I need to clear of some common misconceptions. Yoga is a practice. Not a religion. Just like how Buddhism is a way of life...a practice or philosophy. If you come from another religion or way of life can you take these philosophies with you back to your religion or way of life? Yes. But people fear what they do not know or understand. So they are afraid to go deeper into the world of "stillness". Therein lies the problem. At the beginning of my yoga practice yesterday, the teacher said "Be still, and know that I am God." When we are practicing our stillness...or just being, we are closer to who we are really meant to be.
This is where Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success come into my practice. One of the absolute hardest steps for me to apply to my life is to take time each day just being silent. Some people who know me are laughing...my parents I'm sure. But what this really means is that I have to work at just being. That seems like such a small thing...to just be. To sit alone in silent meditation actually means that you clear your mind. As thoughts come and go you focus on the moments between the thoughts. Not the thought itself. Pretty soon you are focusing on those in between moments for even longer and one day, you will come to realize that your thoughts have finally stilled.
And therein lies my problem. One thought produces one more like it, then it spirals, and so on and so forth. So I am working on this ability to carry stillness with me. Chopra writes "Through silence, through meditation, and through non-judgement, you will access the first law, the Law of Pure Potentiality." Many times people say "Oh I'm not judging...but blah, blah, blah." If you have to say you are not judging, here's a hint, you might be. But that's okay for now. Work on letting that thought go and focusing on something positive you learned from that situation. If your mind is constantly on re-wind and you are judge, jury and executioner of your thoughts and you can't let the negative go from a situation, you need meditation in your life. You know it costs less than therapy...it does.
Here is an introduction for you to watch:
