Thursday, October 23, 2008

Self-Observation Without Self-Criticism


"The highest form of spiritual practice is self-observation without self-criticism."
– Swami Kripalu

This quote from Swami Kripalu is one of my favorites. It encapsulates the essence of what the journey of yoga is all about. It is a journey into ourselves. It is a long, and sometimes arduous journey, full of great joy and many sorrows, but it is, I think, always a worthy adventure.

Can you pause now in your day?
Take a moment with me?...

Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
Observe the breath moving in and out of your body.
Make the offering of this mantra to your self:

In this moment I breathe, in this moment I am perfect. At all times, in every way possible, I have everything I need.

As you move into your evening keep these phrases in mind, and take some time to contemplate the words of Bapuji (Swami Kripalu). How can you move along this great adventure of life making it an inquiry of self-observation, without entering into the harshness of self-criticism?

I would love to hear the ways that you do this!
Leave a comment, or drop me a line.

Namaste

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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing.

ICLW

Anonymous said...

I like to think I can make observations without the criticism most of the time, but I think it's something most of us probably need to continually work on. (ICLW)

Mary said...

I think I'll be using this at work...thank you!!

ICLW

Kristin said...

I love this. It really made me think.

ICLW

Nicone said...

Great quote! It's all about paying attention. I think it is maybe the most important lesson in life! Thanks for sharing. I'll be back! :-)

Miss Attica
http:/missattica.blogspot.com

Michelle said...

Thanks I need this!

The Owl Family said...

They bleed into each other too easily unless you are REALLY aware, which I am not, most times! Ha!

Anonymous said...

To me, there are few things more difficult (good god, now I'm on the brink of self-criticism for self-criticism). A week or two ago, I was joking with some friends, imagining the yoga teacher from hell ("you call that downward facing dog???!!! What the hell's wrong with you???!!!") The truth, of course, is that the imagined drill sergeant in the joke is in fact the voice in my head, even when I do yoga. And yet, I'm working on it...so perhaps the best place to start is right there, in not beating myself up for beating myself up, but acknowledging that I'm aware of the situation, and it's gonna take a lot of work, but I'm on it....

Thank you for this beautiful blog post.

@MuseLaura said...

What a lovely thought! May I use your quote and link to your post in my enewsletter? Laura

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