What Are Non Grasping and Non Clinging as Ethical Concepts?

## What Are Non-Grasping and Non-Clinging?

An Introduction to Aparigraha🌱

In our continuing examination through the yogic lens of the
Yamas and Niyamas, tonight’s gathering explores Aparigraha—often translated as
Non-Grasping or Non-Clinging.

We previously identified & discussed Non-Grasping as a core attribute underlying several abilities one may practice and cultivate over time:
1) Softening — a cognitive and perceptual easing, rather than force, control, or suppression, Non Grasping is found in Softening
2) The FrameWork of Relational Capacity — a central relational skill expressed through:

• Primary: Autonomy with Connection — staying related without clinging, coercing, or collapsing
• Mechanism: emotional regulation + choiceful agency (not compulsion)
• Result: clear boundaries without withdrawal or control
• - emotional regulation (reduced reactivity),
  - agency with ease (choice without compulsion),
  - and boundary integrity (clear limits without guilt or withdrawal)

3) Personal Growth: Foundational Attribute — a developmental capacity that supports personal growth and maturation across contexts

Non-clinging doesn’t mean we stop caring — it means we stop tightening around outcomes, identities, or roles that quietly exhaust us.

This is not about detachment, withdrawal, or giving things up.
It’s about noticing where holding on has quietly become effortful, and what we feel when that grip softens—even slightly.

Participation is always optional.
Listening is a complete form of engagement.

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🌿✨ Tonight’s Meeting Flow ✨🌿
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I. Thursday, January 22, 2026 @ 6:00 PM EST
6:00 PM Admission & General discussion, practice connection...
6:05 PM Good Evening, Welcome & Introductions
New attendees: brief, non-mandatory intros; orienting to the space

**II. *What Do You Feel? ***
Episode Two — Poem → Reflection → Awareness
Poem reading: “Ozymandias” — by Percy Bysshe Shelley
A pause to notice what is present now (sensation, emotion, impulse)

III. Contextual Grounding — We’ve already discussed four of the Yamas and Niyamas; tonight we explore a fifth of the ten;
Truthfulness🌱 braided with Non-Harming🧘 (January 8) ;
Balance⚖️ and Contentment🪷 (January 15th) ;
↳ breakout rooms (small groups noticing felt response)

IV. What Are Non-Grasping and Non-Clinging? (Aparigraha)
Where am I holding on because it once kept me safe?
What might soften if I loosened my grip—even slightly?

V. Closing & Adjourn

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✨ Please RSVP if you plan to attend—attendance is limited and it helps us hold the space well.

We’ll begin with a brief orientation and optional introductions, move into Episode Two of “What Do You Feel?” using poetry as a shared anchor, then ground tonight’s inquiry in the ethical terrain we’ve already explored before turning directly toward Aparigraha.

Speaking is never required. Silence, listening, and quiet presence are fully welcome.

Warmly,
Scott

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### Appendix — Poem

“Ozymandias” — Percy Bysshe Shelley (1798–1822)

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

✨ Please RSVP at the event page so we can prepare thoughtfully.