Swadhyaya /Study or Self Observation

How does Swadhyaya show up for you in your life?

What are you studying?

How do you study?

Where is your inner self guiding you to study in your life?

 Who are your teachers?

Is study a part of your everyday life?

There is a reason that we are here in this life now and part of that is to learn. Just observing our everyday activities and learning from them Life becomes a classroom. Learning how to look at our hurts, pains and failures we have to opportunity to learn and change the most. 

Sometimes we study more formally such as in schools  Sometimes we study life itself. How do we contemplate our lives?  We must create time for self-reflection.  Yoga, Meditation, and chanting reading the ancient sciptures and wanting to know the truth. Self-observation gives you a pause between stimulus and response, letting you have room to breathe, relax, feel, watch, and allow. Items you are pondering may come clear to you during these times of self-observation. or it may take time for truth to emerge. Be open and have the spirit of exploration within you.

Swadhyaya lasts a lifetime ... or all lifetimes

Consider the meaning of spiritual concepts – understanding the underlying wisdom, NOT accepting without question.  Expanding knowledge through reading, pondering to understand the scriptures for observation of the self in relation to all life.

It is impossible to practice any of the other precepts without this one. It is taking the time to take ourselves seriously. It is working with our limitations, our shames, our potential, and going deeper into them to progress ourselves into transcendence.   If we have any limitations in our body’s, minds, emotions this how spirit tries to get our attention. This is an inner teaching awaiting us.   An area of  untapped  growth awaiting us.

It is through this path that we come to union with Godliness.

Guru Gita says:

Swadhyaya increases inner radiance, mental vigor agility.  Its practice is far more uplifting that indulging in futile thoughts and unnecessary mental activity or following worthless tendencies. Swadhyaya embraces all aspects of yoga and grants all its rewards.  

Miracle of Love by Paul Ferrini says:

The purpose of your journey here is to discover the Self and leave the persona behind. You are here to find out that the Source of love lies within your own consciousness. You donot have to seek love outside of yourself. Indeed, the very act of seeking it in the world will prevent you from recognizing it with yourself. And if you can’t find love within, you will never be able tofind it in others. You can’t see the light in others until you see it in yourself.  Once you see it in yourself, ther is no one in whom you don not see the light.  It does not matter if they see it or not. You know it’s there. And it is the light you address when you speak to them.

click to next  week

click to 6 week topics