So today we're focusing on step 10.
This is yoga and the 12 steps.
And we're looking at the qualities,
The spiritual quality of introspection,
And also santosha,
Which is contentment.
So the step in the 12 steps,
This is from AA's 12 and 12,
Is that we continue to take personal inventory.
And when we were wrong,
We promptly admitted it.
So we look at introspection as a practice here,
And this is a practice in yoga of really staying conscious of ourselves and our journey so that we can utilize the information to continue to stay on track with our spiritual aspirations.
It's important to look at it in this way.
The idea here is to feel empowered and inspired with the information and to have a practice that strengthens us rather than diminishes us.
So we want to be careful when we're practicing introspection,
Especially looking at our life,
That we not get overly focused on what is wrong,
And then we begin to identify with that.
The idea here is we're cleaning house.
We're just keeping our house clean.
So it's a daily practice of noticing.
Yogananda recommended at the end of our day to ask the question,
And you'll find this in the Gita,
Which is introspection.
The Gita begins with the blind king asking the sage,
Sanjaya,
What did they?
And this is the practice of introspection.
Yogananda pointed out that the very point that the question is phrased as,
Did they versus what are they doing,
Gives us the awareness.
It's the hint that what we're looking at is what has happened.
And so with introspection,
Yogananda said at the end of the day,
If you have a practice of reviewing the day,
And we want to be reviewing our day from the highest Perspective of our soul nature.
So in yoga the path of Yoga and Raja Yoga,
We talk about three paths of yoga.
These are three approaches that are all part of Raja Yoga and one of them is known as Gyana Yoga.
Gyana Yoga is this dispassionate search for truth.
So we're looking at things and we're observing the facts and we're looking behind them for the truth within that information.
And this lines up beautifully with introspection.
It's not analyzing.
We're not trying to figure out,
You know,
Why did I do what I did?
Now,
You might have an insight about that.
You might have an insight.
So,
For example,
I might realize,
Oh gosh,
I was overtired.
I was really tired.
And so when I'm reviewing the day,
If I went into the day tired,
If I went into the day that,
Well,
Let's say I missed my sadhana.
What if I missed my sadhana?
That will absolutely compromise how I'm able to move through the day.
So when we talk about sadhana,
And this is spiritual practice,
And in Ananda Yoga,
The pinnacle comes to mind.
The pinnacle of that is meditation.
There's energization,
Yoga postures.
I mean,
It can look different.
There's chanting,
Different things that we do,
And ultimately meditation.
This is the jewel of our practice.
It's inner communion.
Our next week,
We'll be looking at that inner communion as part of yoga and the 12 steps.
So let's say I either missed my sadhana or the sadhana itself was compromised.
Wasn't a full sadhana,
Let's say.
So I go through the day and I notice at the end of the day,
Oh,
I was a little short with this person or I didn't,
I kind of made an impulsive decision here.
I,
Whatever it might be at the end of the day.
And there could be an insight of,
You know,
And this did happen to me early on,
So maybe that's why it's coming to mind.
I remember making the connection between my sadhana in the morning and how my day went.
And it was an important connection.
And that's the point of looking at introspection as we evaluate this because information will come to us.
We'll begin to see important connections.
That we can utilize to strengthen our spiritual life.
So with step 10,
What we're looking at is we're evaluating the day,
And this is in step four,
Is the first time we practice taking an inventory.
So this was covered in week four.
And that principle is the principle of self-honesty,
Non-lying.
And this is akin to that.
This is a daily inventory.
So this is something we're doing every day and what I want to say is really what I've already said is what the purpose is,
But there's a lightness to it.
So it's not heavy.
And this is something to evaluate actually for yourself.
You know,
How well are you able to practice introspection and find that it expands your consciousness?
And that's an important thing.
So if you're not sure how to practice,
You might reach out to someone else who practices yoga and ask them,
How do they do it,
Right?
How do they look at themselves in a way way that helps them.
Move towards greater freedom.
So I'm going to read a little bit from the manual of Yoga and the 12 Steps.
So this comes from the course that we teach.
And our title today is Introspection,
Self-Awareness and Energetic Freedom.
And Step 10 is a practice that clears the clutter of emotional and mental debris by paying close attention to our interactions with others and the choices we make.
