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It Does Not Get Much Better (and Satcitananda)
The key concept of yoga–satcitananda can be elusive, like all abstract concepts in the yoga philosophy and in other philosophies or areas of study. We are given metaphors and analogies in the texts to help us recognize when, through our practice, we experience in our self the manifestation of what had just been theory (book knowledge).
It is hard to describe, for example, what it truly means to be fully present and aware in the moment and thus suffused with bliss
(satcitananda).There was a moment, standing in the hot sun, when I tasted a sun-warmed, perfectly ripe blueberry that I thought, this is a moment many of my students might imagine to be able to extrapolate the abstract concept of satcitananda.
Notice also the volunteer purslane at the base of the blueberry bush. Weeding and harvesting greens for salad and stir fry can be coextensive. Don’t poison or discard your purslane (or your dandelions). Pick it and eat it; purslane is a great plant source of omega fatty acids.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
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Gates and Gateways (and Ganesha’s Exhortation)
A gate might be an obstacle or it might be a way through or it might be that which is containing something that would otherwise be detrimental to our well-being. One of the key things that we do with the various yoga practices is explore how an apparent barrier is serving us or how a locked gate might turn our path in a more auspicious direction.
We will learn little and live less fully if we just lament the locked gate and unreasonably expect from the practices the removal of challenges or barriers. Ganesha–who is often invoked as the remover of obstacles–is less one who just opens all the gates for us than one who empowers us to discover gateways regardless of whether gates are meant to stay locked or whether they seem to block our path.







