Behavior

Behavior: 

in yogic psychology they're called samskaras, emotional imprints that so often drive our behavior in unwanted directions, some benign, yet many being quite harmful. It seems to be the nature of the mind, mostly beyond our control, patterns grooved into habits that dictate our every response. Yes, this makes us sound like puppets, stings of samskaras pulling us their direction and we're helpless to disobey, if we even notice the strings at all, as usually we just shrug our shoulders and believe our behavior is simply part of who we are, with nothing to be done to change things. 

yet yoga says otherwise. 

it's a gentle approach, not based on modification of our actions, nor pushing for any drastic changes. We simply notice, nothing more, allowing the light of our natural awareness to illuminate the mind. When we're aware of patterns they begin to change completely on their own, subtle at first, most often after the fact, as we start to wonder at the cause of our reactions. The genius of yoga is that it doesn't ask us to change, it makes no demands of our behavior, it only calls for us to practice and allow the ancient process of awakening to occur, easily, naturally, with almost no effort but our notice. 

there's no judgement.

everything changes through the lens of awareness. 

eventually. 

of course the practice of yoga provides ample opportunities for us to notice our behavior, not just with asanas and breathwork, but through the guidelines given by its ethical principles. The yamas and niyamas that are foundation of yoga, they're not commandments, more of a request for us to examine the deeper aspect of our lives, bringing our attention to the stories we tell ourselves, beliefs that we hold, and opinions that we greatly cherish. 

we asked to see the motion of life.

the fluidity of our minds.

inquiring into the very nature of reality.

and then simply living with that mystery.

samskaras aren't who we are, we're not how we behave, nor are we enslaved to the call and response of those patterns. We're free, already liberated, witness to our behavior, and once notice the tension of these dynamics begins to lessen, we're more forgiving with ourselves and others, kinder, natural with our empathy and compassion. 

all appearing without effort. 

it's simply who we are. 

~

Peace, Eric