For most of life I walked around with thousands of voices and thoughts in my head controlling all my actions and reactions in life. Most human beings are like this and don’t even know!
I never knew that when I was indulging in my unbalancing behaviors that I even had a choice to do something different. There were unconscious thoughts that made excuses not to do my practices, or justified having a 3rd cup of coffee of the day, or why I kept being a victim of bad relationships.
In 2015, I was introduced to the yogic concept of Vikalpa and Sankalpa. This is when I began to identify the driving forces behind my actions/reactions and was able to make sustainable changes that were attainable when in the past they seemed life-consuming.
You may have heard the word Sankalpa in the beginning of a yoga class referring to making a resolution or intention for your practice. Sankalpa’s lesser known counterpart is Vikalpa.
Sanskrit root meaning:
Kalpa: means a desire above all others from your higher Self
Vi: means without, separate, or division
San: means with it, or together (in the heart)
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Vikalpa: means separate or divided from your higher Self’s desire
Sankalpa: means the heart’s deepest desire- a resolve to the Vikalpa
We all know that we need daily exercise, drink enough water, spend time in nature, and treat our neighbors well, but not all of us actually do this. We find reasons why these habits are not feasible, excuses to put them off until tomorrow, or defend our judgements against others.
Here is how you can work with Vikalpa and Sankalpa to create better, more sustainable and harmonious habits:
Choose one habit that is not serving you. Identify the voice that is causing separation or division from what you truly want. This voice is the Vikalpa. It is driving you towards the bad habit. Once you have identified it then you can create a clear and direct Sankalpa statement, your heart’s deepest desire that will dissolve the Vikalpa. Working with your Sankalpa statement (just like working with an affirmation) for 40 days straight re-trains the brain to a new neurological pathway that is wired to your Sankalpa rather than your Vikalpa.
For example, if a person has a habit of overeating, then at their full point an unconscious voice turns on that may say, “You are not enough” or “You do not deserve love” or “That emotion is too big to feel.” In an unconscious reaction the person will overeat to try and stop hearing the voice.
The first step is to identify what the Vikalpa, the voice, is exactly saying. Then you can directly dissolve by creating a Sankalpa statement as the resolve. In this example, the Sankalpa may be, “I am enough” or “I deserve unconditional love” or “I am strong enough to feel all emotions.”
This person will then use this statement within their home practice. Or they can say the Sankalpa with intention 3x morning and night. First out loud for the external world to hear. Second time as a whisper for their self to hear. And last time silent for the Divine to hear
The Sankalpa must be directly linked to a Vikalpa so that it is powerful. If the negative voice has been there for years or decades we need a strong bulldozer to deconstruct and clear it out. The more direct the statement is, the more powerful it will be.
We all have voices in our heads. They either come from the ego causing disharmony or from the soul causing harmony. Using the Vikalpa and Sankalpa method allows the ego to quiet so that the whispers of the soul can be heard and increase our sense of joy and wellbeing.
Aum shanti.
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