PranaBeing blog: Woah, Dude!

We live in a fractal universe. This means that everything is encased within everything. The intelligence within a piece of DNA is reflected in the cell, and again in the tissue, in the organ, in the system, in the organism…and so on, out into the galaxy and beyond.

Ancient yogis explained it like this:

Yatha pinde tatha brahmande, yatha brahmande tatha pinde. - Yajurveda

As in the microcosm; so is the macrocosm; as is the macrocosm, so is the microcosm.

Nearly every aspect of our existence is unfathomably deep. We can “drill down” into something as simple as the breath and enter worlds of complexity and revelation.

We can step into a fresh start at the dawning of day…and just as readily claim a fresh start in each new moment, if we but know how to scale our attention.

Fractals are dynamics allowing for infinite complexity, displaying the splendid creativity of Life. My Teacher once told me, “If you want to know Nature, look within your own body.”

The same truth applies: if you want to know your Self, immerse in the experience of Nature.

Likewise, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Why is this necessary?

Because, you are the world. When I say, “Wake up to who you truly are” I am inviting you to embark upon a fractal journey of discovery.

One place to begin this journey is by considering that you—every last fleck of DNA, every thought, emotion, every action you have taken and will ever take—ripples out into the whole. You are a unique and irreplaceable part of All That Is.

As a human being, equipped with the potential to be self-aware, you are literally at the center of the known universe, in this moment, as you are experiencing it.

If everything I have just written about is a fool’s fantasy (which is somewhat likely, knowing me) - it may or may not change your life too much.

On the other hand, what if this is true?

Please start at the top of this post and read it again, as if every statement were speaking directly to you, about you.

Do you want to know who you are?

If so, what is your next step?

Something You Do Every Day

Here is a practical, simple, and powerful experiment to support your health.

Notice how you eat. That’s right. I said “how.”

Become aware of whether you are wolfing, nibbling or shoveling.

Do you take time to see, smell, and taste your food? Do you ever give thanks for or bless your food?

Are you reading/listening/watching/getting up intermittently to do chores while you are eating?

Are you eating while driving or commuting?

Do you eat when you are hungry (or when you’re not really hungry)?

Do you wait until long after you have been hungry to finally eat?

Where are you eating? What kind of environment is it (loud or quiet, chaotic or serene)?

Are you having difficult or disturbing conversations or laughing a lot while you eat?

Are you eating to reward yourself? Or to punish yourself?

What is your emotional state and what are the thoughts in your mind?

What do you do right after you eat?

Become a curious observer and notice the qualities of your eating environment, temperament, methodology. Set aside for a moment the fixation on what you are eating and for the next week just focus on how you are eating.

The key here is acutely attentive self-observation without judgment. Be scientific, unbiased. Simply observe and see if you can discover habits and behaviors that you may not have been totally conscious of before. This is self-empowerment. If you jump right into making yourself wrong, you will never feel safe enough to become conscious of what you are doing.

Take five minutes over the course of the next week to jot down or voice record your observations. Self-study is made much more powerful by getting the insights out of your head where you can see or hear them.

What are the predominant qualities you notice in regards to how you eat?

Do you notice these same qualities in other things you do besides eating?

How are these qualities influencing the way you feel throughout the day?

These qualities are important clues that will help you to modulate your health. Leave a comment and share what you discover.

Being Right

We emphasize fact-finding and pride ourselves on being right. We want to eradicate what is wrong. We are so annoyed when people with views totally opposed to our own share the same zeal for rightness as we do—and they have their own arsenal of facts to prove it!

We hustle to align ourselves with the right people/decisions as we distance ourselves from the wrong ones. And when we are made to look wrong or feel wrong, we despair.

We swim in a sea of human-generated facts and information that grows exponentially by the moment. We frantically scramble to gather more facts—to “educate” ourselves—as if to build an unequivocal shelter. Yet at any time, what was right can become wrong and our house of cards comes tumbling down. We become alienated and confused. We forget that all this is mind-made stuff.

The truth remains simple, timeless, and unfathomable.