Throughout our day,
We're able to evaluate how closely our behavior and thoughts are aligned to spiritual principles.
And the principles that we're looking at primarily the Yamas and Niyamas.
So we covered that in Step 4.
But those are our guidelines.
And it's helpful when we're looking at a self-evaluation to have touchstones.
And that's what the Yamas and Niyamas provide.
So I'll read a little bit more from the manual.
From our inner truth and practicing behaviors,
Thoughts,
And consciousness that reflect our inner light,
We are able to remember our divinity and live from this higher truth.
So that's part of why we're practicing this,
Is that we're clearing away those things that would obscure our inner light and our connection to that inner light.
And by doing that,
That light within us begins to shine more freely,
And we feel connected to that light as we move through the day.
In Step 10,
We combine Swadhyaya,
Self-study or introspection,
With Santosha,
Contentment.
To create a daily practice that allows us to stay conscious of our journey and evaluate each day the direction we are headed.
Closer we are headed closer to our divine essence or away from this inner reality with a relaxed attitude of acceptance and inner peace.
And that's the part I'd like to talk about right now is the contentment piece because By the time we get to the practice of Step 10,
We have been strengthening our spiritual life through tools and practices that allow us to relate to our life from our whole self.
And that's where contentment comes in.
It's not easy to look at a behavior,
To see something that is off,
Is away from our spiritual practice.
And to see that with,
Again,
Jnana yoga,
A sense of,
Okay,
That's what I see,
How can I correct it?
Because that's part of step 10,
Is that when we are wrong,
We promptly address that.
And that's a really important piece.
In step four,
There are several steps that lead us to amending anything that we see.
And that's important because it takes some time to have,
I would say,
Clarity and maturity and support around,
Well,
How would I amend this?
What might I do to correct this?
When we get to step 10,
We've had enough experience with that,
That it becomes easier.
Now that doesn't mean that we don't,
Still need some support and help in doing it.
So let's say you observe a behavior,
It feels off and if you tend towards,
I had a friend who called it,
She said she had an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and I always appreciated that.
So she tended to take responsibility for things that weren't hers.
If something went wrong,
She would assume it was her fault and or carry the weight of it.
So if that's you,
Yours,
If you have that,
Then it can be very helpful to talk to someone to evaluate,
Is this something I need to amend?
Was I off here in this situation?
You know,
A way that that could come up is maybe you spoke to someone honestly,
And that's new for you to do,
And they didn't like what you had to say,
But maybe you did really say it well.
Maybe they didn't like what you had to say and you experienced their displeasure.
With what you said to them.
And at the end of the day,
And probably if it was uncomfortable and new for you,
I'm going to guess it would be bothering you throughout the day.
And then come to the end of the day when you're doing your self-evaluation and trying to discern,
Was that a misstep on my part?
Did I speak in a way that was unkind?
Was this really a practice of truthfulness,
Which is beneficial?
So we don't always just share facts in the name of being truthful.
Sometimes it's inappropriate to be speaking what we see as the truth.
Other times it's not inappropriate.
So that's where if you're not sure,
Talking to a mentor or spiritual friend can be very helpful.
They can look at it with you and say,
Well,
Share with me what happened.
Let me hear what you said.
And if in fact you were not out of step,
They could say to you,
No,
I don't think that was a mistake.
Step.
It seems like actually it was an important thing that you said,
And I can imagine,
You know,
It does sound like they were displeased with it,
But it's okay.
You can let that be there.
Now I'll say on the other side,
So these are two ends of the spectrum,
Right?
One is taking responsibility for things,
For everything,
Including things that aren't yours,
And the other is finding fault with everyone else.
So,
If that's a tendency.
Then you would,
Again,
It would be helpful to ask someone,
Right?
Like,
Well,
I said this,
You're evaluating,
You get this little nudging.
And this is the thing I would say is that we,
The more we practice meditation and these other practices of yoga,
We become more conscious,
Right?
And we can recognize the vibration of agitation.
And that's what this practice at the end of the day can reveal to us.
Is there anything about my day that leaves me feeling agitated and unsettled?
Not feeling content.
And what is that?
Well,
If you lean the other way of finding fault with others,
And you remember this interaction,
And you feel like,
Well,
I spoke the truth.
