The Daily Yogi

By Jayden Kyryluk   "What we think, we become. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. "  - Gautama Buddha    Nothing I have done is who I am. This self-image I have so strongly built up for myself through relationships, travels, experiences, accomplishments, and interests do not even equate to a particle of dust when the true drop of my being is found in the ocean of cosmic consciousness. This ego mind clings so hard to the self-imposed, to the created self and outer public image. It believes that is what it is. Who I am.    The harder I try to cling to the image of myself and build it into something I may believe in, the further I travel away from my true being. I can feel it. Can you? The more we search for who we are in external things and satisfactions, the further we distance from the true definition of ourself found within. I look back at my actions in building up an image of who I want to look like rather than...

By Jayden Kyryluk   Access Theory: How fear, experience, and confidence form a self-reinforcing cycle of human growth.   UNKNOWN → EXPERIENCE → ACCESS Access is the freedom that follows familiarity. It's the ability to act, move, or connect without fear, after transforming what was once unknown into lived experience. Life is about experience, but you begin it with nothing. Every new experience, however, brings the freedom to do what was once the unknown again without fear. New experiences bring access to the fruits of it. Meeting a new friend, a once unknown person, in a different city gives access to that city and person. Going to a new school is a leap into the unknown. A student learns from the experience, then ultimately gains access to the fruits of it, such as a job only accessible from the obtained degree, friends met along the way, or the independence of living on their own for the first time. Without undertaking the experience of school, its fruits would never have be...

By Jayden Kyryluk  You can’t wait for things to be perfect before you start living your life. That dream of “things aligning” before doing what you really want is a distant desire of the same ilk as that new car you want. If you want that car, you have to start saving for it. It won't just come to you. Life doesn’t pause for anyone; it doesn’t wait. It continues to flow, and it is up to you to move with that flow or watch it go by.  Waiting is a fool's game. As you sit there watching others live their lives, you may wish it was you. You may wish you had their opportunities or life experiences. Life will not come to you. You have to grab it. If you want something, you have to stand up, right now, and take that first step. You want to write a book? Write the first word. You want to run a marathon? Put your shoes on, and go for a run. You want to learn a new language? Start studying. These things do not magically happen. A first step must be taken, a spark that electrifies everyt...

By Jayden Kyryluk   Prepare for everything, most importantly the unexpected. Devastation—that feeling that we’re absolutely crushed and shocked by an event—is a factor of how unlikely we considered that event in the first place. So expect the unexpected. As Seneca said, “fortune falls heavily on those for whom she’s unexpected. The one always on the lookout easily endures.”

By Jayden Kyryluk Life unfolds in chapters. One begins, ends, and leads into the next. Each chapter carries its own character, its own lessons. Some filled with loss, others with joy, but all part of one story. Each chapter offers its own opportunity. Whether in loss or gain, it always leads to the next. As children, we could sense when a new chapter began: the first steps, the first words, the first day of school. High school became a chapter, then university, each flowing naturally into the next. But as we grow older, the transitions blur. The pages stretch out. Change no longer arrives with clear moments of transformation; change slips quietly into our lives, almost unnoticed.  We become so absorbed in the flow of life that we forget to look up and notice we’ve turned the page. We lose sight of the fact that each chapter leads to another. We get lost in the words. The chapters get longer and longer and the big swings from one chapter to the next lose their i...

  By Jayden Kyryluk No matter the losses. No matter the wins. No matter the lost potential in your life or the lost desires. The things that went right, the things that went wrong. At the end of the day and at the end of your life, there is one thing that you will never lose: this journey is yours and yours alone. No matter what happens, no matter who you meet or who you lose, you are on the path. Feet planted, with distance still to cover, on your first day and your last. This is your journey. Yours alone. In your losses, you may feel something has slipped away, something forgotten, something you were meant to become. In your wins, you may feel vindicated, as if you’ve reclaimed a version of life that once escaped you. But it doesn’t matter. None of it does. Take a step back. Wins or losses, whatever. They are the same. Your feet are still planted. You’re looking ahead and see no end. But each step is one step less. One step closer to your destination. The wins and losses blur int...

By Jayden Kyryluk Happiness is a decision, not a vision. It is a question for you and me. Ask yourself: yes or no? When you walk on the street with music in your ears, do you look up at the clouds in awe? When you sit on the bus and stare at the moving street, do you think of who you want to be? Or do you only see the ground beneath your feet?  Do you smile simply to smile, or only when someone else does first for a while?  Is your happiness a wish? A reason to be? Or a distant melody, unreachable even when you want to be free?  Happiness is a decision, either yes or no. Happiness can be found in every action and every thought, but only if you so choose it to be. You see, happiness is a decision, not a vision. It’s a feeling infused with the river of meaning, inescapably flowing with the bliss of a flower in the shining sun. A river flowing so gently that you, sinking in that river, flow in it and through it with the conscious awareness that you are fre...

