In the larger sense, anything which focuses our attention on the here and now, what is going on right in front of us, is a meditation. This can include music, dance, athletic excellence, and yoga. When we sit in traditional meditation (zazen) and follow our breath as it goes in and out, it can bring us into the present moment more fully.
Yesterdays’ regrets and tomorrows’ fears aren’t relevant and gradually lose their hold on us. The peace and tranquility this generates allows us to fully attend to our situation. This is very powerful. The concept of balance in T’ai Chi encompasses not only the physical aspects, but this also.
As we look more closely at our current state, without the “extra movements” of the myriad tapes we play repetitively in our heads and the emotional responses they generate, what is left shines through and gives us strength. We remember who and what we are behind the masks we often wear. We become somehow less superficial and more able to deal effectively with the very situations with which we no longer endlessly occupy our inner computer. As we come into balance, we begin to drive the machine instead of it driving us. The quality of our being evolves. We “grow up” and as we do, all that we are a part of evolves also.
As we support those beyond ourselves, we become more valuable to the people around us, and energy from this becomes available to us to further this work. This is not magic, but common sense. If you share what you have, people share with you because they benefit from you being around. An evolved being is a blessing to everyone.
Yoga practitioners say “Namaste”, which translates “The Light within me honors the Light within you”.
Namaste
