Pleasures conceived in the world of the senses have a beginning and an end and give birth to misery, Arjuna. The wise do not look for happiness in them. But those who overcome the impulses of lust and anger [desire and aversion?] which arise in the body are made whole and live in joy. They find their joy, their rest, and their light completely within themselves.
Gita , Chapter 5: 22-24
"There is something beautiful in here"
We have all probably recognized, at one point or another, even if it was just in a flickering glimmer, that there is something beautiful inside us. I mean most of the time we attribute this something beautiful to being a reflection of something beautiful out there but there are other times we get a glimpse that there is something beautiful inside that is not dependent on what is going on outside. For even just a fraction of a minute we might find our joy, our rest and our light completely within ourselves.
I have not experienced it much but I have experienced a taste of that unconditional peace, joy, love...if not the 'bliss' that yoga promises. I know there is something to that promise and I want whatever that beautiful thing is to come pouring through me and out of me. I want freedom from that which is blocking it most of all and then I want to taste the rest and light of love at least...even if pure unconditional joy and bliss remain at a distance to my not fully evolved mind.
I want to open and stay open. That is why I practice yoga.
Free from anger and selfish desire, unified in mind, those who follow the path of yoga and realize the Self are established forever in that supreme state. Gita, Chapter 5:26
I am not sure if I will ever reach the supreme state but I do strive for freedom from suffering for myself and others. It is a start.
I am aware of what desire and aversion do to our human psyches so I am doing my best to put my preferences aside so I can accept Life as it is. I realize what such preferring has done to this personal mind...this ego. It has made it neurotic as it stuffed so many emotional charged feelings and "mind stuff" within. I am aware of how all this stuff...these samskaras are blocking my flow. I see how external triggers that bump into these samskaras are causing me to resist and close to Life as it is, so I am not living fully. I have closed down the flow of shakti within me.
I also trust the teachings that tell us that the earth (this horizontal plane of existence) is a place where souls are sent to evolve. My soul can grow beyond these blockages, in fact it can grow because of these challenging samskaras. All I have to do is accept...open...not close anymore and allow the release of these blockages. Hmm!
We can open up, full time, to the beauty within. Through yoga we can learn to experience peace, joy, love and bliss no matter what unfolds in front of us or through us!
First step: Open: do your part in removing blockages as you recognize they are in the way of you experiencing Shakti. Learn to love your stuff...see it as that which helps you to open. don't worry about the stuff already in you...it will come up naturally.
Second step: Don't close. Keep open to whatever unfolds in front of you as you begin to experience the flow of shakti rising...first in trickles and streams ...as you catch yourself saying"Wow! There is something beautiful in here." Then, Singer assures us, eventually we will begin to feel the unconditional peace, joy, love and bliss flowing like a river upwards.
We can be made whole and live in joy through our practice. Embrace the learning challenges offered by Life. All of them. Even our "malingering malignant moods" (Yogananda) can be lessons for learning.
All is well!
Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( July 2, 2023) Transcending Moods.https://tou.org/talks/
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