“Its all about perspective, that is how you look at things. Your own thoughts and outlook defines whether an experience, event, situation whatever is good or bad. And your definition determines your response.”
~ Stella Payton
It’s a squally Monday here on the north shore of St. Thomas today. No visible sunrise, that’s for sure !! But I was able to sit for 15 minutes or so before a driving rain storm forced me inside.
I decided to continue on with my meditation on Yoga’s “Ten Commandments”. As opposed to the Christian “Thou Shalt Not”, I’ve always appreciated Patanjali’s Yogic framework, which puts things in the positive: “Thou shall strive to” or the Yamas and Niyamas.
Traditional yoga is known as the 8-Limb Path. Physical postures, known as asana, are actually considered the 3rd step or limb in the practice of yoga. The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two limbs of Yoga and they are all about the ethical and moral framework from which we should live our lives if we are to succeed in making the most of our time on this earth.
The 5 Yamas are what I view as virtues, or universal morality. Principles we should strive to observe. The 5 Niyamas are personal observances. Compared with the yamas, the niyamas are more intimate and personal. They refer to the attitude we adopt toward ourselves as we create a code for living soulfully.
Yesterday, I spoke to the 1st of the 5 Yamas:
Ahimas, or “Non-harming” or “No-Kill”
This morning, I meditated on the 2nd of the Yamas:
Satya, or Truthfulness.
What I find most important in relation to Truthfulness is that each of us has a unique point of view. And that “truth” is a highly subjective noun.
I keep a quote on my white board, and it has become one which I find myself quoting time and time again:
“Everyone is at different stages of consciousness. There is a certain stage you reach where your intent is to only speak your truth, not convince others of it. You begin to realize that everyone has their own path. In other words, you cannot convince a baby to walk when it is at the stage of crawling. to convince them of the truth is irrelevant.”
Ahimsa and Veganism are my moral viewpoint. But I’ve come to realize that if I try to convince others of this POV, I’m setting myself up for argument and friction, because this POV is not shared by the majority. This is not to say that I should be passive towards my truth. No, it simply means that I can share this loving awareness, and whether it creates an impact on others need not be my concern.
I am also drawn to think of the Buddha’s Doctrine of Right Speech ” “Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken.”
I wrote a fairly extensive post on Right Speech back in March. There’s no time like the present to refresh ourselves of “Right Speech”, as we will find ourselves in many social situations in the coming weeks:
http://www.victoriaprehn.com/2013/03/16/right-speech-for-the-peaceful-mind/
Satya: Truth
I live in truth. I speak the truth to myself and to others. When offering my truth in the form of feedback I am sensitive to the feelings of others; I speak in the spirit of love. I also take responsibility for my actions. I do not blame anyone for my experience; I honestly see my own part in every situation.
Let’s own our unique truth today, and blessings for a beautiful week of Thanksgiving
“You can change the place you live, your clothes, your interests, your friends, your religion and even your partner. But if you forgot to change your mind, attitude, beliefs about the world, how you treat people and how you plan to be different this time around, why did you even bother?”
― Shannon L. Alder
Thanks to these wonderful webpages for their contribution to my thoughts:
http://groundingyoga.sharedby.co/share/rlvAMZ
http://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/eight-limbs.htm
