One of the realizations of jnana yoga is that — in essence — you are already free and perfect. Your ego, mind, emotions and senses just haven’t realized it yet. The goal is to release the delusion which stands between your present awareness and a realization of your true infinite soul.

Jnana yoga states that even though we appear to be separate individuals, we are all part of one great Being. Swami Vivekananda explains that desires are the cause of most of our misery. The solution is to give up the idea of proprietorship and adopt the attitude of stewardship. The reality is that everything is made up of Spirit expressing in different ways. Discover how living as the caretaker — not the owner — changes your relationships and quality of life.

Good nutrition helps to create the proper conditions for the awakening and maintenance of spiritual life. Yogis have much to share about which foods are (and are not) conducive to spiritual practices. Ramakrishna Ananda shares the views of Sri Ramakrishna, Baba Hari Dass, and others about diets which support spiritual growth

Swami Vivekananda taught that it’s important to understand there is a great light within us which wants to shine forth. This light of the Infinite Spirit can express through your feelings, thoughts, words and actions. Discover how to seek and allow Infinite Spirit to express in a unique way through every thought, deed and action.

In the view of yoga, most of our suffering is due to spiritual ignorance. Even though we are spiritual beings, often we do not recognize this. Explore yogic ways to lessen suffering by learning about karma (the law of cause and effect) and how you can change your experiences by generating better causes. Seek to understand the lessons which life is attempting to teach you. Through practicing yoga and the spiritual path, you can be transformed in consciousness and live a truly joyful life.

Yogis think of Spirit as a Divine Father and Mother. The father aspect provides and protects. The mother quality nurtures and educates — guiding, disciplining, empowering and transforming humanity in a loving, merciful manner. Discover the help and comfort which can come into your life through invoking the mothering aspect of Spirit.

Jnana (wisdom) yogis seek to release desires. Immoderate desires and aversions increase selfishness, intensify the ego and block contact with the inner self. Learn how to take a desire break and withdraw energy from both positive and negative desires. Discover the peace and bliss which comes when you are desire-free.

Spirit is continually emanating, shining and creating through humanity and the universe. Victory from a yogic view point is discovering, abiding in and expressing from the soul, the spiritual self within. Explore yogic processes for contacting and living from the soul. You can become a window through which your soul shines.

We continue the series on jnana yoga (yoga of wisdom) focusing on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Yogis say that our main problem is that we don’t actually know who we are. We are manifestations of the Divine which seeks to express and shine through us. Explore ways to be more open to this possibility.