.....duality

Yogis,

Where do I even begin…….

These past few weeks I have been sharing three of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in class. The Yoga Sutras are considered somewhat of the bible for yoga.  Comprised of 196 short statements/sentences/sutras that together weave the entire picture of what yoga is at its very essence.  It begins by stating that yoga is “the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind”. Wait a minute!  Isn’t yoga about being able to put your foot behind your head?

Of all of the sutras, only 3 mention the asana practice. The physical yoga classes that we all go to.  And this week we worked with the final of those three sutras which offers us a glimpse into the power available from continued practice …..

II.48

From that

perfection of yoga posture,

duality, such as reacting to praise and criticism,

ceases

to be a disturbance.

How fitting a lesson for this week.

We live in a world of duality. Hot and cold, sad and happy, rich and poor, up and down, you and me. And it is this duality that causes us suffering. We attach emotions and judgments of good and bad, clinging to what we ‘like’ and reacting with anger or fear to that which we ‘dislike’. When I am praised my ego puffs up and I am riding high, only to deflate and crawl into a corner when criticized.  This has been a week of heightened duality with all of our pots stirred up. Divisions now even stronger – us vs them. The others. Good and bad.

How could this possibly not be a disturbance?????  But I am the one that suffers.

I went away for the weekend and did my best to not read a paper, not watch the news and only check Facebook a few times. I took walks. Lots of walks. On one of these walks, as the sun began sinking lower in the sky, its rays shone like a spotlight on the bench above. The bench called to me. ‘Come and sit a while.  Listen.’  I sat.  First I heard my breath. Then I noticed how quiet everything was.  Calm.  Such a contrast to all of the noise going on right now.  So much noise. Too much noise. 

In front of me was a small lake and on it were thirty geese. Twenty of them in one group and the other ten in another group about 20 feet away. Then one duck all by himself. Separate. Them, him and us.  Yet all floating silently. No name calling. The water holding them all the same. Not disturbed by their differences. At peace.

Right now, regardless of which group you are in, or if you are the lone duck there is this sense of duality. Separate. States no longer United.  Yet at our center we aren’t. We are all human. We all have fears, longings, beliefs and dreams. Families, holidays, jobs, chores and bills.  All held by this same earth. All breathing the same air. All a spark of the divine. 

I personally don’t choose to believe that half of our country is ‘dumb’, ‘hateful’, or ‘crazy’.  That is our distaste for duality showing its face.  In fact I realize that I have been living in a bit of bubble to not have had any inkling of how separate and unheard half of our population feels. It makes me sad. I truly don’t understand, but have I tried? The message that keeps coming to me is – ‘Open up and listen. There is still much work to be done.’

So where do we go from here? Anger, verbal assaults and labeling others may make us feel better for a while, but will keep this gaping wound open. Healing will take the courage to get quiet and listen within. Pulling forth the values each one of us hold and living them. Seeing what we want and visioning that world vs all the talk of what we don’t want. Getting involved to reach out and make a difference. Supporting causes that we believe in. Compassionate action that includes vs hurtful divisive reaction that rips the tear further. 

The same moon that I watched rise tonight over the ocean will shine on you, the geese, the duck and every human in these United States. These times ahead may not be easy, but I will remember the messages from the lake and will not be disturbed. I have a life to live and others to embrace……..I see and know what I want and will walk the path forward strongly with complete faith.

Arms around all of you,
SARAH