Navigating Life's Terrain
Dear Friend,
I hope you are well these days and wish you a happy holiday time, good recharging, and a smooth transition to the new calendar year. I will be on vacation during Christmas and New Year and am looking forward to that but also reminding myself to enjoy the last few weeks of the year despite the cold and somewhat sunless days as well as some dark world events that seem to be coming from all directions. Hoping for a better year ahead on a global level.
This month I would like to discuss some ideas and ways for dealing with big and small picture matters related to the state of affairs of the world. Those of us who follow the news may feel somewhat overwhelmed with the events of the past year or so, maybe even longer. There seems to be a general impression that things are crumbling down around us. In the age of social media, the news cycle can easily become a 24/7 continuum and tends to hit us from all directions, whether we deliberately search for it or not, therefore it gets more and more difficult to keep our distance from images coming at us and creating all sorts of impressions and reactions.
I think a lot of people share the feeling these days that there is a significant rise in violence, intolerance, lack of compassion, and conflict globally. It is so baffling that at the height of globalization, when 8 billion people are practically connected to each other in so many ways and have so much in common, humanity is so polarized and hateful. This may sound quite bleak, probably more than it actually is, but what is relevant in this context is how we can use yoga as a tool when dealing with intense feelings of worry, anxiety or even hopelessness. To be honest, these are some of the impressions that I have these days, and I feel the need to explore this topic with you and also with myself.
Going a bit off topic, in my 2 decades or so of orbiting around the yoga circles, I have often come across a trendy concept rooted in Indian mythology which is the idea that we are living in an age called Kali Yuga. According to Indian tradition there are different ages, or cycles, that humanity goes through that repeat themselves in some order. The claim is that we are currently living in an age which is considered the worst of the four Yugas (world ages), and is said to be dominated by conflict and acts of hatred. One of the features of this age is that those who live in line with their Dharma, living a contemplative life, full of wisdom and compassion, are few.
Metaphysical claims like this one have somehow found their way into the culture and even the teachings of yoga, and to be honest I have realized years ago that if I want to benefit from the profound wisdom of yoga I have to filter out a lot of fantasy-based superstitious dogma, this being one of those.
Why am I bring this up than?
Sometimes these superficial parts of the yoga mythology have some grain of truth in them hidden beneath massive amounts of fictional storytelling and religious folklore, and I think that instead of automatically disregarding them one can benefit more from "not throwing the baby with bath water". If we observe human societies in modern times we can see that they all based on self-harming patterns of speech, behavior, and belief, that there is a common thread of devaluing of compassion, wisdom, truthfulness and kindness everywhere, that people who display selfish, greedy, aggressive, demeaning, narcissistic characteristics are being put on a pedestal or elected to positions of power. That is not to say that there aren't many people around the world who possess different qualities, however societies as a whole seem to be dominated by these negative patterns and powerful individuals who are their by-product.
If you follow these monthly emails for a while (if not you can read them HERE), you may have figured out by now that the most effective yoga practice is one that is not just done on the mat but is carried on off the mat and into daily life. Living yoga is essentially living a contemplative life. What does it mean?!?
One common mistake is that being "spiritual" means that you're always happy, smiling, living a fluffy happy go lucky kind of way. I think anyone who ever attempt to go deep into contemplative practices like yoga or meditation would quickly recognize that inner states constant change, sometimes we feel good, and other times we feel less good or even bad. Pretending that things are always good is a form of disconnection or suppression of internal reality, so is pretending that everything is always bad.
Another common mistake is that we can achieve spiritual states just by manifesting them or talking about them. This tends to lead to what is commonly referred to as "spiritual bypassing", which are basically elaborate ways of avoiding the necessary difficulties or challenges that come with any meaningful process of transformation.
At its core, contemplative practice is about developing a deep, reality-based, experiential knowledge of one's Self, which then translates to learning how to deal with all facets of life in a much more wise, harmonious and peaceful way. It is not about creating some ideal internal reality that is nice and pleasant but rather being awake to the transient reality of each moment of our life without holding on or rejecting it, not even identifying with it in any way. That is what it's all about and it usually requires a long process of effective practice to be able to let go of deeply rooted patterns that bring harm.
