Mindfullness Journal
Yoga is a pragmatic method as true knowledge comes only through the real experience of the practice itself. At the same time, Yoga is one of the six indian philosophies called Darshan. We have to remeber that Sanskrit word ‘Darshan’ which is usually translated as ‘philosophy’, actually means seeing or experiencing. Thus, indian philosophy is not merely a metaphysical speculation, but has its foundation on immediate perception.
THE TRACK WE LEAVE
As we live our life, we leave tracks on the path. Life is a composition of experiences and every experience, even the experience of doing nothing, is a track, a footprint in our life’s path. In yoga philosophy we call it ‘samskara’. This footprints are filled with memories. If the memory of the experience is painful, it works like a magnet and holds our energy blocked. Then it usually repetitively manifests in our life in a form of different psychological or physical problems. Psychology can tremendously help us in understanding and can offer a valid reason for those problems but the memory itself will stay there, in an unchanged form. This is when yogic psychology comes in. Unlike psychology that works with the mind, yoga works with consciousness and while the mind can only move the energy, consciousness can transform it. Ancient yoga philosophy says that ‘samskara’ can’t be erased but the memory we have about them could change.
In our world we are well trained to use our mind but very little to use our consciousness. Consciousness is like a muscle: if you don’t use it, it atrophies; but if you use it and train it, it grows bigger, it expands. Without training, consciousness is bound to the mind. It stays at the ground floor, but if you train it, consciousness leaves the mind on ground floor and takes the lift to higher levels. It is obvious that what you see from the ground floor is much more limited then what you see from the first, the second or the third floor. As you rise up you see more, you expand your view, you have a bigger picture.
Marco Bianco