Thursday, April 28, 2016

What Color is your Filter?

A few years ago, my husband took some videos of me walking my dog to send to her hip surgeon, who practices in Idaho. Tasha, although limping, looked like her normal gorgeous self. I never looked worse. My voice sounded like two pieces of Styrofoam rubbing together, and my “rear view” was considerably more panoramic than I would have preferred. My Facebook friends assured me that the camera added ten pounds (I hoped it was twenty) and that my perception of my appearance was distorted.

Of course, they were right. Distorted perceptions are part of the human condition. Before we are born, the filters of our minds are clear. Unclouded, if you will. But as we mature and experience life, our minds become conditioned. The yoga teachings equate that conditioning to seeing the world through one of three quartz crystals.

The Smoky Quartz Crystal. The mind that sees through a smoky quartz crystal perceives the world as darker than reality. The Debbie Downer of minds, for all of you Saturday Night Live fans. In my smoky quartz crystal mind, my rear end grows larger; my voice, more screechy; my dog’s limp, more pronounced. The smoky quartz mind is prone to depression, anxiety, and negative thinking.

The Rose Quartz Crystal. The mind that sees through a rose quartz crystal, on the other hand, sees the world as more optimistic, colorful, and charmed than reality. The Pollyanna of minds. Seeing through a rose quartz crystal inevitably results in disappointment. We ignore risk and postpone appropriate action. If I saw that same video through a rose quartz filter, I might missed my dog’s obvious pain and not taken action to help her.

The Clear Quartz Crystal. The mind that sees the world through a clear quartz crystal sees things as they are. No better, no worse; no attachment, no fear. When we experience life through a clear quartz crystal, we are grounded enough to see the truth without being derailed by it. We experience life as it is, in this moment, free from the conditioning of our past.

Most people think yoga is about stretching your body.  Yoga's true purpose is clarifying your mind. What color is your filter? If your answer is anything other than looking-glass clear, yoga can help.

Namaste

Tracy Weber

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PS--all three books in my Downward Dog mystery series are now available!  Learn more at http://tracyweberauthor.com.  Thanks for reading!

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