I sail. I sail solo. I sail a lot, right off the beach on my Hobie Cat. It’s a wonderful active meditation, very similar to being on the mat.
I was inspired to write today about looking within for our answers but with an understanding of what that means. None of us got where we are by ourselves. It is not only our experiences but also the energy, experience, and imagination of all those that touch us along the way that makes us who we are. We are pure energy beings (see past post Understanding Chakras) interacting and navigating with other fields of energy that we perceive as real in this plane of existence. I know, bear with me…..
Sailing is a great way to explain all this. When I am sailing, I am “alone”, traveling very fast between two different fields of energy. I am literally inches away from a vast energy field complete with waves, peaks, and valleys that can drastically alter my experience if I am not careful. I am also interacting with another seemingly separate energy through the sailboat that allows me to skip over the top of this denser energy field. It’s all very cool, but either energy field, the ocean or the wind, can completely alter the experience very quickly if I don’t understand the dynamics with and between the 2 fields.
Do you really think I am doing all of this completely alone? What about the boat? Someone had to first imagine the boat before the energy was used to design and ultimately built it. How did that someone know if the boat they imagined would float or move with the wind? It was the collective experiences and imaginations of all those “somebodies” that came before. Quite literally the experience and imagination of thousands of years of existence travel with me every time I sail. The Greeks, the Romans, even ole Blackbeard himself sit with me on that boat. So for me to say that I am sailing solo does not recognize the truth of our existence. We are all intertwined in an energetic fabric of consciousness that defines us all, both collectively and “individually”.
The mat is no different. Every day that you show up on the mat is the result of energies much larger than your individual self. The routine, the concepts, the lessons, even BKS Iyengar himself are all part of a collective consciousness that you experience at that moment in time. If you will allow yourself to feel it, you will feel the presence of everyone else around you when you are on the mat, even if you are by yourself on the back porch! Why do you think when one person starts to fall in a balancing pose everyone else gets unsteady? It can be no other way. Open your perception to the idea that you are part of a much larger existence than just your physical body. You are a vital part of that existence and the whole is not complete without you!
So when you are looking for answers to life’s questions, whether it be the meaning of life or where to have lunch, open yourself to your collective consciousness within. Get outside of your “monkey mind” and tap into that which is your true self. Yes, your answers are within. Not within your body, but within your higher self, within the vast flow of energy that makes up who you truly are as a child of the universe.
As I have said before, don’t take my word for it. Put it to the test! For the next 10 days go within and ask your higher self to make all decisions, from what to wear, which restaurant to go to, or important decisions at work. Everything. Let your ego watch what happens, who you might “run into” or how what you thought was a totally unrelated decision turns out to fit perfectly with something else. Just let go and trust that small quiet voice, it really does know what it is doing.
Namaste.
Big fist bump to Claudia Interrante for her class this morning and inspirational reading! It was her energy that set this post in motion!!
Blair is the co-owner of Yoga Daily in Mt. Pleasant, SC. He is a certified yoga instructor, a recovering lawyer, and a spiritual student. The content of this blog is what Blair considers to be universal truths that span all dogma and religion and it is offered to you in Love and Light. Check out The Daily Yogi for additional blog entries. You can contact Blair at blair@yogadailymountpleasant.com. Yoga is but one path to the knowing that we are all one. Please take what resonates with you and leave the rest without judgment or offense.