I never tasted a kiwi until I was in my early teens. I knew of their existence, I’d seen them, even touched and smelled them at the grocery store. So I had direct experience of kiwi, but it was incomplete. My mother had tasted kiwi and she explained to me that it tasted like a combination of banana and strawberry.
I trust my mother; I figure she has my best interests at heart.
So I had a pretty good idea of what I would experience when I took my first bite of kiwi – I’d seen it, felt it, smelled it, and been told by a credible source what to expect.
Eventually I had my first taste of kiwi – and I was changed forever. From that moment forward there was no longer any question in my mind; I knew what kiwi tasted like, I had experienced it myself. The taste of kiwi was no longer a mysterious thing left up to my imagination. No longer did I think kiwi tasted like some combination of two other fruits.
Kiwi tastes like kiwi. In an instant, it became that simple.
There is something beyond my mind, of this I am certain. I like to call it my soul. I’ve had brief and incomplete experiences of my soul. I know people who have had more complete and more extended experiences with their souls. They tell me the soul is blissful in nature and that it can be experienced through the practice of yoga. They have no reason to lie to me – it would bring them no gain – I trust them. I desire this experience of Bliss. So I continue to practice yoga the way I’ve been taught by teachers whom I trust.
When I do have an experience of Bliss, I have no doubt that from that moment onward my life will be different.
I have faith in my practice because I have faith in my teachers. Every worthwhile experience I have deepens that faith, that trust, and firms my commitment to seeking out Truth for myself. I want to taste this Bliss instead of listening to descriptions others give. I want the experience for myself and I’m willing to work for it.