By Jayden Kyryluk Our life is not measured by years, but the lessons we’ve learned. The biggest lessons are learned in the most painful moments. You know, those raw and soul defying moments, experiences and events that change everything. They change you, your perception of all around you, but most importantly your self - how you see you. Moments where your expectations are shattered, and your once clear image of the future is lost with the wind. A moment so hauntingly hurtful that you can literally feel your life ripping in two, forever running towards a direction you never even thought was possible. Our lives are hard. As a child, my dad would always say “life is hard, buddy. Get used to it.” This truth means nothing until you really live it, learn it, and finally, it clicks. Life really is hard. Things happen that don’t make sense. The sky crumbles on top of you, and you gasp for air wondering “why me?”  Yes, you. Yes, you. It’s all meant for you. Exactly when it happened. Exactl...

By Jayden Kyryluk You are not what you think you are; you are what you think. So be careful how you speak to yourself, for you are always listening and always believing. If you wish to escape or change your reality, first recognize that you created it. Much like prison, your current reality is of your own making, and the first step to freedom is acknowledging that you are trapped. There is no chance, coincidence, or accident in where you are right now. Not only are you exactly where you are supposed to be, but you are exactly where your thoughts brought you. You rise as high as your dominant aspirations and you descend to the level of your lowest concept of yourself. The infinite intelligence within you responds to your thoughts. Every thought you plant in the garden of your mind becomes part of your reality. As the Buddha said, “all that we are is the result of what we have thought. We are made of our thoughts. We are moulded by our thoughts. As we think, so we become.” Feed your mind...

By Jayden Kyryluk I Am the infectious spirit that thrives within you, spreading positivity and light to all who cross your path. I Am the whisper of encouragement in your ear, urging you to see the beauty in the mundane and the wonder in the everyday. Look around you, and let your eyes be opened to the magnificence of the world. See the sky as a canvas painted with the hues of orange, red, and blue, and let its vastness remind you of the endless possibilities that lie before you. Embrace the clouds as they drift lazily across the heavens, and marvel at their ever-changing shapes and forms. Look down at the earth beneath your feet and feel the pulse of life coursing through its veins. Run your fingers through the grass and feel the softness of its blades against your skin. Reach out and touch the rough bark of a tree, and let its strength and resilience inspire you. For in every leaf that rustles in the breeze and every bird that sings its sweet song, there is a lesson to be learned and...

By Jayden Kyryluk Be an infection. Not a health infection, but a soul infection. Infect others with a positive attitude. Infect them with a beautiful outlook on life; on the small things, on the things we all overlook. Look up at the sky in awe and see the clouds as you see your mother and hug them in wonder. Infect everyone you meet with happiness. Look down at the grass and up at the trees as a child in generous curiosity. For happiness, fulfillment, and love is found not on the surface, but within. When you find inspiration in the world, that feeling you get doesn’t come from what you see or what you seek, but from how you feel. It comes from a place you've already been before. On the surface, the sky, clouds, grass, and the trees appear to be a mere function of life, but in truth, they are life itself, and so are you. They are mirrors reflecting one another, so ask yourself: what do I want to reflect?  Your energy is contagious–reflect it onto others. Infect them with you, with...

By Jayden Kyryluk There is a deep loneliness in human beings. We search but we cannot find and we yearn for what we cannot have. We find ourselves looking over the edge of truth in search for what is false. It’s in our sight, but beyond our reach. In search of truth we look too far ahead or behind when it’s right in front of us. The sun is shining but we worry about the cloud’s drifting by. We worry about the river when the ocean is around the corner. Despite the clouds and obstacles that may block our view, the river continues to flow and the sun continues to shine, pulling us closer to the ocean within. There is beauty in everything and there is truth in beauty. 
 Some lessons are mystical and others are plain old real. Both find their way in our everyday life. When we set a goal and adjust our habits to reach it, we learn a real lesson that we consciously brought on ourself. Othertimes, a spark lights up within us that gives meaning to past experiences; these are mystical lessons. T...

By Jayden Kyryluk   "Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced."  Soren Kierkegaard It comes and goes. It comes and goes... We're all so trapped in our own melodrama that we forget how brief our time is. We've all heard those older than us recite the prophetic words that "time flies." If there is one inalienable law in the universe, it's that history repeats. Whether you like it or not, you'll be reciting the same prophecy one day. Our bodies’ time on earth is but a snap of the finger, but it's our souls that carry on our story. In every death, there is life. When we move on from our body, our souls assume a new form in accordance with our karma. With each birth, we carry with us the karma we've acquired in past lives. It manifests as habits, deep character traits, and even trauma ( Many Lives, Many Masters by Bryan Weiss). We’ve been trapped in this near infinitesimal process of life and death for such an unfathoma...

