5 Element Theory

According to Traditional Chines Medicine, there are 5 elements: wood, metal, water, fire, air.
According to the chakra system there are 5 physical elements: earth, water, fire, air, ether (space).
And these elements make up what we consider to be physical life on the planet. Physical life on the physical plane in the physical universe on any planet.

Why do we love to gaze into a fire? Watch the ocean? Listen to nature? Take hikes? Enjoy vistas?

Elementally my dear Watson! We  love the elements. Because we are the elements. We are looking for ourselves in the elements. We are trying to see and recognize our Self.

This is why we try to find things that we "resonate" with. Things that we "align" with. Because we see our Selves. We remember what we have forgotten, whether it be a momentary lapse or lifetimes of darkness.

We are in all that is around us. It's elemental. And whether we stare into a fire, an ocean, or check out the prairie, whether we are captivated with the antics of a child, the plot of a book, or the gadgets that someone thought to make that now we can't seem to live without, we resonate, we respond. We are constantly seeking remembrance. We crave the feeling of resonance so we can remember the song of our Self. And this is a song we can't sing out loud or even talk about. But I know you know what I'm talking about. And that part that we can't really talk about, is exactly what i'm talking about.

So study the ocean, the fire, the vistas, the bugs, the trees. Feel the mud, the water, the heat, the cold, the air, the space. We are the elements of earth, water, fire, air, ether. We are also mind and beyond, which is why we are fascinated with them. Which is why we seek to recognize our Source, our Self. Because we have Mind and Beyond. My dog doesn't recognize himself. He sees himself in the reflection of the sliding glass door, and he doesn't recognize himself. He barks at the strange dog outside of himself.

He is not seeking recognition of his own elements. He just is. He's just doing dog things. He doesn't question those dog things that he does. He doesn't think, "what if I did fish things?" He just does what he does. We humans on the other hand, have the gift of discernment. Of pondering. Of recognizing the self. and the Self. We recognize our self in the mirror. And then, perhaps, we end up barking at all the other aspects outside of ourselves as if we are barking at that strange dog in the sliding glass door.  Because perhaps we are here, seeking to recognize our Self in the big mirror around us that is our Life.

Elementally my dear Watson!

We are on day 3 of the Essence of Yoga Sri Yoga Retreat here on the big island of Hawaii. And because we are in the jungle, we are focussing on the elements.

Day 1 took us to earth. How to be stable, steady, without being buried, stuck, dug in. How the earth holds us, receives us, absorbs our shock. How from this surrender of our troubles, attachments, fears, into her, she responds back with lightness. A feeling of re-birth. A feeling of being light and stable at the same time. It was sunny.

Day 2. Water day. Finding the fluidity within. Cultivating a creative approach. Going with the flow. How water can eventually wear down even the hardest rock. It poured.

Day 3. Today we are in the fire. It started out as another rainstorm - I even got a garbage bag from the kitchen as a raincoat. By the end of practice, the rain stopped. It's beginning to burn off. The rest of the day we take a metaphysically healing (healing and metaphysics optional, yet available) as we prepare to pull the whole consciousness together. And tonight --- fire....

God. I love It.

Swaha.
Ho.
Peace.

Hurts so Good

We can crank our asana practice in order to challenge the mind. We can push our bodies way past what our mind thinks is even possible with "mind over matter." We can use the body to help us experience that we are more than just a body. We climb mountains. We swim across the English Channel. We do extreme sports. We are Olympians.  We do yoga and people take our pictures because we are defying the laws of gravity. We are defying the laws of what is "normal" range of motion in the body. We are contortionists. Hear us roar. And damn, we look good! And yes, we inspire transformation and hopefully give hope to the underdog, the normal person who wants to see the unimaginable physically manifested in a physical form.

