Yamas and Niyamas

Making the yamas and niyamas part of my life is not an easy task. I take these like the 10 commandments. OR rules needed to play the game. I am a work in progress. Some are easier than others to commit to. It is my devotion to stay the course. Imagine what society would be like if we all tried this?
• Yama:    Social Discipline (how to play well with others)
• Ahimsa :  No violence.   Do not harm others - this includes the animal kingdom, with a frontal-lobe or otherwise. Do not harm yourself (this is harder than I thought.... no more self loathing or negative inner dialogue)  Do not harm the environment.   We need to learn to tolerate what we dislike..loath? (which is another hard one... tolerate the people who have wronged me, or who do not deserve it). Do not speak anything that will injure another person... even if it is the truth (this one runs deep! How can I judge?)
• Satya: Be Truthful.  Always tell the truth. ( Even when I want to lie by omission. Or play that game when I choose my words so eloquently that the truth gets lost in the dialogue.) It means we can't intend to deceive in our thoughts or words or actions. (When rules are based on intentions, they are always hard!)
• Asteya: Don't steal.   You can't take what is not given (and this would include the extra $20 that comes out of the ATM.)
• Brahmacarya:  Be Sexualy responsibile. We have to respect others as beings and not just lust after their body parts. (no more porn? No more Cosmo?)  This is not just based on sexy-thoughts and lusty endeavours alone...more than just sexual restraint. Stop the mind and the mouth of endless chatter - the monkey mind, the insane frontal-lobe. This benefits us by conserving our energy for the purpose of spiritual practice.
• Aparigraha: Do not be greedy.  (I guess I have to kiss The Secret  goodbye.)  We can't covet what is not ours. We need to avoid unnecessary accumulation of things that we don't actually need to maintain life or spiritual study. ( now this one hurts. I LOVE shoes).
• Niyama:   Personal Discipline (Self-respect).
• Sauca: Be Clean.  Keep your body clean inside and out.Not just zestfully clean, but internal purity. This means eat a moderate healthy diet. Keep your mind clean; avoid unclean thoughts, ideas or emotions like anger or even feeding the ego.
• Santosa: Be Content.  Accept what is real and understand what we are allotted. This does not mean however, complacency - but acceptance. 
• Tapas: Austerity.   Deepen your commitment to your yoga practice.   "Blazing practice with religious fervor."
• Svadhyaya:  Self-study.   Spiritual self-education.   Spend time in ccontemplation and application of the scriptures or sacred texts of your chosen path. Don't become a spiritual sloth...lazy in the soul.
• Isvara pranidhana: Surrender to God.   Acknowledge there is a higher principle in this universe than your own small self.   Be modest. Practice humility.