the truth about yoga...

... or at least some cool stuff i am reading for my hatha yoga class...

"It has been my experience that Yoga is not about getting my students or me to 'perform' physical feats of body or breath. It is my sincere desire that the practice of Yoga simply help point the way to one's true self... A beautiful Indian story tells that a bubble searching for its true self floats along in the sea when it pops, discovering itself to be part of the ocean all along, the ocean in which it had thought itself to be seperate."

to me that holds great truth for those of us who seek to follow god in the way of jesus... it is practice, not performance... it is encouraging others in their own practice, not judging yourself by their ability/inability to do certain postures... understanding our one-ness with all of humanity and all of creation and all of god...

another...

"One may also define yoga as a kind of universal spirituality beyond all religions. It is a non-religious spiritual orientation. It believes that when a Hindu achieves the ultimate objective of his spiritual effort, namely, integration with truth, he ceases to be a mere Hindu. Born as a Hindu he becomes a world citizen or cosmic man. When he reaches the goal of Hinduism he sees that this is also the ultimate goal of other great religions. Hinduism is thus fulfilled in his life beyond itself. Similarly, when a Christian reaches the ultimate goal of his sincere spiritual effort he ceases to be a mere Christian. Human labels cannot restrict him anymore. He becomes a cosmic man. The same is true for a sincere Buddhist, a sincere Muslim, etc. Different religions are like so many boats helping different peoples to cross the river of ignorance and self-alienation. When the other shore is reached, the boats are left behind. The content of wisdom for which the other shore stands is found to be identical. It is this concept of the identical spiritual destiny of man - this ideal of cosmic integreation with the ground of existence - which is the basis of yoga."

i mean, isnt this jesus and the kingdom of god?... it was to be held by the jews alone, it was beyond that... and i would sure say that the kingdom of god is not the church... the church, as mclaren says, is a grand catalyst for the kingdom of god, but not the kingdom itself... nor is christianity... the kingdom of god is where we become cosmic men... when we live in the way of jesus, live the dao, realize our atman/brahman, become enlightened and changed forever...

lets try crossing this river together with people of other traditions, understandings, realities... lets do it together...