Kindness

Putting the highest first is one of the teaching of anusara yoga.

Kindness is one of the highst heart intentions I have. To be kind to others and to be kind to myself. However I forget sometimes, fall back into old habbits and I find myself gossiping, being critical and judgmental about myself and others. My intention is to be kind tolerant and compassionate but if I do not continue to remind myself to put the highest first many times through out the day I forget. The more frequently I put the highest first the more space I create for compassion. Just like it can be easier to see the bad then the good. It can be easier to gossip, compare, judge, and shame.

But, as a teacher of mine says this doesnt "help us level up". Instead these actions keep us stuck in a rut. In sanskrit this is called a samskaras which are cycles that occur over and over again many times during our life. For example, you keep getting in trouble with the law or the same problem keeps coming up in your relationships. Repeating samskaras reinforces them, creating a deeper groove that is difficult to resist. A samskara can be rudeness to others or to youself.

Samskara is universal; it's one of the elements that define the human condition. We are, undeniably, creatures of habit, and the physical, mental, and emotional places we often gravitate toward are the well-navigated galaxies of negative samskara.

Here is a beautiful qoute from Elena Brower "Found out that every time I’m about to talk about someone else, I’m coming from a place of lack. I’m either scared, or I’m comparing myself to them in some subtle way, and it’s never beneficial for me. I am starting to be able to feel it in my cells. So let’s all stop gossiping and start saving our energy instead. Let’s shift the world."