How will i walk today?
In the midst of the turmoil happening in the Gulf, my teachers and peers are offering great and valuable insight toward a yogic way of dealing with this tragedy. Unfortunately, this problem is long standing, and not going away soon. You don’t need to see another picture of a pelican drenched in oil to realize the scope. It hurts, and it sucks to watch.
My own response has been to be way more mindful in how I use all forms of energy. External uses of energy like electricity, gasoline, and even money, along with my physical, emotional and spiritual energy. I’m consciously holding myself away from those people and events that stress me out. It’s one of the greatest ways to physically stay cool in the alarming heat happening here in NY too.
A recent teleconference with my teacher Paul made a simple, yet profound statement. He was talking about what he called the ‘seasons of sadhana’, and how, as we increase our practices of yoga, pranayama, mantra recitation and especially meditation, we may face conflict and challenge in keeping on the path. It’s hard daily to create change when you’ve been doing something in a certain way for so, so long. But he offered this bit of knowing, this small statement of wisdom and reverence to the shakti that is unstoppable, no matter the conflict inward:
How will I walk today?
So simple. So profound. As if to say, which way will I turn? Which words will I choose? Who will I choose to accompany me today? All come back to the simplicity of thinking about how you choose each day to walk your path, to create your path and walk it, even when we want to give it up. And boy, I’ve been challenged to give up many, many times.
Now to make these changes in saving our energy, both the energy that gives us all the things that make us privileged on this planet, and the energy that makes us valuable to our families, students, peers, and kula. How do we do it? Alone and together?
Alone, I’m conserving everything whenever possible. Like I said above, even my inner heart’s resources and shakti from those people who try to rob me of it, or I tend to be very loose around and give it away to, often too freely, must be protected like a priceless resource.
I’ve been thinking about the fossil fuels that are in our planet and we get all of our stuff from. We certainly have benefited from foraging that fuel, in too many ways to count. Obviously it’s the abuse of our foraging that’s gotten us into huge trouble. While we do need it, everybody needs it and sees its value. What is the fossil fuel innate to each of us that is invaluable, crucial to our survival, and worthy of using or giving away? I say it’s Love. It’s the ultimate source of what is unstoppable on our planet, and we need it for our survival. Despite the challenge, daily sometimes, my practice has been to try walking every day, inviting that which is most high and beautiful and nourishing inside to be summoned forth into the world.
Speaking to my friend who is from New Orleans today, we thought together about the events as being simply an experience of rasa. Rasa means ‘essence’ or ‘taste’, and it is often used to describe the myriad of emotional states (there are 9 rasas) that we experience. I called them a ‘soup’, she called them a ‘gumbo’. Perfect way to describe how so many varied emotional responses can arise from a tragedy like this:
Shanta Rasa is the emotional state of peace, tranquility.
Shringara Rasa is passionate love.
Hasya is laughter or lightheartedness.
Raudra is fury, anger.
Karuna is compassion.
Bhibatsam is disgust, or aversion.
Bhayanaka is horror, terror.
Vira rasa is heroic.
Adbhuta is wonder, or amazement.
The point of studying the Rasas, from a Tantric perspective, is to come to appreciate and acknowledge the ‘soup’ we live in. The daily soup moves and changes, perhaps through all of them (as any young or new mother), and our work in the yoga is to navigate them. Figure out which rasa is worthy of lingering in, and for how long. My New Orleans friend was saying that right now, people could use a bit more Bhibatsam (disgust) in them, so radical change could be made. When angry and disgusted enough, you’ll make change. The rasas are here for us to grow more empowered in our state of affairs, not simply sit in the hot soup of it all.
So how will you walk today?