By Jayden Kyryluk  It is said the ocean is a better reflection of who we are than a mirror itself. Every wave is a lifetime, every lifetime a wave. You can step into the ocean twice, but it will be a different ocean. Constantly evolving and constantly changing, like us. When you step into the ocean a second time, you arrive with the experience that you have been there before. You are not the same, and neither is the ocean. Your cells die and are reborn, memories come and go, and every moment you are new. With every wave the ocean is reborn. Every wave a new thought, and every thought a new wave. They come and go…they come and go. Every moment brings renewal, for us and the ocean, echoing the power of growth within us. Life is but an ocean, and you are the shore. At some point, you must drift away and lose sight of it all. The shores of your identity fade away when you take off that tight shoe of who you think you are.  Step into the ocean. Step into who you really are.

By Jayden Kyryluk We all want something. Good health, money, romance, adventure, a raise…it’s natural for us to want something we don’t have. We are animals after all; we look to the world for gratification. But why are the rich unhappy? Why do attractive people get depressed? Why does the fulfilment of love often flutter over time? What is the disconnect? Nothing lasts forever, and we know that. Whether we admit it or not, when we get what we want, we know it won’t last, and we look for something new as soon as we get it. It’s as if our desire for something is the thread that holds us to who we think we are. If that thread snaps, we lose ourselves. We’re always trying to keep that thread from breaking, asking, “ what’s next? ” Round and round we go, telling ourselves, “ this is it ,” and “ now I will be happy, now I am fulfilled .” When you get what you want, how do you feel? Great right? But for how long? How long until that new car or accomplishment brings you energy and fulfills yo...

By Jayden Kyryluk We are living on a rock moving through space in the midst of a boundless cosmos with no final end. Everyone you’ve ever known and everyone who’s ever lived has called this rock home. The insignificance of our existence is clear, but in this vast nothingness we find ourselves so deeply wound, we are invited to find our place in the grand tapestry of existence. Scientists estimate the probability of you being born is 1 in 400,000,000,000,000. That’s one in four hundred trillion. Go back to your great-great-grandparents and 128 people had to meet, form a relationship, and have a child; and that is only four generations back. If we assume humans have been alive for 3 million years, there have been 150,000 generations. Every single one of your ancestors had to meet at the right place and right time for you to be here. Then the right sperm had to meet the right egg. The odds of this are 1 in 400,000,000,000,000,000. That’s one in 400 quadrillion. The idea that everything h...

By Jayden Kyryluk What calls to you? A mountain, tree, or cloud? A song or painting? Observing the silence of the wind or the evening sun? What makes you feel most...you?  In these moments, you are witnessing the mirror of the soul.  First, find your mirror. These are spaces where the spiritual transforms the ordinary into extraordinary, where witnessing becomes feeling and feeling becomes truth. In Sanskrit, truth is satyam. Sat means “that which is true”; and yam means “to hold,” “to tame” or “to examine.” These moments where the mirror shines through are when you feel most you. When you examine and hold that which is true, and what is the truest of all? Your soul.  Forget your worries, forget the time and the person you think you are; find the mirror of your soul and sink into the ever-flowing river of truth.  These momentary spaces beyond time are the deepest and most blissful drops of existence. Like a drop of water to a growing tree, these moments nourish us wi...

By Jayden Kyryluk Yes or no. Yes or no. Our lives are ruled by these three and two letters words. Oh how incredible they are! Our choices and decisions lie on the path between yes or no. A thought comes! Yes, or no? Shall I act on this thought or not? A decision must be made! We are creatures of action living in a world of effervescent movement. Yes or no! A decision must be made! Sitting in the train station with so many other creatures all thinking the same thing - “yes or no?” Is this my train? Yes or no? Will I make it? Yes or no? We’re all trapped on the path between yes or no. The path is a moment that always leads to another like a train leaving one station for the next. A infinitely repeating moment unique to each of us.  Yes or no? A decision must be made! “Always be moving forward” our peers tell us. “Where you are now is not good enough” they tell us. “Always put one step in front of the other” we are told. The present must yield to the future! Yes or no, yes or no, yes ...

By Jayden Kyryluk Breath for the sake of breathing. Play for the sake of playing. Sing for the sake of singing and dance for the sake of dancing.   In everything that you do, do it for nothing but itself. Laugh for the sake of laughing and cry for the sake of crying . Do it for no one but yourself. Do everything that you do fully, without inhibition. Do it as if it is the only thing that matters. Not for the future, not for the past; right here, right now.   Love for the sake of loving. Live for the sake of living.  All is found within itself. Do it, for it. That is the present moment. Originally written on May 20, 2023 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

By Jayden Kyryluk Everything that is without is within. What is found in the exterior is reflected in the interior. The noises of a city; the homes, people, love, hate, passion, and distraction…what is found without is found within. We create the world we know and what we know emerges from within. The world we see with our physical eye is but a reflection of the interior Eye. One need not escape from the outside world but create one that is a reflection for what they seek in themselves. If you don't like what you see outside yourself, you will not like its reflection within. So change what you see within and your world without will follow. It all starts from within.  The source of change, of who you want to be and what you want to see, is already within you .