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    Dreams (and Maya)

    ByElizabeth

    In classical yoga systems, we are taught that all the world is an illusion (maya) and the only thing that is “real” is Atman (spirit, the One).  I do not subscribe to that belief, but I do believe in the principle that is espoused in the Bhagavad Gita of actionless action — working because it is my nature to work, but accepting that I ultimately am not in charge of the results.  I thus can be fully engaged in my work, but be freer of anxiety, disappointment, and frustration or overcharged attachment to pleasure and success.  From a tantric perspective, I believe it is all real and full and something to be experienced as part of the marvelous complexity of being.

    This principle carries over into my relationship to my dreams.  I have always had extremely vivid and present dreams most nights.  Sometimes, like last night, my dreams are full of convoluted challenges and difficulties that could be filled with anxiety.  I used to chew on dreams like that through the day.  Now I wake up and think:  what an amazingly inventive mind I have.  Isn’t the subconscious fascinating?  I pay attention to what lessons might be in the dream  and let them release the dreams from holding on to my day.  As I get more skilled with meditation and yoga, I often can find this place of simultaneous engagement/non-engagement even while I am still dreaming.  This makes it so the dreams have no more hold on my ability to sleep or act than would watching a movie that raises challenging issues.

  • At the Bus Stop

    ByElizabeth

    When I was waiting for the bus this morning, a woman walked up the sidewalk with two dogs off leash. The back, belly, and hindquarters of one dog had been shaven; he looked post-operative and stayed close to the woman. The other was eager to check out the man sleeping on the bench.
    “Venus, come,” said the woman to little effect as she walked in front of the enclosure to get some distance.
    “Venus, come,” I joined in with more directive tone. Though she’d never met me before, on hearing me say her name, she trotted up to me and sniffed my hand favorably before allowing me to pet her head.
    “She doesn’t bite,” said the woman.
    “No, I expected not,” I replied, continuing to pet Venus (after all, how often does a goddess condescend to allowing pettings from a stranger), “but I think the man on the bench might be wary of her.”
    “That’s why I walked on this side of the bus stop,” the woman added and off she, and Venus, and the other dog, he limping, went to buy milk at the grocery store across the street.

    It only takes one thing to put a dog in danger–traffic, other cars, strangers who don’t know how to deal with dogs, bicyclists racing down the sidewalk, etc. I’ve seen the harm done. In the city, please keep your dog on leash.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    Ganesha (Deity of the Marines?)

    ByElizabeth

    A senior colleague and I spent several hours today working together on a very challenging aspect of a long-term project.  When we were wrapping up for the day, I showed him a murti of Ganesha that another co-worker had brought me from the Norton Simon Museum when she had gone on a business trip to Pasadena, where our Los Angeles office is located.

    I said that I do not believe in the Hindu deities as gods, but find them helpful for contemplation as archetypes (in the Jungian sense).  I said that being on this project has taught me much about yoga and about Ganesha.

    “Ganesha,” I explained, “is not so much the remover of obstacles, but the one who places obstacles in your way to teach you the wisdom to grow and find a more enlightened path from having confronted the obstacles.”  “Oh,” said my colleague, “like the Marines:  adapt, improvise, and overcome.” “Well, sort of,” I replied, enjoying that we found a way to share laughter after our difficult afternoon.

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    Signs Around Town (Excerpt)

    ByElizabeth

    When we do a yoga pose, it is an act of creation; asana is in its own way a dance form. Every time we practice, it is our choice whether to make a pose a full and deep expression of our embodiment or just a routine physical workout no matter how many times we have done it before.

    So too, everything we do is in some sense a creative act. How we choose to express ourselves and what we make of our day–no matter that it is the same commute and work we may have done for years–is up to our own creative intention. What did you create today?

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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