All or nothing.

So what do we do with our lives?
We leave only a mark
Will our story shine like a life
Or end in the dark?
Is it all or nothing?
(Tina Turner)

For a long time I’ve found the question of the purpose in life overwhelming. What is my true self? How does one know which life is the right one? How does one know the Self?

In Yoga there is the concept of the five koshas, described as sheaths that hold the self or Atman – the divine core of each individual.  Like a Russian Matryoshka doll, one layer is the container for the next. The first layer (annamaya kosha) is the gross body, the physical body – muscles, bones… The second layer is the energy body, the breath (pranamaya kosha). The third layer is the mind, our thoughts (manomaya kosha). Underneath: the fourth container – our consciousness, what we perceive with the senses (vijnanamaya kosha). The fifth layer is the anandamaya kosha – the state of bliss. These five layers contain the divine core of the Self.

I think this concept is tremendously helpful to make sense of the Self and figuring out what your story is. Trying to put a finger on it and discovering it as a “thing” is not possible. Our Self cannot be forced. It is not specific. It is abstract. It’s a feeling. It is something that simply shows itself, as we unveil it. The Self, gently, wants to shine.

When you get rid of the junk in your life and throw out the trash, you gain awareness of the koshas. Then you’ll be able to not see, but to sense the Self through them, as it shines with all its beauty. Bring it to life, not by desperately trying to find out what the Self is or wants, but by letting go of what you don’t want. Simply make room. Allow it to unfold through you. And it will.

And it will be beautiful. Your story will shine like a light. And you will leave a mark. And for what it’s worth: It really is a question of all or nothing. Because it is your life.