26 May Priorities, Yoga, Divinity
Journal Entry
May 25, 2019 | Los Angeles, California
Are my priorities in the right order? What are my priorities anyway? In life.
To be a kind and generous person. To be healthy. To be of service, a comfort to people in need. To give attention—real, deep attention—to people who share themselves with me. To forge deep and honest connection. To minimize stress. To be an oasis of healthful sustenance and calm.
I also want to teach. To share what I know. To help others and share what I love about yoga.
What do I love about yoga?
I love how much there is to study. How it could just go on forever. I love how clearly it’s a path, a way to do life towards a real goal. The system, the rishis, seem to have it figured out. I don’t have to be interested in it or understand it yet it’s still there for me to understand or become interested in when and if. It’s so relevant to growth and progress. It makes sense as a philosophy and studying it gives me signposts and direction in life. How do I teach more of the philosophy?
It’s most beneficial when applied to oneself; that’s what it’s meant for. It feels like I can only come up with the relevance in conversation when it’s present and applicable. I was talking to Laurel yesterday about the kleshas. Avidyasmita raga dvesabhinivesah kleshah. Ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, fear. The root causes, the obstacles to achieving yoga in the practice of yoga. This will be part of my fundamental series—the obstacles to yoga. Also then, what is yoga? It’s both the goal of the practice and the practice itself.
Achieving yoga is shining forth your unadulterated divine light without karma associated with your thoughts, words, and actions. Karma is reaction. Yoga means shining your spirit, your true and undying self through whatever the Prakrti is you’ve manifested in this incarnation.
We are so much more than our bodies and minds. We are more than our energetic qualities, even more than our highest self. We are eternal beings, beyond this one life, beyond the eyes you peer from, we are beyond birth and death. Becoming aware of this and then working to purify the obstacles, the sickness, the dis-ease, anxiety and depression, emotional blockages, energetic blockages, the samskara. This is the practice of yoga. It’s also done with acupuncture, diet, mental health care, modern medicine, energy healing, and massage. All of these things and more bring you towards the state of being that is yoga. Union. Purified and clear, an uninterrupted, smoothly flowing, perfectly balancing channel to shine forth your light, your eternal self, your divinity into the space and time your occupy.
As it is, we shine forth a mix of this and all our samskara: our impurities, insecurities, inner critic, blind spots…we bring forth our light mixed with our shadow. This is as it should be. We must first see our shadow, our impurities and immaturities, to become aware of all of who we are. Without knowing this, how could you possibly overcome, grow beyond, go beyond these of your obstacles?
At first the obstacles are so complex, an erratic net woven by a spastic spider. The application of the practice of yoga is confusing. Uncertain it’s working. It’s hard to see. Follow the system, stay true to yourself, face your truth, own up to your shadow to yourself. Commit to this with all your means and your end is yoga. Purify, purify, purify and the patterns become clearer, the system appears simpler.
It is so simple, but we have made it complex. We must purify the complexities to see the simplicity and ultimately come to remember the truth. The truth deep deep in our own hearts, the truth only you could know. Then we begin to shine forth that truth, that divinity. We become our truth. The world needs each of our unique truths, each of our light. This is how we save ourselves and each other. This is how we find peace. The light in me acknowledges the light in you. We say “namaste” at the end of every yoga class. This is what it means: “The light in me acknowledges the light in you.” Working together on ourselves individually, because we’ve no choice but to share the air we breathe.