The following is the second blogpost in a new series on yoga and the practice of non-clinging in our everyday work life.
The Buddha teaches us that all life is filled with suffering but that it is also possible to come out of that suffering. The true nature of all reality according to the Buddha is annicha or impermanence. Every moment, all is changing. That is why practicing yoga correctly is really about letting go; and not at all about doing the splits. In the following blogpost, Clayton Yoga International Graduate, Lin Horsch speaks openly about the impact clinging has on her everyday life and how to remove suffering in her own life.
“My first reaction to attachment is one of confusion. However, when I look and listen more deeply, I come up with something entirely different. And every time thereafter, I will probably look at attachment again and gain even more insight. In my own journey, attachment can arise in my dependence on my husband. My expectations for my kids and the disappointment I feel when they don’t do what I think they should.
The grief I felt when I lost my little dog which may sound ridiculous to some people but quite frankly I’ve never grieved so much for anyone as I did for him. I think it was because of the enormous attachment I felt for him since I spent more time with him than anyone else, ever and his love was always unconditional.
There are other areas in my life that concern me like how I tend to flee or back away when people start to get too close or expect too much from me. I start to feel obligated and that makes me feel stressed. I don’t know what this situation has to do with this subject but I think in some way it does. Maybe if I could learn to be present without attachment I could be counted on by these people without feeling it is an obligation.
I could go on and on about all the things I’ve gone through in my life that I probably would not have experienced or suffered through if I had been practicing non-clinging and had been enlightened on the concept of non-permanence. I don’t think that any of us would experience as much pain, disappointment and grief if we had started out at this level of awareness.
I think if all of us who received this type of teaching would get back to it as a meditative practice, we would live much happier and less stressful lives. I believe if the whole world lived their lives by these standards there would be no more war, violence, crime, hunger, pain or suffering because God has the answer for all of these things.
There are many different legalistic views, beliefs and teachings that come from various religions and faiths. I think that probably most of them believe similar things along the lines of love, good moral living, and basic human kindness, but get caught up in their own ego. If we could all remember every second of every day how non-permanent we and things really are, I believe we would all conduct our lives quite differently.
How can you practice non-attachment today?
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