Why Are you Not Happy ?

So if you have it all then why aren’t you happy? Why is there that desire for more? Yoga philosophy would teach us it the Klesha’s, and these 5 Klesha’s are cause of all suffering. 

The first Klesha is Avidya (ignorance).  Specifically, it means not truth (a-vidya). It is ignorance to what is real. The other 4 Klesha’s are related to Avidya, so it  is said that this Klesha is often referred to as the trunk of the tree.

Asmita (I-am-ness) is the identification of ourselves with our ego. We create an image of ourselves that we believe is us, but it is not us. We become trapped within the projections we have created of our life. We think I am a teacher or I am an accountant, these are not what we are, they are things we do. We forget that we are divine in nature.

Raga (attachment) is the attraction for things that bring satisfaction to oneself. Our desire for pleasurable experiences creates mindless action. Each time we buy a new car, that new name brand yoga top, a pair of shoes or take another great trip. we feel great, but this feeling is fleeting. We become like a hungry monster always needing things to fill us but we are never full for long. We suffer and feel empty and wonder what next? We can become so attached to pleasurable things such as food that we die of diseases caused by the food we eat. We become addicted to pleasure.

We can also become attached to people and old ways of thinking. We forget that things do not bring us happiness that the true path to happiness is through contentment, gratitude and understanding our divine nature.

Dvesha (repulsion) is the opposite of raga, aversion towards things that produce unpleasant experiences. We try to avoid unpleasant things, we are not disciplined in our food, exercise or life. We avoid things that seem hard and seek always for an easy softer way to. We suffer because of this as it dampens our will to evolve and we get trapped in a cycle of failure.

Abhinivesha (will to live/fear of death) is the deepest and most universal Klesha, remaining with us until our death. We know that one day we will die, yet our fear of death is a deeply buried in our unconsciousness. Fearing death often prevents us from living our life, taking risks and interferes with the spiritual freedom we seek.

The first stage of working with the Klesha’s is to simply acknowledge them in ourselves, yes we suffer from all of the Klesha’s in varying degrees, that like the waves of an ocean can fluctuate. To begin we just need to reflect on this and become awareness. Awareness of our nature is the first step to freedom.

The practice of asana (postures), pranayama and mediation taught in yoga classes can help us delve deep within ourselves and begin this path to freedom.

 For more information or to attend a yoga class contact sheree@livewithspirit.ca. At livewithspirit.ca we offer well taught yoga as a path to peace, physical ease and happiness.

My Life to Date

  I've heard it said that life has it ups and downs that it can be like a roller coaster ride, and old friend of mine used to say "hang on to your hat on the way down", as she would laugh. I have always loved that analogy as life can be very much like that.

In my corporate career as a sales person I was once the best sales person a company ever had, in fact 10 years after I left that company, no one had beaten my record. At another company I was fired for not meeting my target, in fact I got nowhere near my target that  year, it was like I had fired my arrow in the opposite direction. So, was I a good sales person or a horrible one, and more importantly what did those experiences teach me.

Each one was a great teacher. To be the best carries a burden, trying to stay there is hard and the praise that comes with being on the top can be giddy at times, at times you wonder how you got there, can you stay there, will they see through you, do you deserve this success. When on top I learned to stay calm, not to take myself to serioulsy and most of all, to enjoy the brief time in the limelight with grace and humilty. To be the top salesperson means you have a seriously good team behind you, you don't get to the top on your own.

Ah. but to be on the bottom that's a whole different feel, constant pressure from sales managers, unreturned phone class from clients, loss of income, with this comes a whole different kind of pressure. Can you be in this situation and still truly believe that you are doing your best, that you are good enough, that things will (and they will) turn around. Can you stand tall when everyone knows you are on the edge of losing your job ? Can you feel equal too the people around you who are on the top

My career in sales was such a great teacher for me, I am so glad I had that experience, often today when things are happening in my business I can look back to a past experience and know where I am. On the way up or on the way down, or even just coasting for awhile.

My career in sales taught me the following about myself, I am tenacious, hardworking, generous, persistent to a fault, I care about my clients, and need to love what I do and the team to perform well, I can't fake it. It also taught me I am horrible at conflict resolution, I avoid conflict like a turtle, and only deal with it when someones rips the shell off me, I can be impatient and impulsive and need to slow down a bit. I can also not appear gratetful to the team because I am already on to the next project, it can be hard to keep up with my fast mind.

But what a blessing to know myself so well as  it is the truth that sets you free and until you know who you are you are still imprisoned. So off into the world  I go generous, impatient, loving, impulsive, passive, tenacious, hopefully you will meet me when one of my good qualities is shining but if you don't come back tomorrow as I could be a totally different person.