Sutra 1.17: Developing Your Concentration = Samadhi

Sutra 1.17: vitarka-vicāra-ānanda-asmitā-rupa-anugamāt-saṁprajñātaḥ

Developing our focus of which there are four levels, will lead to the first kind of self-realization/enlightenment/samadhi

Sutra 1.17 enlightens us to enlightenment or to the aspiration of the yogi, this is samadhi, or self realization, also known as the eighth limb of yoga. What does it mean to realize the self, well, it’s kind of like finding your real eyes, you can finally behold the you that exists beyond your name, job title, gender, or any other role you have identified as being who you are. Yoga determines that there is a freedom awaiting you to experience, this freedom frees you from who you think you are into who you inherently are. With consistent, sincere, practice and non-attachment, we have the ability to release all that is holding us hostage to our very own suffering.

So where do we start? With the mind. The mind is our gateway and also our most grand obstacle. In the same way as we condition our bodies to be agile, strong, and well, we must do so with our minds. Just as you might encounter an injury or pain within your physical body, you can expect to encounter rifts and blockages in your mind as well. And just like if we ignore our aching back, it very well may result in pancreatic cancer. When we ignore the achings of our minds, it makes us just as sick, except we don’t have a label for it like cancer, but the results are the same, we poison ourselves and everyone else around us.

This sutra is all about developing and refining our ability to concentrate and focus without interruption. We live in a society that promotes ADD, with the average humans attention span averaging about 8.25 seconds, apparently we have fallen behind goldfish. Let us use that as inspiration to practice the skill of focus. We can do this by sitting and intentionally focusing on an object or a sensation for a period of time and we can also do it in our every day activities, when you open up your phone to check your email, check only your email without clicking on FB, IG, or any other enticing app that has been served to us on the platter of mass manipulation. When you eat breakfast, concentrate on each chew, without watching tv, reading, or having a conversation.

Each task in our day has the power to tame our unruly attention. Make your day and the whereabouts of your mind matter.

Many Thanks Dear Sisters and Brothers,

For realz, this sutra feels overwhelming for me, so I am breaking it down into two separate blogs. As for now, I am concentrating on concentrating (at the most basic level). And just because it’s basic, does not mean it’s simple which is why I suggest starting by focusing on an object, sensation, or activity. May you be inspired to live your day more deeply by choosing to grow your attention span intentionally. Tune in next week and we will dive deeper into the more subtle levels of concentration.

Blessings and Love,

Andrea Dawn