The Lazy Yogi

We talk about it a lot but what does it mean to identify with something? Over and over we have said that the source of suffering and illusion comes from false identification. Identification with what? Temporary forms. 

On an intellectual level, identification is anything you associate as yourself. 

However on a deeper level, identification is the acceptance of the brain’s reflections as real. From moment to moment we go through different emotive brain states: anxiety, excitement, happiness, contentment, hate, relaxation, jealousy, insecurity, and the wheels keep turning. 

Usually we accept these reflections without question. When you feel sad, the wold looks sad. When you feel happy, the world appears beautiful. We become victims to our brain’s perception of external circumstances. There is no truth or continuity to it. 

This doesn’t mean you need to alter your brain’s reflections. It is normal to experience ranges of emotion. All you need to do is become aware of them as simply the reflections of the brain without permitting them more attention than that. Through meditation, you learn to allow your attention to settle on the Self before it tilts toward the brain and its perceptions of the world. 

Practices like meditation and mindfulness cultivate a wakeful and watchful state of awareness that observes without analyzing or judging whatever is happening. The result is a full experience of Existence without the distortion of identification. 

Namaste, sangha!