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Lessons Learned from Sadhguru

What we learned from the author of Inner Engineering.
Lessons Learned from Sadhguru
Photo by Jamie Templeton / Unsplash

A few weeks ago, my fiancé and I attended a 2-hour talk by Sadhguru, the author of Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy. We both took notes throughout.

His insights were simple, but often profound. They were helpful reminders in how to live joyfully. Here’s what I jotted down:

Our biggest problem is that we are dead serious about our lives.

You treat your thoughts and emotions as more significant than the cosmos, and you are miserable for it.

100 billion galaxies in the universe, and no major accidents. Miraculous!

Without playfulness, there is no celebration.

Life itself is reason to dance, sing, laugh, and celebrate.

What is “time”? You are alive. And so, you are automatically on the profit side.

We are so busy fixing the world, striving for more “progress.”

Life already has so much comfort and convenience.

The United States affects almost every other country, whether you like it or not. If Americans wear blue jeans, so will everyone else. But America’s reputation has become freaky, drunk, drugged up… It is time for the United States to strive toward a reputation of balanced, joyful.

Your body has 210 undecillion (that’s 37 zeros) chemical reactions per second. Do you really think a drug or supplement is going to make a difference?

Instead of labeling someone a “drug addict,” remember that all they are doing is seeking a pleasant experience in the way that they know. Of course, you can’t truly get lasting pleasantness from drugs; it has to come from within.

Learn how to sit, breathe, and eat properly, and you’ll solve most of your problems.

Food is just a piece of this planet.

Adults are miserable. Someone has to make adults joyful and exuberant.

Children are joyful. Someone has to make kids miserable.

Stop pursuing happiness. Express joy.

Joy is a consequence for managing your body well.

Joy means you have no fear of suffering.

Joy isn’t something you aspire to. It is a state of being.

Joy is the lubricant for life.

What happens within me… No one can touch it. They can’t mess it up.

I’m now leaning on this advice heavily, as many changes are going on in our lives. My default mode is to worry and be stressed out and miserable. And that simply doesn’t help anyone.