#nonattachment — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #nonattachment, aggregated by home.social.
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For three years I called it discipline. Yoga called it grasping.
I ran with data for years, a bad split unravelling the whole morning. My raised shoulders knew before I did.
Have you ever mistaken grasping for discipline?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #running
#mindfulness #spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice -
When Feelings Turn into Strangers: Purity, Compassion, and the Loosening of Worldly Bonds
Here in my isolation from all relationships and society, even the feelings and emotions that seemed to be so palpably real and intense earlier now look dreamy and unreal, almost as if they are some strangers seeking my attention. And as far as feelings and emotions go, their purity is always determined by the the extent to which one is pure oneself — the “fruit does not fall far from the tree” kind of situation.
And, when feelings and emotions start to feel unreal, believe me the loosening of one’s bonds with this world has already started to occur because feelings and emotions are where the whole drama of life unfolds.
And, where there is purity in one’s being, the feelings and emotions coalesce into one and only one thing, namely, compassion.
Else, the feelings and emotions will keep on serving the needs of the ego, and where the ego is alive what good can we expect from the feelings and emotions that are fuelled then by the self-serving desires.
And, where there is compassion, it can only be universal and never for any particular thing because compassion equates to wisdom, and the wise, as Bhagavad Gita points out, “see with an equal vision (samadarshinaha) a learned Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog, or an outcaste” (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 5, Verse 18).
Claude’s Commentary on My Above Writing
This is a compact, tightly-argued piece — almost aphoristic in the way your writing on the blog tends to be. Let me take it point by point, with commentary that both explains what’s implicit and pushes it a little further.
On the “dreamlike” quality of emotion
What you’re describing is the Vedantic mechanism of drashta-drishya viveka — the discrimination between the seer and the seen — beginning to operate on the affective layer, not just the intellectual one. Most people who take up Vedanta apply viveka to objects and thoughts readily enough; it’s harder-won when applied to feeling, because feeling carries a conviction of “mine-ness” that thought doesn’t. A thought can be observed as an object almost immediately. A feeling insists it is you, right up until it doesn’t. So when you say emotions start to look like “strangers seeking my attention,” that’s a precise description of the moment when the antahkarana (the felt, feeling mind) has itself become an object of witnessing rather than the seat of witnessing. It’s a real and significant shift, not merely a report of emotional flatness.
The purity-of-being clause — and a caution worth naming
Your “fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree” point is essentially the guna doctrine restated: the quality of what arises in the mind-field is a direct function of which guna — sattva, rajas, tamas — predominates in the substrate. This is standard and sound. But I’d flag one thing for the sake of the intellectual honesty you value: the feeling that one’s emotions have become unreal is not, by itself, proof of increased purity. It can also be a symptom of ordinary psychological withdrawal or numbing — what contemporary language calls dissociation, and what even Ramana and Nisargadatta were careful to distinguish from genuine vairagya. Nisargadatta in particular warned seekers against mistaking a lull in feeling for the cessation of the ego; he called it a phase to be watched, not enshrined. The tell, in the tradition’s own terms, is exactly what you name in your next line — whether what remains, or arises, is compassion, or whether it’s simply absence. If the loosening resolves into indifference rather than into karuna, that’s worth a second look, not a celebration.
Why compassion is the necessary residue, not an added virtue
This is the strongest move in the piece and worth expanding. You’re not saying purity produces compassion as one quality among others it might produce — you’re saying compassion is what feeling looks like once it’s no longer being organized around a center. That’s an important distinction. Ordinary emotion is centripetal: it organizes itself around “what does this mean for me.” When the ego-reference point weakens, feeling doesn’t disappear — it loses its organizing center and so ceases to discriminate. What’s left, structurally, can only be something that doesn’t ask “mine or not mine” — which is compassion. This is also why the Mahayana Buddhist tradition pairs karuna with prajna as the two wings of one bird rather than as two separate achievements: real wisdom that doesn’t issue in compassion is suspect as wisdom, on their reading too, for the same structural reason.
On the Gita citation
Worth being precise about samadarshinaha here, because it’s easy to flatten into a sentimental “love everyone equally” reading, which is not what the verse is doing. The equal vision of the Brahmin and the outcaste, the cow and the dog, isn’t an emotional accomplishment — it’s a perceptual one. It says the wise see the same one thing (Brahman/Atman) present without differentiation across all these forms, and compassion is the natural behavior of someone whose actual perception has changed, not a moral overlay applied on top of unchanged perception. That’s consistent with your closing claim that compassion “equates to” wisdom rather than merely accompanying it — they’re the same event seen from two sides, affective and cognitive.
