8 Limbs: Yama 3: Asteya

“We have not inherited the earth from our forefathers, we are only borrowing it from our children.” ~Native American saying

Asteya: (literally) “not stealing”, the obvious meaning. But what happens when we take a closer look and try to understand this on a deeper level? Asteya can apply to our practice by comparing ourselves to others, our breath as we both inhale (take) and exhale (give), our hearts when we have gratitude for our lives as they are, the earth so we do not take resources we do not need or cannot be re-supplied, and the list goes on and on and on. There are literally so many applications for this yama. But what we should try to understand is that it all of this is a practice of being present. When we are not fully present, we are stealing from ourselves.