Living Consciously

I am passionate about the practice of Yoga and Meditation.

There’s a word, called Sadhana, which means “self-discipline.” It means that every day you practice yoga and meditation and a disciplined way of living.

Sadhana is also a sacrifice––it means that there are things you will sacrifice every day so that you connect with your Creator.

Something that I’ve learned as I’ve studied out meditation comes from the Great Yogis. Yogis practice sadhana for at least two and a half hours per day before the rising of the sun. This time represents giving one-tenth of the day to God, similar to the law of tithing that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints give. We give one-tenth of our income, they give their time. Members also covenant to consecrate our TIME to the building of the Kingdom of God. 

I feel that where night and day overlap there is a crack between the physical and spiritual worlds. At this time the veil is thinnest. These ambrosial hours are an ideal atmosphere for remembering and communicating with God. It’s an ideal time to set your intention for the day to make it sacred.

Former president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ, Gordon B. Hinckley, arose every morning at four o’clock. President Hinckley must’ve been a yogi. Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith was fond of telling his children, “People die in bed, and so does ambition.”

If we were to examine the lives of all great world leaders and game changers that have existed, most would be found to be early risers.

Elder Godoy of the quorum of the Seventy says that “any sacrifice we make is small compared to the sacrifice of the Son of God. What is the value of even a beloved gold bracelet compared to the sacrifice of the very Son of God? How can we honor that infinite sacrifice? Each day we can remember that we have one more day to live and be faithful.”

As I was contemplating that question, “how can we honor that infinite sacrifice?” my mind kept being drawn to our consciousness. Living a conscious life of intentional actions.

Every second we have about one thousand thoughts that flow through our brain, yet only one is brought into attention. And we have the power to choose which of those thousand thoughts gets the spotlight. We can exercise our agency and choose thoughts that place us in the same realm where Christ dwells. And Christ dwells in the present moment. Let me expand on that…

Anxiety and depression are on the rise in our society. I would go even further to say that within the Mormon church and within this very chapel we have brothers and sisters who are battling with crippling emotions that they don’t know how to manage. You are not alone.

Anxiety=fear of the future

Depression= living in pain of the past. (evidence that grieving still needs to occur.)

But Christ doesn’t dwell in the future or in the past. One of His names is the Great I AM. Not the great I was or I will be, the great I AM. Christ can only exist in the present moment. So if we, in our thoughts, are placing ourselves metaphysically in the past or the future we are mentally and emotionally leaving Christ’s presence. This severed connection to the Source of all Living is where we experience the anxiety and depression. Side note—I’m not saying this is the cure to depression, it is complex and there are multiple levels to it, but I know living mindfully can.

I believe this is another way that we can become more like children as our Savior beckons us to do. Children only live in the present moment. They generally aren’t thinking about that dinner you made them last night. Or that they need to make their bed tomorrow morning. They are really good at being where their feet are. We can return to this way of living that comes natural to us all. We can become like a child and live in the present moment. 
They live there because their Savior lives there.