Tag: Bhagavad Gita

Intention and visualization

Published on by Vanessa4 Comments

The more I walk on the path of Yoga, the more I want to learn and apply its teachings to my life. It is like running a life experiment. We all perceive life in different ways, but at some moment in life, not so long ago, I came to a point where I had to question where I was investing my energy and why. I kept pointing my finger out, until, with the guidance of my Yoga teacher, I started studying the principles of Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga as well as Meditation by reading and reflecting on the Bhagavad Gita.

What I like about the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita is that they are applicable to practical life. The adjustments that are required to make in order to reach an independent state of inner peace are internal and they all are my own responsibility.

I like the idea that my well-being is my own responsibility, at the same time as I find it challenging and sometimes overwhelming. In the Gita and following the teachings of Karma Yoga, we are encouraged to engage in the practical world, to play our roles, but with a change in our attitude, perceptions, and expectations. I will elaborate on this in another post.

The Bhakti aspect of Yoga is one that I have been reflecting about in the past months. The teachings in chapter 12 of Bhagavad Gita are inspiring and I can see the liberating aspect in them because as we all know, most of the time, we cannot control what happens around us, but we can with practice and patience control how we act and react in different situations, and this has a direct impact on our well-being.

During the last few days, I have taken the task to read one verse every morning and imagine how it could look like if I put it into practice during my day. I use the verse to set myself an intention and I write a few lines on how I think this could look like in practical life, like a visualization. Here is today’s verse:

18-19  “I love devotees whose attitudes are the same toward friend or foe, who are indifferent to honor or ignominy, heat or cold, praise or criticism—who not only control their talking but are silent within. Also very dear to Me are those generally content with life and unattached to things of the world, even to home. I love those whose sole concern in life is to love Me. Indeed, these and all the others I mentioned are very, very dear to Me.”

So imagine a day where you can skillfully move from task to task, interact with people around you without spending time or energy on judging whether you like or dislike the situation and/or the person you are dealing with. With grace and peace of mind, you deal with what you need to deal, and you move forward to the next task/interaction. Such a liberating idea! You would then “neither be a source of agitation in the world nor agitated by the world” (ch. 12 v.15) You keep your inner peace.

Further, we are encouraged to control our talking and cultivate silence within. This is also a beautiful idea. Through the practice of Yoga and meditation, we learn to let go of thoughts and emotions that do not serve us, we learn to quiet the mind, and thus have clarity of mind. When our mind is clear, we have more control over what comes out of our mouths. By doing so we are “neither a source of agitation in the world nor agitated by the world” (ch12 v.15). This one is often challenging for me because I talk a lot, but I am trying to practice being clear about the intention of my words before I allow them to come out of my mouth. Are these words going to help or am I going to make things worse? I use what some of my colleagues use with our younger students I “THINK” before I speak: is it True? Is it Helpful? Is it Important/Interesting? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind? This way, I also take responsibility for my well-being because I don’t need to go around with either bad conscience for my words or have to deal with people being angry/annoyed at me.

Detachment and contentment are also important principles in the practice of Yoga. Detachment from material things, detachment from habits, from thoughts and emotions and even from people. For an intense person like me, this one is very challenging because I’m often an all or nothing person. The idea is not to leave everything and everyone and go live in a cave. The idea is to engage with the world, enjoy the things we have, the people we interact with, but be aware of the fact that we don’t own any of them. That their nature is ever changing. People change, things deteriorate, things get lost, our perceptions can be modified, etc.

Contentment is something that we have to develop inside ourselves and for ourselves independently of what is happening in the practical world if we want to improve our well-being. When we develop contentment, we gracefully and skillfully deal with whatever is. So, when I am standing in front of a class with a “super” idea of a lesson and my students are not the slightest interested, I can be content with the effort I put to prepare this lesson, acknowledge that it is not working, and grasp the opportunity to move forward together with my students instead of against them.

The last part of this verse talks about the idea of total surrender, total trust in something bigger than us. Instead of expecting some kind of reward from the practical world for setting the mentioned principles as our intention, we dedicate our actions to something bigger than us, whatever we want to call it. I definitely see the liberating aspect of doing my best, giving my best and not expecting anything in return, but I often fall in the trap of becoming a victim, especially when I’m tired. In thinking that it is unfair that I do my best but “the rest of the world” doesn’t. Quite a useless thought and a big waste of energy, but I still get into this space.

It is so easy to go back into old habits, so this is like learning to do something new. I have to keep practicing, and I have to keep reminding myself, and hopefully one day, this will be part of my habits.

If you also would like to cultivate a peaceful inner life, I encourage you to try at least one of the principles in this verse. Set it as an intention for the day, imagine your day and in which situations you would use it. Try this for today, or for some days, or for some months and see what happens.

