We Are Reminded That No One Place Is Any Better
Curator’s notes at the exhibit John Gossage’s “The Pond” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
My New Next Door Neighbor (And Thoughts on Moksha)
My adorable new neighbor appears in the photo to be outside looking in with me taking a picture from inside looking out. From the perspective of who was in the house and who was standing on the sidewalk, it was of course the was the opposite.
The paradoxical illusion in the photo led me to think about moksha — the yoga concept of liberation.
What I get from the various teachings for my own living practice is that to experience freedom in this embodiment we need to be able simultaneously to be on the inside looking out–from our individual embodiment appreciating a sense of universal connection–and also be on the outside looking in–bringing back to particularized embodied action what spaciousness we learn from practice and study.
Giant Grasshopper from Outer Space (and Maya)
The camera may not lie, but it certainly, like our own perception of things relative to that of others, have a distorted or unique perspective. One of the essential principles of the yoga world view is that of maya or illusion. In classical yoga, everything in the world is illusion; the only thing that is real is Atman–ultimate consciousness or god. In the tantric world view, the role of maya is more complicated. It essentially boils down to the idea that we are under an illusion when we think of the world and divinity as separate, and that this illusion of separation leads to a suffering of the individual spirit. Whether one hold with either of these world views or not, it is always true that thinking our limited perception is the only truth will likely lead to discord, misunderstanding, and strife.
- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Poetry
Impermanence
Sometimes I find myself like a butterfly folding its wings. Like any other state, it is impermanent.
