more yamas

there are five yamas

So, within the yamas, we have ahimsa: non-violence; satya: truth; asteya: honesty, non-stealing; and there is a similar yama called aparigraha: non-possessive, plus a mysterious 5th yama.  Each, of course, ties in with the other.

We can start working with the yamas by consciously aiming to not be violent in speech, action and deed, and do something about our own inherent violent thoughts. That something is simply done with meditation and yoga nidra as they both help clear the internal brain clutter. They promote the alpha brain wave pattern which is peaceful, harmonious.

inner silence

But there is also a special Dharana, or concentration, technique called Antar Mouna: Inner Silence. It's revised from the ancient Tantric texts.  I feel that it's a 'must' for the spiritual seeker.  It teaches us about the intensity of the inner feelings, and gives us a clear practice for dealing with them. Part of this practice can be utilised in daily life, as a tool for managing the emotions.

There is nothing wrong with emotion, happy emotions do so much for us all! But, one of the definitions of yoga is : to manage the mental fluctuations. Not get rid of them, we can't do that, no for they are too embedded within us. We can, however, start to learn how to manage the more disturbing mental fluctuations. Antar Mouna is a very direct tool for this, it 'gives us a break' mentally, emotionally on this level and leads us into a very real Inner Peace. Which of course is amazing. It won't be whatever you think it is, it's way more profound than whatever we can conceptionalise.

And, it definitely helps us with the yamas. It helps us on our quest for satya, asteya, it helps us learn action and reaction without having to always psycho-analyse things. It helps to relieve the guilt of not being perfect, the guilt from feeling that we are 'bad' for having very human feelings, reactions. The yamas are because we all have these things inside us. I simply do not believe those who say they don't.

One of the ways that that Antar Mouna  helps with the yamas is that we experience something beyond our known level of experience, something that takes us beyond the usual pangs of being human. And that something, it makes us eager for more, it is so lovely. You, myself, and everyone else, we all have this inner loveliness, hidden underneath the human experience.