Metamorphasis

Metamorphasis

Without change, nothing would ever grow or blossom

Fall is such a splendid time of year, full of rich scents and sights. Autumn is a time of year where we can look at what has taken root over the past year and what has not. It is a time that we can look deep inside and become new. The entire world before us gets ready to sleep in preparation to morph into something new and rich in spring. This little word morph has a long history. It actually comes from a Greek word, morphoo which means 'the inward and real formation of the essential nature of a person'. Through Metamorphoo, from which comes the English word metamorphosis, a caterpillar is transformed into a soaring butterfly. As children of God, we are to undergo a change that makes who we are today or who we were without God, barely noticeable. We need to take that inward journey, dig deep, and root into our faith, our belief and what it is we were authentically created to be and do. 

If you have the choice in whether to believe in what you want or to believe in the popular logic, yoga asks you to believe in yourself. You have to care more about what you think of yourself than what others think of you. The knowledge gained from reaching a place within yourself where no limits apply, makes yoga the transformational practice that it is. In a way, we need to approach the impossible to give us strength and determination to learn how to believe in it. Through practice you slowly shift the notion of impossible to possible through concentrated effort and steady practice. The posture is not the end result, but you do get to learn the movement along the way. The end result is a strong, steady and peaceful mind that when aligned and set at a goal can achieve anything.

We all have conceptions of what yoga is that limit our experience. For example just believing that it is a timeless tradition rich in history has its benefits and disadvantages. Krishnamacharya, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar all discarded the tradition of only teaching yoga, Sanskrit chanting and other esoteric techniques of spiritual realization to men. In the end, the result is that women have become the majority of yoga practitioners worldwide. The strict adherence to this tradition would have impeded yoga's growth and ability to reach and heal more people in the world. There are aspects of each of our paradigms that unnecessarily restrict the innovation of new ideas and growth. The key to riding the edge of impossibility involves finding all areas where stubborn attachment to the past inhibits the free flow of energy and ideas.

There is a delicate balance between irreverent disregard of tradition in favor of the new and shedding attachment to the past that is necessary for renovation and growth. Sometimes new ideas are controversial when viewed from the perspective of tradition. Yet, if you have a dream you must believe in it, even if no one else does. You will need to be strong enough to remain steadfast amidst criticism that your idea is flawed or wrong. If you alter your course to please the peanut gallery of voices, you may lose your focus. If you have a dream, you must face your own doubt squarely and believe in the goodness of your own idea. Against all odds, you must be willing to take a stand for it, working hard for the result and even sacrificing things to stand for what you believe in. Eventually the truth wins out and if you are carrying out God's will, doing good, and adding value to the world, then it will be validated. But you have to accept from the beginning that not everyone will like what you do if your ideas are on the outer limits of what is popularly accepted. You can either try to please others or you can tune in and follow your own inner truth (the voice of the Holy Spirit).

The practice of yoga gives you access to both the highlights and the lowlights of your being and in doing so carves the path toward connecting with God and as a result of that, ultimate freedom. There is no successful trajectory towards final liberation that does not involve the hard work of shining the light of your own awareness on all the sleeping places within your consciousness to ultimately carrying out your dream, making your passion a reality, even if it does not resonate with the status quo.

The practice of yoga is about finding that inner connection with God and giving yourself the inner resolve to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even when no one else shares your faith, enthusiasm or belief. So how is your inward journey? As the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers say "It's morphing time." Are you ready to morph?

The longest journey is the journey inward. Dig deep!!

Namaste

Trish

Try Softer!

Try Softer!  I challenge each of us to do just that: Try Softer!  We all have areas in our lives that we compete in; athletics, body image, success in career, the neighborhood we live in, etc. This list could go on forever!!  This fall, let us all make an effort to become softer in effort with our yoga practice and be aware of when we fall into our ego and participate in competitive yoga. Who and what are we practicing for anyway? Cultivate peace within and have that pour out!  Try softer! Below is one man's experience with yoga that hits home on so many levels and provides a FANTASTIC laugh. Please enjoy the musings and the lesson he gives!

 

'Not long ago I went with my wife to a yoga class for the first time in my life. Immediately it became clear to me why yoga will never catch on: They don't keep score. You can't tell who's winning.

Mostly we just stretched, and I am not good at stretching.  On a good day I can touch my knees.  What made it worse is that most of the other people in the class were clearly double-jointed.  There was a middle-aged woman who didn't look particularly fit---I thought I would definitely beat her at whatever you compete at in yoga--but she was a dancer.  At one point she did the splits with her legs, bent forward with her torso completely flat on the ground, then tied both her legs around the back of her head.  If they had been keeping score, I would have lost at that point on the mercy rule.  Afterward, I did ask the instructor if the woman could be tested for performance-enhancing drugs.

As you might imagine, the class was a lot of work and good for my body.  But I was struck afterward by a phrase I never heard: Try Harder. The instructor never said, " Try harder to stretch.  Try harder to be flexible.  Try harder to contort your body like a 14-year old female Russian gymnast."

When you stretch, you don't make it happen simply by trying harder.  You must let go and let gravity do its work.  You give permission, opening yourself to another, greater force.

This is not just true when it comes to stretching.  AS a general rule, the harder you work to control things, the more you lose control.  The harder you try to hit a fast serve in tennis, the more your muscles tense up.  The harder you try to impress someone on a date or while making a sale, the more you force the conversation and come across as pushy.  The harder you cling to people, the more apt they are to push you away.

Sometimes trying harder helps.  It can help me clean my room, push through phone calls I need to make, or run another lap.  But for deeper change, I need a greater power than simply 'trying harder' can provide.  Imagine someone advising you "Try harder to relax.  Try harder to go to sleep.  Try harder to be graceful. Try harder not to worry. Try harder to be joyful."

There are limits on what trying harder can accomplish.....The problem with trying harder is that I get fixed on my own heroic efforts.  I grow judgemental.  I can't let this endure forever.  So instead of making vows about how my spiritual life will be perfectly well organized until I die, I seek to surrender my will for just this day.  I look for small graces. I try to engage in little acts of service.  I pray briefly to accommodate my limited attention span.  I look for ways of being with God that I already enjoy.  I try to go for half an hour without complaining.  I try to say something encouraging to 3 people in a row.  I put $20 in my pocket that I will give away sometime during the day.  I take a 5-minute break to read a page of great thoughts.

If trying harder is producing growth in your spiritual life, keep it up.  But if is not, here is an alternative:

Try softer.

Try better.

Try different.'

by John Ortberg

Can You Hear Me Now?

chapter 6 pages 70-71

 

The longest journey is the journey inward. Dig deep!!

Namaste

Trish