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- Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Community and Family | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation
Vacation
Yoga clothes–check
Meditation shawl– check
Hiking boots–check
Head lamp–check
Bathing suit–check
Insect repellent– checkWill be on retreat. Not to escape, but to reinvigorate and reconnect so that I can be more fully present and available for work and community and seeking to change what is possible on my return.
No cell phone service until Monday. Will have stories, I’m sure, when I get back.
Shadows and Light
In discussion of erudition and spirituality, much use is made of the metaphor of light. Light takes us out of darkness, reveals the truth of illuminated wisdom, is the truth, is pure consciousness, etc.
When I noticed the shape in the sidewalk pavement culminated by a shadow, I found myself thinking that we cannot fully experience light without shadow. Not because we cannot understand something (e.g. good) without experiencing its opposite (evil), but because absolute light blinds us to the point of destroying the ability to see even the light. We need shade or dark sunglasses to see what is differentiated when the sun is at its most glaring.
Just as the stone in the photo would not be revealed as a heart but for the shadow crossing it, so too, we cannot know the deepness and authenticity of love or spiritual teachings and practices until we discover that we can stay true to them through challenge and adversity. The shadow does know, just as the light reveals.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu (and the health care act)
In Hindu philosophy, the powers of creation (Brahma), sustaining or preserving (Vishnu), and destruction (Shiva) are all given equal weight in the balance of the universe. Without destruction, there is no place for new creation. Each aspect of this triad is an essential part of the elemental unity of being.
I think that a repeal of the health care act, if it only were to open the path to a single payor system that actually provided health care for most, would be a good human level demonstration of the need for destruction to allow for creative flowering. Alas, I don’t think that is what the would-be destroyers have in mind.
I remember at these times that I am not in charge, and I cannot see the biggest of the big pictures, but somehow, that is not always of much comfort.





