Mindful Soul Center Magazine Volume 1, Issue 5

We are made of stars...we are the cosmos

Artwork by Amy Adams

volume one issue five SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 M I N D F U L S O U L C E N T E R bi-monthly magazine

You'll find the following topics in the issue:

ARE YOU DIVINE, BALANCE MEDITATION, T H E Y O G A D I A R I E S, C O B R A, OAKLAND BUDDHA, D E J A D R E W I T ' S SELF-CARE CORNER, WHAT IS THAT? AHIMSA, DAILY LIFE, THE POEM SYMPATHY

Editor's Letter

Dear Mindful Souls,

We've all been asked to deal with change this year, allowing us to build resilience. Heraclitus said something like: "No man can cross the same river twice." We cannot. Our lives are in constant motion, and we aren't always awake to that fact and present. That's not a fault or judgement, it simply is that. We do what we can. This brings me to share two things; how the magazine will be going forward and why it is a privilege for me to act as the editor of this publication.

After taking a hiatus from publication, the magazine returns with the fifth of six issues in volume one. Creating this magazine is a privilege and pleasure to bring you information and resources to ponder and use in your daily life. This vehicle allows me to bring thought leaders together who share diverse ideas and perspectives. So thank you for that privilege. This issue includes timeless articles and features; Are you Divine? by Charles Sharar, Christine Boyd Miller's, The Yoga Diaries, and Deja Osbourne's Self-Care Corner. And of course, we continue to bring you various inspiring stories, poems and quotes as well. This month we share the poem, Sympathy and a multimedia experience of a street corner in California. In usual form, we continue to bring you other articles focused on life on Earth as well as goal setting worksheets. Thank you to all the writers and teachers who have made this issue possible.

Thank you for taking time from your day to unwind, to read and listen to all we have to offer here today. I invite you to explore what is offered here and feel free to respond with a recorded voice message that you can make when you visit this page: https://speakpipe.com/themindfulsoulcenter or you can click on the recording tab on the website.

With a grateful heart, I wish you peace.

With love,

Amy Adams, Founder & Editor The Mindful Soul Center

What is that?

the Jain symbol for Ahimsa

What is that? Ahimsa and the Yamas... What? What is that?

By Amy Adams

Ahimsa or non-harming is the first of five ethical principles that form the Yamas or self-restraints in Patanjali's seminal work, the Yoga Sutras. These ethical principles are first found in ancient Vedic texts long before Patanjali set out to codify the yogic path to selfrealization. It is part of the Raja* yoga system as the term is used in modern times and is sometimes used interchangeably with Ashtanga yoga. Ahimsa is also the first of the five precepts taught in Buddhism. Before we delve into the concept of non-harming, let's talk about the purpose of the Yamas and briefly list them.

The Five Yamas

The Five Yamas or self-restraints are a set of ethical guidelines meant to help us manage our desires and to create healthy relationships with others creating balance in our lives. Meant to regulate our bodily and minds' desires the five principles known as Yamas are: Ahimsa or non-harming, Satya or truthfulness, Asteya or non-stealing, Brahmacharya or moderation of the senses, and, Aparigraha or non-possessiveness. These five self-restraints, together with the second limb of the eight-fold path of Raja Yoga taught in Ashtanga yoga, make up the code of ethical conduct in Yoga philosophy.

Ahimsa aka Non-violence or Non-harming

The principle of non-violence applies to all living beings since not only do they possess the essence of divine spiritual energy we also recognize it. Hence, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself. To cause no injury includes deeds, words, and thoughts. When we live our lives by this principle, we create space for peace and trust and, by extension, we reduce insecurity with others as well as reducing the fears that taint the mind.

The Yoga Sutras

Patanjali did not create any of the Yamas or propose new ideas in the Yoga Sutras, instead, he outlined a path of Yoga towards self-realization. During his lifetime and for hundreds of years following his death the Sutras were memorized by practitioners until one day, they were finally recorded in print.

*Raja yoga - the term took on this modern meaning when the 19thcentury Swami Vivekananda equated raja yoga with the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. We can surmise to say that is a misnomer since it has another meaning in Hatha Yoga and other historic and modern meanings as well, including a path of meditation.

Probably the most well-known modern proponent of the ethical principle of Ahimsa was Mahatma Gandhi.

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