1.33 ATTITUDES

The day is gray. The air is cool and not particularly crisp and clear, yet I know the sun is shining above the layer of clouds at its full potency. 
Easily I could get sucked down into the vibration of what is lacking, the uncomfortable, and the non-optimum conditions.  There is always that. 


But there is always the other: what is here, what is breathing, beating, palpitating with life, creating and loving. 


It is a matter of attitude.  What is defined at attitude? Intention? Predisposition? Openness? I like to think of it (and i'm not dictionary, or language expert) as...
can I play mathematician & scientist? I shall, and I'll present it as an equation/formula! 


     **It must be the Carl Sagan influence--i have indulged with my brother his various instructive videos exploring our reality (dimensions), beyond our reality (the cosmos and life) and our existence, our responsibility.**


I urge you to play along... 
Attitude (A)= self-inquiry + awareness + intention (purpose x focus)


Yesterday, I dedicated time to study a particular Yoga Sutra, short aphorisms written by Patañjali, and found myself utterly inspired and submerged in a frequency of positivity and beauty. And I thought...why not share it? Share it out there, to whoever reads this, or just place it out, outside of me for further comprehension and as an active way of practicing what I came across. 
Fear not: it is all connected to this very rational, mathematical equation i've just presented above. (I'm just playing around-- this equation is NOT an ultimate truth in any way) 
For me, life is not an equation, it is not linear, it is not bound by definitions, classifications of any type or form, and mostly not about obtaining results.  It's a journey. 


I digress...
The Yoga Sutra, from Chapter 1, number 33. 
I.33

matrī-karunā-muditopeksānām sukha-duhka-punyāpunya-

visayānām bhāvanātāh citta-prasādanam

"By cultivating an attitude of friendship toward those who are happy, compassion toward those in distress, joy toward those who are virtuous, and equanimity toward those who are non virtuous, lucidity arises in the mind".


Studying further, various commentaries, there are a couple on which to reflect upon (and that I personally admire):
    * "By being a well-wisher toward those who are happy, as well as those who are virtuous, the contamination of envy is removed. By compassion toward those whoa re miserable, that is, by wishing to remove someone's miseries as if they were one's own, the contamination of the desire to inflict harm on others is removed. By equanimity toward the impious, the contamination of intolerance is removed. Consequently, the mind becomes lucid..the mind is clear, one-pointed concentration or steadiness can be achieved." 
   *  "This sūtra prescribes a kind of mindfulness or mental cultivation off the mat, in day-to-day affairs..it is a continuous and constant requirement of the yogic path and spills over into all aspects of life's affairs and social interactions. It speaks to the fact that yoga need not be perceived as a world-renouncing tradition but is perfectly compatible with engaged and benevolent social action in the world." 


Hmmm...
Ahhhh...
Om.


--Fía.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/robert_thurman_on_compassion.html
EXPANDING YOUR CIRCLE OF COMPASSION