Convictions and Perceptions

Published on by Vanessa2 Comments

I cherish those devotees who are ever content; who, through meditation, are steady of mind; who control themselves; whose convictions are consistent and strong; and who offer their hearts and minds to me. The Bhagavad Gita ch12 v.14

Since I work as a teacher, I have breaks throughout the school year at the same time as the students. During the last years, it has become a habit that every time I have a break, I spend some time reflecting on the period between the last break and this break. I reflect on how I felt, how I interacted with everyone, and if there were tensions, conflicts or challenges, I reflect on my part in them and try to make the necessary adjustments. Not only in my work but also in my personal life.

When I am on a break, I also have more time to go back to my Yoga studies, and that is why there have been so many posts this week.

Talking and writing are the ways I internalize things and my intention when I post texts is to share my reflections and even invite to a discussion. It doesn’t necessarily mean that my thoughts are “done”, I am in a way, thinking aloud.

Yesterday, I posted a text about perceptions. I had been trying to organize these ideas for some days now because as I wrote before, I’ve noticed how sometimes I am so convinced about my perceptions that I push too hard, spending unnecessary energy in unnecessary things.  But one thing was bothering me, the word convictions. I was thinking that all the people in the world that have fought for a good cause had the conviction that they were fighting for something important, going often against the mainstream.

Then, this morning, I read the quote that opens this text from the Bhagavad Gita, and if you see, Krishna mentions the word convictions. This text is a further reflection on the topic of convictions and perceptions.

Perhaps we can say that perceptions are a combination of expectations according to what we imagine is “good” or “bad” and opinions that we have forged through experience.

I have an example. During many years, my birthday was a difficult date for me. I often experienced that day as the proof for people around me not caring enough for me. I had a double set of expectations. Negative expectations as  I expected my loved ones to forget or not care, and hopeful expectations as I was hoping to be surprised by the same people with I don’t even know what that would make me feel special and loved. Since I already had a pre-made idea of how everyone was going to behave, whatever happened on that day was a confirmation of the negative expectations and a disappointment related to the blurry hopeful expectations.

Until one day, I decided to stop and reflect a little on this mini-drama. Are things really how I perceive them? What is the real problem here?

If I make a real effort to remember my birthdays as a kid, most of my memories are good. I think that we often went out for dinner somewhere with my family and have a good time. I think I also had some birthday parties like any other kid. Actually, this is even irrelevant, the point is that whatever happened once, or twice in the past is already gone, I have to let go of it.

So perceptions were not allowing me to interact in a skillful way with the practical world since they were distorting my vision of what was happening and how people were showing their care.

The cited verse from the Bhagavad Gita allows me to take this reflection even further. Whose responsibility is how I spend my birthday? I know it’s a pretty banal example, but I’ve realized that my mind operates a lot in this way. At the end of the day, the only person responsible for my well-being is me. Why do I expect others to guess? It is my responsibility to cultivate my own happiness. Ideally, by being satisfied with the fact that I have one more year of life to share with the people I love, and if I really want to feel like a superstar that day, I have no choice but to organize my day and invite the people I love.

Further, Krishna talks about the steadiness of the mind through meditation, and it must not be misunderstood with sitting for some time every day in a specific position and “clearing the mind”. Meditation in the Yoga tradition is much more than that. It is the attitude with which we live our lives, through, among other things, the detachment from fixed and erroneous perceptions.

Then he talks about strong and consistent convictions, but how can I know which convictions I should cultivate? The only answer I can find is those convictions that are based on universal values such as nonviolence, love, and compassion towards every being without exception.

This means that to achieve a steady mind I must make sure that my words, attitudes, and actions are in accordance with these values regardless of how  I perceive the practical world.

I am too used to living in a give-and-take system where if I give this, I should receive that.  Maybe if I leave aside my expectations and opinions of what it is to “receive” something in exchange for my actions, I will see that I receive much more than I imagine when acting according to these convictions. I receive inner peace and spiritual freedom although the practical result of my actions might not be as I expect it to be.

The last lines of this verse are a subject that I know is difficult for many: faith in something bigger than us. Unfortunately, the idea of God has been distorted by institutions throughout history. For some of us it is hard to believe in the God we imagine based on what we learn from certain religions. I still don’t have a clear way to express this but the only thing I can say here is that, when trying to live a life based on universal values such as love, by setting us the goal to give the best of ourselves independently of the result, it is necessary to offer our thoughts and actions towards something greater than ourselves. We do not need to call this something God, but we can call it the well-being of the whole, or universal love. A form for energy that is there for us and that we have to feed into with same energy.

Convicciones y percepciones

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“Valoro a aquellos devotos contentos y satisfechos, que tienen una mente estable por la práctica de la meditación ; aquellos que tienen control sobre sí mismos; de convicciones coherentes y fuertes y que se ofrecen de corazon y mente a mí.” Bhagavad Gita Capítulo 12 verso 14.

Sigo refleccionando sobre el tema de las percepciones después de que publiqué un texto en inglés en donde trato de explicar los retos que veo el apego a nuestras percepciones puede traer.

