Satya: Yes, I See You!

I was playing with a five year old boy, who put his jacket over his head and said, “Find me again!” I responded in loud, exaggerated tones, making a game out of looking at all the places that he might be except for under his jacket. Finally, each time, he giggled with delight, wriggled out from under the jacket, and said, “Here I am!” I said his name each time, saying, “Yes, I see you!”

Being seen. Being found out for who we really are.

Isn’t that what we each desire?

As we interact with others, social, cultural, or economic pressures sometimes cause us to not show who we really are. This can be seen clearly during the teen years, which are an exaggerated time of experimenting with different appearances and behaviors. And yet, throughout our lives, we continue to figure out ways of coping by adapting with different ways of relating to the world around us. The problem arises when we mix-up our true, inner identity with our outer, coping identity.

And isn’t that our spiritual journey?

As I’ve been meditating on the practice of satya recently, I’ve been thinking about what truth means. What does it mean to be honest with others? To be honest with ourselves?

No matter what happens in our social lives, whether we feel seen for who we are in this complex cultural world we live in, in our spiritual lives, we can find a way to see our true selves.

True self. One form of satya.

Practicing yoga poses, breathing, and meditation give quiet time away from social pressures so that our true self has time to speak up loud enough for us to hear. Once we hear that voice, if we are practicing yoga compassionately, then we have a chance to listen to that inner truth, even if it is inconvenient. That is why slow, patient breathing is incredibly important. If we can do the patient work of hearing the inner truth, saying “Yes, I see you!” and living it out in the world, then we are certainly practicing satya.