Seeking
I was in Jenn's class on Saturday at Yoga Yoga and the theme was searching within ourselves to find what we need. She talked about how people continue to search and search outside of themselves and often don't find what they are looking for, specifically referring to God. It will not come as a surprise that as a Christian, I don't fully agree with this philosophy. Let me start by saying that I enjoy Jenn's teachings and classes very much and I do believe there is something to be said for searching within because God does exist within us. But God exists everywhere, so you must seek and search outside of yourself to find Him as well. That doesn't necessarily mean following the Christian path--that is my path but I understand that it's not everyone's.
I agree that often we search and search and search only to end up disappointed. I think it's because people are searching for something very specific, like perfection or enlightenment or something like that. In searching, you need to be aware that you won't always get the answers you are hoping to find. It's not that simple. But to think that all you need is already within you will also disappoint you. That's like saying that you are your only teacher. If I were my only teacher, I would be in real trouble.
At the beginning of her class we did the first few sun salutations with our eyes closed to connect to the theme. It was difficult. I enjoy taking my vision out of my practice sometimes but moving without vision is hard. And I think it's because if we only rely on ourselves, we will fall, hard. And if we don't fall then we're trying really hard not to fall.
At some point during your search, you have to make a decision about God and the Divine and what it is you're searching for and what all of that means to you. Otherwise, you'll die still searching for your beliefs. Who wants that? It's not that the search ever really ends, because we all have room to grow in every aspect of our lives, including spiritually, but your core beliefs about spirituality should be concrete, I think.
So, yes, searching within is important. But we shouldn't discount searching outside of ourselves either. There's a lot out there to be found.
I agree that often we search and search and search only to end up disappointed. I think it's because people are searching for something very specific, like perfection or enlightenment or something like that. In searching, you need to be aware that you won't always get the answers you are hoping to find. It's not that simple. But to think that all you need is already within you will also disappoint you. That's like saying that you are your only teacher. If I were my only teacher, I would be in real trouble.
At the beginning of her class we did the first few sun salutations with our eyes closed to connect to the theme. It was difficult. I enjoy taking my vision out of my practice sometimes but moving without vision is hard. And I think it's because if we only rely on ourselves, we will fall, hard. And if we don't fall then we're trying really hard not to fall.
At some point during your search, you have to make a decision about God and the Divine and what it is you're searching for and what all of that means to you. Otherwise, you'll die still searching for your beliefs. Who wants that? It's not that the search ever really ends, because we all have room to grow in every aspect of our lives, including spiritually, but your core beliefs about spirituality should be concrete, I think.
So, yes, searching within is important. But we shouldn't discount searching outside of ourselves either. There's a lot out there to be found.
posted by Angela at 6:48 AM
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