Todos tenemos nuestra manera de percibir e interpretar el mundo basado en experiencas y en nuestras espectativas hacia personas, situaciones y nosotros mismos.

Al mismo tiempo pienso que debemos de formar nuestras propias convicciones para poder funcionar en el mundo práctico. Es un ejercicio interesante el de tratar de definir qué son percepciones y qué son convicciones y cómo tratar de funcionar de manera efectiva en el mundo con estos dos conceptos en mente.

Tal vez se puede decir que las percepciones son una mezcla entre expectativas según lo que imaginamos es “bueno” o “malo” y opiniones que hemos forjado a través de la experiencia.

Sobre el tema de las expectativas tengo un ejemplo. Mi cumpleaños es justo después de las fiestas de Navidad y Año nuevo, y desde chiquita tengo el recuerdo de que para cuando mi cumpleaños llegaba, ya nadie tenía energía de festejar. Sí recuerdo haber celebrado mi cumpleaños algunas veces, pero seguido era un día que pasábamos en familia. Por alguna razón, mi cumpleaños ha sido durante muchos años una fecha difícil para mí. Me pasaba seguido que el día de mi cumpleaños me comportaba como niña chiquita insatisfecha. Como si esperara algo excepcional. Y como mis expectativas siempre sobrepasaban la realidad, tenía yo la excusa perfecta para sentir lástima hacia mí misma recontando todos los cumpleaños que pasaron desapercibidos y que ni si quiera me dieron regalo porque había recibido mucho en Navidad y los Reyes Magos.

Hasta que un día decidí parar, y reflexionar un poco sobre este mini drama. ¿Es realmente lo que yo percibo? ¿Cuál es realmente el problema aquí? Para ser sincera, pienso que muchas de las ideas que tengo de cuando era chiquita son situaciones que entendí mal o recuerdos de una vez que se volvieron recuerdos de muchas veces en mi cabeza.

Si hago un real esfuerzo por recordar mis cumpleaños, la mayoría de mis recuerdos es de salir a comer a algún lugar con mi familia y pasar un buen momento. Creo que también tuve una que otra fiesta de cumpleaños cuando era chiquita. Y tal vez esto es irrelevante, el punto es que lo pasado pasado y hay que desprenderse.

¿Cómo conecto esto con percepción? Bueno tengo la expectativa negativa de que mi cumpleaños es una fecha difícil (?!), tengo la expectativa de nadie va a querer hacer nada especial para mí (¡ó martir sufrida!) y al mismo tiempo tengo la expectativa de una sorpresa.

La pregunta aquí es ¿de quién es la responsabilidad de decir cómo quiero pasar mi cumpleaños? Sé que es un ejemplo bastante banal, pero me he dado cuenta de que mi mente opera(ba) mucho de esta manera. Al final de cuentas, la única responsable de mi bienestar soy yo. ¿Por qué espero que los demás adivinen?

Entonces, siguiendo las enseñanzas de Krishna en este verso, es mi responsabilidad cultivar mi propia felicidad. Idealmente estando satisfecha de que tengo un año más de vida que compartir con la gente que quiero y si realmente tengo ganas de sentirme como superestrella ese día, no me queda más que organizar mi día e invitar a la gente que quiero.

Si hay algo que quiero cultuvar es una mente estable, y entiendo cómo, el desapego a mis percepciones puede ayudar. Pero creo que aquí es importante conectar con las convicciones. Si mis convicciones están basadas en valores universales como la no violencia, el amor y la  compasión hacia todo ser sin excepción, entonces debo concentrar mi energía en que mis palabras, actitudes y acciones estén de acuerdo con estos valores independientemente de lo que percibo del mundo exterior. Estoy demasiado acostumbrada a vivir en un sistema de trueque en el que si doy esto, debo recibir esto otro. Tal vez si dejo a un lado mis expectativas y opiniones de lo que es “recibir” algo a cambio de mis acciones, veré que recibo mucho más de lo que imagino al actuar según mis convicciones. Recibo paz interior y libertad espiritual aunque el resultado práctico de mis acciones no sea como lo imagina mi mente.

Las últimas líneas de este verso tocan un tema que sé es difícil para muchos: la fé en algo más grande que nosotros. Desafurtunadamente la idea de Dios ha sido distorcionada para muchos de nosotros por instituciones. Y no tengo una idea muy clara ni fácil de explicar, lo único que puedo decir aquí es que, al intentar vivir una vida basada en valores universales como el amor, al ponerse como propósito de dar lo mejor de sí independientement del resultado, es necesario ofrecer nuestros pensamientos y acciones hacia algo más grande que nosotros. No necesitamos llamar a este algo Dios, podemos llamarlo el beinestar de todos, o el amor universal. Una especie de energía que está ahí para nosotros y a la que hay que alimentar con energía similar.