06/13/2024
New blog entry posted-
“This is me checking out the gallery in Tuesday’s Form & Flow class to see how everyone was doing with the work I offered. We had a fun class today with a theme based on a consideration Carlos Pomeda gave Monday night in class, inspired from the Vijnana Bhairava. The text starts, like many ta***ic texts, with Shakti asking Shiva about the nature of Reality, about his true essence. The conversation moves from the theoretical to the means of practice to realize and experience Shiva’s true nature directly. In their dialogue, Shiva cautions Shakti about practicing from the assumption of separation, instructing her instead to practice from the recognition of the Highest, from the assumption of her already-present enlightenment. The caution he offers is that if one practices from a sense of lack, as though they are missing something or need to attain something, then the practice can reinforce the very notion one is trying to overcome.
I told class that this is one of those teachings worth putting on the refrigerator as a reminder to contemplate, as opposed to a teaching that I can expect myself to "do" or to immediately understand and/or integrate. ("Refrigerator Questions" is a concept I learned from Manorama.) I also told the class that anytime one hears a non-dual teaching, it runs the risk of sounding like spiritual bypassing or New Age hooey. Perhaps even worse is when sincere practitioners with perfectionistic tendencies weaponize the teachings against themselves as though they are falling short of an ideal and are somehow “not good enough” because they do not measure up to what they perceive as some kind of yogic standard or exacting commandment.
Truth be told, many days I come to my mat or my cushion more aware of my broken pieces than my wholeness. And because I can only start from where I actually am, rather than where I wish I was, invoking my already-present enlightenment seems far-fetched at best or like a bold-faced lie at worst. And, of course, I shouldn't ignore the reality that many of us practice for a desired outcome-- to feel better, to get stronger, to gain flexibility, to de-stress, to connect with self and others. All of those are good things so I can't imagine the text is saying these reasons are bad somehow. And there is the very real layer of personality that may be "God arising as neurosis” but is also causing us and/or others harm and could use a little work. So that layer is also true.
Like I said, it's a lesson for the refrigerator.
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Truth be told, many days I come to my mat or my cushion more aware of my broken pieces than my wholeness. And because I can only start from where I actually am, rather than where I wish I was, invoking my already-present enlightenment seems far-fetched at best or like a bold-faced lie at worst. An
