I found myself at a very exciting crossroads in February of 2020. I sold and retired from my Financial planning business of 34 years. This was an intersection of many important events coming together not to mention that it was the start of COVID-19 in North America. Completing the RLP® in 2012, Financial Life Planning was “something” I did as opposed to who I was and “what” I did. I have also been a yoga student and practitioner since 2000 and teacher since 2011. I’ve been a seeker most of my life enjoying searching deeper meanings in life which has drawn me to George and his teachings as well the ancient yogic wisdom teachings.
Looking back over the last 6-7 months with all the changes going on around the world and in my own backyard community, both sorrow-filled and exciting. As I’ve witnessed people learning to adapt and thrive, I’ve been drawn to the exciting opportunities for change and a new/revised vision in my own life. I feel that George’s book, A Golden Civilization & The Map for Mindfulness couldn’t have come at a better time for me and every individual in the world.
During this time I’ve been reflecting on the Yoga Sutras as well as A Golden Civilization for guidance, in particular the sutras that relate to the heart and those that refer to the 5 Afflictions and Causes of Suffering. Much like George’s “unconscious universe” and mirror of forgetfulness—a world of distraction and interference—the restless world that we seek to escape, I feel that the world seems to be going in circles.
As I look around I see the 5 Afflictions in how we relate to the world especially during times of distress:
Ignorance, not seeing our true nature clearly
Ego interference, seeing our identity as separate from the world around us
Attachment to impermanence and material things
Aversion, avoiding the unpleasant in our lives and avoiding the work we must do
Fear of loss, especially death
I see these afflictions and causes of suffering circling around us constantly until we are brave enough to awaken, rise above them, and begin to make positive change. With “you” at the center of it, the world of distractions and causes of suffering continues to poke at us, pulsating and vibrating. This is until some major life or world event causes “you” to be ejected from the inertia of disease and disturbance into wakefulness, magnificence, intelligence, knowledge, and action on a path of self discovery and realization. When realized fully, the heart and mind are pristine and clearly see our values, purpose and meaning. Is this not also part of the Golden Civilization that we seek?
The opposite of the 5 afflictions tells us to:
Seek to see our true nature clearly
Remember that our true nature is a part of the whole
Let go and surrender to the Divine to find peace and calm,
Achieve fullness in our life by taking responsibility for our actions
Understand that conscious awareness of our life and a relationship with it is continuous.
In order to help us on our journey beyond the sorrow of our situation, the yoga sutras also provide us with attitudes and qualities to work on:
Friendliness towards those who we may feel hatred or animosity
Compassion for those who are miserable and less spiritually virtuous
Happiness for those who we may be jealous or envious of, those who seem to have more
Impartiality and non-righteousness when we see faults in others
It is here, deep in our hearts, where we find our light, true nature, connection, meaning and wholeness, where we are empowered to make positive change in the world.
I’ll finish with a poem I wrote about a month ago:
An Invitation to the Heart
Drop your veils, your guard, your doingness
Let the deep authentic “you” rise
Come into being, peace, and seeing from your heart
A sea of consciousness, love and oneness
The knowing and knowers amongst you can see feel sense and be in the moment
This moment of total acceptance
This moment of truly being awake to life
Others seem to be lost or caught in a cage
Waiting
Aimless
Lost in their distractions and angers
Unaware of the sweet web that connects it all
A spaciousness opens for the self to enter and merge
Seer with seen
Subject with object
One
Rest in sweetness
One in the heart
One in being