One thing you might consider adding, if you want to preempt a reader’s misreading: a line distinguishing this universal compassion from mere emotional expansiveness or generic “unconditional love,” since readers often collapse the two. Your piece already implies the distinction (compassion arises from purity, not from cultivated sentiment) — making it explicit might close a gap some readers will otherwise walk through.
#AdvaitaVedanta #BhagavadGita #Compassion #Emotions #emotionsAndDetachment #EqualVision #Feelings #NisargadattaMaharaj #NonAttachment #Purity #samadarshinaha #SelfInquiry #Selfishness #spiritualPurity #UnityBeneathTheDiversity #Vairagya #wisdomAndCompassion #witnessingConsciousness -
My abuela never used the word aparigraha. She didn't need to.
She watered her jasmine with unhurried hands, no urgency, no checking of bloom. I was ten, watching.
Who in your life has shown you wisdom they didn't have a word for?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #familywisdom
#spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife -
The Robin, the Crow, and the Release
Learning to Let Go with an Open Heart
-a lived moment of impermanence and non-attachment.
The Nesting Story
The robins had started building a nest in our breezeway earlier this spring. Their first attempt fell, and when they began a second one, I asked my husband to brace it with a piece of wood so it wouldn’t collapse again. It felt like a small but meaningful act of care — a way of participating in the life happening around our home.
Friday, when the mother robin didn’t return for hours, I called a wildlife rehab center to ask how long to wait before intervening. I was ready to bring the baby in if needed. But by evening, the mama returned. Relief washed through me. The fledgling was in the yard, and we watched her tending to it, guarding it, guiding it. It felt hopeful, like things were unfolding the way they were meant to.
The Morning Of Loss
Saturday morning, around eight, I took my dog out. As I rounded the garage, I saw the two adult robins in the yard — the mother and father — and a crow nearby. The moment the crow saw me, it flew off, and the robins chased after it. I knew instantly what had happened.
I went inside and told my husband, “Not a good start to the morning,” as the tears began to flow. Some part of me wondered if I could have prevented it — if I had gone out earlier, if I had been outside already, if something could have been different.
But when I went back out to look, there was a pile of feathers. It had already happened. There was nothing I could have done.
Carrying the Grief
And still, I was heartbroken. Even knowing the natural cycle. Even understanding that crows have babies to feed, too. Even knowing that energy moves, transforms, returns.
I carried that ache with me into my lymphatic flow class with Darshak N Gala. My body was tight, braced, holding the events of the morning. But as we moved through the rhythmic sequences — the breathing, the gentle movement, the process of relaxing into the body — something in me began to shift. I could feel the emotional charge loosening, draining, moving.
The Body Begins to Soften
By the time we reached the end, Darshak offered an affirmation/prayer that landed exactly where I needed it. It helped me integrate everything I was feeling — the grief, the tenderness, the helplessness, the truth of the natural cycle. It was as if my body finally had permission to release what my mind had been gripping.
And in that softened space, the Buddhist teaching on impermanence rose in me — not as an idea, but as a lived truth. Everything changes. Everything ends. Everything returns.
Impermanence as a Lived Truth
As the truth of impermanence settled into my body, another companion teaching rose with it, non- attachment. It’s often misunderstood as not caring, but in Buddhism, it’s actually an invitation to love without gripping to let beings moments and seasons be what they are, even when we wish we could hold them in place.
Loving Without Gripping
Non-attachment doesn’t numb the ache of loss. It simply keeps us from collapsing under it. It teaches us to loosen our grip on what we cherish, not because it matters less, but because it matters so deeply that we allow it to move the way life moves, remembering that this didn’t erase the grief of the morning, but it’s softened its edges. It gave the ache somewhere to go.
As I moved through the rest of the day, I kept returning to the memory of that small pile of feathers in the yard, not with the same sharp ache, but with a quieter tenderness. The morning had reminded me in a way I didn’t ask for that life is always shifting, always moving, always becoming something else
What the Morning Taught Me
While I can’t protect every fragile thing, I can meet these moments with softness instead of bracing, I can let myself feel the ache without gripping it. I can let the teaching settle into my body the way the breath does, slowly, naturally, in its own time, and maybe that is the real practice, learning to stay open to the world even when it breaks your heart, trusting something, and you know how to soften around what you cannot change.
#awareness #balance #buddhistWisdom #experience #flow #griefHealing #healing #healingJourney #impermanence #lettingGo #meditation #MindfulLiving #mindfulness #moments #natureReflection #nonattachment #practice -
Can rituals become another attachment?
