A Message For Changing Times
In an age when we own so much and have access to so much more, why is it that most of us are so dissatisfied, unhappy and often depressed about our lives? And how can we change that? How can we take steps towards being rather than having or doing, towards happiness rather than misery? Among the different available paths, a lot of us turn to spirituality for answers, while still holding on to patterns of behavior and core beliefs that keep us stuck.
According to Sadhguru, an Indian yogi, mystic and author, we hold the key to our own happiness by understanding and following just a few basic principles. Here are three of them:
1) All the rules are our rules. We made them up or inherited them from others. We use those rules to create the cages that entrap us. The good news is that we can choose to change the rules that we have often unconsciously accepted and live by. We have the free choice to choose to be free.
2) Our responsibility is limitless. We are all responsible for how we create and react to the world around us. In many circumstances, our actions may be currently or temporarily limited; but not our responsibility for what happens. This is not about assigning blame; it’s about understanding the impact our own actions and reactions have on how we live, how we relate to others (and others relate to us) and, due to the fact that we are interconnected, everything else that is happening in the world around us.
This moment is inevitable. This very moment that we are living right now cannot be changed. And this one… And this one… And so on. We can start making different choices that will potentially change our future, moment by moment. But we have no choice but to accept the moment that’s happening right now, which is a consequence and accumulation of past moments, including the unconsciously accepted rules that created our inner world. It’s our resistance to this principle that causes a lot of our misery. If we are able to accept that basic truth, our lives can become a whole lot easier, and we can start taking steps towards feeling more content as we make different choices. Happiness is within reach!
FINAL THOUGHT: Just try practicing these simple principles as you observe yourself and the world around you. It can be a life-changing experience…
© Gisele Marasca-Vargas; 12/29/2018
Photo by Corinne Kutz on Unsplash
References:
Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru
Sadhguru’s YouTube channel:
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