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ARHATIC YOGA IN ALBUQUERQUE & SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
HARMONIZE YOUR ACTIONS WITH THE WAY LIFE REALLY IS
Don't try to make your own rules.
Conduct yourself in all matters, grand and public or small and domestic, in accordance with the laws of nature. Harmonizing your will with nature should be your utmost ideal.
Where do you practice this ideal? In the particulars of your own daily life with its uniquely personal tasks and duties. When you carry out your tasks, such as taking a bath, do so, to the best of your ability, in harmony with nature. When you eat, do so, to the best of your ability, in harmony with nature, and so on.
It is not so much what you are doing as how you are doing it. When we properly understand and live by this principle, while difficulties will arise—for they are part of the divine order too—inner peace will still be possible.
EVENTS DON'T HURT US, BUT OUR VIEWS OF THEM CAN
Things themselves don't hurt or hinder us. Nor do other people. How we view these things is another matter. It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble.
Therefore, even death is no big deal in and of itself. It is our notion of death, our idea that it is terrible, that terrifies us. There are so many different ways to think about death. Scrutinize your notions about death—and everything else. Are they really true? Are they doing you any good? Don't dread death or pain; dread the fear of death or pain.
We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.
WISDOM DEPENDS ON PERSONAL VIGILANCE
Most people don't realize that both help and harm come from within ourselves. Instead they look to externals, mesmerized by appearances.
Wise people, on the other hand, realize that we are the source of everything good or bad for us. They therefore don't resort to blaming and accusing others. They aren't driven to convince people they are worthy or special or distinguished.
If wise people experience challenges, they look to themselves; if they are commended by others, they quietly smile to themselves, unmoved; if they are slandered, they don't feel the need to defend their name.
But they go about their actions with vigilance, assuming that all is well, yet not perfectly secure. They harmonize their desires with life as it is and seek to avoid only the things that would prevent their ability to exercise their will properly. They exercise moderation in all their affairs. And if they seem ignorant or unsophisticated, it is of no concern to them. They know that they only have to watch out for themselves and the direction of their own desires.
LIVING WISDOM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWING ABOUT IT
If someone tries to impress you, claiming to understand the writings and ideas of a great thinker such as Chrysippus, think to yourself, the important thing is not to be able merely to talk fluently about abstruse subjects. What is essential is to understand nature and align your intentions and actions with the way things are. The person who truly understands Chrysippuss writings or the precepts of any great mind is the person who actually applies the philosophers teachings. There is a big difference between saying valuable things and doing valuable things.
Don't give too much weight to erudition alone. Look to the example of people whose actions are consistent with their professed principles.
LEARN TO APPLY BASIC PRINCIPLES TO PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES
IN ACCORDANCE WITH NATURE
The life of wisdom begins with learning how to put principles, such as "we ought not to lie," into practice. The second step is to demonstrate the truth of the principles, such as why it is that we ought not to lie. The third step, which connects the first two, is to indicate why the explanations suffice to justify the principles. While the second and third steps are valuable, it is the first step that matters most. For it is all too easy and common to lie while cleverly demonstrating that lying is wrong.
START LIVING YOUR IDEALS
Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. Once you have determined the spiritual principles you wish to exemplify, abide by these rules as if they were laws, as if it were indeed sinful to compromise them.
Don't mind if others don't share your convictions. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer.
Put your principles into practice—now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! You aren't a child anymore. The sooner you set yourself to your spiritual program, the happier you will be. The longer you wait, the more you will be vulnerable to mediocrity and feel filled with shame and regret, because you know you are capable of better.
From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do—now.
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