Notes

How exactly to Create Change in the World
How do we create change on the planet? Yoga wisdom tells us that we need to start at the most basic level. To create change, begin with an individual. What is even more basic than a single individual? The stuff we all have been made of: atoms and subatomic particles. "You're what you eat" because the saying goes. But think about our mind? Is the mind also made of atoms? Not exactly...

Physically, we may consist of atoms, but mentally we have been made out of stories. Thus, to generate change, we have to change the stories our minds are created from.

What's an atom, incidentally? An atom may be the most basic unit of every living and non-living thing. But isn't that just another story? ...Everything is a story.

When you were born, your parents told you the story they were told by their parents, who, subsequently, were told by their own parents. This re-telling has been going on since the very beginning of humankind. Yet, who was the original storyteller?

Our teachers, parents, friends, and peers contribute to that on-going story. They give us only the description of the planet they know - their perception of the planet. It may not be the way the world really is. We ourselves contribute to the story of the planet every moment of our existence by thinking and believing in what we have been told.

The stories we tell ourselves form our social and cultural values. Because of this our stories, tales, fables, anecdotes, parables, proverbs, and colloquial expressions will be the backbone, the building blocks, of our society all together, and our modern culture on the planet Earth.

Going back few thousand years, the stories that have dominated our consciousness, generally in most modern cultures, are the stories of mankind's rule on the natural world, of the sense of separateness from nature and from one another, and of our self-gratifying pre-occupation with this ego-mind.

Regardless of how simple and seemingly insignificant, our stories will be the real cause of many global social and cultural problems such as for example war and violence; fear of the natural world and separation from nature; pollution, environmental destruction, and the loss of wildlife habitats; over-consumption and materialism.

Imagine if most of our stories were teaching us some virtuous value, or encouraging us toward a positive action.

"Kill two birds with one stone" would be "Feed two birds with one seed."
"It's a dog-eat-dog world" would be "It is a happy-dog-splashing-in-the-pool world."
"Take around you can, before another person will" would become "Take only the thing you need, leave the others for others".

If our description of the world as we know it was always based on universal love, compassion, and interconnectedness, what would the world be like?

Nonetheless, our world is the way it really is for a reason. We've all done our part in creating it. What counts now are the stories we tell. If we want to continue seeing abundance with this beautiful planet, a few of our stories have to change.

Although it would take some time and effort, we can focus on making this process a journey filled with fun, exploration, learning, and love. We have to become more aware of the prevailing stories and re-tell them in a more positive light. We need to study from the older cultures which have survived modernization and from their stories, together with from countless teachers and seekers who've taken this path of wisdom in the past. We must remember to witness life and nature, and spot the innumerable lessons all over. We must listen closely to your own hearts because they are, too, our teachers and tell their own unique story.

It is, in fact, very real and possible to generate change on the planet that is full of love and happiness. It can be our next evolutionary step, to transform to a more spiritual approach to life, with stories as the vehicle.

Let's begin today. Create change within you. What positive story did you hear today?

Surya Kolpakov, LMT, is a Certified Yoga Therapist. He teaches yoga and meditation around Boston area, loves to share his insights and tell stories about the yoga lifestyle, and perform traditional Thai massage. For more info on the yoga lifestyle, visit Surya's website at
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