{"id":11712,"date":"2019-04-29T13:47:43","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T13:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myaorg.com\/blog\/?p=11712"},"modified":"2020-04-23T13:12:12","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T13:12:12","slug":"contentment-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myaorg.com\/blog\/contentment-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Contentment"},"content":{"rendered":"

In traditions around the world, we celebrate the end of each year and the beginning of a new one: from the Jewish observation of Rosh Hashanah to the secular New Year’s Eve, or from the Lunar Festival for the Chinese New Year to the Persian Nowruz holiday.\u00a0 Without doubt, these holidays are a highlight of the year — they are a time of renewal and joy.\u00a0 But they also summon a spirit of self-evaluation.\u00a0\u00a0 I would like to discuss the ways in which we become entangled with an \u00abevaluation mode;\u00bb an analysis of our performance over the past year.\u00a0 This mode is created by an attachment to calendar measurements.\u00a0 Such measurements usually aid us to make our lives easier and organized, but an attachment to them can stir up emotions and raise our anxiety level. We even sarcastically joke about surviving these new year seasons.<\/p>\n

The truth is that most of us, at a new year, become immersed within mixed feelings related to our perceptions of \u00absuccess\u00bb and the passage of time. While nothing will be particularly different from one holiday season to the next, we end up critically evaluating ourselves at these moments: we ask whether we have done everything properly, have we thrived during the past year, were we enough. Now, in my understanding, there are two forces playing behind these inquires: the force of Ahankara, or our ego, and the force of Atman, or our inner presence, most commonly known as the soul.<\/p>\n

The force of ego says: \u00abI want to be better . . . than you, than that, than them, than anything else.\u00bb It is based on comparison and therefore inevitably brings disappointment.\u00a0 In this way, we can never be fully satisfied, regardless of how successful we are.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the force of Atman, or the soul, whispers: \u201cI want to be better\u00bb . . . just that. Subtle difference, but one that is very significant. \u00a0Within all of us, It is intrinsic to be and do better. Better parents, better sons, better daughters, better siblings, better lovers, better friends, better workers, better human beings. This is the force of Atman, in which, according to Yoga, the seeds of memory and desire sleep. \u00a0But here we also feel some disappointment.\u00a0 Because we feel the constant need to refine ourselves.\u00a0 \u00a0In that evolution, we fail over and over again.<\/p>\n

There is a remedy for this back and forth dilemma, and it is called \u201cSantosha\u201d, the second of the five Niyamas or rules of personal behavior. Santosha means contentment, satisfaction. Alistair Shearer described it as: \u201cThe equanimity that sees things as they are, undistorted by expectations, need or fear\u201d.<\/em><\/strong> Cultivating Santosha then would bring great emphasis towards equanimity, a better way to develop observation instead of evaluation. Because when we observe, we remove ourselves from intellectual judgments that are, in the end, a construction of our mind. The spirit of contentment also refreshes the radiant expansion of our soul in its beautiful journey to light.<\/p>\n

The mantra \u00abEquanimity,\u00bb and the question: How can I have the most beautiful day?, can help us to delve into our state of being, observe it, and bring some contentment. I encourage you to make it a daily practice. Ask yourself this question every day and repeat the mantra — these practices will center your heart.<\/p>\n

Additionally, I encourage you to regularly repeat the following affirmations:<\/p>\n