Truth: according to yogic wisdom (and why living yours is both a right and a responsibility)
How's your new year going? If you set a resolution, are you on track? If you made a secret intention, is it serving you? The truth is that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves this time of year (and maybe throughout the year) to be "good." But maybe what we need to think about is being "true."
The Sanskrit word for truth is Satya. It comes from the root, Sat, which means absolute truth or reality. Often we use the word, Satya, to mean truthfulness - tell the truth, look at the situation or moment with neutrality so your perspective doesn't "untruth" it...
Satya can also be translated as essence. At our core - stripped of our thoughts, our emotions, and even our human bodies - we are simply essence. And my essence and your essence don't really look different. In fact, they come from the same place and are the same. When we are attracted to someone, we may fall for their beautiful eyes, quirky sense of humor, or because they carry our same values. All of these attractive traits reflect our beloved's humanity. But when we fall in love, we connect with our beloved's essence, their truth. What we genuinely love in others, is in us, too, and being reflected back. We might think we don’t have those qualities that we value in another person, but we are able to see them because they are also in us. And they are being reflected back at us as a reminder that we can and should be living those truths. It’s not just a possibility; living those truths is a responsibility.
We sometimes call this truth or essence True Self. It's forever, and it is who we actually are. You can call it soul or divinity or love or compassion. And you should call it reality. It is Truth with a capital T. Part of our practice is to begin and maintain a conversation with our soul or True Self. This is a perfect time of year to do that. How do we begin? Try these easy and sweet practices and let me know if it leads you to your True Self (or to a deeper connection with your beloved!! After all, when we know our True Self and live as our soul, it is more apparent to others, too).
Breathe. Yep. Simple. Place one hand on your belly and a couple of fingers on a collarbone. Feel your breath move. If you prefer, practice formal pranayama or breathe in the Water Cycle of the Microcosmic Orbit (inhale up the front of the body from pubic bone to crown and exhale down the back of the body from crown to tailbone) and then in the Fire Cycle of the MCO (inhale up the back of the body from tailbone to crown and exhale down the front of the body from crown to pubic bone.)
Free write in a journal or write a Haiku each day. (Haikus are quick and easy - just three lines with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. Nature is your guide!) This is just for you. In fact, write yourself a love note a day! (To you, not someone else.)
Give yourself a foot massage. Just rub your feet intuitively. Come to stillness and don't move for a few minutes after you finish and feel the lingering sensations.
Share your gifts. Do you know how to knit? Teach someone else how. Do you play the piano? Go play the one in the hospital lobby. Do you like to read? Volunteer to read to dogs at the animal shelter or kids at a daycare. Share whatever you've got!
Look at your old photo albums. See the people you love throughout time and their lives. Connect with people who have passed on through photos. Their essence remains and is the same as yours.