One God

Recently I had my house and myself (oddly enough) spiritually cleansed and doused by Fionan. It was money well spent. Not only was it much more fun than going out for dinner, and racier than Sunday afternoon Sangha; it took me on a wild journey through the energies of our little suburban house and into each realm of our life both physically and energetically.

To start almost at the beginning, a few years ago, I become captivated by Buddhist meditation techniques and at the heart of that, mindfulness. I loved my fresh-faced open-heart and increasing moments of clarity.  The loving-kindness meditations fitted me like a glove and seamlessly wove into my already deeply entrenched yoga-teaching philosophy of recognising all beings with love and respect.  I was able to finally distance myself from the insistent demands and squabbles of my ego and dedicate myself to real service.  A promising combination from an outside perspective but I was perplexed.  Who should I love most? God, Yogananda, Ganesha or Buddha for surely I could not love them all.  This was bothering me for a long time; after all I am a true Bhakti teacher not a nihilist, nor someone who would take the Buddhist scriptures as metaphor.  I felt somehow that I was leaving my beloved Yogananda and yet mindfulness meditation is a path that has allowed me some freedom and maturity. 

Now, Fionan strode into my house vibrating with energy and his eyes on fire. Fionan, let me know that he would speak in metaphor so I had to listen to what he was saying with instinct and mindful-deep listening.  I soon caught his fire, and flew about the house with him. We flew past Buddha in the lounge room, Ganesh in the kitchen, Yogananda in the study. By the time we reached the upstairs bedrooms we were already hip-deep in Gods, idols and devotions. It was inevitable; we finally came to an impasse in the spare bedroom where Buddha was meditating peacefully on the windowsill and the room opposite housed its own sweet array of Ganeshas.  Fionan stopped. He said, “I must choose a God”. I thought, “Oh feck it, I knew this was coming”. He told me to make a decision, that I knew the right decision, and I guess at the time I thought I did but it was still very uneasy – there is a hierarchy I believe and how could I not include all my beloved.  But, I did choose and felt clear-minded. 

The time spent with Fionan was a little life altering and our house sparkles with soft energies but the residual concern eked its way back into my mind. 

I continued my chats with Yogananda, I continued to meditate, sometimes through mindfulness based practice and at other times third eye.  The more I practiced mindfulness, the less choosing a single God seemed an issue.

Mindfulness is ancient and universal. It enables us to cultivate an open-heart, wisdom and integrity. Just as Hatha Yoga is an ancient practice of being present in our breath, and in the moment without judgement.  It too enables us to inhabit our bodies, to face sensation, to become present and surpass mental limitations.  In essence mindfulness and hatha yoga are of the same ilk. They work seamlessly together to reduce emotional arousal and reactivity. And whether or not this divine space created through mindfulness and yoga is dedicated to loving-kindness, compassion, to joy or to the Divine Mother; it is personal – we all attain that glorious sense of peace and well-being and can give thanks where we wish.

Picture courtesy of Dreamstime, Eric Lam