Yoga has many benefits to the body, mind, and spirit. Yet those benefits only lie within the intention and mindset of each person. We bring different experiences to a yoga practice, so the benefit will be unique. However, you must be especially discerning about promises about chakra activation or chakra cleansing. Many people who make these promises are misinformed about the chakras and simply selling a “secret” method that really doesn’t exist. Ultimately, a yoga practice is about letting go of the promises and expectations of others and tuning into the messages within.

The will is pretty strong, sustaining us through some arduous moments. But what does the will serve? Does the will serve our ego or something greater? This is where training the mindset falls short. Mindset training serves the ego and can lead us to perpetual craving, aversion, and ignorance. Mindset becomes the enemy because it keeps us stuck in patterns and attachments. When the will is aligned with something beyond our ego, our will can be a good friend.

Spiritual and self-help texts will often speak of the false self, or the many personas we adopt to fit into the world. The false self isn’t necessarily false if it adheres to the virtues and values we hold most dear to us. What makes it false is when we’re dishonest with ourselves and others in keeping up that facade. The “work” is really about unifying these various layers of ourselves so they reflect our authentic self.

In a society that eschews religious traditions, I’m wondering about its connection to our inner conflicts. No, it doesn’t explain it all, but it could be one of many factors. Carl Jung has written how important it is for us to connect with our souls so we can integrate the conflicted parts of ourselves into a unified whole. If we don’t, we bring these internal conflicts into the world, thinking the world is wrong.

What’s common in meditation practices and depth psychology is integrating the various energies—or personas—into your whole being. Rather than let these energies run the show, we learn to harness them so they serve what’s appropriate at the given moment. It requires for us to live more mindfully with discernment.

Thich Nhat Hanh writes about the precepts of Interbeing in his book, Being Peace. These 14 principles of Interbeing can be incorporated into anyone’s life, whether you believe in God or not. These core values of Interbeing are values of humanity. They are important principles that can weave a better community and spark conversations without judgement or competition. It’s not about winning or gain. These are universal principles that be practiced in every country, political party, social class, and religion.

Popular self-help people can be like drug dealers. They give you a glimpse of what life could look like until you reach a pay wall. Sure, we all have to make a living somehow, but cultivating a better life can be free. If you truly want more out of life, desire less.

Self-help and get-rich schemes like to promise The American Dream and having whatever you desire. Some will even use spiritual words like “the Universe” or “positive energy” to make promises of fulfilling what people lack. However, the core of most spiritual traditions is the idea of service, of giving back to the world. We’ll never have enough if we’re always taking. And the world continues to be depleted by our desires, cravings, and attachments.

Too many messages from society tell us we “need” social interactions. It’s true to a certain extent, but a healthy person knows how to balance social life with quality time alone. Solitude is rich when you give yourself time to cultivate it. Although I’m an introvert, extroverts need time alone as well.

We often define maturity as the number of birthdays we’ve had, but some adults still lack maturity. Maturity is about owning our part of a problem and taking care of it. It requires a little space for us to reflect on our problems so we can learn from them. I’m a little foggy this morning, so I apologize.