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21 July 2009

taking a long savasana


For what is it to die, but to stand in the sun and melt into the wind? And when the Earth has claimed our limbs, then we shall truly dance.--Kahlil Gibran

Savasana is the dying that brings life so I've decided to slowly fade away. I may post sporadically, I may not. How can I not write about the goat sacrifices at the Kali temple in Kolkata or the naked Shiva babas at the Kumbh Mela next year? I'm bringing yin yoga to Africa next year which will surely be fodder for a yoga blog. But that's next year.

At this juncture I feel written out. I see on my site meter what brings people here and the most searched for phrases are "St. Theresa's Prayer" and some variation of "naked yoga" or "hot yoga chicks." Take your pick. If those are the only reasons people are consistently coming here, have at it. As the author of the book that I mention below writes: "All words are lies. At best, they point toward the truth. At worst they totally mislead and create confusion. We already know everything there is to know..."

For those of you who are interested in more than a dead saint's prayer or a photo of a naked yoga babe -- the juxtaposition of those two images is supreme -- you can start reading at the beginning of this blog. I've been writing since 2005 and I think I've laid down some rather pithy posts along the way, this one in particular being a favorite. Hey, maybe I can get a book deal. Or maybe someone will write my obituary in the yoga blogosphere -- R.I.P oh snarky one, we hardly knew ye.

There have been internal shifts going on for some time now and I'm going to honor them. Shifts with my yogic path, shifts with my relationships with friends and husband, shifts with my relationship to myself. It's all good because life is about change. If you don't evolve, you die, just like the dinosaurs. It's good to step away from things, whatever those things are, and let the chips fall where they may.

I wonder whether in this journey, instead of feeling more connected (as we are told we are "supposed" to feel the longer one does yoga or meditates), a consequence is feeling even more alone or apart from others. Not disconnected, but truly being in the world, but not of it. Sometimes I feel as if I am on a merry-go-round, and the faces of people I know are circling faster and faster away from me, eventually disappearing. They've stopped and I've kept going. As I've always said, people float in and out of our lives at specific times for various reasons and I stopped trying to figure it out long ago. It just is. The holding on (to anything or anyone) is what causes the suffering. My friends, it's time to move on.

I will leave you with some quotes from one of the post potent and powerful books I've read in my 30+ years of being on a spiritual path: Shadows on the Path by Abdi Assadi , a book I learned about on AnthroYogini's blog. If I had my own teacher training, this book would absolutely be on the required reading list. There are so many passages that I have underlined and highlighted, that if I cited all of them I would rewrite his entire book in this post. So I will just cite some sentences that have meaning to me right now, in my present experience.


"To undertake a spiritual quest as a defense mechanism against pain without addressing the underlying psychological issues will always lead to a deep splitting of one's psyche." (p. 19)


"In my own experience, every teacher I have had had been a perfect mirror of myself at that time....every new partner is an uncanny reflection of our subconscious needs and issues. ...I also learned that fully enlightened teachers who have worked through their personality distortions are incredibly rare." (p. 22)


"The important thing now is to do the work, to prepare the internal vessel for whatever truths may enter. Think of this as a process of simplification, not sophistication." (p. 23)


"Spirituality is a process of dying, not gaining. This important and obvious point is not often properly acknowledged. The spiritual path is about the death of the needs and wants of an insatiable ego and its endless cycle of desire, acquisition, suffering and renewed hunger." (p. 16)


"Grace is not a product of our willful volition but something that appears in spite of it. One of our ego's false presumptions is that it can lead us toward grace instead of understanding that we are already swimming in it. We need to let go to feel this -- but that means facing the terror of our best-kept secret: that we are not in control." (p. 74)


"I do know that to live fully we have to practice dying while still alive. Meditation is this practice. I invite you to practice daily, letting go of who you think you are and being born into who have you have always been." (p. 96)


I am going to practice dying.


MAY ALL BEINGS HAVE HAPPINESS AND THE CAUSES OF HAPPINESS
MAY ALL BEINGS BE FREE FROM SUFFERING AND THE CAUSES OF SUFFERING
OM MANI PEDME HUM



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am sorry to hear this. You have been a major support on my own journey, even if you never knew it. Good luck on all your paths in the future.

Gumbomum said...

Will miss your writing and spirit. Be well.

Kaivalya said...

All the best to you.

Fernanda R. Lima said...

I´ll miss your incredible posts...

Anonymous said...

Things do change, and perhaps at a later date you'll feel the desire to write again. Perhaps not.

Its great that you're honouring your needs and doing what feels best. I do hope you'll post photos and words from India and your travels when the mood strikes you.

Your blog is in my RSS and I've always enjoyed reading your posts.

I hope you stay in touch so that if you ever come to Australia to teach, we can meet up. How fantastic that would be!

Rock on, fellow Kali fangirl. I wish you well on your journey.

Anonymous said...

happy dying...i do believe you will do well and that the choice is perfect. i have also had a little death going on this year, still is LOL, it is somewhat equally liberating and painful, however i do highly recommend it. I will keep an eye out for any future random posts. Much love and peace and happiness for you on this journey.
namaste
michelle

Anonymous said...

I think it's a great and bold decision to follow your needs and intuition!

Thank you for this incredible blog and good luck on your journey,

Lily

Diane said...

You'll be missed. Enjoy all the adventures to come and may your journey be one filled with joy and love.

Amanda said...

I knew you would love that book, Linda. I have read it twice and need to keep it near. Have you listened to theinterviews that the Dharma podcast guys did with him?

I will be seeing you next year - I know. I have been slack -and won't be around very much for the next month or so- but we will be able to host you in Alice Springs at our new yoga centre, Yoga Way. Will contact your Australian rep soon - but I'm under the pump at present being sick and frantic with PhD, so I have much spare energy.

I, too, will ending my blog in its current form towrads the end of the year, for much the same reasons you have cited. People visit my site to see pictures of my tattoo or the Mouth of Sauron.

Namaste & I'll be in touch, gorgeous and wise sister.

Linda-Sama said...

you are awesome, Amanda, thanks! that would be fabulous!

shanti, sister.....

Anonymous said...

would that you could go quietly into the night, but that would be too much for you to manage, wouldn't it? at least you're GOING. one less chunk of bitchiness in the virtual yoga world; for that many of us are extremely grateful.