Reality Construction

A Yogic Tangent

We find perennial philosophy in the funniest places... watching Star Wars Episode II (this series is all about yoga, by the way, and may end up as a series of entries in this blog)... at one point ObiOne tells Anakin that he is focusing on the negative and the needs to mind his thoughts...

This took me off in a few directions. You see, Jedi's are essentially monks, they follow their martial art and all martial arts are all fundamentally based on yogic principles of non-attachment and dedication to practice (yogis call this Tapas)... 

Yoda calls it, "Train(ing) yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

"non-attachment" - is not equivalent to "indifference".

Strictly speaking, Non-attachment is self-mastery and freedom from desire for what is seen or heard. The practice of yoga is ultimately the control over the mind, which results from repeated and earnest practice of all of the facets (8 limbs) of yoga.

But the important piece for the purposes of this discussion is of the self-mastery piece.

So, Anikin was focusing on the negative... and if you watch the movie (as difficult as it can be at times, since Episode II is so full of bad acting, even for a Star Wars movie) you notice that his negativity is caught in a downward spiral. It is in a negative self-reinforcing loop...

How does yoga propose to solve this kind of negative looping cycle? Meditation is often the answer with yoga, but not this time. Meditation in a negative looping cycle can reinforce the cycle. At it's worse, with a whole lot of factors playing into it, sitting silently in a negative loop can result in paranoia or any number of states of emotional dis-ease.

A posture practice can be helpful, but can also reinforce some of the negativity, if it is constantly at the forefront of the mind, instead of focusing on the breath...

Vishva, my teacher, explains that this is a time for mantra practice or chanting... let the mind let go of the cycle... come back to these issues at a later time. don't focus on them, since in a position of negativity they likely appear bigger than they are... find a mantra like "So Hum" or "Hari OM", or simply hum... find a teacher to give you a mantra and focus on how your are not alone, but part of a greater whole, that there is perfection in and around you... focus in an outward fashion, through sound, on something and come out of your shell, yourself... and vibrate... these things will help clear your mind space...

and keep in mind that there are impacts of staying in a negative state or cycle.

Physicist David Bohm explains:

Reality is what we take to be true. 

What we take to be true is what we believe. 

What we believe is based upon our perceptions. 

What we perceive depends upon what we look for. 

What we look for depends on what we think. 

What we think depends on what we perceive. 

What we perceive determines what we believe. 

What we believe determines what we take to be true. 

What we take to be true is our reality.

It's certainly nothing new to say that we construct our own reality... but we must also keep in mind that the reality we construct for ourselves affects the realities that others construct for themselves... moods and ideas are contagious... we learn from and often react to others as they learn from and react to us... and for this very reason, we must do as Gandhi suggests:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Infect the world in a positive way...