Yoga and The Untethered Soul - Michael A Singer

welcome i'm michael singer and a meeting you today and temple the universe a place that has been a sanctuary for yoga for over forty years you'll see around me the photos of many great yogic masters including my preceptor Paramahansa Yogananda it's a very fitting setting because i'm honored to have been asked today to speak to you about yoga and how it relates to my best-selling book the untethered soul to begin with let's take a look at what yoga is science of yoga has been called many many different things and like most sciences it can be very complicated and you get very lost in it but the truth of matter yoga is very very simple jörgen under once said yoga is the science of self-realization that's the simplest way to look at it the way the untethered soul starts off is an essence to look you in the eyes and ask you a very simple question are you in there are you in there and anyone I ever asked it to said yeah I'm in here and the question then becomes how do you know how do you know you're in there and eventually after getting frustrated with me you'll yell at me and say because I hear you because I'm aware of what you're talking about I'm in here oh that's yoga just as physics tries to understand gravity understand where things came from Yoga tries to understand who is in there who are you where did you come from how you doing in there that's the second question how are you doing in there honestly and what most people will answer you is well sometimes it's okay and sometimes it's not sometimes it's very difficult to be in here and sometimes very pleasant to be in here that is what the science of yoga is about really beautiful and the Weslie studied many many different things yoga comes from thousands of years of very very great beings stepping aside for a moment and devoting their lives to the question of Who am I where I come from why is it difficult in here sometimes and why is it not science is about excuse me the yogev science is about you so let's start answering those questions because that is the question that the untethered soul takes on what's it like in there and like I said most people will say it varies varies on what and so you say well if it's my birthday and I planned a party outside and it's pouring rain it's not okay in here it's less than not okay in here it's very very difficult in here but if I just planted a garden and it's pouring rain I'm joyous I feel wonderful inside my gardens going to grow this is very good and so you start to realize there's any fishy going on in here why would I be okay one time when it's raining and I'm not okay in here another time when it's raining and to cut to the chase you realize it's something you're doing when you want it to rain you're fine in there when you don't want it to rain you're not fine in there when someone you like comes up here comes up to you and talks to you and says some things nice to you you feel good when someone you don't want to interact with at all you're not comfortable with it all comes up and even says nice things you're very uncomfortable this is what the untethered soul talks about what are you doing in there that is making it so complicated that life is having this very difficult and uncomfortable effect on you or having a very nice effect on you and eventually what you will see is that you have developed inside yourself concepts of like and dislike they're not part of your genes they're not part of anything you inherited they're just experiences you've had over the course of your life that left impressions on you and yoga will calm some scara's which either felt good or didn't feel good and you store those inside your mind and now when events take place outside they hit that stuff and either you feel comfortable you feel uncomfortable that's it we could talk about it for days and maybe be good too but that's the bottom line is that you decided inside your mind what you like and what you don't like and when the world unfolds it either matches and you feel good or it doesn't match and you feel really bad and if it really doesn't match you feel really really bad so this is the starting point of life of yoga and of the book the untethered soul so what you start to see is the more things you have inside yourself that are about what you like and what you don't like the more difficulty you have with life so because it's uncomfortable it's very natural you don't want it to be uncomfortable in there so what you do is you try to fix it but you fix it based on your likes and dislikes you don't fix your likes and dislikes you keep those you fix what is going on in the world really you try to fix what is going on in the world so that it matches your likes and dislikes that begins with your mind trying to figure out how everything needs to be everybody and everything including the weather how it needs to be in order for you to be okay inside and if that's not complicated enough figuring all that out you then tell your mind to figure out how to make it be that way and most people's lives are about that they are about the foundation is what they like and dislike and then the first layer of mind is figuring out how everything needs to be past present and future in order for them to be comfortable with how things were are and will be and then they set about trying to make it be that way Yoga is the antithesis of that antithesis of that Yoga says very clearly if you want to be okay in there you need to start with accepting reality you need to start with being able to look outside your eyes see the world and be comfortable doesn't mean you don't do anything about it doesn't mean you don't try to raise but your starting position is I am in here the world is out there it is unfolding in accordance to science in accordance to the will of God however you want to look at it but it is not unfolding in accordance to me I am NOT the creator of the universe it's been here for 13.8 billion years and it created everything that's around me if I fit what I like and what I dislike against the reality of the unfolding world no wonder there's so much tension no wonder there's so much disturbance so much anxiety and so much suffering if on the other hand I learned to come to peace within myself and just be comfortable being in here and then I look outside and I'm fascinated by just honored to be experiencing the reality is unfolding in front of me all of a sudden life becomes beautiful life becomes peaceful all of life can be an exciting experience of love and of expression and of passion and inspiration but it's not going to be that way if the only way you're okay is if the world matches what you want or what you don't want that is the foundation of yoga and that is the foundation of the book the untethered soul that's the starting position which way do you want to go with your life do you want to continue fighting with the world and trying to make it match what you think should be going on based on your likes and dislikes or do you want to come into harmony with reality very much what Lao Tzu talked about in the Dow do you want to come into harmony with the