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12/10/2010"Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the memorial service for Minister James Reeb Dear Friends on the Path of Light: I hope this e-newsletter finds you well. Lately I've been reflecting on how we as human beings communicate with one another. At the surface of life, we have words to convey thoughts and feelings with one another. We hope that our words accurately reflect our truest beliefs, convictions, feelings and intentions. This is hard enough to achieve isn't it? That we would be articulate and skillful enough to match the appropriate words to how we think and feel. But to complicate things further, words at the surface really only go so far as to convey what we are actually aware of inside ourselves. What if we have deeper currents running beneath the level of our conscious awareness that have not yet made themselves known through the form of silently expressed words inside our own awareness? How do these deeper currents express themselves and cause us to speak words that we didn't know we felt; or perform actions that we didn't mean to do? For inside the outer form of every word is an inner reality that pulsates with life and energy. What if the outer form of the words we speak do not match the inner energy that we feel? What if the light of our understanding cannot penetrate the outer form concealing our inner truth? What then? Lately I've really been reflecting on the process of gaining access to the galaxy of experience that lies hidden inside. Our self-reflective practices such as meditation, contemplation and to some extent, our Hatha Yoga practices, afford us a certain level of access to our inner reality. But, this is really only true if we pause often enough and for long enough to allow what's underneath the surface to reveal itself to us. Then, having seen into our hidden depths, we still are left with the tasks of getting underneath mountains of accumulated sentiment to understand who we really are, who we really wish to be and how we really wish to express ourselves; Even then, we are still left with the task of expressing that which we uncover inside. Even when we know what our deepest intentions are, sometimes words fail to adequately express our hearts deepest intentions. Perhaps when words fail to reach across the great divide that sometimes separates human beings, a deeper form of communication, non-verbal communications could take place; perhaps communication in the dream state, or the planting of a seed in the fertile soil of our heart and making a commitment to nourish that seed daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, for as long as it takes. As students of the path of Yoga, we learn that we communicate in 4 ways. Words can sometimes adequately express our truths and bridge the distance between human beings; but we also communicate through the gestures of our eyes, where we see into each others' souls and share the light momentarily, for as long as we are willing to lock gazes. Our touch, the way we reach across the divide to place our hand on someone's shoulder, or reach out to give someone a hug, a kind gesture, holding a door open for another human being, these are all ways we express the immense generosity of our hearts. But we also communicate through the deep power of our intention. Haven't you had the experience of thinking about someone, and then, the phone rings and it's that person on the other end? Sometimes just holding someone in our hearts, intending healing, intending understanding, intending peace can be such a powerful act. I love to remember that right at this very moment, thousands if not millions of people worldwide are meditating and sending Metta, lovingkindness for our upliftment and liberation. Maybe each of us could be one of those people, intending light, beauty, understanding and peace for all beings. When I reflect on who the heroes of my life have been, I remember that the people I've felt closest to were people who never gave up on me. They held the intention of our connection in their hearts. I always felt their love for me even when something on the surface of reality separated us, I was moved beyond the surface to bridge the distance and bring down the walls between us. Even one of us acted poorly or in a disappointing fashion, because of the connection in our hearts, I remember them with love. Recently, I saw an ad for Jade Yoga mats displaying our friend and teacher, Sianna Sherman, adorable as she is, holding a yoga mat in one hand and an enormous smile on her face. In a one line statement, she powerfully expressed her vision for her life. Seeing that ad reminded me of Swami Muktananda's simple and yet immensely powerful mission statement: "To see the world full of saints!" In remembering Swami Muktananda's vision, I felt moved to consolidate my understanding of my deepest intention for my life. I invite each of you to do the same, to consolidate your understanding of your deepest intention for your life into such immense clarity that it could be expressed in a single guiding sentence that each of us can now return to every day and affirm consciously, intentionally and purposefully. Having gained clarity, I dedicate my efforts in the year 2011 to the sacred activation of the light inside myself and to serving the unveiling of this light in every person I meet. What does it mean to activate the light? Recently I sat with one of my teachers, Paul Muller Ortega, and he said something outrageous and something that I consider to be absolutely true. He said: "The darkness inside us resists the light and does so fiercely and comes up with all kinds of reasons to abandon the project of enlightenment." Even if our guiding vision does not include the immensity of "Enlightenment", who doesn't seek and aspire and yearn for the light - the light of understanding, the light of truth, the light of inspiration, the light of joy, the light of laughter, the light of beauty, the light of radiance, the light of life? I love this quotation that Sianna included in her newsletter and therefore I share it with you again if you already received it, and I pass it on to you now, if you are not on her email list: "You are that stream of light. The physical body is the projection of Light. You are a world unto yourself. The center of the light in the physical body is the heart. In every heartbeat is a release of another pulse of light from Presence... and when you call to the Presence, you are calling to the Presence of everyone in the world." I close with the words of the His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, "Everyday, think as you wake up, Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts toward others. I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can." I look forward to dancing in the light with each of you in the year 2011! Namaste,
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