And it all culminates in complete and total surrender. Easy enough! Ha!
samadhi-siddhir ishvara pranidhanat - "Though faith and trustful surrender to the divine mystery we find joy."
This is about REALLY letting go of illusions of control, of destructive patterns and/or thinking, selfishness, and shifting our focus and priorities from obsessions and desires to serving others. This is about realizing we are all in this together and we are NOT in control of much at all.
With this final niyama, our daily challenge is to trade our illusion of control for Faith. Capital "F." Complete and total faith. An Ultimate Surrender. Ultimate Belief. I am reading a book currently called Fear and Faith and in it, the author describes fear as unbelief. Wow. This makes me look at my fears and worries in such a different way. One of my favorite parts of the Bible I've read is, "Lord, help my unbelief." Or, Lord, help unload my fears.
This niyama couldn't be more at a more perfect timing. I've had a particularly rough battle with anxiety lately, have been obsessing, frankly, about various fears, which mostly spiral around "'what if's" about my children's health and mine. The invincibility of my youth is fading and now, I worry about a million things I can't control. I sometimes spiral myself into stomach clenching anxiety over these scenarios in my head. This is the opposite of surrender. This is clinging, attachment and feeding my worst turnings of the mind.
We must feed our mind and soul the way we do our bodies. And they must be fed constantly, every day, multiple times a day. This is something I'm realizing - peace is not one and done. It's a constant practice. It takes daily diligence. Do I want to continue to feed my mind worry, worst case scenarios and what if's? Absolutely not. This is a TERRIBLE diet. Or should I feed myself each time with "Yes, I can" and "my girls and I healthy" and "we are safe" and "I have faith" and "God is good!" and "I am strong" and "I will thrive" and various other healthy fillings? Yes, please.
What we practice, we get very good at. What we feed ourselves matters.
I am a perfectionist. And I am very good at worrying. I don't want to be good at this anymore. I'm ready to practice surrender to God. To practice each and every day. I'm ready to practice Ishvara Pranidhana with eyes and heart fixed. I want to learn to be very good at THIS.
What a wonderful and ultimate Niyama to end this series with. Next topic - Joy.
Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden - I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28
You shall increase my greatness and comfort me on every side. - Psalm 71:21
I will comfort you...as a mother comforts her child. - Isaiah 66:13
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Niyamas: Self-Study (Svadhyaya)
Oh boy...this is my jam! I am a full nerdy academic type, so I love nothing more than having a pen and notebook in my hand, taking notes furiously as I LEARN, LEARN, LEARN something new, or often, some new, delicious perspective on something that gives it (and me) new life and fire.
Svadhyaya is the Yogic path, a sacred path, of self-study and reflection. You don't have to be an academic to pursue this path. This path is all about really stopping to think and reflect on your perspectives and to learn, listen and read as much as you possibly can to inform this, not because you have to, but because you desire to. This practice helps you to really discern information, to practice critical thinking, to examine different perspectives and viewpoints instead of just acting or believing impulsively from a limited perspective or experience. YES!!!
This is not always pleasant, because it requires deep digging. This would be Socrates' favorite Yoga Niyama, I think, because it's all about questioning everything, not taking anything you think you know for granted, but truly knowing it in your heart and soul because you've REALLY reflected on it, wrestled with it, churned it and made it yours. This helps us see more clearly, authentically and with that "engaged detachment" that Buddhists like to talk about.
Of course, we want to be mindful not to get so obsessed with our head's learning that we forget our heart's connection (a constant check for most of us academics, I think). Svadhyaya is not about being Mr. Know-It-All, it's about helping us better investigate what and why we see things the way we do, to understand and appreciate how others do the same and to hone our strengths and be honest about the aspects we need to work on.
Gandhi said it was our "sacred duty" to study all of the world's wisdom scriptures. He read from the New Testament, the Qu'ran and the Bhagavad Gita daily. Lately, I've been in a spirit-led devouring of religious scripture. I just can't get enough. I'm scribbling notes and diving deep, reevaluating a lot of what I've assumed in the past. It's a bit scary. It's weird at times. But it's so, so good. And so joyful.
Everyone in my area is aware of, or has been directly impacted by the multiple tornadoes that hit our area last week. We've all been recovering, either physically or emotionally/spiritually (or both). It is truly miraculous that with all of the destruction, there was such little impact to human life. Most of what is being dealt with now is the material loss and starting over. According to the scriptures I've been reading lately, this is a time for us to be grateful and for us to act. To serve as God's hands and HELP however we can. From the smallest gesture/token to grand ones, we are all in this.
"(Because of this distress)...you're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more referent, more human, more passionate, more responsible...you've come out of this with purity of heart." 2 Cor.7:9-13
"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial." James 1:12
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit." Ephesians 3:16
"Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Matthew 22:39
Svadhyaya is the Yogic path, a sacred path, of self-study and reflection. You don't have to be an academic to pursue this path. This path is all about really stopping to think and reflect on your perspectives and to learn, listen and read as much as you possibly can to inform this, not because you have to, but because you desire to. This practice helps you to really discern information, to practice critical thinking, to examine different perspectives and viewpoints instead of just acting or believing impulsively from a limited perspective or experience. YES!!!
This is not always pleasant, because it requires deep digging. This would be Socrates' favorite Yoga Niyama, I think, because it's all about questioning everything, not taking anything you think you know for granted, but truly knowing it in your heart and soul because you've REALLY reflected on it, wrestled with it, churned it and made it yours. This helps us see more clearly, authentically and with that "engaged detachment" that Buddhists like to talk about.
Of course, we want to be mindful not to get so obsessed with our head's learning that we forget our heart's connection (a constant check for most of us academics, I think). Svadhyaya is not about being Mr. Know-It-All, it's about helping us better investigate what and why we see things the way we do, to understand and appreciate how others do the same and to hone our strengths and be honest about the aspects we need to work on.
Gandhi said it was our "sacred duty" to study all of the world's wisdom scriptures. He read from the New Testament, the Qu'ran and the Bhagavad Gita daily. Lately, I've been in a spirit-led devouring of religious scripture. I just can't get enough. I'm scribbling notes and diving deep, reevaluating a lot of what I've assumed in the past. It's a bit scary. It's weird at times. But it's so, so good. And so joyful.
Everyone in my area is aware of, or has been directly impacted by the multiple tornadoes that hit our area last week. We've all been recovering, either physically or emotionally/spiritually (or both). It is truly miraculous that with all of the destruction, there was such little impact to human life. Most of what is being dealt with now is the material loss and starting over. According to the scriptures I've been reading lately, this is a time for us to be grateful and for us to act. To serve as God's hands and HELP however we can. From the smallest gesture/token to grand ones, we are all in this.
"(Because of this distress)...you're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more referent, more human, more passionate, more responsible...you've come out of this with purity of heart." 2 Cor.7:9-13
"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial." James 1:12
"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit." Ephesians 3:16
"Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Matthew 22:39
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