Sutra 1.30: Obstacle #7: Wrong Perspective
Yoga Sutra 1.30 presents us with nine different obstacles of the mind on our journey towards samadhi. These obstacles are disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, fatigue, sensory attachment, wrong perspective, non-achievement, and non-steadiness.
Today is all about “wrong perspective.” This means we must open ourselves and our minds to new and different perspectives.
To have an open mind is to: mind your openness. It’s not like you can swing it open, place the door stopper there, and Shazam, now your mind is open for all of eternity. Open is not simply the opposite of closed. It’s more like the screening process at the airport, you have to ‘mind’ to it, just like you mind to your teeth and your toenails. When you don’t brush your teeth, they are grimy and your breath stinks. When the door of your mind is unattended, all kinds of sketchy characters will saunter in and make your mind grimy and your thoughts stink. Stinky thoughts translate into stale words and stale words translate into relationships that are polluted with moldy crusts of mediocrity.
It’s the screening process that needs to be consistently and consciously evaluated and upgraded. This translates as seeing your own ignorance and then transcending the shame around that ignorance into curiosity. Curiosity will wake up the conscious that will cue you to find out if it is really a snake you spy or perhaps, it is just a rope. A rope that would be, oh so handy dandy, in providing the knots to support your climb, elevating you right up and out of that ignorance.
In the process of minding your openness, let’s not forgot about your roll dog, your heart. The tending to, of anything, requires more than what the mind can offer, so part of minding, is recruiting. And just like like the most kick ass scout in all of sports land knows, recruitment is not weak, recruitment is brave and bold and powerful. For, in the process of recruitment, there is the non-negotiable requirement of exposure. A synonym for this kind of exposure is courage. You must be brave enough to reveal the parts of you that are virgin to the suns’ rays and risk getting burnt.
The integration of truth in all of our moments equals authenticity, and authenticity is, as the Suess Doctor would say, “the you-iest, you, that you can be.” Realness is your super power, yet, it will often require you to saddle up and be an outlaw in this society, but no doubt, that Grace will gift you the realness reward, a lustrous diamond, encased in integrity, that you can slide on your finger, throw your fist in the air, and send your sparkle to the far corners of this universe and beyond.
Muchas gracias amigos,
This is one of the most difficult things to do (IMO). We can often be a trillion percent convinced that the way we are seeing things is the truth and it is very difficult to process that everyone has their own version of that truth that feels equally as “right” for them. Being open, requires such courage and bravery and willingness to be different. It also requires us to understand that closeness is often not sameness. And or, sometimes we are not meant to be close to everyone for always! I appreciate your engagement and willingness to explore the sutras with me.
Blessings,
Andrea Dawn
