God is Like a Bowl of Good Pasta
Yeah, I knew that might be a catchy title for a post!
I had to take a narcotic last night - and as as someone who made it through the 60's and 70's without "inhaling," ingesting or partaking of "certain" substances, or engaging in any hard-core, partying (I know - it is amazing and boring) - anything of the sort in the present tense is certain to send me places only deep meditation has revealed. (And of course, that experience is so much more sublime!)
But seriously, early this evening, after working on the theme for my yoga classes this week, I sat in meditation. More on my meditation in a minute.
I am working with the second of the brahmaviharas this week - karuna - or compassion - and linking it to "Inner Spiral" and its capacity for widening and making space in our pelvis - but also in our lives - and ultimately in our hearts.
Inner Spiral is the third of Anusara's Universal Priniciples of Alignment. I recalled that John Friend focused on Sutra 1.33 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, during the second Anusara Immersion I attended in Columbia, SC, in March of this year, so I reviewed my notes from that training. Then, I remembered that both John, and Bill Mahoney, the notable Vedic scholar and professor, also addressed this sutra at the Annual Gathering of Anusara Certified Teachers, in NC, in May, so I pulled up those notes on my computer as well.
After a bit of research and honing my ideas for class - exploring the relationship between my theme, action, and intended heart qualities - the sun began its inevitable downward descent in earnest, and I was wooed into meditation, during what is really my favorite time of the day to sit and time of the year as well...
Let me also note that I spent the last few days - emptying out closets and drawers as a sort of fall cleaning exercise - shifting my summer clothes for several seasons of hibernation and into their awaiting plastic bins - while readying and laundering my fall things. It occurred to me during this time-consuming process, that I own way too much stuff. Earlier in the week, a friend of mine and I went out for coffee, and she - who is 66 - and I - who will be 55 in a month - discussed how we've got most of our lives behind us - and it is time to truly simplify...
So, I thought of this as I sat down to meditate...
Near then end of my time meditating, I was granted this delicious insight of my life as one grated flake of parmigiano reggiano - floating down onto a bowl of wonderful pasta - that I envisioned as God. I thought of how in each and everyone of our lifetimes - we are merely searching for union with God...
And now that the major things in my life are behind me - raising and educating a child, paying off a mortgage (Yes! Thank God!) - truly all the "householder" things and responsibilities - I can truly enter into the "forest dweller" stage. We are all just simply seeking to merge with God - whether we realize it or not. I remember the words of a wise therapist who told me once that: "All longing is simply a longing for God."
I am truly blessed to be at the stage and time of life to be able to sit with abandon - to let go of the things that seem trivial - and of interactions that are not mutually supportive or life-giving. Each day when I sit, I am listening more, and cultivating my intuition more deeply. And I find that every day the fruits of my practice more readily spill into all the other areas of my life - teaching, ministering, being with family, friends, etc., as it should be.
So yes - God is like a bowl of good pasta. And pasta is not complete without parmigiano reggiano - and that is -all of us! I think the Romans knew this all along!
I had to take a narcotic last night - and as as someone who made it through the 60's and 70's without "inhaling," ingesting or partaking of "certain" substances, or engaging in any hard-core, partying (I know - it is amazing and boring) - anything of the sort in the present tense is certain to send me places only deep meditation has revealed. (And of course, that experience is so much more sublime!)
But seriously, early this evening, after working on the theme for my yoga classes this week, I sat in meditation. More on my meditation in a minute.
I am working with the second of the brahmaviharas this week - karuna - or compassion - and linking it to "Inner Spiral" and its capacity for widening and making space in our pelvis - but also in our lives - and ultimately in our hearts.
Inner Spiral is the third of Anusara's Universal Priniciples of Alignment. I recalled that John Friend focused on Sutra 1.33 of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, during the second Anusara Immersion I attended in Columbia, SC, in March of this year, so I reviewed my notes from that training. Then, I remembered that both John, and Bill Mahoney, the notable Vedic scholar and professor, also addressed this sutra at the Annual Gathering of Anusara Certified Teachers, in NC, in May, so I pulled up those notes on my computer as well.
After a bit of research and honing my ideas for class - exploring the relationship between my theme, action, and intended heart qualities - the sun began its inevitable downward descent in earnest, and I was wooed into meditation, during what is really my favorite time of the day to sit and time of the year as well...
Let me also note that I spent the last few days - emptying out closets and drawers as a sort of fall cleaning exercise - shifting my summer clothes for several seasons of hibernation and into their awaiting plastic bins - while readying and laundering my fall things. It occurred to me during this time-consuming process, that I own way too much stuff. Earlier in the week, a friend of mine and I went out for coffee, and she - who is 66 - and I - who will be 55 in a month - discussed how we've got most of our lives behind us - and it is time to truly simplify...
So, I thought of this as I sat down to meditate...
Near then end of my time meditating, I was granted this delicious insight of my life as one grated flake of parmigiano reggiano - floating down onto a bowl of wonderful pasta - that I envisioned as God. I thought of how in each and everyone of our lifetimes - we are merely searching for union with God...
And now that the major things in my life are behind me - raising and educating a child, paying off a mortgage (Yes! Thank God!) - truly all the "householder" things and responsibilities - I can truly enter into the "forest dweller" stage. We are all just simply seeking to merge with God - whether we realize it or not. I remember the words of a wise therapist who told me once that: "All longing is simply a longing for God."
I am truly blessed to be at the stage and time of life to be able to sit with abandon - to let go of the things that seem trivial - and of interactions that are not mutually supportive or life-giving. Each day when I sit, I am listening more, and cultivating my intuition more deeply. And I find that every day the fruits of my practice more readily spill into all the other areas of my life - teaching, ministering, being with family, friends, etc., as it should be.
So yes - God is like a bowl of good pasta. And pasta is not complete without parmigiano reggiano - and that is -all of us! I think the Romans knew this all along!
Comments
I love your line about all longing being a longing for God...that resonates deeply this early Sunday morning!