Avidya in a Gentle Light
Sometimes life goes as we have dreamed, hoped or planned. Things are easy. Other times, nothing seems to go as planned and things are very difficult, preventing us from feeling happy. Moreover, some people wake up, at a certain age, realizing that they wish they had made different choices in many aspects of their lives. All of these things can cause much suffering, resentment and frustration.
Samantha Howick
Yoga means to unite. The answer to freedom from the bondage of ignorance lies in self-realization. It is available to everyone. It is seen that the root cause of this suffering lies in the mind-field — ignorance or Avidya.
When we begin to unravel the stored impressions of the mind, which stem from past pleasant or unpleasant feelings, we begin to see that much of what we think is actually conditioned and not necessarily valid. We begin to see the sources behind our tendencies. Just like the body, the mind creates habits. Then our habits make us. We can start to understand that we are not our pleasure or our pain but rather that which experiences these things.
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Avidya is not really about gaining more knowledge in order to understand certain things. It is more about removing the clouds in our mind that block us from feeling and understanding the truth.
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Being a happy means that we are fulfilled and in line with our deeper purpose in this life. We feel we have what we need and are where we are meant to be. Often, whom we have become has been influenced and formed by things around us and our developing ideas of whom we are supposed to be — defined externally rather than internally.
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When this happens we lose our way. It is never too late to make subtle changes that will take us to a place of alignment with our deepest selves and tap into the eternal creativity of the universe.
For me, this practice is rooted in acceptance. On the mat. With the challenges in daily life and family, just taking a step back, smiling, changing what you can and accepting what you cannot. Taking it even a step further, enjoying things you initially did not think you would. |
