For some the phrase guru might feel foreign, close to home, or maybe triggering. When translated Guru actually means: “remover of darkness.” So whatever term you choose, guru, teacher, coach, angel, mentor, or guide, let us embrace that these “removers of darkness" can come to us in very human forms and they can be the difference between living in misery, mediocrity, or magnificence
Read MoreIf we can unsubscribe from the auto-debit, life sucking, subscription to limitation and lack, then we have the choice to intentionally subscribe to the awe and wonder of the infinite, all that is beyond what you have previously chose to believe is possible or impossible. What do you proclaim could never be possible for you?
Read MoreIshvara is not a he, a she, and doesn’t have an IG account listed with a preferred pronoun. Ishvara is not a giant man in the sky with a gray beard standing in front of pearly gates ready to enroll you in the angel academy or damn you to hell. Ishvara is not a superior human and when we humanize by calling her or him a she or a he, perhaps we are confusing ourselves even further more on the subject.
Read MoreThis sutra introduces to us an alternative route to samadhi and that is to completely surrender ourselves to Ishvara. If we can allow ourselves, just for today, to release any previous beliefs about God, who he is or who she is not, we find ourselves in the unique position to stop making objections and start making observations.
Read MoreTo attain anything worthwhile, we have must first want it. If you kinda sorta want to do those yoga moves and maybe see what all that inner peace stuff is about, that will be your result, a kinda sorta mediocre ability to sometimes feel some ease and and maybe a little less nonsensical inner narrative that never stops narrating. It is only when we are so intensely sick and tired of being so intensely sick and tired, of feeling like our minds are out of control, and like we know so deeply there is more to this life than what we are currently living, that the possibility of living a pure, deeply connected, centered, and liberated existence presents itself to us.
Read MoreThe second necessary component that we must welcome and affirm is enthusiasm. This is the personality of your aliveness. When our energy or “inner chi” is expelled as pure, its’ potency and power is what makes all things possible. But when our energy snow plows into thoughts of worry or fear it spills out of us as lethargy, apathy, and negativity. The yoga practice is a self cleaning mind mop that keeps the pathway clear for our energy to move straight from our power source within to connect us to all of life’s external experiences.
Read MoreMaybe this sutra is more about finding the God within ourselves, so that we can find the God within others without feeling better or worse than, by doing so. Maybe this sutra is calling out the comparison compulsion that is strangling our minds and therefor suffocating our hearts. So whether we can levitate or chant in Sanskrit or we make a million dollars or we are bankrupt does not change the fact that we are holy, divine, and a ray of the light of creation herself.
Read MoreWhen we open the doors on our minds to the possibility of having heaven within, heaven will come in. More often than not it is our minds beliefs and our minds burdens who stand, blocking the doorway of our sanctuary, like soldiers, shouting false orders from false gods. It is our job to dismantle these fear driven falsehoods with the cultivation of our awareness, with our sincerity, and with our commitment.
Read MoreAs with all of yoga there are layers upon layers to delve into, just like in a piece of carrot cake. Let’s say that the ultimate samadhi is the frosting, well today we are discussing all that is below the frosting and in sutra 1.17’s case, there are four layers to be observed.
Read MoreSutra 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.
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