Say Yes To Life. #31

Say Yes To Life.    #31                            
Yes is a beautiful word full of possibility and whole in its meaning.  We have a natural inclination toward unity, in truth, we yearn for it.  And we live in the world of duality, of black and white, dark and light, yes and no.  We cannot simply skip over this, open our arms and scream yes!  To do so is shallow at best and painful, even pernicious at worst.  Imagination is amazing and serves well in improvisational play of every kind, inviting us to dream bigger, but we are after more.

I don’t know much about the Improvisational technique save the first instruction, one must always say yes.  I love this.  No matter what is presented, the partner must say yes and respond in kind.  Yes encompasses No.  After all, to say yes to life one must say no to playing in traffic.  How do we skillful use no to support a more expansive yes?  

Yoga is Skill in Action, says the Bhagavad Gita.  What is the method, what are the tools that will allow us to be skillful in living our life whatever the imagined outcome?  Life doesn’t come with instructions, that’s why we have teachers.  And at some point, in some manner, we are all teachers, to others and self.  How then do we arm ourselves with the proper tools?  How do we make ourselves ready for action; ready for yes?

Theory and Practice.  Both are needed.  We require an understanding of what is at stake, the why and possible outcomes.  We also need some experiential piece that will give us the flavor of what we are after.  In Sanskrit, rasa is the juice or essence of a thing, of all things.  We want the capacity to take life in deeply, to drink its essence. 

And always there are degrees.  Enlightenment itself is not an on/off switch.  As absorption in the expansive, eternal, unconditional light of yes deepens, so too does our ability to know and stretch our sense of freedom.  Freedom to choose, to know more deeply all the many areas of life that serve to make a whole.  One can see clearly, deeply, even of the highest and yet still not pay attention to a specific part of life that is necessary to keep this human vessel running well; neglecting, for instance proper exercise or nutrition.  Make no mistake, we experience everything in this vessel.   Therefore while yoga teaches us that deep meditation is the single best practice one can undertake, the power that enlivens all the other tools like the motor of a vacuum makes the ancillary tools effective, one still must pay attention and use that continually expansive light to shine keenly on the many facets that make up a life.  

It is a feedback loop.  In deep meditation light dawns, expands and we bring that light to bear on a particular subject which deepens our recognition in experience which then serves as the beacon for further study and contemplation.
 
Meditation is not just for the time we meditate, however sweet or fiery that might be.  It is the power that increases our light of knowing.  Knowing of our truest self first and in that, provides the light we must shine on all those other areas of life.  This is the courageous enthusiastic yes that includes the skillful no we powerfully come to use in the creating of the life we want to live not merely imagine.

Bring the light to bear on your life in all its facets.  Practice yoga, go deep, contemplate and skillfully act.