We Are All One Soul by Lexie Wolf
Yoga philosophy teaches that the great tragedy of our human existence is the persistent illusion that we are separate from one another. This illusion leads to a painful sense of isolation. Is there anyone out there who has never felt isolated, different, “other?” This sense of separateness leads to the ill-treatment of our fellow beings.
The perception that we are all one soul underneath (ALL – the plants the animals the cosmos everything) – changes the game. Changes utterly how we show up in the world. Yoga literally means “union,” and it means being in this state of unity with everything. I know that you know this to be true. Because I see this incredible community showing up in that way.
Our human lives can be at best very distracted and at worst incredibly painful, ensnaring us and imprisoning us into getting lost in the theatre of our own creation. The classical yoga teachings encourage us to play the human game with our whole hearts: be skillful, compassionate, and above all to serve ….but keep it all in perspective. Play the game wholeheartedly and give it your all but don’t get too attached to any outcome. When we are too distracted by this crazy world to spend much time looking inward, we are sleepwalking inside the illusion. The illusion is called Maya on a macro level or Avidya on an individual level.
Things can get a little darker from there. In some Eastern teachings, beings called Asura represent a state of consciousness in which a person is both deeply asleep and deeply out of tune to the point of toxicity. The falsehoods they believe make their actions feel right and proper in their worldview. In this state humans suffer, find all manner of unhealthy ways to get a break from the existential suffering, and have the potential to be violent towards one another. (Know that the yogic definition of violence is much broader than physical violence, inclusive of hurtful and judgmental words and thoughts.) All of us can slip into this state from time to time. And humans in denser states of consciousness tend to attract each other, increasing the potential for deep harm.
The opposite is also true.
A Sangha is a community of people who are seeking to live in an awakened state, who seek each other out, to support each other’s evolution into their highest potential. Your light attracts my light and vice versa. A Sangha supports us, a Sangha is a refuge. Yoga Garden is one such Sangha. I cannot thank you enough for co-creating our Sangha. It matters.
