Archive for September 24th, 2009

By Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500

Do you have a burning desire to take part in an intensive course? Do you feel you could make a positive contribution to society by teaching Yoga? What is your reason for waiting to become a Yoga teacher? If it has to do with learning the basics, that’s understandable.

Yet, there are many capable students with ten, or more, years of experience who wait to be recognized by their teacher. They believe in the formality of an apprenticeship and the traditional Guru / student relationship. Unfortunately, years go by, and they are not recognized as worthy of consideration to become an apprentice.

Some people naturally feel they are unworthy of recognition. They believe others deserve success, happiness, and bliss. “Luck” never seems to work quite right for them. The flaw in this mindset is that happiness is right in front of us. The same can be said for success or luck.

An optimist wakes up happy and looks for every possible opportunity for success. There are not many eternal optimists. By some calculations, less than two to five percent of the people in this world are qualified to be labeled, “eternal optimists.”

What are the qualifications? You wake up every morning with positive energy in your mind and a song in your heart. This sounds simple enough, but when you try it, you will notice how many people are “down in the dumps.” The saying, “Misery loves company” is so true.

An eternal pessimist seeks pleasure in making everyone else miserable. The worst thing anyone can do is count on an eternal pessimist for guidance or praise. In Yoga, we seek the truth in all matters of life. If you have been practicing for years, you should be able to see reality.

One point of reality is that we are all worthy. If we make mistakes, we learn from them and move forward. This does not mean life will be a fairy tale and we will live happily ever after. Learning from mistakes, and developing solutions, makes us stronger. We discover that we should not waste time crying over the past.

Self-realization is simply the experience of being. To be in harmony with our true nature, and to realize that we create our own reality, is self-realization. While it would be nice if everyone loved us for who we are, we must first love those around us. This is extremely difficult. However, when you give, you will receive. They key to progress, in all matters, is to look for solutions within and do not hold yourself back.

© Copyright 2009 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

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