reality that's unfolding in front of you so you can participate in life and raise it do beauty of by all means bring love bring Beauty to it but not the starting position I'm not okay and this is how the world needs to be for me to be okay that is the antithesis of yoga Yoga is about harmonizing merging with all of reality so once you catch on with that the question becomes how do you do this because so far always talked about does not sound like traditional yoga traditional yoga sounds like exercises asanas sounds like meditation sounds like going to Indian climbing emolia's and finding a great master it sounds like doing mantra doing meditation every one of those things are techniques the great Yogi's have devised and discovered that will help you come to peace within yourself they are not yoga no more than a calculator or a slide rule or a computers mathematics there are tools that are used in order to achieve the purpose of yoga so looking more traditionally at the tool so why would meditation work what's meditation got to do with me who's in here and struggling with myself meditation is very very simple in the simplest sense the simplest meditation nowadays it's taught is 15 minutes in the morning 15 at night sit down and watch your breath go in and out well what's so holy by watching your breath go in and out what's that got to do with yoga if you are watching your breath go in and out you are not watching your mind complain about what's going on you're not letting your mind you're not watching the mind that is participating in the game of what I want or I not want and how did I make it happen you are instead focusing your awareness on the breath going in and out believe it or not that will completely change your life why for the very reason that you're not participating in the disturbed mind the mind will always be disturbed if the foundation of the mind is what do I want what do I not want and how do I make it happen that is very disturbing because you have pitted yourself against the unfolding of reality in front of you people actually are still disturbed about the things that happen in the past that's that's the one when I realized that but I said I'm moving out to the woods to get my head together like the Pastore happened and I can change the past so if I'm not okay with the past because I didn't like it or because I did like it and they went away I'm gonna suffer for the rest of my life because I can't change the past so you come to the point where you understand you have some work to do and that work is yoga that whole action of bodies where you're working on yourself is the science of yoga so let's get back to meditation if you watch your breath go in and out or any other technique of meditation you use whatever is comfortable to you it works for you if you're watching your breath go in and out you're not watching your mind live your life beside what should be happening and getting upset or excited about it that very act of not watching the disturbed mind permits you you in there the one that I said are you in there hi you're in there but you're watching your mind all the time and participating in the minds attempt to make things be the way it wants Yoga doesn't do that yogi for example watches the breath go in and out and lets go of the mind you don't fight with the mind it's not about shutting the mind up the mind talks now because you told it to you gave your mind a job you said oh mine brilliant mind you have such a brilliant mind don't figure out how to make air conditioning work don't figure out about the quantum field don't figure out how to make rocket ships that fly to the moon I want you to figure out how everybody and everything around me needs to be for me to be ok we call that the personal mind you did that you asked your mind to do that so now your mind says yes I'll do that day and night get full of sleep all day that's what it's thinking about in the background so Yoga is about not participating not fighting but not participating in the personal mind realizing I don't want to play the game of what do I want and what do I not want how to make it happen I want to start off by being at peace within myself and honoring and respecting the reality is unfolding in front of me doesn't mean I can't change it but you're going to change something you have to start by honoring and respecting its existence come in harmony with it and then see what you can do about it you're not going to change it by complaining about it so basically a yogi learns to come into quietude within the seed of their own self and you can only do that when you're ready willing and able to let the personal mind pass by which is not difficult people make it difficult just put your consciousness elsewhere for example on your breath just watch that instead of watching your mind what happens from that point forward is nothing short of miraculous the very act of not being addicted to the personal mind permits you to come to peace within yourself and somehow it seems like the world becomes a nicer place the truth is you become a nicer person you come from a nicer place when you look at the world so all of a sudden the rain looks beautiful all the rain yeah sure you want to have a party so what doesn't matter you didn't need the party so you could become popular so the people would like you because you're already a peace within yourself so therefore if it rains on the party you have fun getting wet or you have fun running inside and doing something else you don't complain it's not a problem because you're already okay Yoga is about being okay inside and the Bhagavad Gita Krishna says to Arjuna equanimity is yoke equanimity is yoke what does that mean it means you're a peace within yourself regardless of what is going on outside again it doesn't mean you don't interact with it it doesn't mean you don't raise it help it change it it means you start by accepting the past as it's already over and you then accept the reality is unfolding in front of you so that you're quiet and clear enough to be able to interact with it to do some good so this is the essence of yoga yes meditation is very very helpful if it helps you meditate mantra another thing that's a foundation of yoga why what's so great about mantra if you teach your mind to say a word over over again name of God I used to just say God God gods I have to worry about one name I said but it doesn't have to be God whatever it is if you teach your mind to say this habitually over and over then when your mind starts to say other things you've given yourself your consciousness the choice of paying attention to the mantra or paying attention to all the disturbance that the mind is creating because it's not getting what it wants so all of a sudden somebody doesn't say hello to you they walk by and don't say hello you don't know why you know they didn't see you you don't know anything well your mind goes crazy well I do what's wrong with them oh my god maybe they're mad at me instead God God God that's yoga so the power of meditation the power of mantra all of these techniques are about taking your consciousness off of the disturbed