July 2023

Many of us have a habit of either being “No” champions or “Yes” enthusiasts when it comes to protecting ourselves. It’s like we’ve got boundary superpowers! But here’s the catch – both of these extremes of being too closed or too open might be unhealthy.

People who say “No” as a knee-jerk reaction don’t stop to consider the possibilities. As soon as they feel the pressure to do something they react by closing it down. Behind this is a lack of trust in the other person.

Conversely, people who overwhelmingly say “Yes” often do so to appease the other person without consideration of their own wants and needs. Behind this is an unwarranted trust in others and a belief that it is not safe to push back.

How can you embrace change like a Yogi? In Hinduism, there are four main paths by which a follower can reach liberation. These paths are:

Gnana – the path of knowledge and surrendering to what you know and don’t know;
Bhakti – the path of devotion and feeling love for all;
Karma – the path of selfless service being joyful in any activity; and
Raja – the royal path of meditation including kriya for awareness of prana and the mechanics of life.

These are the four ways to engage with life. Each requires commitment and intentionally living your life a certain way. Each requires making choices about how you are going to live your life, which habits you will pursue, and which changes you will make.

There is a story describing what happens if you are willing to engage on all four paths.