Been a while since I've written about the Yoga Psychology according to Jack Cornfield. To be honest its part of why posts have been scarce. I had the idea to write each of them back to back so if someone were to scroll through the posts they would all be together and in order, but some days I just didn't want to write about the Principles, I wanted to post videos, or songs, or my own words, and I stopped myself says I have to wait til the principles are done. And that of course all came from my ego, when I recognized that I realized its ok to write things out of order, as long as things are labeled they still can be found. =)
So dusting myself off here is Principle 15-
'Delusion misunderstands the world and forgets who we are. Delusion gives rise to all unhealthy states. Free yourself from delusion and see with wisdom.'
Rather apropo, wouldn't you say? ;)
Great quote that captures the essence of this is: 'We were brainwashed.' By Marianne Williamson
Rolf Gates continues upon this in saying: 'We come to our mats as the sum total of all the beliefs we have ever encountered, absorbed, rejected, or lived. Our imaginations are like swollen rivers, flooded with the falsehoods of the ages as they have been passed on to us across the generations. Who we are, who everyone else is, and what we can be - all are defined by this river, which is no of our making.'
We live in a world that is not real every day, like Neo in the Matrix we choose to get uplugged and wake up. Not all of our delusions are necessarily harmful, its just that none of them are helpful. Everyone walks around in their own heads in their own little self created worlds. We think about our past, fantisize our future, we live in fear of things we don't know because someone has told us its harmful or bad. In further Rolf Gates words: 'There are as many scripts as stars in the sky, and none of them are true...' 'We have the habit of doing what our family, culture, friends and spouse think is right, and we have to train ourselves instead to listen.'
Would you rather be you, or everyone else?
'Either we can continue to bob along on the river of our imagination or we can make our way to the shore, observe the river for a while, and then just walk away. ... For today, allow your practice to deliver you from your imagination and into the light.'
When you make the choice to wake up, to free yourself of the many delusions that fill your day (such as 'i can't blog if the principles aren't done.' or 'i can't talk to that guy|girl over there because they would never like me' or 'i am the best swimmer' and give up all training to be faster or smoother or develope new moves... delusions such as 'im anger so I can't be happy' or 'im married so I have to stick it out' and on and on, all our little stories that rattle in our heads all day long.) You can free yourself of the burden and emotional termoil when you choose to know that you can.
Discover your voice, then let it be heard! =)