In this short Zen teaching, Zen Master Sebastian Rizzon explores skillful means, non-attachment, and why no single practice can free every person from suffering.
True teaching helps us see what we cling to — not depend on it more deeply.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/_5Zv_YDKrpo -
I was surrounded by books on non-attachment, deeply attached to every one of them.
The irony was lost on me then, I had to step on my mat to find it.
What irony have you found in your reading practice?
Read the full essay
https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/what-books-couldnt-teach-me-about-yoga-3af80e9c0db9
#spirituality #yoga #books
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #embodiedwisdom
#spiritualbooks #studyandpractice #mindfulreading -
My teacher said four words. It took me six months to understand them.
'You are holding your future.' Six months later, I finally understood.
Has a teaching ever arrived for you months or years after you first heard it?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #rishikesh #yogateacher
#nonattachment #spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice -
Cultivating Calm with Sunday Softening Practices
Last year’s unpredictability led my focus to waver; my essays, meditations, and Instagram feed transitioned from careful curation to something more spontaneous and less intentional. Despite the time constraints that challenged my efforts, my desire to maintain a presence remains strong, as I aim to share creations that, in turn, provide others with glimpses of the peace I have discovered through various mindfulness practices.
Finding Stillness
I am shifting back towards more deliberate, niche-centered posts that enable not only myself, but readers and viewers as well, to find that still point amidst the unpredictability of life. Although this unpredictability remains unchanged, my experiences over the past year have taught me patience and provided the wisdom to accept life’s inherent uncertainty.
Allowing Flow
We often hold assumptions and expectations without justification, which can cloud our judgment and hinder personal growth. This journey leads us to realize the significance of flow—not just as a concept but as a transformative experience that allows us to engage deeply with the present moment.
Reflection
It is a topic I’ve explored extensively in my essay, Open Awareness: The Gift of Gracious Acceptance, where I delve into the nuances of being open to life’s unpredictable nature. Embracing this mindset can lead to profound insights and inner peace. To complement these reflections, I invite you to explore the meditation below, which serves as a practical guide to cultivating this sense of flow and serenity in your daily life.
Gentle Reminders
I often revisit my own writings and meditations as life becomes overwhelming, making it difficult to maintain a sense of peace. We need gentle reminders and practices that we can slip into during hectic moments. Over the past few weeks, I’ve actively engaged with the basics of meditation, yoga, and lymphatic flow movement, aligning my mind, body, and spirit energetically to a state of calm amid the chaos. From this still point, I aim for my work to feel deeper, more genuine, and authentic.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.comWork Week Flow
I am on an inviting journey that embraces the comforting essence of Sunday softening. For many, including me, Sunday is that cherished interlude before the hustle of the workweek kicks in. It’s a day infused with serenity and anticipation. While meditation and writing ignite my creative spirit, I work full-time as a professional in chemistry and geology. This unique mix allows me to relish my Sundays as the slow day before diving back into a more technical workflow. This path not only enriches my experience but also offers you a touch of softness and warmth as you prepare to face the new week ahead.
Sunday Softening
Sunday softening invites you to take a moment to feel your breath and your body, actively noticing tension and where emotions reside in your body, and allowing for a gentle release. As you breathe in deeply, envision the air filling your lungs and nurturing your spirit, while you exhale, let go of the burdens of the week behind you. It serves as a small reminder of who you are beneath the labels, revealing the essence of your true self, which gets overlooked in the busyness of life. In this sacred time, allow yourself to reconnect with your inner being, appreciating the stillness and presence that is always available to you. Recognize that you can return to this mindful space at any moment, embracing the peace and grounding it offers, cultivating a sense of calm that can guide you through the challenges ahead.
These posts will be shared each Sunday on Instagram, Facebook, and right here. I warmly invite you to share your word in the comments, and together, we can create a safe space to hold those thoughts.
View this post on Instagram
#bodyAwareness #bodyScanMeditation #breathwork #cultivatingCalm #dailyMeditation #dailyMindfulness #digitalDetox #embracingUncertainty #emotionalFlow #emotionalRelease #feltSense #findingStillness #gentleReminders #goWithTheFlow #graceAndAcceptance #graciousAcceptance #grounding #healing #holisticWellness #innerPeace #innerStillness #intentionalLiving #intentionalRest #lettingGo #meditation #meditationTeacher #mentalReset #mentalWellBeing #MindfulLiving #mindfulMoments #mindfulness #morningMindfulness #nervousSystemRegulation #nonAttachment #openAwareness #peaceOfMind #presenceOverProductivity #reikiMaster #releaseTension #selfCare #slowDown #slowLiving #slowLivingMovement #slowSunday #slowSundays #somaticBreathwork #somaticExperiencing #somaticGrounding #somaticHealing #somaticMindfulness #somaticPractice #stressManagement #stressRelief #sundaySoftening #weekendResetA post shared by 𝖪. 𝖬. 𝖲𝖨𝖬𝖮𝖭𝖣𝖲 – Meditation Teacher || Reiki Master (@dandelion.doorways)
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“Our journey is about being more deeply involved in life and yet less attached to it.”