Times of worry, fear or even despair can be a tremendously useful opportunity to go deep into the practice, to be mindful of these patterns of thought and emotion, to the way they manifest in our mind and how they feel in our body and impact our breath. Any formal practice of yoga or meditation can help develop the capacity to pay attention to our body, breath and mind, emphasizing a calm, non-judgmental, non-reactive state or attitude of doing so, which is called Upeksha or equanimity. This is a skill we can develop with proper practice and when we feel more established in it we can rest in this state even in the midst of turmoil, being grounded in clear perception instead of the distorted reactive perception that comes when we are not equanimous. When we have this tool available we can go through difficulties, even more intense ones, without getting lost in streams of thoughts and emotions and being identified with them.
This does not mean we become emotionless robots, quite the opposite!
When we get lost in the contents of our thoughts and emotions what we are actually doing unconsciously is trying to push them away. The "problem-solver" in our mind goes online and we engage in all sorts of imaginary scenarios in which we either indulge in pleasant experiences or remove unpleasant ones. We seek resolution and when we cannot find it externally we produce these scenarios in our mind with the same intention which is to remove or improve the current state. When we allow ourselves to feel things fully as they are, even when they are unpleasant, we actually let them do their thing and pass away, we are allowing ourselves to experience things fully rather than push them away. It is recommended to explore being fully awake to the present moment in easier situations first, when we experience a little discomfort in our body or a semi troubling thought. We can practice it in meditation when the conditions are optimal and then at some point apply it in other situations or circumstances, and then gradually expand this practice and live in a more contemplative way.
Cultivating a contemplative state of mind and gradually being more established in equanimity does not mean that we avoid dealing with external difficulties or challenges, in fact most yoga schools encourage one to be fully grounded in reality, both internal and external, and to take action when needed, or to make an effort to change things for the better, and to do so with the right attitude and intention. Our priorities may shift with effective yoga practice, what we view as good for us and others may differ from others who don't practice. A common realization on one's yoga journey is that true and fulfilling happiness comes from serving others, from spreading wisdom, compassion and peace in the world, from engaging in acts that promote wellbeing for one own self and others. Sometimes that can even mean being firm, or setting clear boundaries, or even fighting for a cause in a non-harmful way. Living a contemplative life means that the emphasis is always on the level of intention not on outcome, this is where real change can take place.
Every time we face a difficulty, or feel overwhelmed, or when thoughts and emotions sabotage our equanimity, we can use this as a wonderful opportunity to grow in our practice, to climb another step on the spiritual ladder. Here are some practical tools:
★ Take a moment to sit with your eyes closed, or take a walk mindfully.
★ Recognize the specific emotion or feeling which is present and note it. You can use words such as "fear", "worry", "sadness". "hopelessness", whatever best describes that state in one word.
★ Notice your body. Can you feel it in multiple areas or just one? What is the texture of these sensations? Does it affect the breath? Try not to analyze things but rather simply feel it on a physical level.
★ Notice if there is any reaction in the mind, even on a subtle level, to this feeling. Are you resenting it or wishing it would go away? Are you holding on to it in any way? See if you can take this opportunity to cultivate equanimity, a non-reactive, embracing, accepting state that is rooted in the recognition that all things are transitory, nothing stays forever.
★ If things feel too intense you can try reciting a short mantra once or a few times. You can say to your self "it's ok", or "I'm ok". If you feel a bit more grounded maybe even say to yourself "even if that feeling stays forever, it's ok, I'm ok". See if that helps. Very often changing the concepts we have of things helps us get out of a rut, get unstuck.
★ If none of that helps, do a short breathing practice and then come back to them another time:
Take a few full belly breaths.
Breathe in comfortably, breathe out slowly.
Do a square breathing pattern practice (ratio of 1:1:1:1) - breathe in for the count of 4 (or longer), hold the breath for the same duration, breathe out at the same duration, hold the breath out for the same length of time. Feel free to find the length of segment that feels most comfortable and allows to maintain this breathing rhythm.
If you find yourself curious about these kinds of topics - join a workshop, a retreat, or any other event on offer.
Looking forward to sharing yoga with you in December.
Wishing everyone peace and happiness,
Oren
♡
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