Thursday, July 26, 2007

Our Center

“The larger quantum field-the universe- is your extended body. Not only is the human nervous system capable of becoming aware of the information and energy of it’s own quantum field, but because human consciousness is infinitely flexible through this wonderful nervous system, you are able to consciously change the informational content that gives rise to your physical body. You can consciously change the energy and informational content of your own quantum mechanical body, and therefore influence the energy and informational content of your extended body-your environment your world-and cause things to manifest in it.” Deepak Chopra

In one of the most remarkable passages of a remarkable book “The seven spiritual laws of Success”, Deepak Chopra defines the means by which we are able to effect deliberate creation. The mechanics of creation are an aspect of the nature of the universe. Creation happens; things arise out of non-existence into existence. What is needed to guide that process, to make that process deliberate, is to become self aware.

Jesus’ last words are reported to be “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” This teaching is reflected in the yogic concept of Avidya, or spiritual ignorance. In Buddhism it’s described as Samsara or a veil of delusion. The great teachers of Buddhism, Christianity, and Yoga believe that we live as one lost in a dream. In this dream we have forgotten who we are. The aim of spiritual practice is to experience the truth of who we are, to become self aware.

This is a remarkable understanding of the role of traditional spiritual practice in the evolution of human potential. Techniques like Meditation and Asana train us to be able to steady the mind and thereby access its profound powers of discernment. We are able to experience ourselves not as an idea, a story, a past, a future, but directly, as form, energy, and consciousness. We become self observant and are able to receive guidance from the fullness of our being. The moment this process begins the duality we have taken for granted begins to unravel. Initially we believe we are feeling into the fabric of our being, but as we hold our attention on the inner dimensions of ourselves we discover that there is no point at which “in here” stops and “out there” begins. Eckhart Tolle defines enlightenment as “felt oneness with being”.

We are the at once the individual and the universal. The duality with which we have seen the world is a feature of a moment in the evolution of human consciousness. Einstein famously described it as an “a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.” The assumption of a dualistic perspective is that there is a part that is somehow separate from the whole is and there is a whole that is not made up of its parts. Or that an aspect of infinity can be separate from infinity. Accordingly our conscious will, or intention, is contained within our separate self and has no power or influence on the universe in which we find ourselves. The teachers of deliberate creation challenge this view. They say that the universe is an unbroken wholeness of which we are all a part and that our consciousness communicates with that wholeness. What is needed is a change of perspective.

A great teacher wrote “We see the world not as it is but as we are.” In a state of disconnection we see a disconnected world. In state of felt oneness with life we see oneness. Meditation and Asana are a means for seeing oneness. Like a mountain climber whose view changes as she climbs higher what we see has everything to do with where we are seeing from. The dualistic perspective views the world from the outside in. This view is deconstructed through meditation and asana so that we come to see the world from the inside out. Our perspective is grounded in our inner experience, our center.

Our center is the intersection between the individual and the universal. It is the alive, vibrant, experience of the truth of who we are. At this metaphysical crossroads we do not grasp the truth so much as embody it. Like the pilot who flies a plane from intuition and feel, we find we are able to extend our consciousness into a larger field of consciousness. Here existence and non-existence communicate and fulfill one another. Plugged into this larger understanding we do not loose our sense of self rather we experience it in the fullness of its potential. Our heart’s desire moves from a vague sense that fills us with longing to a clear vision the fills us with inspiration. This vision at once inspires the individual to right action and enlists the universe’s infinite organizing power. Creation, evolution, love in action flow. On earth as it is in heaven.

Friday, July 06, 2007

Center of Gravity

In May my son and my daughter celebrated their birthdays, his first her fourth. My wife and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. I also celebrated 17 years of sobriety. All in all it was a wonderful month. In June we went to Mexico where Mariam and I led a week long intensive. Both of Mariam’s parents were there as well as one of her sisters. Two of the staff members brought their husband’s and children along so the whole event had a dreamy pinch me quality as family and friends spent a week at the beach under the palm trees. My daughter Jasmine and I swam with dolphins and some students spent a starry night in a sweat lodge. When we got back the summer weather was in full swing and life has felt very precious.

My meditation practice has taken on a life of its own. There was the initial work to make it a consistent part of my life but that time past very quickly and now it has become the center of gravity in my life. As I surrender to it everything flows into and out of that center.