Living with the knowledge of
something versus living with the feeling of something.
This can be seen in many different
places, and in many different forms. I experienced it in relationships, and in
yoga recently.
When I
first started learning about yoga and yoga philosophies, I tried to read as
much as I can, take notes, and learn the terms. I was learning with my mind. I
was acquiring knowledge about yoga. However, as time passed I came to realize
that it is not the same thing as feeling it from within… It is like the
difference between something you hear that happened to someone, and something
happening to you, you personally experiencing it. When you personally
experience the mula bandha, when you personally experience the energy lifting
you up, the lightness of your legs in sirsasana (headstand), then it is totally
different than someone telling you how it feels.
Yoga is
like that… Until you experience it yourself, you are more skeptical about the
written words in a book. You are more skeptical about what is being told to
you. Don’t take anyone’s word for it. Go and live, and as you practice
regularly, continuously, patiently and persistently, you will experience all
those things yourself, one by one. When you see the changes and effects on
yourself, and your body, you will see, and believe. That’s feeling from within…
Knowing something can only take you so far. When you feel something it grasps
you as a whole and feeds you more and more everyday. You never go hungry or
thirsty. It gives you what you need. All you need to know reveals yourself in
your practice, and it all comes from within. You believe in it, and it reveals
more and more to you as you practice.
They say
that yoga is a divine knowledge and it is all within ourselves, and the things
we read and hear just remind us what we already know, and wakes up the divine
within us. I believe that in relationships we need that kind of a reminder as
well. We may know that we are loved by someone, but don’t we need to feel it as
well?
Some people are in a relationship
knowing that they love the other person, and that the other person loves them.
This knowledge is enough for them. However, for some they want to feel the love
of the other person on a daily basis. Do you live with the feeling that you love the other person and do you feel that person’s love for you every
day? Or do you live with the knowledge that you love that person and you are
loved by him/ her? I am one of those who needs to feel that love. I need to
feel it on a daily basis, with small gestures, kind words, with a look, a
subtle touch, a smile. I want to experience anything that would transmit that
love, warmth, or affection of that person to me. Knowing you are loved or that
you love someone is not enough. Every relationship is alive. Once you surrender
to the relationship, it doesn’t end there.
To keep a relationship, and a loving relationship alive, you need to
practice regularly, continuously, patiently, and persistently. Just like the
way you practice yoga… You want to and need to feel that love from within. Not
just know it with your mind, but actually feel it, and live it by heart and
soul.
If you approach things just from
your mind, things become a habit; a habitual chain of actions and reactions. It
becomes dull, and convenient. I believe
that what keeps things alive is treating every day as a new day. You need to
treat every day as a new day, treat every downward facing dog as a new one, treat
every opportunity to be with your loved one as a new one. Don’t start seeing
things as habit. Realize the newness in everything. Realize the change in every
single downward facing dog. Instead of making things a habit, have a fresh
intent everytime. In every downward facing dog, pay attention to your hands,
arms, your legs. Don’t just come in to the pose due to habit, and fall back to
your habits. Instead pay attention, and that’s where your growth lies int. Also
in relationships, when you are with a loved one, don’t take that person for granted.
Don’t just assume they know you love them. Show them your love, make them feel
it. Treat your time with them as a fresh new opportunity, as if you are looking
into his/her eyes for the first time and seeing their beauty for the first
time, their smile for the first time. And you will see the beauty within them,
and you will appreciate them, and will be filled with love, and they feel it
too.
Do you live with the knowledge of
something and rely on it, or do you live with the feeling of it and experience
it? And which one would you prefer?
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