Saturday, August 15, 2009

Suffering through Happiness

People seek out yoga for different reasons. Usually, they are going through some dynamic change in their life and are looking to make a spiritual connection. Many are suffering through break-ups, divorces, job loss or illness. They come to heal. They come to connect to a supportive spiritual community.

A natural side effect of yoga is that you heal. You start to feel daily joy and happiness. This can actually bring suffering. You begin to fear that the joy and happiness you feel is temporary and unsustainable. You begin to worry that if you miss a day of yoga or your meditation that spirit will abandon you and that the suffering will return.

A good friend of mine once explained to me when I was suffering through happiness that a spiritual journey is like going to the grocery store. You begin your journey starving and with an empty basket. You fill your basket with all that you see and as you fill your basket you are lifted up and up and up. Once the basket is full, you have to come back down. You have to sort through your basket and get rid of the things you weren’t really hungry for. You have to eat the rest of the basket and finally you have to digest the basket. When your basket is empty again, you go back up.

Spirit never abandons you. Spirit was always there and will always be there. Spirit is the element of Space. Space is everywhere. It is the “in-between” that holds the entire universe together. Space is a mystery and undefinable. It is vast. Is is unchanging. It is ever-present.

Know this and enjoy your dessert!

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