~Ram Dass
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You don't become someone who doesn't grasp. You become someone who notices the moment the hands curl.
That gap, between grasping and releasing, is where the sutra actually lives.
Where do you notice the moment your own hands curl?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #mindfulness
#spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice #yogateacher -
My watch battery died on a Sunday. I ran without data for the first time in years.
Day three, something shifted. Without numbers, I started noticing different things.
What do you notice when you remove the measurement?
Read the full essay
https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-hardest-yoga-sutra-to-actually-practice-709eb0d8851d
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yogaphilosophy
#nonattachment #running #yoga
#mindfulrunning #spiritualpractice #lettinggo -
When I possess, I lose. Letting go of 'mine' and 'yours' allows things to regain their light in my eyes, incinerating the very idea of division. The material becomes an extension of the psychological — there is no need to live in poverty or cling to wealth, for all grows from inner abundance.
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What you want from Zen practice may not be what you actually need.
Comfort, certainty, rituals, methods, and answers can all become things we cling to.
In this talk, Zen Master Sebastian Rizzon explores why real practice begins when we stop chasing what feels good and start seeing clearly what actually helps.
Watch here:
https://youtu.be/dcDi-85YJA4 -
You don't become someone who doesn't grasp. You become someone who notices the moment the hands curl.
That gap, between grasping and releasing, is where the sutra actually lives.
Where do you notice the moment your own hands curl?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #mindfulness
#spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice #yogateacher -
I was doing a yoga pose about non-grasping. My hands were in fists.
Aparigraha, Sutra II.39. The one I thought I understood.
When has your body known something your mind was still convincing itself it understood?
Read the full essay
https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-hardest-yoga-sutra-to-actually-practice-709eb0d8851d
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yogaphilosophy
#nonattachment #embodiedpractice #yoga
#spiritualpractice #yogateacher #mindfulness -
I was doing a yoga pose about non-grasping. My hands were in fists.
Aparigraha, Sutra II.39. The one I thought I understood.
When has your body known something your mind was still convincing itself it understood?
Read the full essay
https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-hardest-yoga-sutra-to-actually-practice-709eb0d8851d
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yogaphilosophy
#nonattachment #embodiedpractice #yoga
#spiritualpractice #yogateacher #mindfulness -
My watch battery died on a Sunday. I ran without data for the first time in years.
Day three, something shifted. Without numbers, I started noticing different things.
What do you notice when you remove the measurement?
Read the full essay
https://medium.com/@clarainsweden/the-hardest-yoga-sutra-to-actually-practice-709eb0d8851d
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yogaphilosophy
#nonattachment #running #yoga
#mindfulrunning #spiritualpractice #lettinggo -
My teacher said four words. It took me six months to understand them.
'You are holding your future.' Six months later, I finally understood.
Has a teaching ever arrived for you months or years after you first heard it?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #rishikesh #yogateacher
#nonattachment #spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice -
My abuela never used the word aparigraha. She didn't need to.
She watered her jasmine with unhurried hands, no urgency, no checking of bloom. I was ten, watching.
Who in your life has shown you wisdom they didn't have a word for?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #familywisdom
#spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife -
My abuela never used the word aparigraha. She didn't need to.
She watered her jasmine with unhurried hands, no urgency, no checking of bloom. I was ten, watching.
Who in your life has shown you wisdom they didn't have a word for?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #familywisdom
#spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice #yogalife -
My teacher said four words. It took me six months to understand them.
'You are holding your future.' Six months later, I finally understood.
Has a teaching ever arrived for you months or years after you first heard it?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #rishikesh #yogateacher
#nonattachment #spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice -
For three years I called it discipline. Yoga called it grasping.
I ran with data for years, a bad split unravelling the whole morning. My raised shoulders knew before I did.
Have you ever mistaken grasping for discipline?
#yogasutras #aparigraha #yoga
#yogaphilosophy #nonattachment #running
#mindfulness #spiritualpractice #embodiedpractice