With friends you grow wings.
Alone,
you are a single feather in disgrace.
With them you master the wind,
but alone,
you’re blown in all directions.
―Rumi
There is a deep and natural impulse in the heart, that wants to be a part of something greater than ourselves. Our self-encapsulated ego is such a narrow place in which to live. There comes a point in our lives when we want to participate in a much bigger life. We want to experience a deep, enduring sense of connection with our community, with our planet, and with this boundless universe.
Sometimes this feels like a religious point of view, but I think it’s actually intrinsic to who we are as human beings. Sooner or later, the sense of being separate, of doing everything by myself, for myself, begins to wear thin. A deeper impulse, an interest in another way of living, bubbles up from somewhere deep inside.
People often ask me about how they can reconcile this longing for inter-connection, ‘inter-being’ as Thich Nath Hanh calls it, with their own intentions and desires. It’s a very important question. I can’t throw away what I want in the name of surrendering to a higher will. My desires and visions and intentions don’t simply melt away, just because I hope they will.
This dilemma comes up quite a bit in relation to practice. I may have some kind of practice I am committed to – it doesn’t really matter what kind of practice it is. I have made this commitment for the sake of something greater than myself: awakening, evolution, transformation, love, or service. The names are not important. What is important is what it is I have dedicated myself to, through this practice.
But often, when the time for practice rolls around, I don’t want to do it. And my not wanting, in that moment, overrules my previous commitment. This is our human dilemma. I’ve had thousands of people talk to me about this, over the years.
One of the most beautiful and effective ways of working with this conflict is by using the power of willingness. Here you are, preparing to sit and meditate, or pray or practice yoga or chi-gung. Or paint, or dance, or who knows what? And the part of you that doesn’t want to practice comes up and takes you over. Instead of struggling with this part of who you are, give it some space, allow it to be there. Don’t fight with it.
And then ask yourself this question: “I don’t want to practice right now, but am I willing to?” If you sit with this question, if you allow it to drop into your body and your heart, and just listen, you’ll discover something very surprising. You don’t want to practice, and you are willing to. Willingness is something bigger and more spacious than your personal identity. It’s not willpower. It’s not the part of you that forces, pushes and struggles. Its an essential part of your being. And it says yes even when your egoic mind is saying no. It’s a very liberating and healing thing to touch into the nature of this willingness, even once.
There is one more thing about practice. It’s really not so easy to do it on your own. But when you do it with others, the power of it, the joy of it, accelerates a thousand fold. That’s why I have spent my life practicing with others.
If you feel in your heart that you would like to explore this possibility, please click here.
Or you can register for the free Teleconference call with me on June 9.
With love,
Shayla
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