pratyahara: withdrawal of the senses, disengagement from body image, retaining vital energy
what i love about the 8 limbed path is there is no particular order in which to embrace the teachings......they are circular, and create a spiral of learning.
each limb builds and intertwines with the next, and at the same time, you've got to have paid attention to the first 4 limbs, because without them, this one would be much tougher to indulge in.........
but as of late, it's pratyahara i've been thinking about. i all too often walk by a mirror and wonder how i look....good? bad? are my pants flattering? is this top hitting at my waist the way i want it too?
i realize that our western upbringing and our society reinforces this concern....this idea that it matters what we look like, not only to ourselves, but to others....and i know that it truly does not. i know that my clothing, my hair color, my manicure do not define who i am. i know that even my job, my car, my neighborhood mean little....for they are not definers of who i am. they are only external qualifiers.
i have found it hard to be living in this world and attempting to shed these old belief systems. i'm a creature of habit and it's hard to be different when society around you is so stuck in unhealthy dynamics. i mean, all we want is to be loved and liked by those around us. why act like we are less of people because we look a certain way?
it'd be rad if we all practiced pratyahara a little bit every day, right?
right.
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