Three Ways to Be a Better Person Today

By Kristen Dollard

SAMSKARA
(sounds a bit like mascara. SAHM-SKAR-AH)
Samskara is an imprint from past experience that makes an impression in the unconscious mind. These later create our experiences and cause a person to automatically behave a certain way.

The Explanation
Samskara is an imprint from past experience or memory that gets remembered. One guru named Swami Satchtananda equates Samskara to a pot boiling with garlic in it. The longer the garlic stays in the pot, the more the pot retains the smell of garlic. Interestingly, the impression can be positive or negative. Smoking and drinking can create a samskara as well. Every time they are done (or we do anything) they create a subtle imprint and the more they are done, the more profound the imprint and the more likely that in our next lives we will be drawn to that again because of the deep rooted impression it has left—thanks to the repetitiveness.

Modern Day Example
A few years ago I was watching my son in gymnastic. From where we all stood, we could see the swirl of classes as well as the gymnastic teams. As we were watching a team of 6 to 8 year old young boys, one child was clearly leaps and bounds better than the rest. He had everything going on: perfect form, advanced moves like a miniature Olympian. We would say today that he is a "natural" at this.

In yoga, this natural ability is samskara. The samskara in this case would motivate the boy to be drawn to the class or to show his parents that they should sign him up, that this is something that he should pursue and then he would continue to excel because of the familiarity from the samskara which is the memory in the unconscious mind of being done so many times before in a past life. Everything we do creates a samskara and the more we do anything, the deeper the impression, the more likely we will be drawn to it again.

The Practice
We cannot consciously erase the thoughts, memories and patterns stored deep in the subconscious and unconscious mind. But, through yoga practice and mainly meditation, the brainwaves literally slow down and when they move into dream sleep or the mind moves from waking state to falling asleep to dream sleep. It is here where the unconscious mind begins to release its samskaras. In the releasing, this can bring up a lot so the idea is to let it go and not get all involved in the thoughts etc. but to let them gently come up and go. When the unconscious is totally clear, the brainwaves slow down to deep sleep and we experience bliss.

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