WHAT DOES ‘FINDING YOURSELF’ MEAN?

Using western ‘logic’ ‘fact/literal meaning’ it is too easy to dismiss this little phrase as a bit of ‘new agey’ ‘nonsense’. To the person who hasn’t explored the idea these two words may seem vague and definitely not scientific.

I recently saw a mental health training website describing Yogic techniques as one of their major tools whilst dismissing the knowledge of the fundamental principles of ‘Self Realisation’ that underlie their techniques; (Their dismissive language used the phrase ‘finding yourself’ as opposed to Self Realisation but same same). They were selling their techniques as ‘new western medicine insights’. What I took exception to was the dismissing of the age old insights and terminology that really is the truth in their method. A quick glance through their pages I see they have basically taken innate resources that we all have and are re-selling them back to us to help us with our disorders and traumas. Twas all ‘spinning’ ‘marketing’ ‘repackaging’ galore!

FINDING YOURSELF aka SELF REALISATION. I believe people should definitely concern themselves with a journey ‘through the Self to the Self’. This is the basis on which people can bring about a transformation. It is the ONLY foundation on which we can build something; either a different life/future or true and lasting changes in the society in which we live (if more people took the journey).

WHY BOTHER? Take an age old problem i.e. ‘ALL THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD’

If we see the world as a projection of ‘ourselves’ and realize that ‘WE’ ‘ARE’ the world > then we understand that we are the SOLUTION to the problems of the world BUT we must understand ‘ourSelves’ first in order to get it right! {I am highly conscious that to the unitiated to this sentence/way of thinking this might seem ‘weasel wordish’ but please bear with me… read on…}

Primarily an individual ‘inner reformation’ will be required to take place long before reform will seep into our static society. {We have elected ‘leaders’ but as we have seen of late many of them are as confused as we are. We cannot really rely entirely on them. We put them in power to ‘take care of the structure’ but they don’t always seem to realize that it shouldn’t be ‘maintained’ but ‘transformed’ (change managed if you like). They are rigidly trying to shore up what is crumbling to bring us back to where we were before… but that is always decaying… We cannot leave it to ‘others’ to transform themselves or wait for the UN or the WHO or ‘whoever’ to step in and fix the world mess. Those in power also need an internal reformation or WE need new architects who have already done that internal work and who have vision, can see a better world and can build new foundations out of this mess BUT IT HAS GOT TO BE THE INDIVUAL LEADING THIS. We have to show them that we want them to create something better for future generations and AS INDIVIDUALS WE MUST KNOW OURSELVES IN ORDER TO KNOW HOW WE WANT TO WORLD TO BE.

IF WE HAVE FOUND PURPOSE, ARE GRATEFUL AND HAVE VALUES, IF WE UNDERSTAND OUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, UNDERSTAND WHAT MATTERS TO US, UNDERSTAND OUR COMPASSION, IF WE HAVE SELF REALISATION ~ THEN WE CAN SHOW THEM WHAT WE WANT AND FIX THE MESS AND CHANGE SOCIETY.

TO UNDERSTAND OURSELVES THERE MUST BE INTENTION TO UNDERSTAND i.e. the search MUST take place. There must be INquiry! If you don’t know what you are there can be no transformation! It should not be a struggle but it is not always easy work; there must be honesty about what you see when you start to look within; it might not be pretty!

HOW / WHEN DID WE LOOSE OURSELVES?… not everyone did but it is harder for some depending on upbringing/environment they may never have been nurtured or given a sense of ‘Self’ to start with. As they mature and realize something is amiss within, they will need to give themselves the opportunity to study and observe themselves. The world we have created or in which most of us ‘have’ to operate in order to earn our livelihoods can make this kind of ‘self’ work difficult. Livelihood, perhaps, is the biggest commitment that makes it seem like ‘there is no time’ for this ‘Self Realisation’ work; got to meet others expectations, got to make the ends meet, got to pay the man! If you struggle with this work in your 9-5 you may wish to find somewhere outside of that environment conducive to the transformation work that you want to do…

BUT DO WE REALLY HAVE TO GO TO SOMEONE ELSE TO FIND OURSELVES or ‘join something’ to say we have found what we were seeking in that thing? Of course not! But this process of ‘going to someone/somewhere’ is the familiar modus operandi that we have in our society for meeting this need. The work is not always ‘comfortable’ so at least why shouldn’t the starting point be familiar (c’mon! we’ve got to cut ourselves some slack here).

