Happy February!We have made it through January and are starting the second month of 2022. As promised, we are looking at Svādhyāya or self-study in this email. As we begin this journey of self-study, let's go with the attitude that we will grow and evolve. Remember, a caterpillar will never stay a caterpillar. The rule of nature is for a caterpillar to do the hard work and become a butterfly. That is what happens when we do our self-study. We turn into the butterflies we are meant to be, thus making the world a more beautiful place. Now let's get busy, onto Svādhyāya. One of your goals during this month is to know yourself a bit better, and the only way to accomplish that is with constant vigilance over body, breath, and mind. I know we have the power to achieve this task. Now you must know and believe! And by the end of the month, we will be better versions of ourselves. Imagine what we can be by the end of 2022 and what our neighborhoods, city, state, country, world, and universe can be if we keep at it. Let's journey together as we must each do our work but let's support and love each other along the way. Without further ado, let's do this. Svādhyāya (स्वाध्याय) is a combination of two Sanskrit words. It is a combination of "sva," which means "one's own," or "self," and "adhyāya" which means "chapter (as in a book)," "lesson," "study," or "reading." A standard translation would be studying the self to study and know the SELF! In the context of yoga, self-study does not necessarily suggest learning alone or a mere intellectual exercise, but the use of the intellect to study the Self. It is a profound process of self-discovery, not a skin-deep survey. It may begin with the body, but it must pass through the breath, progress to the mind, into wisdom, bliss, eventually to the very core of the Self. Verily, to know yourself at every level of your being, you must grapple with the various aspects – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. A rigorous examination of the body, breath, and mind is required to reveal every facet of your personality. Endeavor to follow the thoughts and actions of your past. Examine how past thoughts and actions shape the experiences you are having now. Stay on track, remember, this is self-study, not someone else-study! Blaming someone else for your condition is contrary to the infallible law of karma! Besides, in doing so, you make yourself a defenseless victim of the luck of the draw! Your birthright is happiness, yet you wallow in squalor like a pig. You are a child of the Divine; you are to glow like a star! You should ponder the eternal questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? What is my purpose in life? What is the meaning of my life? I suggest you answer these questions monthly and evaluate your answers each month to notice how you change. The purpose of self-study should yield knowledge and understanding, and not vainglory and spiritual pride. Take meticulous care that svādhyāya does not descend into a self-indulgent, narcissistic meandering of the mind or meaningless mental gymnastics. The mind is very tricky and can quickly turn self-inquiry into self-indulgence unless done in conjunction with the mantra Japa, pranayama, and the contemplation of sacred texts known as mokṣa śāstra (मोक्ष शास्त्र). Mantra Japa is vital because the power and energy (śakti शक्ति) of the mantra will guide and protect the mind of the one who repeats it, providing clarity and spiritual focus to self-study. Note that different mantras have different energies. Therefore, not all mantras are appropriate for this particular purpose. Revealed scriptures such as the Mokṣa śāstra are primarily concerned with the release of the soul from the bondage of karma; they include the Yoga Sūtra (योगसूत्र), Bhagavad Gītā (भगवद्गीता), and the Upaniṣads (उपनिषद्). They serve as landmarks, reference directions, and a compass to help us navigate the tricky and often treacherous terrain en route to the Self. Without bearing, milestones, and a detailed destination description, it is easy to get sidetracked and lost. It is not difficult to get distracted and deceived by the sights and sounds along the way (especially if you stumble onto the scenic route), thinking that you have reached the ultimate destination. For example, you may have examined yourself and concluded that you had mastered ahimsā (अहिंसा) because you are a strict vegetarian. But when we take a closer look at our thoughts, we quickly realize that while we are not killing and eating animals, we are maiming and killing our conscience by our repetitive negative beliefs about ourselves and our fellow brothers and sisters. Ultimately, svādhyāya – careful, conscientious self-inquiry and reflection, accompanied by the practice of mantra Japa, and contemplation of sacred scriptures lays the foundation for īśvara praṇidhāna (ईश्वरप्रणिधान) – स्वाध्यायादिष्टदेवतासम्प्रयोगः This is the surrender to God or the ultimate reality. We cannot surrender to God if we don't know what we are offering, and the only way we can relinquish ourselves is to know ourselves, which means being brutally honest and, at the same time, radically accepting. Radical acceptance does not imply that we are okay the way we are; we acknowledge the parts we need to change and execute a plan to implement those changes. Below you will find a few self-study questions to get you started. Contemplation for the Month:Where do you hold tension? How do you walk? How do you move? How do you gesture? How do you talk? How do you act with different people and different situations? What are you saying to yourself when you listen to yourself? What personas do you present to your family? Lover? Friends? Spiritual family? Neighbors? Co-workers? Why do you wear these different masks? Have they served you? How have they helped or hindered you? Who or what have you given your power to? Why? Life is constantly in flux. How do you handle change? What are your powerful emotions and feelings that surface when there are significant changes in the air for you? What are the major habit patterns that keep showing up in your life? What do these habit patterns tell you about yourself? What have you brought with you that you need to relinquish? How do you act when you think that no one is looking? We forget that our soul is always looking and keeping track of our every thought, speech, and action. If you died today, have you lived the life you came to live?
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