Week 5: UnionThe English translation of the Sanskrit word “yoga” is union. Georg Feuerstein writes in The Yoga Tradition that “yoga is most frequently interpreted as the union of the individual self with the supreme Self” and “that what all branches and schools of yoga have in common, is that they are concerned with a state of being, or consciousness, that is truly extraordinary.” He refers to the state of being where, it is said, an individual experiences the unity of all things.
From Feuerstein’s words we see that the entire field of yoga, of union, is the pursuit of something that is big, deep, profound. Yet from our vantage point this idea may seem vague, theoretical, and certainly elusive. Our question becomes, how shall we work with such a big idea in week 5, in everyday life??
We work with this concept of union by using the tools that we have been developing throughout the 40 days. By continually observing how the different aspects of ourselves – feelings of the body, emotions, thoughts, inner intelligence, quality of breath, movement, roots, flexibility – are all part of, expressions of, the one being that we are.
When we compartmentalize, ignore, deny, avoid, blame, over work, or are always wishing for something else, we are not in union. Being in union is about living intuitively and being more present each moment. Baron writes, “By centering ourselves we start to own our lives, from the inside…We are learning to relax and be present with everything in our lives, both big and small.”
Week 5: MeditationThe meditation we have been doing is a practice of connecting with what Feuerstein refers to as the supreme Self. It is the most vital practice of unifying the individual self with the supreme Self.
Week 5: Balancing Diet
We have cleansed and now it is time to ground and build. Lean heavily on foods direct from the earth: whole grains, lots of vegetables, fruits , beans, nuts, and seed. Check in and ask if you really need or want coffee, refined sugar, white flour products, soda, alcohol, or a heavy meat diet. Can this be the time to let go of some of them for good? This is a time to start thinking about cooking more and meal planning. It is great time to really clean out your kitchen cabinets, sharpen your knives, set up a true workspace for healthy creations.
The following is paraphrased from Baron’s work on Centering:When we find ourselves full of "if only" complaints – the "if only he or she did this or that, then I'd be happy" flavor – then we are not centered, we are not living intuitively, and we are not present. Instead, we are feeding the victim within. It's our excuse for failed relationships and self-pity. We've learned to externalize control of our lives. Are we the cause or the effect?
Most of us believe that our world created us and external events continue to cause our suffering. Think about that for a minute! We are the cause of our lives with all its ups and downs. It is our beliefs about ourselves that lead us to see a happy world or an unhappy one. Hopefully, these weeks of yoga and meditation have brought extended moments of peace and presence. We continue to learn that it is our thoughts alone that cause us to suffer.
So how do we change our thoughts? We become responsible for ourselves. We don't have to wait for others to set us free. As we practice staying centered we discover that we can be aware of the little gremlin voices in our heads, but that we don't have to get caught up in the illusions of our own story.
This week is about learning to stay intuitively grounded. When we eat, we really eat – we really chew, really taste, really smell, really feel the food dissolve into and nourish our being. Make everything you do a practice of meditative awareness. If you can do this, you will see that your meditation practice is not separate from your life. We think that life is a distraction from meditation, but really life is an occasion for meditation.
