Day 7: Diving deeper into asteya

Are you willing to give up all you have for your spiritual growth?

This is the question that Gates posed to me today.  He says that giving up all we know and all we have in order to pursue the pearl that is our spiritual growth is the fundamental truth and power behind asteya, or non-stealing.  Most of us aren’t quite ready for that type of journey.  Gates suggests that until we are, we are stealing from ourselves the experiences and actions that would lead to spiritual growth and enlightenment.  

In many ways, I feel like I have given up a lot in order to spend more time focusing on spiritual growth.  But I chose this path in a backwards kind of way; in an unconscious way, so it doesn’t really count.  Last year, I chose to quit my nine-to-five in order to move with my husband to San Diego and support him in his new career.  I took a couple months to set up house, surf, relax, and also to join an intensive meditation program I’d been eyeing for the past few years.  But, as the busy-body that I am, I wasn’t satisfied, and insisted on looking for work just three months later.  I couldn’t find anything.  For the first time in my life, I felt like I was failing.

So I practiced more yoga, certified as an instructor, and kept meditating.  I kept applying for jobs with no avail.  One day in July, while meditating, I realized that if I were to find another nine-to-five job, I wouldn’t have as much time and energy to focus on yoga and meditation and, ultimately, my spiritual path.  That “real” job that I was searching for would actually steal time and energy away from reaching my spiritual goals.

This realization didn’t completely soothe me (since bills are bills and they have to get paid somehow), but I recognized the truth.  As 2009 winded to a close, I let go of the notion that the only way for me to be successful was to work a steady, professional job in the field of my master’s degree. Instead, I chose to allow myself to accumulate abundance in any way that honored my spirit.  What a relief!

This morning, I practiced my asanas in the sun on my deck, slathered in sunscreen.  Now that I’ve finally allowed myself to attract abundance however I want, I’ve been meditating on the specific ways that I want it.  My intention during my practice was to focus my energy into attracting the exact job I wanted--regardless of how far-out my dream seemed.  Yoga teaches me that I am strong, powerful and flexible, and that the universe provides when I quit wasting my time with distractions or limiting thoughts.  On or off the mat, when I am true to myself and can practice true asteya, miracles can happen.

Are you ready to give up your distractions, limits or excuses for your spiritual growth and freedom?