If we use our asana practice to help us steady the mind, and we are able to leap tall buildings with a single "jump through," if we have reached what seems to be the end of the road with what is possible in the physical body, and we still aren't enlightened, then what tools do we have? Perhaps our physical body will take us deeper into the thought constructs of the mind by ways where it systematically or seemingly randomly breaks our ability and eventually our need to control our body as a way of helping cut to the chase and control the real beast - the mind. Perhaps physical ailments begin to surface, slowly, inch by inch, year by year, until the old gray mare ain't what she use to be and we blame it on age. But hey, we all look different at different ages, so that's off the table. Perhaps we can look at our bodies like a car. The harder and faster we drive, the more parts that may need replacing. I have a sister in law who turned 50. She wasn't much into exercise her whole life until the last couple of years and she is out there running 5Ks! 10Ks! Who knows how many more Ks? I used my body differently with dance, running, etc... and I walk. I walk because that's what I got left. For now anyway. Don't want to self impose a limit, but I might as well use myself as an example.

My point is, and yes, it's a slow boat here, what happens if we can no longer depend on the body to steady the mind? What if our control of our physical unit and our physical life starts slip slidin' away? Where is the mind then? Depending on our ability to adapt, comprehend, let go, see a bigger picture, will determine the intensity, or perceived intensity of the ride. As the body starts slip slidin', the mind keeps ridin'.

The asana of injury. Get over attachment to the physical body.  Attachment to being able to control details of our external lives. Release attachment to steadying the mind from the steadiness of the body. The body we are accustomed to changes without our conscious choice. Then what? Does our mind fall apart? Or have we built capacity to roll with the unsteadiness of the physical. Not by holding on to what we know. Not by locking down. But by rolling. The body is sliding. Slide down that hill. Into what? Are we willing to find out? Are we willing to let go and find out? Maybe injury or other physical ailments are a way to help us. I know they are in fact. Then our mind starts to learn to stand on it's own 2 feet. From a place of greater lightness as it learns that control is a crazy way of  helping us feel safe. And the only safety is that place deep inside the eye of the hurricane, which is beyond the elements, beyond even the mind. It is your Big S Self.

Ouchasana.

As Rod Stryker so cleanly puts it: "Ouch. Thank you."   Hurts so good.

Steady Steady

Steady. Steady. Get your tickets ready.

That is a lyric from "A Star is Born" with Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisand. I can hear Kris growling it out. Yeah baby.

In yoga, we talk about steadiness. Patanjali tells us how to approach our yoga asana practice (the practice of physical poses) in Yoga Sutra 2:46 - Stihra Sukham Asanam - "steady, comfortable,  positions."  Groovy. So we practice pose after pose, asana after asana, refining, dissecting, evaluating.  We get good at something, aka it gets easier, and we up the ante. Again, Again. And again. Each time do we get "a gain?" Are we gaining "ground?" Are we steadier? Are we more stable? Or more "dug in?" Buried?  Or are we hanging on for dear life?

Let's just say our physical yoga practice is stronger. We look and hopefully feel more connected to our bodies. This act is supposed to help steady the mind. At least doing the physical practice of yoga asana is supposed to at least get our body comfortable enough to be able to sit in meditation without being distracted by our physical body's aches and pains and limitations. So let's just say that we have achieved a level of this connection and we can physically sit comfortably in meditation without a backache, neck and shoulder tension, or knee and ankle pain. We've built capacity to sit. Now what?

Get your tickets ready.

Ideally, we've emptied the body of enough material so now we can focus on the aches and pains and limitations of the mind. And what if we keep building our physical capacity? What happens if we say I don't care about my mind. I just want more physical capability?" Have we arrived in Yogatown? Nirvanaville?  I'm Ok You're Ok City?  We can keep this up as long as things go according to plan, which is a very physical point. The thing to pay attention to is that the mental body, which doesn't need to be bound by the physical, can lock into this point of view, even encourage it. Why? Because perhaps the mind doesn't want you to do "mental asana." Perhaps the mind wants to stay just as it is, running the show from behind the scenes. So it starts to convince the practitioner that there is still WAY too much work to be done on the body before you can, (insert big groan here) Meditate. Or be still. Or be still and Know that you are God.

Steady. Steady. Get your tickets ready. Are you ready to build capacity to know who you really are? Are you ready to ride the ride that takes you beyond handstand (I know I always pick on handstand, sorry about that handstand. you are an innocent here. just an easy target) and into the place that is ever steady. Are you ready to accept that you are steady? That you have always been steady? That you will always be steady? Even when sliding down the rabbit hole asana? The rabbit hole of where physical slides into non-physical and back into physical?

Be ready. Being ready is being steady.

And from where I sit, you were born ready. 

