The other day I was reading the newspaper -- full of stories of crime, murder, and political unrest -- and I thought to myself, "Geez. Some people live in a terrible world." I noticed that I said it as if I didn't live in that same world, and then I realized that I don't.
Years ago, before I became a yogi, reading the paper and watching the news could leave me almost quaking with fear. I thought we lived in a horrible world, and I felt lucky to have made it through the day without getting shot or mugged. Soon after I started a regular practice of yoga and meditation, I realized how much I was controlled by my mind, and how fearful the mind actually is. It's always spinning stories, comparing, searching for danger and distorting situations. The mind causes a lot of trouble! But recognizing this gives the mind less power, and the more I practiced, the more I was able to move away from the mind and started operating from a different place: my soul (or center, or Self).
The soul doesn't operate from fear; it operates from a place of loving, calm acceptance. When looking out from the soul, my perceptions about everything and everyone began to change. I had a couple of years just marveling over all my new discoveries -- just like being a child again, but this time I had a different blueprint to follow. As my perceptions changed, my world changed. They say you create the world you live in, and I had proof that this is true. People in my life who were negative drifted off, and I seemed to attract a whole lot of like-minded positive people. Opportunities opened up that would take me further down this wonderful, new path. Even if things weren't "good," they were "interesting," and I learned to just watch life unfold and wait to see what would happen and where it would lead.
Am I always positive and never fearful? Absolutely not. I am human, and I slip up plenty. But my regular practice enables me to see it, to realize it, and to go back to center and figure out what's really going on without the fear-based interpretation of the mind. And from this different viewpoint, life is good. The world is beautiful and people are wonderful, complicated, interesting beings. I try not to engage in low-level or fear-based thinking. Destruction and revenge aren't a part of my life. People in my world are positive people who make the world a better place. Yes, we are all brothers and sisters sharing this planet, but we are all on different parts of the path and must go through many twists and turns. So in effect, it's as if there are two separate worlds: One based on fear and one based on love. If you're stuck in fear, you can always pack up and move. We have plenty of room, and you're always welcome!
Namaste!
Sandy Pradas