Equinox

Equinox

Tomorrow day and night have equal weight, equal balance in the sky.

What would it be like to tend equally to all of the layers of ourselves?

Capitalist culture prioritizes our working lives and overtly “productive” facets of work at that, but what happens when we prioritize or give equal weight to our relationships, to the hobbies that bring us joy, to the activism that supports our future vision, to our bodies in which we make this human voyage?

Similarly, since the Age of Enlightenment, Western Culture has prioritized thinking (and accordingly, the mind, as if it were merely the brain and as if it were separate from the rest of our field of experience). But we are more than just fleshy computers and our entire bodies are also minds and each cell has its own intelligence. What would it be like to tend to our vitality, to prioritize nourishment, to devote ourselves whole-heartedly to our sense of wonder?

This is admittedly counter-capitalist, but… so is this practice. The foundations of Yoga are not anchored in the same kind of scarcity patterned by capitalism, they are rooted in the remembering of our own abundance.

OM Purnamadah Purnamidam

Purnat Purnamudachyate

Purnasya Purnamadaya

Purnamevavashishyate

OM This is completely whole, that is completely whole.

From wholeness, wholeness comes.

When wholeness is taken from wholeness, wholeness remains.

upanishads

The Upanishads also have recognized the fullness of the human experience through the koshas, a way of describing our field of experience in layers ranging from gross to subtle and back again. 

Moreover, this practice acknowledges that suffering comes from avidya, not seeing our true nature, and seeks to re-pattern practitioners into vidya— clearly seeing our own sufficiency as a collective living organism. When we disbelieve our own wholeness, we look 1) for someone/thing to blame (and often scapegoat or oppress that perceived threat); 2) for someone/thing to save us (thereby acquiescing our agency and capacity for spontaneous joy); 3) for something to distract us from our suffering.

On the other side of these kleshas (or obstacles to clear seeing) is respect and devotion for our own experience and tenderness for our fellow travelers on the existence trip, because we begin to recognize ourselves (and every heartache and triumph) in all beings and all beings (and their blessings and failings) in ourselves (Isha Upanishad 6-7). We realize that all beings are equally deserving of love.

Because many of us humans are afraid of being rejected, we become judgmental or adopt policing behaviors as a way of proving that “we’re okay”. When we behave in this way, we deny our humanity and attempt to destroy the humanity of those we judge in this way.*

How to begin?

Not to be a total buzzkill, but my Bodhisattva teachers (Roshi Joan Halifax and Dr. John Dunne) teach that true compassion is a byproduct of practice, not something that can be willed or manufactured. However, we can engage in practices that create conditions for the inner judge to relax her grip and swirls of compassion to bubble up.

• Yoga Sutra 1.33 instructs the yogi that “A clear and tranquil mind results from…cultivating  equanimity towards wrong-doers.” Notice that this sutra does not advocate bypassing abuse or remaining complicit in the face of oppression, but it does support clarity in determining the best course of action.

• Ask “Isn’t this a truly human moment?” Whenever I find myself in a predicament that feels too ridiculous for words, it brings me comfort to wonder whether squirrels or ants have ever had this problem.

• Remember eternity and infinity: when I think I have to solve things myself and in this lifetime, I become overwhelmed by the immensity and the insufficiency of this human life. But even in this practice, we are carrying forward the prayers that were uttered thousands of years ago. So, too, are our prayers and actions echoing among our fellow beings and our future descendants.

• Remember the moments when others have extended grace to you and again feel grateful. I had made some real doozy decisions in my life, done completely cringe-worthy things and had complete breakdowns. And people have loved me anyway. And remaining in gratitude for that ripples and echoes.

What are practices that tip the balance of your life toward greater compassion? What helps you to remember to give your heart equal weight to your head?

I’d love to hear.

Blessed Equinox.

* Judgement in this sense is distinguished from the practice of discernment, a decision made from wisdom rather than pain.