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Roll up, see the show

Setting aside distractions is a path to engaging with our experience.

1.5 vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭā ‘kliṣṭāḥ

1.6 pramāṇa viparyaya vikalpa nidrā smṛtayaḥ

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Clear as the nose on your face

Letting ourselves be grounded in what is helps us avoid unhappiness: the artificial unhappiness when we imagine things are worse than they are, and the unhappiness when we imagine things are better than they are, and are disappointed.

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Learning to Crawl

We can choose how we view the world–at every moment, we must practice choosing over and over again. The good news is that this means we have a lot of opportunity to shift our habits.

+10Three-part breath, Regular, Vrksasana > Virabhadrasana I, Parsvottanasana > Utthan Pristhana
+30Uttkatasana, Parivrtta Uttkatasana > Parivrtta Parsvakonasana, Hasta Padangusthasana I > Ardha Chandrasana > Parsvakonasana > Trikonasana
+50Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Backbend), Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Regular, Thigh Stretch), Setubandhasana (Urdhva Dhanurasana), Hanumanasana
+70Agnistambhasana, Ardha Gomukhasana, Supta Padangusthasana, Jathara Parivartanasana, Shavasana

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vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭā ‘kliṣṭāḥ

Our illusions come in five varieties, some of which are painful, others painless.

The important thing to remember in all cases, though, is that they are, ultimately, illusions. Our imagining winning the lottery may make us happy in the short term, but in the long term we will likely be hurt when we do not win. Remembering a departed loved one may seem painful initially, but if they passed after a long illness, perhaps we will come to see that it was a blessing that they were released from suffering.

Ultimately, though, these states of pain and pleasure are transitory. They are not our true state of being. When we vest importance in them, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.

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