Break up with Besties

There are two aspects of individual harmony; the harmony between body and soul, and the harmony between individuals. All the tragedy in the world in the individuals and in the multitude, comes from lack of harmony. – Hazrat Inayat Khan

If only all of us could be harmonious in our thoughts and actions, there would be peace and harmony in the world.

What can each of us do? I ask myself this question daily. Then I go back to my practice of Yoga. Yogic sadhana leads to who one actually is. The doubts and fears are removed. I remember asking Swamiji, why so many people who practiced Yoga became comfortable with their weight. I myself was young, 28 years old and my students were asking these questions constantly. His answer was that the sadhana makes you, who you are and you assume your natural shape. I shared this with my students and it took along time for me to comprehend the full meaning of the Master’s answer. Yoga means balance and when our balance is restored to us, we are in tune with ourselves and the universe.

Why do we become in tune with universe when we practice our sadhana? We are learning to be in charge of thoughts. Our thoughts are with us constantly, we are always in conversation with them. They are so comfortable and it is like a twenty-four-hour club, where they make sure that we are never alone. It is really like a group of besties, all of them saying many things and making sure that we do not abandon them. Their hold on our mind is very strong, we need a great deal of discipline to not engage with them, and dismiss them. So, what should we do?

Let us practice Antar Mouna. Antar Mouna means Inner Silence. Oh dear, Antar Mouna will not be liked by our thoughts as they are going to be excluded.

The practice

Well dear ones, we will start the practice and we will take it from there. We will neither ignore them nor engage with them. We will sit with our eyes closed. We will try to be still. We will become aware of our breath flowing in and out of our nostrils.

We will do this for about five minutes, or we can count backwards from 54 to 0. It is like this, 54 in, 54 out. Next, we will visualize our breath going in through both nostrils and meeting at the eyebrow center. It is called triangular breathing. You visualize the breath like a triangle and when you exhale you visualize the breath coming out through both nostrils. Count from 54 to 0 or five minutes.

Now switch to listening to sounds around you. Softest sound, loudest sound. No identification of who or what is making the sound. Switch back and forth between external awareness and internal awareness, which is listening to the sound of your breathing. Practice for ten minutes.

What has happened here? You are in the process of breaking up with your besties. They will be clamoring for your attention. You will find that you will feel centered, relaxed and in harmony with yourself and the world.

Try it and see for yourself.

Aim Hrim Klim

 

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