Politically Correct?

Politically correct? Possible oxymoron here.

Maybe the election was a partially a backlash and reaction to all of our increased "political correct-ness." Maybe it's time to be less concerned with being "politically correct," and take the politics out of "correctness." In the yoga sutras of patanjali, there is extensive discussion around "right knowledge" vs "wrong knowledge." This is NOT about emotionally charged judgement calls of good/bad, right/wrong, hero/villain. "Right knowledge" simply means that a being remembers who they really are, that they are Wholeness and they feel a state of equanimity. "Wrong knowledge" means they forgot those points and are identifying with their ego, personality, job title, and other qualifying markers based on comparison. If we move into being simply "correct" in our thinking, aka "right knowledge," instead of being "politically correct" we may shift our focus from "trying to get it right because we don't understand," to actually understanding because we have embraced and experienced, or at least believe and recognize that we are Wholeness, and the result of that is that we recognize it in others.

Politics is not the boss of me. Politics is not about seeing each other as Whole and divine. Politics has been about separation, territory, greater than/less than, good/evil. When I look at it that way, there is nothing "correct" about politics, so why should I spend my energy being politically correct? Especially when I look through the current lens of politics today.

I'm not saying get rid of politics and that politics sucks. I'm not making politics wrong. I'm just saying it is not the basis of how I see myself, others, our nation, and the world. I'm going with patanjali on this one. "Patanjali correctness?" Hmmmm...  Kind of rolls off the tongue....

Now what?

Ok we did it. We proved that anyone, regardless of experience or understanding of the constitution can become president. Now what?

Now is the time to get real with your Self and what you are doing here. If a reality show personality can become president, is that exciting? Scary? Or something else? Stay alert. Stay present. Stay out of judgement. This is one big ass opportunity to grow. Do we say yes to the fear and doubt menu? Or can we walk the center line and dig deeper to see our part in this reality show of life?

America voted for change. Whether this is the change we were seeking or not, it's the change we got. Now what are we going to do with it? Will we sit back and let someone else's version of change be what we accept, or will we follow the voice within and be willing to Be the Change we seek? How many are actually willing to do that much work?

To me, this appears to be similar to Americans going into another country, upsetting the apple cart, and leaving before a new plan and system is fully established. There is a big empty space now. Do we, the change-seekers, have the chops to fill it, and with what? Because unless you happen to be a 2 year old, we can scream and cry for what we want, but how are we going to get it? What are we willing to do to get what we want? Usually things don't drop from the sky, and part of this change we seemed to be seeking is that we didn't like what mom and dad were doing in that big White House, so we elected one of our own to run it, and without a viable plan. So we did that. Now what are we going to do about it? No blame. Just looking at the cards we dealt ourselves.

One thing I do know is that every organsism makes choices that are in it's own best interest. Whether that be each of us as people, the organism of a culture, a country, a planet, a solar system. A choice was made, and now it's up to us to grow from it.

One reason I haven't been super radical in politics is because I know I don't have time, money, or bandwidth to give these issues the energy they need to actually make some change. As a yoga teacher, I play for the " long game" even if it means that students may not get instant gratification of handstands or head stands. Yet, I know if they take their time and work systematically, we get there. And this is small stuff- yoga - one person. Not an entire country. I'm not the one to play the political long game- I don't think I have the drive for that. But if you do, then play it well, play it hard, play it long. I'm thinking that changing the attitude of a nations thinking might take longer than learning a headstand. And for most, a headstand takes more than a year to learn.

So be that political change. Or don't. But decide today that you won't be swayed by someone spouting rhetoric that leads you into an abyss of fear or erodes your faith with the corrosion of doubt. Walk the center line and dare to be the one that doesn't sling blame. Dare to be the one that is solution oriented. Dare to be the one who listens to both sides, sees that they are both right, and puts forth a point of view that illuminates. Dare to enlighten yourself by watching those tendencies to blame and judge and freak out with fear. What can you control? Control that. Or learn how. 

