As I said, I have never planned out a blogging sequence. That is until now.
I can feel in my gut that there is something missing. A portion, an articulation, an essence of which, desires to find expression. I am not so brash as to say I have the fullness of such a thing. I do believe I am a pilgrim upon a journey of discovery. I do believe, that as I walk this narrow dusty path that which I behold is bringing transformation. I do believe, that there are people, places and postures along the way that have much to teach me and are teaching me much.
I begin with this posture.
I begin in this place.
I humbly come before my God, who I believe created me in the very heart beat of His essence.
I humbly come before you, who I believe I am connected to... Holding the high priestly prayer of Christ so close to my heart. The reality of Oneness. Oneness of all things and of all people... I read the words of one of His last earthly prayers and am so moved by His hunger for humanity to understand our Oneness with each other and with the Divine.
This... this posture is the one I begin this intentional conversation within.....
Humbly coming... laying all that I think I thought I knew down and uttering an expression .. In my knowing I did not know and now that I do not know I am beginning to know.
In the beginning of all things there is a story and as it goes, there was void and things were formless and Spirit hovered .... There was no form. There was void and there was darkness.
When chaos and void and darkness reign what do we need?
Spirit to Hover.
Spirit to be engaged.
Light
When chaos reigns in our hearts, in our bodies, in our minds what do we need?
We need to find a greater order, we need to find light and peace and yes.. Spirit!
Let there be light.............
Light brings that illumination through which we see.
Was that "let there be light," a big bang of instant spoken word from Divine Creator sparking a revolution of beauty and wonder and fullness? Did that expression of let there be light bring forth a wonderment and awe and revelation? An expression that says chaos can be brought to higher order, voids can be made full, and darkness can be eradicated by light.
As is true for the natural world, so is true for the human life... the human heart.
Let there be light... Let a greater order by which we can see come and fill that which was once empty and dark. May we learn from the void, the darkness, and the emptiness and touch fullness, light and creativity.
What came after the utterance of light was a burst of creative power and expression, exploding time and time again. This expression kept expanding and expanding as the ever widening circle of reality went from good to very good and then to holy.
Creative expression in the form of the water, land, sky, earth, creature filled the space as did human. Clay was taken into hands and breath was added. Breath!!!! Very good was declared. Clay was formed into substance. Clay was formed. A body became. A body became and was still until the breath came. Then there was life.
Light. Creativity and fullness. Body. Breath... In the beginning of all things, as it is written in ancient Hebrew texts. We weren't left to be floating spirits without a body. We were given the gift of body. Body is house and temple and can be home. (More on that subject..lots more on that subject to come.)
Then came holy. What is holy? The very first thing that the Creator ever pronounced as being holy was rest.
Sabbath and rest and trust would become the crux of the journey between God and that which He spilled His image into, us!
So in the proverbial beginning and in this beginning I see so much to lay a foundation upon.
Spirit ... energy, vibration, frequency, sound, light, breath
Voids being made full with creative wonder
Rest being enacted as an act of holiness.
Yoga comes from a Sanskrit word, a derivation of the word yuj, which means yoking as in a team of oxen. Another way to read and understand it is to think of union. The practice of yoga is said to be for the union of body, mind and spirit. In the creation account that I know Christians and Hebrews look towards there is that union. The divine yokes His essence with Creation, calling things good, very good and holy. In all essence in the beginning there was the yoking together, the union of The Divine Presence, Creation, woman and man, light, breath, energy....
There is nothing in that list that is separate or other than what I find in the very heart beat and practice of yoga. A space created for me to step into, to discover the void within, to strengthen and feel the strength of my body that houses me, (We are now the Temples of the Spirit.... I find that as much in New Testament reading as I do in other sacred texts.) to grow in awareness of my need for breath and movement and to bring alignment with all that I am into a space that will help focus my mind upon whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is good. I am told to think upon such things. The practice of meditation and yoga brings together a peace and a stability within so that I can grasp a hold of the peace that passes all understanding and bring that off the mat and into my life.
I wouldn't start my yoga practice until December 2014, however in July of 2014 I was asking within the pages of my journal that I would be led into a deeper understanding of the body, mind and spirit connection. I could feel the pull of something upon my soul, yet knew not what it was and then came the practice of yoga. There was such an intense hunger within to touch understanding. Why a body? What does it mean that we have a body? How can I be more fully in my body? What is my soul, my mind, me? What is my Spirit? How do the three come together?
Void met form
Breath met dry bones
Light entered my eyes and my soul igniting my spirit and brought deep life into my body
Rest was found
The practice of yoga isn't to be made christian but a Christian can do yoga.
The practice of yoga isn't Buddhist but a Buddhist can do yoga.
The practice of yoga isn't Hindu but a Hindu can do yoga.
The practice of yoga transcends the specific expression of any one religion and can be as varied as there are people. Some use the straight forward posture driven practice to grow strength and be more present within their own bodies. Others incorporate a more meditative stance.
Step by step.... I take this journey.
Finding an articulation that is expansive and inclusive and rings true and lives in union with all that I know of the Lord's nature and character. There is nothing I see in the beginning of all things that would deny the basis of holding a yoga practice deep into my heart and my life. There is nothing I see in the beginning of all things that says I must first call something "christian" before it can be holy or safe or "right." I see there was a void. I see Spirit hovered and then after the passage of time spoke and came energy (What is light?), creative power and humanity full of breath......
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