Education & Career Trends: January 12, 2023
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Content Credit:
- Article by Deepak Chopra, published on medium.com. Original article link.
Connecting spirituality with “the light” has a long tradition, which continues for the devout who want to live by the light of faith or in the light of God. But the term is vague and seems to have little relevance to modern secular life, the life that the vast majority of people lead.
The more conscious you are, the more you are living in the light. This clear and simple definition takes us to the heart of Yoga, which is an entire philosophy aimed at raising the consciousness of everyone.
As familiar as one branch of Yoga is, Hatha Yoga, which describes the various physical postures taught in yoga class, the highest path is known as Raja Yoga, or Royal Yoga.
I(the author) didn’t approach Royal Yoga as a true believer, because the Yoga tradition isn’t a set of beliefs. It is based on experiences that everyone is already having. You already live in the light by fits and starts, you just don’t live there all the time. Many people have experienced happiness, joy, and sometimes even pure bliss, which are qualities of the light.
But on the flip side, there are dark experiences that bring confusion, pain and suffering. Nonetheless, the light of life is always with you because consciousness is your very nature, your true self.
Royal Yoga is unique in that it seeks to make everyday life ideal. There is infinite bliss available to your true self. Whenever you experience less bliss, no bliss, or actual pain and suffering, only one thing has changed, how close you are to the light.
This concept defines the entire Yoga system, no matter how complex its traditions are in India. We can cut through the complexity by focusing on just one goal: living in the light.
It is vital to understand what the ideal life is, according to Royal Yoga. What makes its approach so natural is that nothing achieved through Royal Yoga is mystical or otherworldly. The self you experience today owes its most valued experiences to your true self, which is already whole and perfect.
The Ideal Life — The Gifts of Royal Yoga:
1. Existence becomes blissful. You experience a joyful, energetic body, a loving, compassionate heart, an alert, vibrant mind, and a lightness of being.
2. You control your mental activity. You can generate thoughts, feelings, and impulses that are evolutionary. You are the one who gives them meaning, and therefore the whole world as you perceive it has meaning.
3. You see everyday life as a lucid dream, incredibly vivid but an illusion. You can improve the dream without getting trapped in it.
4. Joy becomes the only measure of success because your essential nature is joy. It is the beginning and endpoint of every journey.
5. You understand what it means to thrive. You savour the diversity of life, which brings richness to your unfolding story.
6. You recognise that the point of arrival is always now. You can’t move to where you are already standing — this is the experience of timelessness.
7. You recognise that there is no fixed identity. Your identity is unique but always evolving. It is your karmic story, but you don’t need to be bound by it.
8. You recognise gratitude as the sanest response to existence. It is insanity to believe that existence is a problem.
9. You recognise that existence is lavish and abundant.
10. Grace becomes an everyday experience. It reveals itself by the perfect way that every occasion fits together. Instead of brief glimpses of synchronicity, you live in total synchronicity
Nothing is more important than knowing how much light has affected your life.
There are Ten Ways to Live in the Light:
Take a moment to ask yourself how well they apply to you.
1. I have experienced bliss. (Examples: a peak experience of a joyful, energetic body, a loving, compassionate heart, an alert vibrant mind, lightness of being.)
2. I feel in control of my mental experience — I can have positive, creative thoughts whenever I want.
3. Life can feel like a dream, with something hidden from sight that is very real and yet mysterious.
4. Much more than material success, I measure my life by my level of happiness and joy.
5. I welcome a wide diversity of experiences — they give my life real richness.
6. I live in the present moment, without reliving the past or anticipating the future.
7. I experience myself in the flow, adapting easily to new situations.
8. I experience gratitude.
9. I look upon life as abundant, offering untold possibilities for fulfilment.
10. I experience meaningful coincidences — they tell me that everything happens for a reason.
As your chosen path, living in the light can begin anytime you choose.
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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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