Do You Need a New Mirror? Self-Study 2012

"Yoga teaches that everything placed before the mind is a mirror: the mind takes the shape of what is perceived.  For modern man and woman, that mirror is progressively a window upon electronic images from elsewhere - the computer or television screen.  While not intrinsically wrong, such imagery possesses a power to numb and pacify as well as to awaken and stimulate.  


Self- study engages the action of the mind..by study of texts; by closing the eyes and chanting, prayer, or meditation; or by seeking out and engaging in the company of the gifted, the elderly, and the wise. From the experience of others-through the spoken or written word-we may find the example and wisdom that lead to our own self-discovery and inspiration"      
-HEALTH, HEALING & BEYOND - T.K.V. Desikachar

"Self-study deepens your communion with your image of the divine" 

-YOGA SUTRAS 2.44 - Patanjali

Something caught my attention on twitter the other day.  It was a 2 line tweet by a woman who basically said that she did not see what self reflection was about because she did a bit over the holidays and it was depressing.  

My Yoga Teacher radar went off immediately, because in my understanding of the verb to “self reflect” does not = buy one litre of Hagen Daas, a Club Price bag of potato chips, stay in your bathrobe and have a pity-party.  I do not in anyway mean that this last form of entertainment is a bad thing.  Is it what you need to do as a stepping stone on your path to THE OTHER SIDE of whatever issue you are working through? If so, at least buy the best quality junk food, set aside a fixed amount of time to cry and feel your feelings, get it all out, and then put on your inner strength, your positive outlook, perhaps a bit of lip gloss, (gentlemen: shave?) and move forward. Someone once said to me “better out than in” which, in retrospect may have been advice about sneezing, but it seems appropriate to fit it into this conversation.

In fact, the Yogic system recognises that suffering is part of the human predicament, and awareness of this is the foundation to change. In this context, suffering is at the level of the mind. For example, if you are going through a break-up, and you become so lost in the negatives, the inadequacies, the failures that you become THAT, you are allowing yourself to become suffering embodied. On the other hand, if you perceive that every obstacle is a blessing in disguise, you free your mind up, and are able to let life move through you, you identify with the BIG picture not the temporary drama.  This radically changes outcomes in your life.

How to go about this? Yoga is a practical methodology; an action plan for wellness, if you will. As humans, we can either reinforce conditions which maintain frantic or which awaken calm within us. Hence the "plan" is three-fold, called in the Yoga Sutras, Kriya-Yoga, transformation through Practise.
These three aspects are to:
Purify the body and mind (Tapas)
Self-reflect (Svadhyaya)
Recognize our Source (Isvara pranidhana).

The word, Svadhyaya translates as Gary Kraftsow says, "to move forward to one's self". If a wave were looking in the mirror, it would see itself as the wave but also as the ocean...poetic!? Yes but also practical. If you see only the small self, your journey can be mired by insecurities, and stress.  When you elevate and nourish the perception of Self, you are likely to feel that everything on the journey happens for a reason. I call it 'research and development'.  You will likely cultivate objectivity, friendliness and an empowering attitude to nourish and adopt behaviours and strategies to further peace, positivity, and clarity.

A new year is always a new beginning.  If you can start to make a few healthier choices (food, beverage, meditation, yoga postures, nature, weed out toxic relationships and behaviours) your inner life will reflect these changes, and when you self-reflect,  your vision will no longer be distorted. Elevate and you will be elevated. Embrace and cultivate the inner dimension, and the outer will follow...