Being and Becoming

I have this strong memory of standing at the window in my childhood home staring at the rain.  A vivid recollection as the rain fell from the roof and formed perfect drops into a growing puddle. I can recall the sound, the grayness, and the cool temperature of the glass that separated me from the elements. I don't know if I was more than a couple of years old, as I was mostly pre-verbal, but that moment left an incredible imprint in my memory. The point of this story is the person that who was watching the rain is the same person that's been watching my entire life. This is my witness-self, the eternal part of me that sees the history of this incarnation without making comment or having judgment around it. That two-year-old self is the same as the current 54-year old self...it hasn't changed. This "being" is the part of us that is transcendent and unchanging and is referred to as the paramatman, the universal or eternal soul.

Then there's this other aspect of ourselves called the jiva-atman, or the "becoming" self. This part of us is connected to why we are in this body, with the often asked question, "why am I here?". The unveiling of this question often points to our purpose or dharma. Some people ascribe to the idea that our soul comes into this body at this particular point in time with an intention or purpose. What is it that I need to experience to continue the evolution of my soul toward complete union with divine consciousness? Why have I taken this form and what is my role in this incarnation? Some may believe we have just a single experience...we're born, we live our life and when we die we head someplace other than earth that is a reflection of how we lived. And others think it's an on-going experience, coming into form so that we can learn the many lessons we need to become enlightened. No matter what you believe, the point is that most of us feel connected to and driven by a purpose. Whether or not we have a clear vision of what that purpose may be is the "becoming".

I'm lucky to have uncovered what I believe to be my dharma-that of a teacher. I have been teaching most of my life in one form or another and the older I became, the more clarity I gained that I was being called to teach and, more specifically, to teach through the lens of yoga. All of the various teaching experiences have refined and deepened my understanding of what I'm currently teaching and this became crystallized about 15 years ago...I felt I truly knew why I was here. 

So as we come to the end of 2017, I wanted to put on the wide angle lens and take a broad view of where we are, hence the theme of being and becoming. As we reflect on the past 12 months, many of the themes I've taught and written about revolve around the challenges we meet, the upheavals that come to us, the dark moments as well as the joyous and celebratory ones and how we can use the teachings from the wisdom traditions to better cope and find ease in our lives. The past couple of weeks have been about not only what are we ready to release, but of what's been put in place and is really supporting us to find integration. If we've been walking this path with any amount of awareness and intention, we've created small changes that make a difference. Some can be surrendered and others kept in place. So, as you flip the calendar to 2018, reflect on the good that you've brought into your life and how that's filled up your own well. We know that if we nurture our own selves, the abundance of that flows away from us. And when the energy is flowing from our hearts, we are free to step into the roles this life has for us.

I am so incredibly grateful to know why I'm here and to have a growing community of like-minds that want to share the ride and spread the yoga love. May all of us tap into our heart-space, breathe deeply, and serve others so that we find a more peaceful world...a world at ease.