Awake and Asleep Part 3: Living the Dream

We are awake and and asleep simultaneously. So am I dreaming or am I fully here? Even in my waking state, I dream. I let my thoughts roam into the past or to the future. I miss the present moment because I'm somewhere else. I cant listen because I'm planning out how I'm going to answer. I can't see because I'm thinking about something else. I don't even know my shoulders are riding up to my ears as I drive or eat or type. I don't even know I have a scowl on my face while I'm thinking or listening to someone. I don't even know whether I'm really hungry or tired. I don't even know what I can do about it.

In present moment, we are awake. It's a pretty big place, present moment. The place where all things are possible. The place where miracles occur. It's overwhelming, wonderful, terrible. It's all of it. We start by moving closer to the target if present moment is the bullseye. We close in on it by listening better, becoming more conscious, knowing ourselves, being able to take in more information without cracking up or getting pulled off our center. We do yoga, meditate, go to therapy, exercise, find a hobby - all these things to help us focus our energy and our minds so we can build our capacity to get deeper into the belly of the beast of the present moment. Because when you are in present moment, there is no time. There is no time in the present, therefore there is no "time" like the present. 

Aware? Enough!

Be aware. 

And be aware if being super conscious is driving you crazy. Because if it is, something needs to shift in order to accommodate your Self. And the shift is all about you, not about what others need to do for you to accommodate your new amazing Conscious Self. A little sarcastic, yes, I know, but another trap in the path to consciousness is that we can get so into our Selves that we start to think the world owes us something. The world needs to get out of my damn way and shape up to make me more comfortable. And how conscious is that, I ask?

Addiction

Philip Seymour Hoffman died yesterday. Heroin OD. This morning on the radio, there was a dude, some addiction counselor to the stars type thing, talking about how he's an addict, sober for 23 years, and everyday is a day where he is tempted. Where he has to make a conscious choice not to use. He talked about some people who could just stop using heroin and have it never bother them again. He attributed it to the "addictive personality."

What makes one personality addictive and another not? Aren't we all addicted to something? Healthy living? Exercise? Vegetarianism? Self-righteousness? Gossip? Self-deprication? Chocolate? Breathing? Water? Wait Jean, we NEED air and water to LIVE!!!! Yes, I know. But that is also how the addict feels. But really, you can survive without heroin!!!!  Apparently not in Philip Seymour Hoffman's case. And he couldn't survive with it either.

One thing that the addictive personality points out in all of us, is the idea of conscious choice. Conscious living. I know I'm not ready to give up my water and air addiction yet. Maybe never. And I'm OK with that. For now anyway. Because air and water still serve me. They still work for me. But I am ready to give up other things. Or at least I think I am. Like complaining. Like judging. Like really judging. Like really really judging. And then I say that, and BAM! there it is. The thing that I've been self-righteously judging all these years, and it's totally in my face. I see how I REALLY feel about it! Gak! Then I take a deep breath, taking it all in in that deep breath, and say Yes I was judging. AWESOME! Now I can stop. Because I know. And voila. I have more information to make a more conscious choice.

And drink more water. That's on the list. Drink lots more water. Not that i'm judging myself for not drinking or anything...

:-)

Awake and Asleep part 2: asana

We go to yoga to transform, to change. That's what they tell me. That's what the ads say. Heck- that's what I say! But really we go to wake up to who we really are, to uncover and remember our big S self. So we go to yoga class, and start waking up the body. We work with the physical unit as we start bringing awareness by breaking habits. But just because a teacher tells you to lift your toes in triangle pose, doesn't mean that it is the "right" way to do the pose. It means that this way helped you to wake up to something that you didn't know before. So if I lift my toes in triangle for a few years, or even decades, and lifting my toes becomes a habit, well guess, what? You are now asleep to toe lifting. That which was once awake, is now asleep.

So be aware of the things that become habits. And know that habits are places for sleep. And sleep can be a good thing, because we need rest. But if we are going for Total Consciousness 24/7, then there is no time to rest because we are Totally Conscious 24/7. That's why we build our capacity to stay awake.  Gradually paying attention to more, tuning out less. Because our essential Self, our big S Self, never sleeps. Which is why letting go of judging can be a boon. But that's another blog. Which I've probably written. But not out of habit.