― The Bhagavad Gita
As Shannon walked in, I could feel that her offerings would bless my heart in huge ways. She perched herself in lotus pose and began to speak about the power of this time. She is trained in Jivamukti Yoga and always has the most insightful teachings from her teachers.
"Now is not a time to busy yourself with the senses. It is not the time to be looking outward at what everyone else is doing. Don't let your eyes be fooled or your heart be tantalized by the pulse of the external world. Now is a time to go inward."
I found myself sitting there nodding my head in agreement. I took a breath and sipped in even more of her sweet words. Each thoughtful sentence felt like an invitation into the spiral of my heart.
"My dear friends, this is a time to turn inwards. Instead of rushing home to view the eclipse, I am going home and drawing my shades so that I can chant and use this auspicious energy to turn within. I want to know myself in an even deeper way. We have all experienced to some extent the intensity of this eclipse, and just as Thich Nhat Hahn says, 'No mud, no lotus.' The lotus needs the muck to grow through, there is no other way. The eclipse offers us the darkness so that we might be more able to appreciate the light. The light is within you."
I let out an audible sigh...'The light truly is within us.' I softly smiled as I thought of the lotus. A beautiful and delicate flower emerging from the depths of the muck...so fragile, yet so profoundly strong. It seems our lives are like that of the lotus...diving deep into the muck sometimes, and then emerging intact.
Maybe it's not about looking at others lives, but truly diving deep into the waters of our own life. How can we translate our suffering and joy if we haven't the courage to look them in the face? Each a friend of the other, and each along for the ride taking turns in the drivers seat.
I closed my eyes and began my practice...going in and in...
This practice is my life. Always a deeper inquiry than what meets the eye; even if it is a solar eclipse.
May You Sweetly Seek:)
In Gratitude,
Sarah