Satsang with Lisa   

Sitting at the lotus feet of the Guru

"We are most alive when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." ~Thornton Wilder

It has been a couple of weeks since returning from San Diego, the site of the first (hopefully annual) Ashtanga Yoga Confluence. A confluence is defined as a convergence, or flowing together, of two or more streams of energy. In this case the streams were 5 master teachers, gurus in their own right, and student/disciples of the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Guruji (7/26/1915 - 5/18/1990), Richard Freeman, Nancy Gilgoff, Tim Miller, David Swenson, and Eddie Stern.

Invited by Tim Miller, these Senior teachers of Ashtanga Yoga came together to honor their teacher, the Jois family, and the lineage of yoga that they have practiced and taught, cumulatively for well over a century and a half. Yogis/Ashtangis, hundreds of other lesser known streams, came from all over the country and abroad to be a part of this happening, yes to converge into this high vibration as one. (Legend holds that there were 500 left on the waiting list!)

It was a powerful 4 days of practice: yoga on the mat at the guidance of the masters, and off the mat in the form of panel discussions on philosophy, stories of Guruji, workshops, and an overall experience of connection.

It was a celebration of continuity and the resilience of a community traumatized by the loss of their beloved Guru. It was a celebration of healing and transformation, of coming full circle, of ending and beginning anew. It was a sweet remembrance of everything that was, an acute realization and deep appreciation of everything that is still, and a growing sense of excitement and hopeful vision of what can and may be.

There was a palpable communal bliss, a collective high vibration that was generated and felt by every body, mind and soul. I, along with my 4 beautiful yoga friends/students, wept sweet tears of release and pure joy everyday. And we were in good company! From the top to the bottom, from alpha to omega, from the panel to the carpet, we all knew we were a part of something big, that is, far greater than ourselves, and real, as in lasting.

After processing for some time I realized that what we all had experienced was a sort of collective Samadhi; a high state of consciousness, an awakening to the true nature of reality, or however fleeting, enlightenment.

"Enlightenment come as a firefly, not as a sunset" ~the buddha

And as Deepak Chopra states,"According to Vedanta, there are only two symptoms of enlightenment, just two indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward a higher consciousness. The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don't bother you anymore. You become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous."

The Confluence was joyful, exhilarating, real, and it was miraculous.

And then it was over.

It was time to say good-bye and take that long plane ride home.

It was a tearful farewell to my teachers and my fellow travelers. And it was time to bring it on home to the day to day.  

"Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." ~Buddhist saying

It was time get back to the real practice; to walk the talk. To live the challenging life of the householder: To practice, and to work and to raise children, and to walk the path with a spouse/partner. It was time to come Om to teach and to share with my beloved sangha what my teachers had taught me, above all to be present to the quality of relationship in your life, to be sensitive and respectful of the needs of others and self,and to cultivate and offer love to those that come your way.

I was happy. I was bringing back many riches, treasures that I had miraculously discovered and been given. It was time to give back.

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the res a kind of optical delusion of his conscoiusness, this delusion is a kind of a prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection to a few persons near us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." ~Albert Einstein