They were in the wrong,
And I corrected them.
They didn't like it,
But I was in the right.
It would be helpful to ask your mentor.
Because a mentor might say to you,
In that situation,
It would have been better to be silent.
Yes,
It's true.
I mean,
It seems true.
I could imagine a mentor saying,
It seems true that their behavior was imperfect.
But I don't think it was your place to correct that.
They weren't asking for correction.
They weren't coming to you requesting you to support them in understanding their behavior.
And the displeasure that they showed you could be a reflection of that.
So this is where it's not the action itself,
But discrimination and discernment and spiritual maturity that helps us to know with any given situation What was right in that situation or off in that situation?
There's a,
Asha tells the story,
And I don't know if it was her question or another devotee,
Who asked Swamiji,
They posed this question for him of a right and wrong question.
Like,
If this happens,
Sir,
Would this be the right action to take?
And he paused and then responded and said,
What you're asking here is what is God's will in this situation?
And that's the deeper,
Bye.
Practice of attunement we looked at this in step three that we're listening for what is the truth of this situation and not to simply assume it so introspection Again,
It's not analyzing.
It's not simply a collection of facts,
But it's sitting with The day it's sitting with our experience and if there is if we sense agitation within us offering that up for a greater understanding.
The other part of the practice that Swamiji offers from Master's teachings is at the end of the day,
So you can put these two things together,
Is to imagine a fire of purification.
That you give your day into,
And you give it back to God.
So you've reviewed it and maybe there isn't anything that you need to do about what you see.
You've reviewed it,
You see like,
Oh,
You know,
In terms of with anybody else.
Maybe the correction is,
I want to be more dedicated to my sadhana because I feel that will help me.
But whatever the case,
After you have your review,
You offer that into the fire of purification.
And in that practice,
You're letting God take it.
And change you in whatever way God sees fit to hold your life and you know you just give it back you give the day back to God and there's a lightness in our heart that comes from that there's a freedom and that's part of what we talk about in this practice is energetic freedom,
So self-awareness and energetic freedom.
Those are the things we're looking for to give us a sense of if I'm practicing this in the way that it's intended to be practiced.
Let me talk a little bit about correcting then.
So when we are wrong,
We promptly admit it.
When I was reflecting today on this,
There were a couple of different stories came to mind and one of them I'll share seemed like it might be a good one.
I was working one time in a retail store and the place that I worked was,
The best word I have for it,
I can't think of a better word,
It's dysfunctional.
I just don't have a better way of describing it.
So my first week of being there,
I remember within the first few days of being there,
I remember leaving at night and the thought came to me about manager of the store.
That she's a bully.
Like,
Oh,
You know,
I think she's a bully.
And I was noticing the way,
Not just her interactions with me,
But her interactions with other staff.
Maybe on a side note,
I don't know.
But that was a job that my higher self kept telling me to leave.
And I hung in there.
I mean,
I just hung in there.
I felt financially insecure,
Which is no small thing.
So to be self-honest,
I just kept giving it to God.
I'd pray about it.
I'd meditate.
I'd get the same answer,
Leave.
And it was hard to leave.
I eventually did.
I eventually did.
When I became aware of it,
So maybe I guess I can share two ends of it.
Yeah,
I became aware of how it began to compromise my own consciousness.
And that was my moment of like,
OK,
I'm turning in my notice and leaving.
And I can I'm pleased to say I left on good terms.
But anyway,
I was this store that I was in.
They had very old.
What's it called?
Cass register.
They had very old.
Nothing can be nothing computerized.
So everything was handwritten.
And it was a kind of store where They had 1,
000 kinds of items,
All small numbers.
So I'll tell this quickly.
A woman came in with a bunch of kids,
Some of hers and some of the friends of the kids,
And they bought lots of things,
All of them handwritten down,
$0.
59,
$1.
25.
I had this long list of things written down.
And then you add it all up,
Right?
And they were super chaotic and jumping around.
She was amazingly calm in the midst of all this chaos.
And so I got all the way down to the end of the,
Uh,
Ringing it up.
And as I was double checking it,
There was one item that I wasn't sure if I had,
Um,
I,
And he was,
All I remember is I might've overcharged her a dollar 25.
