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“Yoga is not about standing on your head or hands”, teaches LA Yogi Eric Paskel. “It's about learning how to stay on your feet and being able to stand for yourself”. This echoes the yoga of Moses; “You are all standing today” (Deut 29:9). Are we standing tall or do our thoughts knock us down?
The streets of Los Angeles are overshadowed with plastic surgery billboards, each subtly suggesting “You are not enough. Change your body to be accepted and loved. You are not ok as you are”.
We might appoint an internal watchkeeper, to monitor our thoughts. We read “appoint judges and sheriffs for yourself in all your gates…and they will judge the people fairly…justice, justice, you shall pursue” (Deut. 16:18-20). An internal reading of these ‘gates’ is to consider the gates in your body – eyes, ears, mouth etc. – and carefully monitor what we take in through these physical openings. Can we police our thoughts and judging ourselves fairly?
Many people talk convincingly about Peace & Love, but few can walk the talk when they are on their own and the lights are out. The little voice that gets them, saying “you are not enough”. When we say to someone 'Shalom' or 'Peace', the greeting is is stronger if we first master this within.
We must deflect thoughts which are harmful to ourselves. As Mike Myers' Guru Pittka said in The Love Guru: “Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself. Why are you still hitting yourself?”.
Moses taught the importance of justice, but often we are unjust towards ourselves. “Judge everyone on the side of merit” (Ethics of the Fathers 1:6) includes judging ourselves fairly. Stop hitting yourself.
Stand Tall. Peace & Love. wink emoticon
Marcus