Nov 11, 2008, when you said "within and without..."A student from my Sunday class wrote this question (and I paraphrase): ...when you said, "within and without," did you mean going inside and being with all other sentient beings? Well, yes. So... what I write about here often spurs the themes I explore in my weekly asana classes. I say "spurs" the themes because of the way each foray into a particular notion or idea takes us more deeply into its center, and thus reveals infinite possible paths or threads to follow. Among its many meanings, spur means "a thing that projects or branches off from a main body," and, to " cause or promote the development of; stimulate."* Likewise, a foray into your own individual experience, or being, or truth, will reveal many versions of yourself and many possible threads, or branches to pursue. What I meant when I spoke of "within" and "without" was the journey of self knowledge that takes us down each path and back again to the core. In yoga asana we practice awareness of that journey in the context the body - drawing in from the disparate branches of our fingers and toes to the core body and extending back out again , to root into the feet, to reach the heart upwards reach the heart upwards , etc. This practice then hones our abilities to recognize and retrace the less concrete branches of our selves; our thoughts and feelings, our relationships and choices, the events and opportunities we attract into our lives. The scriptures of this beautiful lineage, itself a branch of the greater lineage of yoga, tell us that each of us is but a spur of the universal intelligence, or energy, or presence known as sivasakti. We trace the exquisite map of the body and find ourselves tracing the map of our self, of the precious and uniquely individual being that we are at our essence. Only to find that this essence, too, is but a spur, a branch, or facet of something greater. Metaphor is one of the great marvels of the universe. To the perfect expression of divine intelligence who was the writer of the above query: I hope this helps. See the last two posts also. Same theme, different expressions. love alison P.S. I begin my certification exam today. Please wish me luck. * I got these definitions from the dictionary program that came with my mac book - Version 1.0.2 (1.0.2) go from When You Said to the Blog Archive
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