HAPPILY there are MANY people and places willing to facilitate this effort. OBVIOUSLY I’m going to say that Yoga Matters and Bikram Yoga is as good a starting place as any for this kind of Self work J }

BUT I’ve seen so many ‘shopping around’ ENDLESSLY for that ‘thing’ or ‘teacher’ that is going to bring about the transformation and not actually settling on one and getting on with the work; Constantly seeking to ‘acquire’ another teacher or ideology and with so much white noise you almost forget your intention when you started on the journey. It IS good to shop around at the beginning but if you have been ‘shopping around’ for 3 decades then maybe its time to settle and stop postponing the work. I’ve been practicing Yoga for almost 24 years; it serves me very well and yet I still occasionally meet people knowing this who will still try to ‘persuade’ me that they have found a ‘better’ way / short cut / ‘newer’ exciting way that I need to try.

Similarly I have seen people devoting themselves rigidly to one cause or idea. They got a ‘glimpse’ of all that could be in their first session/sermon and settled there taking shelter feeling relieved they ‘found’ the tool they were seeking; yay! But they didn’t stay focused, forgot their intention, never revisited the true purpose after that first joyful glimpse. They had done their research, they knew a lot of facts, knew they needed to do work, they found the tool that will help them do it but they have NOT TAKEN THE TIME TO CLARIFY WHAT IT IS THEY WANT the result to be!

IS THAT PEACE? Finding the right tool may well be a temporary release from the inner conflict but you then have to ‘clarify’ then ‘turn up’ and ‘develop’; i.e. do the work. Don’t hang on to that ‘first glimpse’; that is now just a memory; your work is always ‘new’ and the effect of needs to be examined ‘in the new moment’.

If I was to give one tip I would say KEEP YOUR INTENTION SIMPLE! In our minds what we want is probably something ‘everlasting’ (peace, happiness, connection) but even when we think we know what we want do we even take the next step to ‘understand’ what we want (what is peace, what is happiness, what is connection)?

WHATEVER IT IS IT IS PROBABLY UNREALISTIC TO EXPECT IT TO BE PERMANENT.

Yogipause! It is not ‘permanent’ and that’s ok!

Really to understand what we want we need to deal with our own emotions and reactions; understand the seeker first. You might be a great traveler and wander all over the planet but you always have to ‘come back’ to yourself. There can be no postponement of the quality you seek: you ‘BE’ that quality! Don’t be endlessly ‘BE-COMING’ that quality {As Ghandi said “BE the change you want to see in the world”}. If you are always ‘becoming’ that is a constant effort/struggle… ‘BE’ing is effortless. Think! When you have had those moments of total Peace, pure Happiness, real Connection they never came through struggle and strife? They just ‘were’.

THE WORK OF SELF REALIZATION NEVER CONCLUDES but it doesn’t have to be a struggle; the process itself ‘doing and being the good work’ THERE IS PEACE AND STILLNESS TO BE HAD in that process. You don’t have to ‘give up’ anything in order to practice Yoga and yet the work itself is largely a ‘letting go’ a ‘shedding’ of much of what has been mentally acquired that is getting in the way/burying what you are seeking; preventing you from accessing it. As you ‘shed’ you become more still… From that place of ‘stillness’ you will Self Realize you don’t need western or eastern science to acquire this knowledge, you don’t need a teacher or a church because this knowledge was innate; IT WAS THERE ALREADY.