Mitch Blum

Plain ol’ Patanjali Book 1:

1.1 It’s time to talk about Yoga!
1.2 Yoga is the state of non-thinking
1.3 When you’re in the state of non-thinking your true Self is revealed
1.4 Otherwise, you’ll believe that you really are your thoughts

1.5 There are 5 main types of thoughts and they can either be a help or a hindrance on the path towards Yoga
1.6 The 5 types of thoughts are: correct, incorrect, concepts, sleep and memories
1.7 Correct thoughts are ideas based on things you experience, things you figure out for yourself or things you hear from reliable sources
1.8 Incorrect thoughts are ideas based on misperceptions
1.9 Concepts are made-up ideas
1.10 Sleep is the state of rest when subconscious ideas displace conscious ideas
1.11 Memory is when old ideas resurface

1.12 The state of non-thinking is achieved through practice and dispassion
1.13 Practice is the effort applied towards reaching the state of non-thinking
1.14 But you have to practice the right way for a long time for it to work
1.15 Dispassion is the release of desire
1.16 Ultimately, you’ll lose the desire for anything and everything in the material world

1.17 When the state of non-thinking is reached you’ll begin to see things as they truly are. Joy and self-realization accompany this state.
1.18 This state gets subtler and subtler with more practice
1.19 But beware! At this stage a Yogi runs the risk of identifying themselves with objects in the material world rather than their true Self
1.20 You can avoid this trap through faith, energy, mindfulness, achieving the state of non-thinking and through the true knowledge gained while in the state of non-thinking
1.21 Yogis that really work at it can achieve the highest state of non-thinking
1.22 And the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it

1.23 Or, you could reach this state through devotion to God
1.24 God is a unique being that is totally unaffected by the material world
1.25 God represents the highest ideal of man
1.26 God has always been the ideal for Yogis to emulate
1.27 God is represented by the symbol OM
1.28 Meditation and contemplation on the symbol OM will help you to better understand God

1.29 Through continuous practice you’ll increasingly focus your attention inward and you can avoid the 9 obstacles on the path
1.30 The 9 obstacles are: sickness, laziness, doubt, inattention, inactivity, indulgence, false visions, setbacks and instability
1.31 The symptoms of these 9 obstacles are: pain, depression, tremor of the limbs and troubled breathing
1.32 But if you concentrate on one thing (meditation) you can overcome these distractions

1.33 A good way to settle your thoughts is to be friendly towards happy people, compassionate towards sad people, non-envious of good people and untroubled by bad people
1.34 Another good way to settle your thoughts is through conscious breathing
1.35 Or by concentrating on an object
1.36 Or by doing good deeds
1.37 Or by hanging out with Self-realized individuals (good luck with that one!)
1.38 Or by meditating on your dreams
1.39 Or really, by meditating on anything
1.40 No matter how big or small, subtle or gross

1.41 When you’re in the state of non-thinking, there’s a deep connection between you and the objects around you
1.42 And then you’ll understand the objects as they truly are
1.43 Because the objects will no longer be colored by your thoughts
1.44 This happens in both the subtle and gross states of non-thinking
1.45 And ultimately even the subtle objects disappear

1.46 These initial states of non-thinking still contain an object
1.47 And as the state of non-thinking becomes more established, and as your relationship with objects becomes subtler and subtler, you’ll reach a state of lucidity
1.48 And this state of lucidity produces insights that are true
1.49 And these insights are better and different from insights gained through any other means
1.50 And these truthful insights will begin to uncolor your mind
1.51 And when your mind is fully uncolored, you’ll reach a higher-state of non-thinking that is aware, lucid and insightful and without any object – gross or subtle – at all

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