Yoga Sutras Challenge: Day2 - Satya

Day 2 of our Yoga Sutra challenge. The theme of the day is Satya: Truthfulness. But first a word about day#1:


I'd like to tell you that yesterday's practice with ahimsa was wonderful and that I have mastered that yama but I'd be lying. In the spirit of truthfulness I'm going to tell you the ugly truth about my practice of ahimsa. It was quite a challenge. I found myself wanting to smack the person giving me an attitude for no good reason. Let's not even talk about the temper tantrum I had in the car when the idiot (ahem... excuse me) the guy
was driving too close to me or the car that didn't signal before coming into my lane.  When someone spoke harshly to me I found myself lashing back with my words before I even realized what I was saying. The good news about the experiment was that I was more aware. Simply by setting the intention that I was going to do my best to cause no harm to anyone, including myself, I believe helped me to think before I reacted. Listen, I'm not a saint, I know I'm not perfect but I'm trying and that's all I can do.

Now, on to day#2: Satya/Truthfulness. We all know already that we shouldn't tell a lie. Although maybe some of us need a reminder that we shouldn't use the truth as a baseball bat. Ahimsa and truthfulness should go hand in hand. If telling the truth would be hurtful, Ahimsa should take precedence over truthfulness. (at least in my opinion) What do you think?

Think of Satya as a filter for the crazy thoughts. When the thought comes "I'm not good enough" let it go through the Satya filter. Is that the truth? Probably not. Oh, by the way, this goes for the self-inflating, egotistical thoughts too. The same thing applies to our motivations. Are you volunteering the save the whales because you really care deeply about the whales or are you volunteering because you want everyone to be impressed about your activism? Either way, by all means, save the whales just be honest about it.
The truth is, where I find the most difficulty in the practice of satya is when it comes to my intuition. Is it the truth or is it my ego? Another question that plagues me often is this: Sometimes I get angry. That's the truth of what I'm feeling - angry - but I have to let it go. By letting it go does that mean I'm not being truthful about how I'm feeling? Do I pretend to be happy when really I'm angry? Is that truthful?

I guess it goes back to ahimsa. I'm angry, yes, but holding on to it will only cause harm to myself and if I act out of anger then I'm causing harm to someone else in my words, thoughts or deeds. Ahimsa takes precedence. Remember that quote: "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" Honestly, I'd like to be both, happy and right but when I can't be both I guess I'd rather be happy.

Day#2 starts now........ Be truthful .......and remember ahimsa....... I once again invite you to post a comment. Share your thoughts and advice. We all need a spiritual community to support us on this journey (ain't that the truth!!) Let's be that support to each other.