fresh vegetables, greens to detoxify the body, ripe fresh fruits, spices that are not too stimulating, natural sweeteners
Sweet is the primary sattvic taste as it is nurturing and harmonizing, but having all 6 tastes in your diet in the right amount for your unique constitution creates sattva in the mind.
Use of herbs as they have a more direct effect on the mind than food, yet they are milder and safer than chemicals and therefore can require longer use for the healing action to manifest.
Moderate portions of easily digested food
Biggest meal at lunch, lightest at dinner
Lifestyle habits that bring more Sattvic energy to our mind:
This is anything that brings in higher consciousness for you personally, so as this is a general list, it is not exhaustive as we are all at a unique point in our own journey.
Yoga
Pranayama
Time outside in Nature
Daily exercise
Mantra, positive thinking & affirmations
Cooking
Gardening
Hiking
Volunteering and giving of your time and skills
But truly anything that brings in balance and harmony for you
For more see my other blogs on the other two gunas that make up our mental nature ~ Rajas and Tamas.