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Yugas, Destroy the Ego and Richard Rut

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Yoga with Ethan ॐ

Heal Your {Body} • Master Your {Mind} • Free Your {Soul}

December 16, 2025

Happy Sunday, Reader 🔆

Today is day 11 of my 20-day silent meditation retreat.

At this point I will be well underway in my actual vipassana practice — scanning and digging into the body for subtler and subtler sensations (that I must then remain equanimous towards).

I can only pretend to know what will be happening to me right now. I've heard incredibly beatific stories of advanced meditative states. I'm trying not to expect or project. After all, the goal is equanimity, peace — not cool visions or an expanded mind.

There's also the possibility that things will be unspeakably challenging at this time. That the ego could be getting escorted out permanently, kicking and screaming as it leaves.

Truly, as I write this from the past, I feel surrendered to whichever way the wind wishes to blow. In me is an unbreakable diamond of trust in God, knowing that whatever process I'm undergoing — heaven or hell — is for my betterment and ultimate liberation.

I hope you enjoy this week's {Body} • {Mind} • {Soul} Newsletter and have a beautiful Sunday,
- Ethan ॐ

Ethan Hill
Owner, Yoga with Ethan


Effect of yugas on the physical body
Originally published on December 29th, 2024

In Sanskrit, the word yuga refers to an “epoch” or “age” within a cyclical framework of time. Much like the Western concept of seasons — the Earth endlessly orbiting the sun to create spring, summer, fall, and winter — yugas are cosmic cycles influenced by our planet’s proximity to the center of the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 26,500 light-years away.

(Here’s a wonderful YouTube video to help you visualize this.)

For roughly 12,000 years, the Earth moves closer to this “Central Sun,” and for another 12,000 years, it drifts further away. This is similar to how the Earth oscillates near and far from our sun over 365.25 days, or how the moon waxes and wanes over its 27.55-day orbit.

Now here’s where things get interesting…

Just as Earth’s position relative to the sun tangibly affects our bodies — more energy and vitality in summer, lower moods and immunity in winter — the yugas bring profound changes to human consciousness and physicality over their 24,000-year circuit.

For example, Satya Yuga, the “Age of Truth,” is like summer for the soul. Marked by harmony, love, heightened awareness, and optimal vitality, this golden age will occur from 7700 A.D. → 12,500 A.D. During this time, the physical body is said to become lighter, more radiant, and vibrate at a higher frequency, reflecting the elevated consciousness of the age.

In contrast, Kali Yuga (700 B.C. → 1700 A.D.) was marked by dense, material-focused energy — like a spiritual winter. During this age, our bodies became heavier, more prone to disease, and reliant on dense, processed foods for sustenance. This reflected the lower vibrational state and survival-oriented mindset prevalent during that era.

We are now in 325 Dwāpara Yuga — the beginning of spring, so to speak. This is an exciting period in which human consciousness begins blooming after its long hibernation in the cave of ignorance. As we transition into this age, the physical body is gradually becoming lighter, more energized, and more attuned to higher frequencies. Psychic abilities begin to come online at this stage.

Here an image that might help you wrap your mind around this:

Practice
Step-by-step instructions to turn theory into healing.

Since one lifetime only accounts for 0.3% of a Maha Yuga (a full 24,000 year cycle), there’s nothing you can “do”, per-say. It’s not like you can stop the passage of time!

That said, understanding these astrological cycles may bring you clarity and peace in the midst of the chaos we see on Earth right now. It’s not “bad” or “evil”; it’s simply a transition between two seasons.

The flower doesn’t consciously know it’s spring — it just blooms when the temperature and light conditions are right. You, on the other hand, have the unique opportunity to observe your unfolding. You can witness your own transformation in 4k resolution, with full awareness of its profundity, beauty and majesty!

In other words, the light of summer is emerging, and with it, all of your winter sleepiness and dreams begin to dissipate. And there’s not a d*mn thing you can do about it, except sit back and enjoy the ride.


Can we really eliminate our ego?
Originally published on May 26th, 2025

Unless you are already fully enlightened, part of you believes it’s impossible to eliminate all bad habits.

That is, you occasionally think there is a dark seed present at the core of your being that, by its very nature, cannot be uprooted — a speck of “evil” that will always have the potential to germinate.

Because of this subconscious belief, you often give up on disciplining your ego, believing austerity to be too restrictive and ultimately futile against the mighty allure of sense pleasures.

“Oh no…I could never give up all junk food! Life would become so boring!”

Said differently, you let the ego live because you assume it cannot be fully transcended.

This is a real problem considering the fact that — given the chance — your ego would have no problem fully destroying you.

Think about it: if you had zero discipline and left all decisions up to your ego it might very well take you on a voracious bender of eating ice cream, doing drugs, having sex, watching YouTube, and spending money.

And if you let that behavior play out day after day — year after year — you would end up incredibly ill and eventually dead.

Your ego wants you to believe that it cannot be completely extinguished. That way, it can continue existing in a corner of your psyche and feeding off your life force.

Don’t listen to it! Let the strength of Your willpower overcome all unconscious tendencies, and win the war against your self!

Meditate
Bite-sized audios to help you become the master of your mind.

No meditation this week – thanks for your understanding 🙏🏻


“Awakening is a series of softenings.” — Richard Rut
Originally published on January 21st, 2024

When you go to bed each night, the dream world becomes so convincing that you tend to forget that you’re dreaming.

In that sense, awakening in the mornings is simply the process of remembering what is real and what is unreal.

For instance, if you suddenly wake up while having a nightmare, it might take you a few moments before realizing that you’re actually safe in your bed, and that the monster was just in your head.

Spiritual awakening is the exact same thing:

You realize you’ve been dreaming and slowly come alive to an entirely new, vibrant reality.

Unsatisfactory circumstances are recognized as nightmares created by your own mind.

When you realize these two conditions as true, you will automatically feel safe to soften back into your real life again.

Journal
Contemplative questions on the nature of inner freedom.

No journal this week – thanks for your understanding! 🙏🏻


Wednesday, July 10th → Saturday, June 20th*

The Course of Transformation (🇵🇹 Portugal)

10-Day Nature & Yoga Retreat to Expand, Connect and Awaken

*Hosted just once a year. Only 14 spots. Limited scholarships available.


Yoga with Ethan ॐ

Heal Your {Body} • Master Your {Mind} • Free Your {Soul}