It was something like that.
And my manager was there and I knew her style.
Is a style of shaming,
Like she would just really have shamed me if I admitted that,
Right?
And I had this inner moment of like,
Oh no,
Oh no,
I've made a mistake,
I did this.
And my mind wanted to say,
It's just $1.
25,
Right?
But the deeper part of me was like,
That's dishonest,
That is dishonest.
And literally,
I wanna say this practice of the 12 steps,
God through this practice saved me because I could,
I immediately,
The counter thought was you will have to clean this up.
If you don't do it now.
You will have to track this woman down and call her and find her and say and tell her this or you can clean it up now,
Right?
So in the midst of me trying to figure it out.
Anyways,
I turned to her and said I'm so sorry but I have to redo your order because I think I may have mischarged you $1.
25 and her peace and calmness was like no problem,
Which is amazing that there was peace and calmness around that no problem and I just turned around I had a co-worker come up and help me at that point and we did it and You know,
I don't know if it's coming through to But I have to say I felt like my soul was saved that day now.
This is seemingly a tiny infraction right a tiny infraction $1.
25 if I had not cleaned that up I can guarantee you it would have haunted me it would have haunted me and I would have because of this practice had to find a way to track her down and I Believe I would have done it before the reason of soul freedom.
And to be honest and to follow the yamas and niyamas.
So I want to read a little bit before we end from Affirmations for Self-Healing from Swami Kriyananda about introspection because it speaks exactly to this point.
Swamiji says,
People commonly delude themselves with easy rationalizations.
Maybe I wasn't as kind as I might have been,
They'll say.
But who wouldn't have been unkind?
If treated that way.
It wasn't my fault.
The fault was his.
Thus the blame for every wrong is placed at one's neighbor's door.
Introspection means to behold oneself from a center of inner calmness.
Without the slightest mental bias,
Open to what may be wrong in oneself,
Not excusing it,
But not condemning either.
Introspection means referring what one sees to the super conscious mind and detachedly accepting guidance when it comes.
In that moment,
My inner guidance told me,
You must correct this now.
You must correct this now.
And I will say I was afraid.
I felt,
I felt afraid,
But I knew that that fear would hold me back and hurt me far more than speaking up and simply telling the truth.
I made a mistake on this order.
Or I think I made a mistake and I need to re-ring it,
Right?
That was,
That guidance came to me in my willingness and also right at the,
And I will add this,
I actually did start praying.
So as soon as I realized it and was like,
Oh no,
I can't believe this.
I just had finished this order.
I started praying because I needed grace to help me do that.
It seems so small and so tiny tiny,
But part of this practice is about that.
It's the little things.
One of our nephews one time,
When he was a young boy,
They were out hiking,
And James' mother told us this story.
She said the wisdom from him was just remarkable.
He said,
You know,
Grandma,
It's not the mountains that get you,
It's the pebble in your shoe.
And that is so,
And she just loved that.
She actually wrote it down and posted it.
And that's the point here,
Is that we can rationalize away.
Behavior that when it adds up it blocks the sunlight of the inner spirit It is far better to simply begin to learn how to correct Anything that you see that seems off and certainly when you know it is I had a I have a friend who told me Her own version of a story when her son went out grocery shopping and came back and she realized he didn't pay for or almonds or something like that.
And she told me,
You know,
I had a moment where I started to rationalize the store can afford it.
And the deeper,
Wiser part of her said,
No,
Correct that now,
Immediately correct that.
And she did.
And she was telling me the sole freedom that came from that correction.
So this is the practice of step 10,
Of learning how to put into daily action a way of evaluating our life.
With the yamas and niyamas in particular and then navigating through that and recognize and living from our highest truth the awareness of our highest self and in that practice tasting and experiencing more and more a sense of self-acceptance and inner freedom.
So I invite you this week to bring into your life,
If it isn't part of your practice already,
Especially the end of the day,
This introspection as part of your sadhana.
And then offering it into the fire of purification and listening for guidance and reach out for support if you're not sure about anything.
Give yourself the gift of freedom of just cleaning things up when they happen and moving forward.
Great to be with you,
Dear souls.
Many,
Many blessings to you.
Wishing you a beautiful week.
