Let’s continue to explore the Yama and Niyama, “helping hands moving us deeper into our own authenticity.”*
The third Yama is ASTEYA: literally non-stealing, non-coveting, not being jealous. This applies both to the physical act of taking something that doesn’t belong to us, and to the moral act of stealing or borrowing another’s ideas. And also, knowing that jealousy may spring from a perceived lack of abundance.
In our culture, our very identity tends to depend on our accomplishments.
We live in a culture where our identity can be tied up with what we have or what we’ve done. In the rush to get to the next thing, we have no time left for ourselves to digest and assimilate our lives; this may be our biggest theft of all.
ASTEYA implies a generosity of spirit, being content in your own skin enough to let others shine and grow. It is also a way of remaining truthful (SATYA) by not stealing other people’s ideas or dreams.
ASTEYA calls us to live with integrity and reciprocity.
‘If we are living in fear and lies, our dissatisfaction with ourselves and our lives leads us to look outward, with a tendency to steal what is not rightfully ours. This outward focus leads us to compare ourselves to others, and when we do so, we either find ourselves lacking which makes us feel somehow cheated, or we find ourselves superior, which leaves us feeling somewhat arrogant.
When we move deeper into our own authenticity, we can serve the world rather than steal from it.
The tenet of ASTEYA asks us to get excited about the possibilities for our own life. When we attend to our own growth, we are engaged in the joy and challenge of building ourselves. And in so doing, we automatically serve the world rather than steal from it. ” Deborah Adele
Next post: we’ll explore BRACHMACHARYA: conscious use of our life energy.
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