"Stop the chase and be a witness."
--Wayne Dyer
I am reading Wayne Dyer's book, Change Your Thoughts--Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao. The yoga thought for the day comes from this book, and it definitely jumped out at me as I was reading. "Stop the chase and be a witness." This seems incredibly appropriate at this time of year since many of us are chasing to find the best bargains and the biggest and best gifts. The chapter this quotation comes from is titled, "Living Beyond Ego"--an idea that is particularly hard in this day and age. I can relate the quotation to the practice of yoga, in that when we are practicng yoga, we are practicing becoming an observer. We attempt to allow our analytical, judgmental, critical minds to rest, and we just observe--or witness. In every yoga pose we put forth effort but we attempt to balance that effort with surrender. We try not to be attached to the results of our efforts, we just observe--or witness--without judgment, just trusting. This idea perhaps sounds much easier than it is since ego is the driving force in much of our daily lives.
It's interesting how many different yoga/life philosophies are intertwined--flowing together. I'm thinking about how many people might not be able to turn off ego because they don't even know they're acting from ego rather than love. Really, one cannot know this without awareness---yes, another focus in the practice of yoga. We are practicing becoming aware: checking into the moment, into our bodies and how we feel, into our breath, and into our lives.
Dyer goes on to say, "Try letting life come to you and begin to notice the clues that what you crave is on its way....Stay appreciative of all that you receive, knowing that it flows from an all-providing Source....By letting go, you let God; and even more significantly, you become more like God and less like the ego, with its lifetime practice of edging God out."
Whether on the yoga mat or in daily life, we can all do our best to:
check in,
put forth effort,
surrender,
observe,
and trust.
Or simply, "Stop the chase and be a witness."
Namste'
Yogalgal
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