The Union of a Mind Divided

It has been awhile since I have posted and it is nice to be back to the computer. Now, from Sandford, Nova Scotia where Heather, Natha and I have moved. The ocean air is deeply appreciated and the ground under our feet feels sacred.

I have been reading a book called, The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts who was a great philosopher in his own right and did a lot to interpret the teachings of Zen Buddhism and the philosophy of Oneness from yoga. In this book he makes an important point about the mind that is divided between the present moment experience and thinking processes that are rooted in the future and/or past. The integration of this 'divided' mind is a characterization of yoga.

When we practice yoga on the mat we choose to be more aware of sensations in the body while we disengage from cognitive processing or "thinking". This is a big step for most of us and an important one on our path to health through yoga. In his book, Alan Watts takes the notion of sensation much further than I normally would. He regards "sensation" as the perception through all of our senses and reveals the subtle reality that all of what we experience in our field of perception is in fact sensation. What you perceive as "other" is merely sense-inputs interpreted by cognitive process. The mind is split between this sensational experience of the here and now and the mind's unwillingness to remain present. Alan sums it up nicely,

"So long as the mind is split, life is perpetual conflict, tension, frustration and disillusion....But the undivided mind is free from this tension of always trying to stand outside oneself and to be elsewhere than here and now."

Recognizing the tension is the first step to realizing its resolution. Regular practice seems necessary for most of us to return to that sensational moment of now. As you read this take a moment to breathe with greater awareness, to feel the sensations in the body. Be where you are more deeply than a moment ago. Can you feel yourself settling in to the moment? Crossing the Great Divide can happen in a single breath. In fact, it could only happen one breath at a time.

Namaste,

Steve

Step off!

The sky is bright and blue as Spring is making a comeback here in our beautiful community. The emptiness and expansiveness of the blue sky is similar to the spaciousness of mind that we can cultivate through meditation. Our days are filled and our minds are filled with thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow. As we sit for meditation we simply observe those same thoughts and step off the wheel. You know the little wheel the hamster runs around? In meditation we step off that wheel. The wheel is the story that you are running about your life, the complaints, the regrets, the thoughts of revenge. The wheel is still there, the mechanisms of the mind, the old thought patterns and habits are still there but something else manifests. A vacuum is created as we "step off" and drawn into the space of the vaccuum is a deep sense of peace. When do you experience deep peace in your life? I bet you know how often you experience its opposite. Peace is not a luxury to be felt by the unencumbered but rather the very foundation of health, the proverbial fountain of youth. Find a way to experience peace every single day and if you do a little peace inventory and find your life wanting then get to yoga class and take back what only you can give away.

We will have yoga at the boathouse tonight with Claudette as I am traveling today. She may not want me to say this but Claudette radiates peace in a way that is deep and rare. She will guide you to move your body with awareness and with the intention of peace; to strengthen and to lengthen the body within the embrace of peace; to contract your muscles and relax your muscles with the attitude of peace and finally to relax deeply your mind and body so that you may realize peace to the very core....AS the very core of who you are.

I read a quote the other day that said, "Tension is who you think you are while relaxation is who you really are."

Namaste,

Steve