Another thing I know is that it's perfect. Does this mean that I do nothing? Not necessarily. It means that I stop blaming and freaking out and figure out what the next steps are. And build my capacity so I have the fire to execute them from a place of min-judgment. Other option: I stay the same and ignore the opportunity to grow. But something has got a lot of people's attention. And that is worth looking at. We got our attention, and if we don't look at it now, it will mostly likely come back around at some point, bigger, louder, more dramatic.

Voted my conscience

I'm going to get publicly political, which is not my style, but here it is. 

I voted. For Hillary. And that was me voting my conscience. Voting for a 3rd party candidate may be voting one's conscience, but will it change anything? No. Merely voting for a 3rd party candidate will not change this system. To me, voting for Trump, or anything that points to Trump, is saying Yes to fear, doubt, and blame. And it all trickles down from the top, so if that's what we want setting the tone for our country, then yes, Trump is the answer.  Not my answer. Not my conscience. But to each their own. Which is the beauty of our country.

A vote for Hillary is a vote for someone who has spent her whole life in public service, who has a love and knowledge of the law, and the constitution. She has demonstrated repeatedly that she is capable of hearing both sides, and seeks win-win solutions. I believe she honestly wants to serve, and she is qualified to do the job. She doesn't accuse and sling blame. She seeks solutions. It's easy to pontificate and inflame the masses, especially when they have been fed a strict diet of fear and doubt. My hope is that she is elected, and we can begin to nourish ourselves as a country, and recover from the diseased thinking that has been sweeping through like a plague, especially in this election season. 

Regardless of who is elected, we must fight to overcome this fear/doubt/blame. 

How can we be "land of the free home of the brave" if we are bound by fear?

Connected or Attached?

Many of us are seeking "connection." It's important not to confuse connection with attachment. We can be connected to something without being attached. This means that we and the object I am feeling connection with are untethered and free flowing. "Connection" is more a state of being, not something we can pack in our suitcase. 

Many of us substitute attachment for connection. Attachment comes with strings, uh, well, attached! And just because we are attached doesn't mean we will get the connection we are seeking. 

Forest through the trees

If we are the tree that falls in the forest, can we hear ourself fall? 

It's not the material, but the experience of the material. 

What is the experience from the other trees point of view?

Can we hear the forest as a tree?

Can we see the forest as a tree?

The bigger the forest, the smaller the tree may seem, yet to the falling tree, it's probably huge. We are all specks that pack a whallop. Unless we are looking at ourselves from space. Then that big fall virtually never happened. 

Stillness is

Stillness is stillness. Nothing more, nothing less. Stillness may or may not take you to the center of your Self, but it probably won't hurt. 

Don't turn stillness into an opportunity to nit-pick yourself. Don't turn stillness into an opportunity to find something that you think needs fixing or changing. Just enjoy it for what it is- stillness. And if you don't enjoy stillness, fair enough. If you want to enjoy stillness, practice. Small bits at a time. But stillness for what it is. 

Just stillness.

Lineage

What is this thing called lineage? We talk about teachers who have come before us, yes. But it's deeper than a bunch of names and forms. We hold ourselves in our own knowlege, our own embodiment, our own experiences, our own lessons. That is the lineage that ultimately holds us. That is our through-line. To tap into the lineage is to tap into our inner knowing of who we really are. 

So what about the teachers then? Those names and forms? They help us remember. They tow the line by holding steady when the journey becomes ridiculous or unbearable. They hold the knowingness as an example of our faith-to-be. That knowingness and example becomes our inspiration and our light until we see it, know it for ourselves. We can lean on their faith, their light, until we can see and know our own. Until we are steady enough to stop worshipping name and form and journey and path, and are able to see ourselves as equal- equal to.

We are all of the same lineage.

Interesting that the lines that help us get steady eventually dissolve into One.