Slogan #28

Abandon any hope of fruition.

This slogan is all about abandoning false hope and the kind of hope that gives rise to doubt. But it’s also about abandoning any hope of changing the past or controlling the future. And abandoning all fear of failure as well as all hope of success. There is immense freedom in letting go of hope; in focusing on process rather than fixating on results. As Pema Chodron writes “What you do right now is what matters.”

A rewording of this slogan can be found in Sutra 1.12: Yoga (substitute Mindfulness) is realized in the interplay between practice and non-attachment or between effort and surrender. Practice requires stability and consistency over time while non-attachment refers to the release of expectations, needs, desires, and possessions.

Practice is:

• an opportunity to realize wholeness

• the harmony of breath, body, mind, and spirit.

• the movement from doubt to faith; taking a leap of faith in one’s potential for self-healing

• meeting ourselves, without pretense, expectation or judgment

• allowing for both deep listening and observing of sensations, feelings, and thoughts in order for insight to flourish

Non-attachment is:

• letting go, letting be, and accepting what is without collapse, repression, or complacency

• channelling the energy of action with mindful self-awareness

• learning not to hold on to things.

• opening up to the present moment without clinging to it, shutting down, or running away

• the result of abundance and contentment

• a quality of awareness that allows one to slow down and open both heart and mind

“A practice is the embodiment of an approach to a concept. This can support us in bringing about a desired state of mind. When we repeat the exercise of opening our senses to what is, we move closer to living in a continually open state. We build a habit. One where expanded awareness is our default way of being in the world.”

Rick Rubin