I am nostalgic for the healing, energizing, subtle, thoughtful and poetic week I had at Mt. Shasta recently with the great teacher, ashtangi, guru, Tim Miller who generously imparted onto us the compassion and generosity that he received from his guru,Sri Patabi Jois,rip. A devoted fellow,yogi and friend asked Tim during one of our afternoon ,more oriented devotional practice sessions"why are here anyways,what are we really doing with our lives".Mt. Shasta is at an elevation of about 14,000 feet,so the air is thinner and breathing feels like more of a conscious effort.It leads one to think about the conscious choices, efforts we engage in our lives daily.Ashtanga yoga is ultimately a practice amongst many useful practices on this earth to gain self knowledge and ultimately to use this wisdom in compassion and with generosity in our daily relationships to others. We all have a dense physical armor that requires some melting,softening so we can begin to see our spiritual selves and polish that aspect of ourselves so we may be of some good to each other.
Ashtanga yoga provides some heat , to penetrate past our external layers,the inspirations and expirations of our practice sustain us as we delve deeper into the unexplored within ourselves.The week at Shasta begins with a Native American Purification Ceremony at Stewart Mineral Springs in Weed,Ca. led by elder,Jack Thom,Sr.,Walking Eagle,Hun-Na-itch,Karuk Spiritual Leader. The lodge occurs in utter blank darkness with hot rocks of the earth emitting radiant heat.The process literally begins to soften us,forcing us to look within as it is not possible to see outside of ourselves in such complete darkness.Fears that we fear to face emerge,resilience that is beyond our daily existence surfaces.The purpose of the lodge is to cleanse the mind , body and spirit from toxins,imperfections and negativisms,to begin the process of elevation of our spirits.One of the natural practices of respect was to give an offering of tobacco to the sacred fire as tradition upholds that we give an offering before we take anything for own needs.This is such a simple, but necessary aspect of living to always remember to give before we take.
One of the themes that continued to become apparent in the week with Tim at Shasta was that the ultimate purpose to practice yoga is to live with greater compassion and generosity .It is interesting that this time in Shasta coincides with a time in the Judaic year that begins with a season of self reflection as the cycle of the new spiritual year begins with the commemoration of the birth of earth and all of its creatures and the creation of the human being infused and inspired with an eternal soul that is temporarily housed in the physical space of a body. While at Shasta ,as I daily gazed upon the auspicious mountain, one morning I saw the vaguest hint of a lenticular cloud hovering over it's peak.Lenticular clouds and Mt Shatsa are a well suited partnership.It is as if the mountain offers a space for us to look up to and reflect to us some new unseen part of ourselves.
I will include here an excerpt from a pious, wise,scholarly ,Chassidic rebbe who reflects well on the nature of our yearning souls and the need penetrate the outer exterior layers to find that which is dearest and eternal within ourselves.
" Happy Birthday, Humanity by Abraham J. Twerski, M.D.
Contrary to the popular belief, Rosh Hashanah does not commemorate the creation of the world. Rather, it commemorates the sixth day of creation, the day Adam was created. It is of interest that in the creation of man, G-d said, “Let us create man?” Whose participation was G-d seeking? The Baal Shem Tov explained that both animals and angels were created in a state of completion. Angels do not grow at all, and although animals do grow, they do not voluntarily change themselves. The transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly or a tadpole to a frog is programmed in their genes. They do not voluntarily make this transformation and are powerless to stop it.
G-d now desired a different creature, not totally physical like an animal nor completely spiritual like an angel. Rather, this was to be a creature that comes into the world completely physical, but by one’s sheer effort develops spiritually. For this, G-d required man’s participation. It is as if G-d said, “I can create you completely spiritual, but then you will be just another angel. I will create you physical, but with the potential to become spiritual by your own effort.” G-d was seeking man’s participation in his own creation. Therefore, G-d said to man, “Let us make man. I will give you the potential, and you must develop it.” Thus, Rosh Hashanah is our beginning.
If we develop only intellectually, with technologic and even scientific advancements, but neglect our spiritual development, we will be self-centered hominoids, with just a higher intellect than chimpanzees. To do our part in creation, to be the true human beings that G-d intended, we must be masters over our physicality rather than slaves to it. Spiritual development enables us to give of ourselves to others. Angels were created spiritual. Man has the ability to achieve a status higher than angels, because his spirituality is the result of his own efforts."
As this New Year of self rediscovery approaches may the results of all of our joint conscious efforts give forth to a world that is kinder,gentler,wiser,generous, and compassionate for all beings for all the days of our lives.May we only engage in such practices that lead to such."let us create man".Let us be the women and men that efforts of our internal wisdom leads to the existence of an intelligently compassionate world to live in.....
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