So far as human history can tell, right never vanquishes wrong; they co-exist, bound together like day to night.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn't make any sense. - Jalaluddin Rumi

Consider that there is a way to BE right.

Consider that there is a part of you that is rooted in deep knowing of what is right, good, and true. Hint: it is not competing with the many other voices clamoring for attention. This is a vast, quiet presence. Like an ancient, giant tree, this part represents steady wisdom. It does not cower; it has no need to defend itself, justify, or prove. It is connected to truth just as the tree is connected through mycelium to the whole forest and beyond. It knows what is right by feel.

Instead of looking outward to make the determination, instead of contrasting right against wrong in search of clarity, the access to this way of being is through tapping into your roots, listening… going deeper…tapping in…listening…refining…

How do we tap in?

Start by learning how to turn your attention inward and relax. When we reconnect with ourselves, we find the path toward freedom. If you want to explore this, visit PranaBeing on InsightTimer (it’s free) and start practicing.

Would you rather be happy or would you rather be right?

Yes.

No End in Mind

I studied avidly with Gurudev Shri Amritji for 17 years and worked closely with him on his writings for seven years. For me, the Integrative Amrit Method, a system unpacked from Gurudev’s pivotal awakening experience in 1970, is a vehicle for transmitting the experience of Yoga as well as understanding key principles that guide ever-deeper exploration. These teachings are foundational to my own approach to life.

One morning we were working on a piece of writing together. The desk his office looked out through floor-to-ceiling glass doors onto massive live oak trees and enchanting gardens in the Ocala National Forest. Suddenly, Gurudev paused and looked outside for several moments.

“Look at that squirrel,” he said finally. We watched the animal leap and scurry about high up in the oak canopy. “No end in mind.” Gurudev said, with delight in his voice. He promptly returned to dictating.

He was offering me a clue.

The squirrel was simply being. It did not have an agenda; it was not stressing to get done with leaping so that it could do something else. The squirrel was the embodiment of pure life expression, doing what it was doing “with no end in mind,” just for the pure joy of it.

Another dear teacher, friend, and colleague of mine, Hansa Knox of Prana Yoga and Ayurveda Mandala , says it this way:

In the being, the doing gets done. - Hansa Knox

One powerful hypothesis proffered by Yoga is that by learning to gather and focus attention in the present moment, fully experiencing what is unfolding from moment to moment and releasing concern for the end result, we can experience bliss even when we are engaged with an activity that we don’t especially like.

This is true freedom. Detrimental stress comes from comparison and anticipation, from being divided in the moment. To the extent we can be fully where we are, doing what we are doing, without concern for past or future…we are happy and we are free.

Try it. See what you discover.

When is the last time you attempted to do something solely for the sake of doing it, with “no end in mind?”

Show up

The Rocky Mountain Loop from space: the first time I saw our proposed route on satellite, I knew we had to try to ride it.

This summer I spent 113 days riding a bicycle around the Rocky Mountains. And I do mean around. You can check out my Facebook feed to read about the journey. I spent the first five months of the year helping my mom through a severe health crisis.

Sometimes we have a choice as to whether to show up, and sometimes we don’t.

Sometimes we’re just in it.

The challenge we are facing might be the obvious result of our own choice—as in my case with the bike adventure—or it could be a culmination of unknown variables resulting in a dire and non-negotiable situation, as with my mom.

Some things I learned over the last few months:

• The choice in any given moment is to show up or give up.

• Even if we give up, the experience at hand will still play out (i.e. have its way with us). This means giving up does not guarantee escape.

• We don’t have to be perfect, happy, have our shit together, or be superlative in any way in order to show up.

• When we choose to show up, something happens. Life responds, inside and outside.

• We can give in and show up. Surrender is not the same as giving up. Sometimes giving in is the only way we can show up.

Showing up is the opposite of avoidance. With practice, tools, and support, showing up can teach us how to stop disassociating in the face of things that scare us. As we explore in the practice of asana (postures), showing up is coming to your edge. Breathing there. Not backing away; not pushing.

The breakthrough can only happen if you show up.

In my experience, when we show up, the breakthrough will happen. It’s only a matter of time.