Declaration of Interdependence

We hold the truth of Self Realization:

That all people are divinely unified;

That we are empowered by Universal Source with certain infinite potential;

Awakened by prana, moksha, and surrender to Bliss.

As American as John (Cougar) Mellencamp, I too was raised in a small Indiana town. “Taught the fear of Jesus in a small town. Used to daydream in that small town. Another boring romantic—that’s me.”

As I have traveled far and wide from that little mid-western community, I have seen what it means to be an American in the light of its beauty and its paradox. It has brought me to the question of what it means to be an American yogini in the new millenium.
Just as the richness of our national culture is cultivated by its multiformity; so too, my personal yoga “blissipline” is enriched by many teachers and approaches to the practice. It is a celebration of diversity and of the interconnected rivers that run beneath the surface of it all. It is an opportunity to initiate my own rites of passage and sacraments of meaning as they honor and edify my inner guru. It presents both an exotic adventure and a stable hOMe.

I wrote the above passage based on the Declaration of Independence (below), which was almost (but not quite) a fitting manifesto:

We hold these truths to be self-evident…
Satya is a sanskrit word for truth. It comes from the root word, Sat, which means is-ness. In other words, Sat is something so profoundly true that it needs no further definition than simply to say, “it IS.” As an American Yogini, I am a Sat Seeker: seeking the truth of my dharma; my true nature; the truth of my relationship to the world around me; the truth in politics, religion, and sciences; the truth of my mind. What I find is Self Realization.

…that all men are created equal…
As an American Yogini, it is apparent that all people are divinely unified. I bear witness to the pulsation of Universal Consciousness conjoining us all. I can see a holy man, where someone else may see a homeless man.

…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…
As an American Yogini, I am empowered with the awareness of my own infinite potential and the potency of my choices.

…that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
As an American Yogini, I’ve learned how to stoke the life force of prana within me and that moksha (liberation) is available in the next breath. I realize that so much suffering can be avoided when I stop pursuing happiness, but instead, surrender to the bliss of my True Nature. As an American Yogini, I appreciate a community that reminds me daily of my own True Nature. And I get to enjoy the honor and interdependence of reminding others of their True Nature, in return.

I am truly grateful and undoubtedly blessed to be an American Yogini.

Namaste and Happy Interdependence Day!