Steps to awakening-Part 2
Is there any meaning to Life?
Most of us have some vague notion that there might be more to life than how we currently see things. We appear to live in a conscious universe where events seem to happen for a reason – even if we can’t always work out what the explanation is at the time.
The philosophy behind Yoga answers these questions. Yoga is a resolution of our identity – it is about who we really are. The so-called ‘spiritual’ (we don’t have to use that word if you don’t like it) search is an inner-journey and is not something to be found externally. This is about the freedom that we described in Part 1 of this blog series.
So we can start by asking: “Am I the body, or the thoughts and the emotions – all of which are subject to change – or am I something else as well?” To really understand this, we need to contemplate: Who, or what am I?”.
Truthful Self-Inquiry
With the help of a peaceful mind, we may begin to see that our thoughts are, a bit like the weather systems, always changing. We may begin to realise just how much our thinking and emotions colour our ideas about the world, thus compromising our clarity about how things really are.
This inquiry requires us to be present and truthful with whatever arises and to not run away or cover up anything. It means that we align our thinking, speech and behaviour at all times - so that we act with integrity - from the heart - rather than from our conditioning or nervous system. (And we need to have some understanding of the difference between them).
This means that we do our best to not fixate our thinking around any idea or opinion or distract ourselves when times get tough. When uncomfortable stuff arises, we stay with it, even if it is terrible fear, without going into a big drama around it. We live life fully and bravely in all its guises - even during sickness, pain and loss.
So, whatever is unfolding, we remain as present as we can. As our inquiry and contemplation deepens, we may begin to get a sense of something else as well - something about us which is more spacious. It is a kind of background feeling of an ever-present Presence.