Redefining the Yamas & Niyamas: Aparigraha

The Yamas and Niyamas provide and incredibly helpful framework from which we can format to suit our particular needs. The order in which I am presenting these ten seeds is not in the traditional construct you will find in most spiritual texts. I offer Svadhyaya first. We arrive here, in this body, with this equipment of our mind, senses, and intellect. It feels necessary to make a lifelong commitment to the one you came here to guide (YOU). It feels important to vow that we will grow to our potential with what we have been given as a human being. This commitment opens up our eyes to see ourselves beyond the tunnel vision we have used for most of our lives and may present some distaste, so we apply Ahimsa. We choose to venture this journey through the lens of love and compassion. Journey you may ask? Where are we going? We are going om, or home, or into the depths of ourselves to dis-cover the goodness and divinity that is the foundation of us all, this is Satya. To get there, we must burn away some residue that has posed as truth and Tapas ignites the way. Once we capture a glimpse of this blinding radiance within, we can see that it is our place of power and where we want to generate our life experience from. Our energetic output sourced by divinity is Brahmacharya. The energy we are and then expel, becomes the way we experience (or dont’t), experiences, as well as the epic gift we get to give to all we are blessed to encounter. Re-claiming our energy is an act of Asteya and Aparigraha. We recognize the ways in which we may be stealing from ourselves and others as well as how engaged we are at trying to possess EVERYTHING! Let’s dive deeper into Aparigraha or what is often defined as non-possession. We could also reframe the “non” here and say it is: abundance.

An excerpt from my book: No Mat Required: “When I really tap into the energy of Aparigraha. I feel liberation, unbound by my own insecurities and the insecurities of others. This seed asks us to look at what we are trying to possess and also at how we are allowing ourselves to be possessed.

Carrying around all of our shit is heavy. Carrying around other people’s shit is even heavier. The belief that we need this or that to be okay is the same belief that wraps itself around your neck and slowly begins to squeeze the life out of you. Little by little, this metaphorical snake will suffocate you and cut you off from they very air you need to breathe - and your breath is your life. So whether it’s a physical object, a relationship, or approval from another, the need for something outside of you cuts you off from Source, and chokes out your life force.

We often believe we need certain people. Now, I want to be clear that yes, of course, we need other people. We need the help of others every single day for almost everything we do. We need the help of the farmer to eat breakfast. We need the help of the plumber to go to the bathroom. We need the help of the pilot to go visit family in another state. We need others for everything from saving our lives on the operating table to holding the door for us when our hands are full.

This is not the kind of need I mean. I mean the need to have certain people fulfill the expectations that you have for them. This is the belief that certain people somehow owe you something or are responsible in any part for your okay-ness. Other people are not responsible for your joy. You are.”

Taking the radical responsibility of your own joy into your own hands is the ultimate revolution. The decision to drink, swallow, and digest this accountability is the elixir of ecstasy mankind has been so desperately searching for. We can sit around and wait for a bartender to mix this elixir, we can point the finger at the last bartender who failed miserably, we can send someone else to get our drink, and all we will ever receive, is at best, some drunk high moments. More than likely we shall receive, a perpetual hangover, placing our joy into the never present tomorrow, next week, or next year.

Mix your own cup buttercup. And wash it down with a smile no one can ever take away from you.

Muchas Gracias Dearest Reader,

This is the reminder that the power is in your hands and I am here to cheer you on every next right choice of the way. As I say that, I am reminded of how “alone” this journey can sometimes feel. Reach out, find other humans who are rising and use your tools and your support system to keep shining dear one.

I love you,

Andrea Dawn