Ashtanga Invocation and a Recognition of the True Self

It occurs to me lately that the reason I am at a loss for words when I'm asked about the Ashtanga Invocation is that while I both know the translation and understand its meaning, I haven't considered what it means to me personally.

For one, I'm not easily swayed by esoteric ideals and am likely to remain skeptical of a given idea until it makes good logical sense to me.