I realize i’ve been stuck in a state of forgetting, a bubble of sorts, for the past few years. It’s a symptom of my Yoga practice.
I’m on this path, you know? The sort of which has me rising before the sun to practice, ending my day with sacred sounds, cultivating presence in myself and holding space for others to do the same…the level of the being ALIVE and AWAKE that seems to scream “YES WE CAN!” on the same wavelengths as our repetitive “AUM Aum aummmmm”-ing.
Each day I forget a little bit more about the piece of me that doubts, the voice that whispers “you are not enough” or worse “you’ll always be this way.” My forgetting isn’t a conscious act so much as the result of practicing consciousness. I’m forgetting the lies in order to remember the truth. And YES, it is a remembering. A recognition that i’ve been here before, done this thing before, and as I have that experience I can choose to see what exists beyond the veils.
To everyone who thinks we are creatures of habit, that some things will just never change because we are “only human” I respectively offer you this. Have faith, be vulnerable, get right with your “something higher.” PRACTICE. Get on your mat, on your cushion, on your knees, whatever particular place or form or technique makes your cells align with grace…with hope. Let the hate and anger go (wo)man. That shit gets old. Stop judging and start allowing. My bet is- you will start to remember too.
So maybe i’m not stuck. Maybe i’m becoming un-stuck and getting a little closer to the un-struck. Maybe my bubble IS the reality for now. Maybe i’m filtering out the smoke of perception, of ego, of samskara and karma to see clearly the bright landscape of my true nature wherein it is promised i’ll neither need to forget or remember anyTHING. Or maybe i’m just becoming a better human, challenging popular belief that we “just can’t change somethings”- and that’s great too.
NPR RadioLab: Robert Sapolsky’s segment on baboons…Yeah… you need to listen to this
Oh and if you want an interesting little bit about why I chose the title of this post check out Robert Sapolsky’s research on Baboons here (This link is an easy read in YES magazine and HERE is the summary of his findings in the NCBI). Even some of the most evolutionarily violent and offensive creatures (baboons) can shift their behavior and choose a culture of peace. If the baboons can do it why can’t we?
“Anyone who says, “No, it is beyond our nature,” knows too little about primates, including ourselves.”
While I dig the science, i’m not surprised. Just check out the final Yoga Sutra : (purusha artha sunyanam gunanam pratiprasavah kaivalyam svarupa pratistha va chiti shaktih iti)
4.34 When those primary elements involve, or resolve themselves back into that out of which they emerged, there comes liberation, wherein the power of pure consciousness becomes established in its true nature.
But you wouldn’t have known had you not had faith. You wouldn’t have known had you not been vulnerable to the possibility of magic moments. You wouldn’t have been set free had you not been stuck in the mud.
There are too many reasons to state as to why this topic is what it is today. Hopefully it will resonate with you. The inspiring occurrences are less pertinent than the message itself. Have faith.
(And if you listened to the segment above…you may agree with me by saying. I don’t think that article was a huge waste of time Mr. Sapolsky, Keep on keepin’ on)
