Mostly Somewhere Else

Day 4 of my 14 day fast and detox in Thailand is underway.  After spending almost two days being ill, flat on my back most of the time, I am happy to report that I am feeling good. 

As the body eliminates toxins, various symptoms arise but thankfully they pass. To remember this while they are happening and to simply accept the experience is not so easy!

This morning, after a downpour of rain, the group stepped through the puddles and made our way to a deck overlooking the beach for our daily kundalini yoga session. The focus today was on the heart chakra. Sun salutations and chanting filled the space.

To end the practice, intentions for the day, uttered out loud, were shared. More than one participant expressed a need to be in the now and not worry about matters back home or what they would be doing upon departure.

Perhaps you’ve come across the two passages that follow before, but they always serve as a good reminder that our perception of reality is often distorted and blurred, and that it is even possible to live somewhere, be among people, and yet not truly see or hear. 

In  “Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values”, Robert M. Pirsig describes two climbers:  

“To the untrained eye ego-climbing and selfless climbing may appear identical.  Both kinds of climbers place one foot in front of the other.  Both breathe in and out at the same rate.  Both stop when tired.  Both go forward when rested.  But what a difference!  The ego-climber is like an instrument that’s out of adjustment.  He puts his foot down an instant too soon or too late.  He’s likely to miss a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees.  He goes on when the sloppiness of his step shows he’s tired.  He rests at odd times.  He looks up the trail trying to see what’s ahead even when he knows what’s ahead because he just looked a second before.  He goes too fast or too slow for the conditions and when he talks his talk is forever about somewhere else, something else.  He’s here but he’s not here.  He rejects the here, is unhappy with it, wants to be farther up the trail but when he gets there will be just as unhappy because then the it will be ‘here’.  What he is looking for, what he wants, is all around him; but he doesn’t want that because it is all around him.   Every step’s an effort both physically and spiritually because he imagines his goal to be external and distant.”

And then there’s the ancient tale telling the story of a disciple who asked the Holy One where he should look for Enlightenment.  The tale goes something like this:

“Here,” the Holy One answered.

“When will it happen?”

“It’s happening right now,” the Holy One replied.

“Then why don’t I experience it?” asked the disciple.

“Because you do not look.”

“What should I look for?”

“Nothing,” the Holy One said. “Just look.”

“At what?” 

“Anything your eyes alight upon,” the Holy One said.

“Must I look in a special kind of way?”

“No,” said the Holy One. “The ordinary way will do.”

“But don’t I always look the ordinary way?”

“No,” the Holy One said. “You don’t.”

“Why ever not?” the disciple demanded.

“Because to look you must be here,” the Holy One said.  “You’re mostly somewhere else.”