I have heard from a number of people they feel more stressed about the political climate in the United States as the 2020 presidential race is heating up. The purpose of this blog is not political, but rather the offer an alternative lens to view the world when it feels stressful and overwhelming. This alternative lens is the lens is influenced by the fourth Niyama (one of the ethical practices of Yoga from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras), Svadhaya, which means Self-Study. The practice of Svadhaya usually involves scripture study, but in this blog post, I define it as an inward awareness of self. This includes the study of your own reactions and taking responsibility for those reactions. Let’s take back power with with the practice of Svadhaya!

MY QUESTIONS TO YOU

First, I want to acknowledge if you are immersing yourself daily in news and social media, you are most likely being flooded with highly emotional posts and news clips. This is true no matter the season or time of year.

My first question to you is, “What is your reaction when you are reading all of this ‘data?’”

If you are getting emotionally charged, in the form of anger, frustration, feeling overwhelmed or anxious, feeling powerless or helpless, etc, pay attention!  Is this where you want to be? It’s easy to blame the media, people who are posting, people who voted, people who don’t vote…and this blame does absolutely nothing for you but cause more distress and suffering.  You’re a hamster spinning in the wheel of misery.

When we blame, we are sending the message, ‘I’m not responsible.’ This, in turn, means I have no power here. Blaming is disempowering.

Here’s my second question, “Who is turning on the news, social media and engaging with this ‘data?’”

Yep, you. Accept responsibility. This is the only way to take control and take back your power. Blaming is just giving your power away.

So, if you don’t want to keep being fired up and tossed around in the emotional wave that engaging with data from politics is causing you and you are the one choosing to engage with it…what action do you need to take next?

BEING HONEST WITH YOURSELF

Svadhaya is about noticing your reactions, getting curious about those reactions. From that space, explore what you have control over and get honest about what you can’t control. Then make a conscious choice about the action to take from all this information that supports finding peace and a calm mind for you. You have the choice, always, in how you want to show up in life. 

Here are some other tips when it comes to honesty, finding calm, and dealing with election years.

1. Do you know who you are going to vote for? If the answer is, “yes,” then my question to you is why engage at all with the political data?  We all have enough data from our personal life we are working on, so why add to it and increase stress and suffering for no reason? Be kind to yourself and be honest with yourself.

If the answer is, “no,” I highly encourage you to be selective in the time you spend trying to get enough data to make a choice and be selective about the sources of your information.  Stop engaging with the opinions of others. Instead, collect data from your direct experience, i.e. how does the information you hear and read land in your body. Get curious about this. Use it as a practice to build trust in your own wisdom. Again, be kind to yourself and be honest with yourself.

2. If you have a hard time with limiting screen time/ digital time, explore this. Excessive screen time is an addictive behavior. What are you avoiding or escaping from by numbing out to screen data? How does it affect you emotionally? How does it affect relationships in your life? Do you need to have a digital detox? Again, be kind to yourself and honest with yourself.

3 WAYS TO PRACTICE SVADHAYA

Svadhaya is invites us to use the data you have from direct experience and trusted resources based in reality and facts, to take conscious action.  The outcome of that action isn’t ‘right or wrong.’ It just leads to more information to inform your next choice of action. Here are some action practices for Svadhaya that can help with meeting political environment stress or any stressors in our lives:

1. Since there is so much data out there and it’s so easy to engage with, it’s important to discern (viveka) what information you consume. Otherwise, it’s easy to fall into consumption overload, which is far from a calm, peaceful mind state. Notice your mind and body reactions when you are consuming challenging information. Take breaks from it, alternate it with more uplifting information, and be judicious in who your sources of information are.

Don’t keep engaging with what leads to a more limiting mindset! Just like getting food poisoning from a restaurant, I won’t be going back to eat there, if I consistently become angry and upset by a certain source of news…maybe it’s time to go somewhere else. Or make sure to read other sources on the same subject to get a wider view. You do have a choice in this. 

FOCUS ON YOUR VALUES

2. Find clarity about what truly matters in your life.  What are the 3 most important things in your life right now? Connecting back to our values can be a reminder of how you want to spend your precious time and energy. The noise from life can distract us from what is truly important. Then all the sudden we are focusing on things that really don’t matter much to us in the grand scheme of things. 

One way to do this is simply make a list of the things that are important to you and of value to you. Take 5 minutes to do this. Then, review that list and circle the three things that are the most important to you from that list. Write those three things down so you can be visually reminded of them daily. Let them be your guides for making choices in your life.

3. Come back to what you can control. This can help to be practical. What part of the stressor is in your control right now?  Then, being honest about what you can control, take action in those areas. In regards to the political situation, one concrete action is to vote. Another step might be doing things like writing letters and encourage others to do the same.  These are examples of actions that are in your control.

The practice of Svadhaya is a lifetime practice and actually a way of life. Can you imagine if everyone practiced being aware and taking responsibility for reactions? If that’s the world you want to live in, start taking action yourself.

Shanti.

P.S. Are you curious about how to increase self-awareness and self-understanding to increase calm responses in the face of life challenges? Start here with this free resource: ‘What If’ Thinking, How To Move Through It In 60 Seconds Or Less.