$60

The Yoga sages claim that the very essence of who we are is Absolute Consciousness and Bliss. It this is true indeed then why are we so clueless and unaware about ourselves? Why are we living most of our lives up the high slopes of elation and down the low pits of depression? Long-lasting peace and bliss eluding us. The masters give this answer: the conditionings of the mind, the conditioned thoughts, beliefs and emotions keep our bliss at bay. A point in case is the concept that happiness lies in stability. If our life could just be stable without anything perturbing its status quo, then finally we could be happy. When has life ever been stable? When has there never been some change? Change, movement is in the very nature of life and living, yet we persist on keeping up the appearances, on supporting this fallacy, and constantly struggle against the grain of things. This conditioning that is meant to give us the key to happiness, makes us feel discontent, and dissatisfied. Another point in case is the habitual pattern of characterizing what happens to us either good or bad; as if what happens to us is personal. When something so-called 'good' happens, we take it personally as if it had anything to do with something we did or did not do. When something 'bad' happens we take it personally as well. Then we attach to the 'good' and fear the 'bad', endeavoring to have control over what is completely out of our control. And again we find ourselves struggling, wanting to figure things out, in the illusion that figuring things out, which by the way is another way of wanting to control things, is going to give us any kind of happiness and peace. The masters advise us to first become aware of our conditionings with the support of the practices of Yoga and then drop them. When we live life from the conditioning of the victim, victimization we get back; looking out, we can only see the darkness and hopelessness of the forest. The sooner we drop the conditionings, the sooner we will be able to experience life from the point of view of the masters, the 360 degree panoramic perception at the top of the hill, where the world is a spacious, exciting place, a reflection of our very being!

Laure Carter is a Yoga Teacher at Off The Grid Yoga in Delray Beach, Florida.