i hear in many spiritual circles a desire to just be completely in the heart and coming from Love- and that the means to doing this is to lose/get rid of the mind. i completely disagree and wanted to write about it.
first of all- i think there is no one way/one path for every person on the planet. we each are unique and we each have our strengths and weakness. in indian ayurveda there are 3 kinds of physical constitutions- vata, pitta and kapha- and each has different needs when it comes to nutrition, exercise, studies, etc… for example- pitta people are very yang, firey, assertive and aggressive. their yoga (their work in this life)- in order to balance themselves out- would require them to avoid spices and do more meditative practices to calm their inner fire (i am being very general here just to make a point- there is more to the pitta constitution than what i’ve written above. if you want to know more google ayurveda dosha or prakriti). yet in our western culture it is often the pitta types who are doing power yoga, extreme sports and operating from type A personalities. the yoga- which essentially is about union and balance within- for each person is different according to their unique makeup. so when we talk about the mind/heart balance- not everyone needs to lose their mind and go deeper into their heart, but there certainly are many who do.
we live in a very mind-focused society (in western culture) where the mind is valued over the heart. but there are other cultures/ancient civilizations who were overly heart-based and were extreme in their compassion and empathy, being divorced from the wisdom that needed to be there to balance it out. so depending upon where the focus of your consciousness is- the other aspect, the one that is harder for you to do and is not ‘natural’, is the one you need to work on. so if you are always in the mind your work is to move into the heart. if you always rely on wisdom your work is to cultivate more compassion. and alternatively if you tend to live predominately in the heart, then you need to balance it out with the mind. you need to cultivate wisdom to match your compassion.
this mind/heart, wisdom/compassion dichotomy is the same polarization of masculine/feminine. the Divine Masculine resonates with the mind and wisdom and Light. the Divine Feminine resonates with the heart, compassion and Love. we need BOTH. not one or the other. whichever wing- left or right- is not developed is the one that needs to be exercised, otherwise your metaphysical bird will not fly.
ultimately this is about wholeness. duality is the finger pointing at the moon, not the moon itself. duality and polarity is a useful tool that helps us to see aspects of ourselves- it’s a means of reflection. when we have realized fully who we are in all our glory (Self-realization) then duality will cease to matter. it will not cease to exist- but it will be so co-mingled and natural that there will be no need to separate and polarize in order to understand. there will be a deep knowing of what is at the core of our being- the Oneness and Unity of the All.
so where are you on this continuum? do you need to work on your Divine Masculine/mind/wisdom/Light? or do you need to embrace your Divine Feminine/heart/compassion/Love? or perhaps you’ve done lifetimes of work to realize both but this lifetimes it’s about integration. truly connecting yin and yang, dark and light, feminine and masculine- to make yourself Whole.
i will tell you this. your yoga is where you are pushed to the edge. your yoga is where it is hard and it hurts- but ‘the pain you feel is the breaking of the shell that encloses you’ (khalil gibran). if you keep doing what you’ve always done you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. look at your life and see the situations you find yourself in. see the ways in which you conditionally respond. the things you’ve always done- the ways you’ve always been. those are the areas that your work arises in. that is your yoga.
if you are waiting for the ‘right moment’ to make a change, or if you are waiting until you are ‘ready’- you will be waiting until you are blue in the face. the moment is NOW. there is only ever this now moment. you can CHOOSE to wait longer. you can CHOOSE to not be ready until next week, next year, next lifetime. or you can choose to change/grow/evolve now. the neural pathways in the brain create grooves that get monotonized by routines and patterns that keep playing themselves out over and over again. in order to change the neural pathway one needs to change the pattern- and it won’t feel normal! it will feel weird, it will feel scary, it will bring up fears and anxieties and a desire to run in the other direction! this is when you are at the threshold of change and transformation! don’t turn back now. keep going. move through the fear. feel the fear and do it anyway. and then as you push through that pivotal moment you will come out on the other end and realize it wasn’t as bad as you thought it was. of course hindsight is 20/20 ;)
find your yoga and do it. show the Universe you are ready to grow. once you do your life will be set into motion in ways you cannot even begin to fathom. when you show up the Universe shows up right beside you to support your every step. but it takes your free-will choice in choosing that path.
“if you want the whole thing, the gods will give it to you. but you must be ready for it.” ~joseph campbell
are you ready?
~divine harmony