"By cultivating an attitude of friendliness towards the happy. Compassion towards the unhappy. Delight in the virtuous and disregard to the wicked. The mind stuff retains it's undisturbed calmness."
- Yoga Sutra 1.33
What is a Sutra? Sutra in English would be "suture" meaning thread. There are 196 Yoga Sutras (threads or short statements) explaining what yoga is. These sutras help us to bring the practise off the mat, applying it to our everyday tasks & attitudes, encouraging us to understand life on a deeper level.
The Yoga Sutras came from Patanjali who would pass them to his students by word of mouth. The students memorised each of the sutras and eventually later they where all written down.
What do the above words mean to you? Take some time for self reflection, to understand how they can they help you in your everyday life.
For me they are the balance in life, that create a peaceful mind, loving relationships and a happy soul. People express in different ways. People experience pain in different ways, they grieve and love and live in different ways. Through observing others experiences we can learn to adapt and open toward fresh perspectives, different opinions, varying lifestyles to our own.
Finding the grace to move on from anything that doesn't serve you without a reaction, simply by making the choice not to include these aspects in your life; this is how we begin to set healthy boundaries within ourselves, it is also what feeds our purpose; by choosing to focus on the things in life that brings us, joy, peace, surrender and love in our relationships.
Choosing not to react to the situations that are out of our control therefore coming to the realisation that they where never ours to try and control in the first place.
Our ability to choose the people, objects and work we surround ourselves with, has been forgotten, i'll repeat that again, "our ability to choose." We have the right to choose every person in our circle, every object we purchase, our careers and life work.
We live in a stressful, busy society where expectations are high and time is expensive, we often go in a certain direction because we feel that it is what we deserve or what we need in order to sustain ourselves in the only ways we know how to.
All of these choices are lessons, they teach us and we learn from our own individual experiences, growing from within them, some of the lessons are tough, some exciting, dream come true material. How we live our lives, is our choice to make. Is your life serving you to the best of your abilities? Are you ready to achieve more? There will always be space for transformation. Always an opportunity to experience, a career to excel at, an achievement to gain. If you put the intention out there and make the choice, it is yours to make happen.
It is difficult to understand when another person shows judgement, disrespect, or anger towards you, the challenging lesson here is in your choice of how you respond.
Remember how another person treats you is a reflection of how they view and treat themselves.
Remember how another person treats you is a reflection of how they view and treat themselves.
The anger or disregard for your feelings is not actually about you, it's directed toward their own self. This doesn't necessarily make it easier to forgive, to accept and move on.
However, I find in these challenges it is useful to ask: "Is it kind? is it necessary? is it true?"
These are the statements I have to ask myself, because how I respond is a reflection of me, of how I view myself and of how I treat myself.
Is it kind? The words in which I choose to respond can set a clear boundary yet still remain kind. e.g. "I am uncomfortable with how you have chosen to speak with me, I would like for us to allow some space & return to this conversation later with respect for one another."
Is it necessary? Is a response or reaction necessary right now? It could be more beneficial to both parties if I take a step back encouraging the other person to do the same.
Is it true? Is my reaction stemming from a place of defence or sincerity? Am I speaking from a place of truth or from a place of hurt?
The words I choose to speak back are important, they are a vital step in how this interaction will proceed. It is my choice how I respond, It is my choice to react or not react, It is my choice to speak from a place of compassion and honesty. It's a way of being I won't claim to have mastered, an everlasting practice of patience and boundaries.
"the mind stuff retains it's undisturbed calmness."
Our minds are powerful, how we speak to ourselves is often reflected in how we speak to others, choose your words wisely, choose what you allow into your mind space carefully and remember to clear out on a regular basis whatever is no longer serving you in order to retain your undisturbed calmness.
Our minds are powerful, how we speak to ourselves is often reflected in how we speak to others, choose your words wisely, choose what you allow into your mind space carefully and remember to clear out on a regular basis whatever is no longer serving you in order to retain your undisturbed calmness.
"I release what no longer serves me, allowing space for new opportunities and creation."
"I accept what must remain for now, knowing this is temporary and it to shall pass."
Wishing you a nourishing day,
Lori.
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