I Am Responsible for Everything

Saying “I am responsible for everything” may seem like a radical and illogical statement but it’s actually a dynamic shift of perspective for the spiritual seeker.  It doesn’t mean I am literally responsible for all actions and circumstances going on around me, it means I take ownership over what happens internally and externally within me.  It means I am not subject to the whims of past conditioning, rather, I act consciously.  It means my feelings and emotions are not held hostage by the situation or by karmic influences, but under my own conscious control.

The various aspects of yoga enable us to take control of our nervous system by which prana flows.  Thereby erratic energy that may exist from past trauma, karma, and experiences is consciously channeled and balanced.  That is one aspect of what saying “I am responsible for everything” means.

All the things that you are, all the things that you are not, are your fundamental responsibility.

The game of life can be played in two modes.  The default mode is a multi-player mode, where you think that everything that happens to you has an external reason.  In this mode, the question you always ask is, “why is this happening to me?” and you tend to complain a lot and blame other people or circumstances.  In this mode, you relinquish control to elements outside of you, which then hijack your wellbeing, so you have to constantly chase after happiness, always fearful of losing it.  In the multi-player mode, you tend to live in the past or the future.

But there is another mode.  It’s the single-player mode, where you establish a state within yourself according to how you want to be inside, and no external influence can touch you.  In this mode, the inner self is responsible for everything, and you are not swayed by external circumstances or other people.  In the single-player mode, you tend to express gratitude and humility.