We’re here to help you face post-election madness, Black Friday, the holidays, and whatever else is coming your way. Read on for some simple methods from yoga philosophy that can help you re-center and find your way through it all.
There is strong hype coming. There’s hype to get greedy and buy, buy, buy on Black Friday. There will likely be hype to fear or hate the winners or losers after Election Day. Instead of drowning in the hype this month, make a strategic change: make your own hype.
I’m not encouraging escape from reality, I’m reminding you to steer your own course through it. How? The yogis taught that we should devote our energy to that which we value above all else (ishvara pranidana).
So, the first step is to identify what you value the most. Then, let it be the underlying current that propels all of your actions. If you reflect and see that God is what you value supremely, imagine every action you take is for your God.
Or, if your supreme value is the planet, let every action be for its sake. In that case, on Black Friday the question would not be whether you want a deal on a new toaster – the question would be does the deal on the toaster support your devotion to the planet? At lunchtime, the question wouldn’t be about what you want to eat. The question would be more like “What can I eat to fuel my service to the planet, and what creates the least harm for the planet?”
If you’re religious, during any post-election madness, you would ask yourself what Jesus, Muhammed, Siddartha, the Buddha, or any God would do. Or, if you’re not into any of that, you could try the yogi’s way: reflect (svadhyaya) on how to act in harmony with the universe / universal soul (brahmacharya), even if the action causes you pain or discomfort (tapas). The yogis would counsel that our individuality is not employed to serve itself. Rather, our individuality is a tool to serve that which we individually value the most.
Whatever you choose as the focus of your own personal hype storm, know that we’re rooting for you. We’re here for you with our usual classes. Plus, if you want to explore some of these ideas more, check out the yoga philosophy talk online and at the Durham studio on Thursday November 7.
