Gaining Perspective

This week in class:

We’ll move between a zoomed in focus and telephoto, wide-angle focus.  From being fused with the emotion to witnessing the emotion.  How might stepping back to see the big picture give us some space to better know and understand what is arising for us?

·        Witnessing Awareness.  We’ll explore this with a visual exercise first and then in our practice.

Homework:

Take time this week to step back physically as you’re living your life.  Get up close to something and let it occupy all your attention (a bowl of fruit on your counter, your toothbrush on the sink, a show you’re watching, a stone on the ground, etc) and then physically take a big step back and notice what happens.  Is there a shift in perspective?  What do you notice?  How do you feel? Alternately or additionally, walk to the top of a hill or climb up a tree or take an elevator up to a rooftop terrace and orient to what it’s like to have a view of the big picture.

Continue your list of emotions that show up during the week.  If you have time, as they arise, stop and notice what is happening in your body as the emotions arises.  Keep note or make a map of the shape, size, temperature, consistency, location, color, texture of each emotion.

In honor of the meditation “joysplosion” as Kim called it - your other homework is to explore soda and the little sparklie mini-fireworks that happen when you open the bottle. It’s flight and movement and has a little zing like an energy spark - it’s refreshing and bubblie! (And here’s a little yogic philosophy for you…)This is very much the energy of the Anandamaya kosha - the bliss body. It is a spontaneous uprising of un-caused joy from the ground of our true nature. The yoga sutras talk about this when discussing the brahmaviharas: maitri, karuna, mudita and upekshanam. They are un-caused movements that arise from abiding in/as our true nature - loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. For me, in the meditation tonight joy was definitely present and shifting to bliss, which then mellowed to contentment and finally was resonating as a deep love before I moved into an exploration of Awareness (sounds like; open spacious, vast, etc, the lake that receives the water from the waterfall.). I didn’t have time to unpack the uncaused love in the meditation…but you can notice how some of these emotions or attitudes may arise, for no reason at all, when you spend some time as awareness or an awareing/witnessing presence.

In practice I also took more of the ‘macro’ approach to the intention spectrum - not diving so much into what you wanted to receive from practice tonight (micro) - but the sense of what your deep heartfelt calling or longing is. This is such an interesting and important exploration. As is an exploration of whether or not the inner resource is always present…deep and potentially rich inquiry.

The Guest House by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.