Abstract
Personal discord, anxiety, and suffering are all too often viewed as resulting from a lack of choice. These feelings may be exacerbated by the contemporary notion of sacrifice as actively giving up that which brings pleasure and nourishment. How then, do we recognize choice, both passive and active? How does our understanding of sacrifice inform choice? Examining Vedic and pre-Vedic philosophy and practices, including yoga and the concept of ahiṃsā (nonviolence), facilitates not only an exploration of choice, but of the understanding of sacrifice; noting that we can choose to sacrifice that which no longer serves us. The sacrificial act is then transformed into a practice of self-reflection, active choice, and self-nourishment, creating an internal cycle of positive peace.
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Bastet, T. (2021). The Nature of Reflective Choice and Nonviolence as a Personal Practice of Yoga. In: Standish, K., Devere, H., Suazo, A., Rafferty, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Peace. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3877-3_2-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3877-3_2-1
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