Bringing Forth a World

We will never be able to build what we have not first cherished in our hearts.

– Joanna Macy

At a time when we are constantly asked to be against so much, it’s crucial to remember what we are for.

This encouraging insight from Anand Giridharadas resonates with what I see as one of the core purposes of yoga in these turbulent times: to reconnect with our fundamental values.

The uncertainty surrounding us offers an opportunity to clarify our deepest intentions, independent of potential outcomes. What do we stand for no matter what happens? Given that we don’t know how things will unfold, what do we want to devote ourselves to anyway?

The Sanskrit term for intention is sankalpa; it refers to a coalescing of energy, a focused direction of our willpower. The power of intention lies in recognizing that we are not passive witnesses to the world’s unfolding, but active participants in its creation.

Clarifying and remembering our highest intentions strengthens our resolve, motivates us to act, and liberates us from attachment to specific results.

This is the essence of karma yoga, the yoga of action. One of Arjuna’s great lessons in the Bhagavad Gita was learning to act without attachment to outcomes. Standing on the battlefield, filled with doubt and despair, he receives powerful guidance: Act, and let go of your attachment to the outcome. In this way, action itself becomes yoga.

Yoga's vision of radical interconnectedness is a blueprint for collective reimagining. By turning inward, we discover our underlying unity with all that exists. When we stand in this truth, our actions naturally align with life-affirming inner wisdom, and the way becomes clear. Next steps emerge organically.

World-building begins inside ourselves. Our consciousness is not separate from the systems we inhabit—it is the generative soil from which new possibilities emerge.

In these times of growing turmoil, our practice can become more than personal refuge—it can be a call to presence, clarity, and meaningful action. Each breath, each conscious movement, each heartfelt intention plants the seeds of the world we wish to see.

Join me online next week for Rise Up, Rooted: An Introduction to Yoga and the Work That Reconnects. Lydia Harutoonian of School for the Great Turning and I will explore the intersection of yogic practices with Joanna Macy’s time-tested group process for transforming despair and overwhelm into inspired, collaborative action. Pay what you wish to participate live or get the recording right here.