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Moola_Bandha
Australia
24 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 09 2013 : 03:18:52 AM
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Can one use Samyama to change (negative) core beliefs? Do you know any effective tool to work with beliefs?
I have this understanding that thoughts and emotions stem from beliefs, so it makes sense to conclude that silencing the thoughts can help get in touch with the beliefs. But how do you actually change them when you realize them. Maybe just seeing the negative beliefs for what they are can help us to release them, or maybe we need to use something like Samyama.  |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2013 : 08:03:27 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Moola_Bandha
I have this understanding that thoughts and emotions stem from beliefs, so it makes sense to conclude that silencing the thoughts can help get in touch with the beliefs. But how do you actually change them when you realize them. Maybe just seeing the negative beliefs for what they are can help us to release them, or maybe we need to use something like Samyama.
Hi Moola_Bandha,
Yes, you have it right.... Letting go something is a process, the first is to see/acknowledge the core/reason for the thought/emotion/reaction. Many people will go through life not even knowing there is something in them that is causing an emotion/reaction, to them it is someone else or something else that is the problem.
The next is to accept it... many may see this but either push it away (sweep it under the rug) or go into guilt or blame... it is important to be OK with it and see it for what it is, a conditioned reaction.
The third is letting it go, that's where samyama, the way you have mentioned it above comes in. . When we become aware of a negative though or pattern then we can pick it in samyama or anytime during the day and let it go in stillness.
Does this make sense?
The core samyama practice may be what is helping you "see" your blocks, and then letting these go can be done as you and I have mentioned above.
Wish you all the best!
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2013 : 08:28:19 AM
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Hi MB,
Yes, samyama can help.
It isn't even necessary to know what those beliefs are - simply working with the downstream thoughts and emotions over time will lead to the deep-rooted vasana/belief. If the belief is already seen, samyama helps with letting go of it.
However, in my experience, it is the combination of samyama and inquiry (relational) that works superbly well. Merely asking "is this true?" in samyama style is enough to begin loosening it. Doing this process over and over when the belief/thought is noticed results in coming to a point where it no longer drives/controls us, and eventually it is gone.
A word of caution - it is easy to think that we have let go of something completely prematurely. In such a situation, we can disown the belief and its downstream thought/emotion and stubbornly not see it (because a new belief is created that it is gone. ). Everyone around us can see it except us!! A common example is anger - easy to claim that one "no longer gets angry" because it has been "let go". However, anger is simply the emotion sprouting from numerous underlying beliefs (the primary one being wanting something to be different than it is). One can't "let go" of anger without letting go of the upstream belief. Everyone around such a person notices them getting agitated, irritated or angry, but they can stubbornly fume, "I am NOT angry. I DON'T get angry anymore. STOP telling me I'm angry!" 
PS: "Loving what is" by Byron Katie is simply wonderful for this process. |
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Moola_Bandha
Australia
24 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2013 : 10:38:03 AM
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Hi Shanti and Kami.
Thank you very much for your answers. Much appreciated.
This question has been always on my mind. Maybe you know the answer:
What is nature of a belief? i.e. is it a neural path in our brain or is it an "energy block" in our chakra system, or what?
I know in AYP, we tend to automatically give an answer based on the notion of "nervous system"; probably we like to use this term to sound more scientific (?)... not sure though. In many sources I've read that energy channels that we purify during pranayama, etc are not physical. What do we mean by nervous system anyway? Do we mean physical nervous system? If yes, what does purifying the physical nervous system even mean? |
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2013 : 12:49:11 PM
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Hi MB
In my understanding, everything that prevents us from knowing our true nature is a "block". This lies in identification with the body, mind, culture, group, religion, you name it. These blocks exist at multiple levels - the body, the brain, the energy channels, and in thought patterns (which are nothing but energy anyways). The neurobiology we refer to (at least in my understanding) is all of this that makes up the individual, identified as the separate self. It is physical, psychological, energetic and every aspect that makes up that identification. There are noticeable effects on the physical body when the mind and energetic body are worked on, and vice versa. They are all inexorably intertwined. The effects on the "whole" of this misidentification is far greater than the effects on each "part".. That is the basis of the eight limbs of yoga.
Beliefs arise from conditioning, aka vasanas. Vasana in Sanskrit literally means fragrance. Each action performed with identification as the doer results in that action leaving an imprint upon our psyche. For example, if we worked on a project with a specific outcome in mind and the outcome was not what was expected, being the doer results in disappointment. The next time we work on a similar project, it will be "colored" by the previous outcome. That subtle coloring results in creation of a belief. Our actions in this state of "doer identification" are driven by innumerable such beliefs. In analyzing the nature of beliefs - they are simply deep rooted thought patterns with colorings of specific emotions. Of course, there are countless other examples, such as identification with a group/gender/etc resulting in "us vs. them". All of it doesn't really exist anywhere solidly, except in the "neurobiology" (energy body, psyche, etc).
Does that make sense?
Love. |
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Moola_Bandha
Australia
24 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2013 : 11:12:35 AM
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| Yes, kami. Thanks very much. |
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Samyama for changing negative beliefs
