Truth in the Mirror…

Reflection by Scribe

I can’t think of Satya, commitment to truthfulness without dwelling on how easy it is to omit the first step of telling the truth to ourselves. In my experience it can be so hard to simply tell the truth to ourselves because truth-telling often requires being ready and open to what comes beyond that initial step. Telling the truth is another way of naming new realities, and when we do that it becomes harder to live in the old realities. We are required to do the hard work of getting adjusting to what truth demands of us.  And just as it is important to think about when and how we share truth with others it is equally important to think about the ways we name our own truths. There are some self-truths that are better shared within certain communities of support, or at times when we are feeling string and centered enough to hold our truths out load. Truth-telling is no easy thing to do and I am grateful for those who have surrounded me in my own attempts at it.

Satya – Commitment to Truthfulness

Satya  is the Yama meaning “to speak the truth” Speaking the truth.  What a heavy sentence that is.  Most people don’t even realize the tiny mistruths they speak every day.
“How are you?” This question is often spoken with no truth behind it.  It has lead to the societal lie “I’m fine” or “Doing great, thanks” People have come to believe that no one truly cares how they are.  The problem with this is that we seldom know anymore how our friends, neighbors and coworkers truly feel.  It has become socially unacceptable to say “Not so good today.” or to expound on your answer.
One Lie compounds another.  We must think about the pain we may cause both with our lies and with our truth.  If you do not want to know the answer to a question such as “How are you?” then it is your obligation not to pose the question.  In the same vein it is your duty to be careful with your words when asked a difficult question.  There are many ways to answer truthfully while using compassionate words.

Yoga Reflection: The second Yama – Satya

The second Yama – Satya – tells us to speak the truth unless it could harm someone unnecessarily. I like that this Yama considers our communication with others – because we communicate with people all of the time. Whether we realize it or not, even our non-verbals are communicating something to others around us and I think this is something that we should always be cognizant of.

I am a teacher, and most of the time when I am in front of the classroom what I choose to do is based off of the communication I receive from my students – especially their non-verbals. For example, if I’ve been lecturing for awhile and I see some of my students yawn or some of them appear to be not paying attention, I will try to liven up the atmosphere by engaging everyone in an activity. However, our non-verbal communication can hurt others as well. I have had students give speeches and when someone laughs at them or when someone yawns during their speech, you can see the hurt in their eyes. And there is only so much I can do to stop this – even if I scold the other student – the damage has already been done. So I think that not only do we need to be aware of what we speak to other people, but also how our actions and non-verbal communication has an effect on others as well.