mind and putting it on something much calmer much more steady and what you will find if you learn to do that eventually something very great will happen you will find that the mind cannot distract your consciousness anymore you have to fight with it you just know it doesn't know what it's talking about it's just left over it's not helping you you don't need that not your intellectual mind your analytical mind that's you using your mind to do math you're using your mind to logic something up it is the mind that happens automatically because it's trying to solve the habitual question how do I be okay how do I get what I want how do I avoid what I don't want that's the mind we call it the personal mind the yoga is all about the yoga is about transcending that mind so basically what happens when you learn not to pay attention to your mind and that's the highest yoga you have to fight with your mind you have to fight with the world you're in there are you comfortable being in there when the world is unfolding and your mind's trying to say something about it you just relax you relax behind it and lean away for the noise the mind is making if you want to put your attention elsewhere like for example there's a great yogic technique eventually you will find that there is a pressure a pull at the point between your eyebrows as you grow it gets stronger and stronger it's it's a technique of yoga to just raise your eyes to the point between your eyebrows and you will find that you grow tremendously in tremendous peace comes over you well why does that happen because you're not watching your mind you're watching something other than your mind you're watching the flow of energy come to the point between your eyebrows we call the third eye all the techniques of yoga are about transcending the personal mind coming to peace with what's unfolding in front of you and maintaining what we call becoming established in the seat of self where you're in there being aware that you are aware and you're aware that there is a mind that is reacting some to the world that is unfolding but you are not participating in that you are keeping yourself centered once that happens some amazing things are going to happen which most people are are familiar with in the terms of yoga because you're not participating in your personal mind event you will start to realize that more and more of your awareness and consciousness remain centered within the seat of your being hope doesn't sound like big words it just means you're always aware that you're aware that you're aware you're aware that the mind is talking if it is you're aware that the heart is feeling one thing or another you're aware that the world is unfolding in front of you you're not reacting to it you're not participating in the minds reaction you're just aware all this is going on when you become comfortable sitting in that seat you will start to realize that you become aware of the nature of your own being that's yoga literally you have in nature to the mind as a nature we talked about that the world has a nature it's always unfolding expressing the laws of nature your heart has a nature it expresses and reacts through the different things that are unfolding your human heart well you also have in nature the self the Atman soul it has a nature but you can't know it because you're busy watching the mind if you're studying something else is nature then that's what you're studying if you're no longer studying the nature of the mind the heart or the world your consciousness will naturally become aware of the nature of your own being and that is something very very great you will realize that there's something going on inside of you that is more beautiful than anything you've ever experienced ever in your entire life in fact the source of any beauty you ever felt and he loved you ever felt was because the mind shut up for a minute and you open and you were able to experience the greatness of your own being that goes for love that goes for joy that goes for everything all of it is coming from inside of you but you can't experience it because you're experiencing the disturbances of mind and of heart so as you start to experience the seed of your own self all of a sudden you feel this tremendous energy flow Wells up deep within you not in front of you where you look at your mind or look at your heart or look out of the world but back behind you back behind where you sit inside and it starts to pull you back into it now you start hearing the more traditional aspects of yoga we call that energy flow Shakti and eventually that word will become the most holy sacred beautiful word to you it won't be something you study or read about it will be more real to you than the beat of your heart the more real to you then the noise of your mind or the world that's unfolding in front of you it keeps rising up and pulling you into it and it's ecstasy it's joy its beauty is so great that eventually you can't hold yourself back your meditations become spontaneous they're not something you do there's something that happened to you all of your life now is saturated and permeated with this overwhelming sense of joy of ecstasy then it pulls you in deeper and eventually you start to get this inner sense of where is this coming from where does the flow of the Shakti come from and the seeking of the source of that energy flow is your final stages in yoga Yoga means Union it means when you let go enough of the pull of mind the distraction up to pull the distraction of mine the distraction of the human heart and the distraction was coming in through your senses when the pull of the Shakti inwardly is so strong that you can't resist it any longer you just let go the ultimate surrender you let go and it pulls you back into it and the great masters Christ Buddha all the great masters saints and sages of all times and all religions taught you the same thing eventually the little river of your consciousness gets pulled back into the ocean of God that's Yoga Yoga means Union that is the purpose of the book the untethered soul that is what it means to untether your soul it is no longer tied to the humaneness of your mind the limitations of your heart or to the temporal nature what is unfolding in front of you once that takes place you still live in this world but the center of your being is merged into something much greater you're a blessing on this earth your very presence brings love it brings Shakti brings God to anything you look at anything that comes out of your mouth any place you go you're a blessing on this earth Yoga is a very very great thing so the purpose of the writing of the untethered soul is to start at the beginning how you doing in there and work your way out back to the true nature of your own being this is self-realization this is yoga thank you

Channel: Michael A. Singer

Views: 275,569

Rating: 4.8961673 out of 5

Keywords: Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul, International Yoga Day, The Surrender Experiment, Temple of the Universe

Id: RyKuN1bQzCo

Length: 24min 21sec (1461 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 06 2016