Passing along a nice quote from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche which seems especially relevant right now (courtesy of the Dharma Ocean daily quote mailing list):

There are many international problems, and throughout the world chaos is taking place all the time -- which is obviously far from the expression of enlightened society. In the past, various disciplines or faiths, such as Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, had great dignity. There were extraordinarily sane people among the ancients who worked to make the world worthwhile and passed down their wisdom generation by generation. But there has been a problem of corruption. The world has been seduced by physical materialism as well as by psychological materialism, let alone spiritual materialism! The world is beginning to turn sour. Our measures may be small at this point, but we're trying to sweeten the world up. In the long run, we want to offer something beyond a token. We want to make a real contribution to the development of enlightened society. That begins right here. As they say, charity begins at home.
From "Working with Early Morning Depression," in
GREAT EASTERN SUN:THE WISDOM OF SHAMBHALA, pages 26 to 27.

When we sweeten ourselves - through yoga, meditation, walking in Nature, loving each other - the global broth gets just that much sweeter, too.

Another great bit from Eckhart Tolle.  He relays a story about the Indian sage Krishnamurti:

J. Krishnamurti, the great Indian philospher and spiritual teacher, spoke and travelled almost continually all over the world for more than fifty years attempting to convey through words...that which is beyond words. At one of his talks in the later part of his life, he surprised his audience by asking, "Do you want to know my secret?"

Everyone became very alert. Many people in the audience had been coming to listen to him for twenty or thirty years and still failed to grasp the essence of his teaching. Finally, after all these years, the master would give them the key to understanding.

"This is my secret," he said. "I don't mind what happens." (A New Earth, 198)

When you live with this awareness, this sensitivity, life has an astonishing way of taking care of you. Then there is no problem of security, of what people say or do not say, and that is the beauty of life.

I'm riffing on a quote from The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu in class this week:

The sage is as alert as a person crossing a winter stream;
as circumspect as a person with neighbors on all four sides;
as respectful as a thoughtful guest;
as yielding as melting ice;
as simple as uncarved wood;
as open as a valley;
as chaotic as a muddy torrent.

Why "chaotic as a muddy torrent"?
Because clarity is learned by being patient in the presence of chaos.
Tolerating disarray, remaining at rest, gradually one learns to allow muddy water
to settle and proper responses to reveal themselves.

This translation definitely takes some interpretive liberties, but I like how it values chaos as a positive quality. The sage does not fight against disarray, trying to impose order on a chaotic world. Instead, he is patient, relaxing into the turbulent stream of experience and waiting for "proper responses to reveal themselves". I appreciate the Taoist confidence that right action will arise of its own, if only we give it space. It is a soothing antidote to the Western workaholic conviction that hard work is the only way to things get done.

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy follows this principle. When a muddy torrent of emotion or memory arises, the therapist does not interfere or try to redirect. He simply provides a patient presence that helps the client remain connected to her body and open to the flow of experience. The meaning (and perhaps resolution) will arise of itself. The more sessions I receive, the more I trust that understanding will come without deliberate analytic dissection. It is a great relief! I can be more simple and open, yet still find the "proper response".

The swirling clouds of economic recession and presidential drama offer many chances to practice Lao Tsu's suggestions. But it is difficult to change our habitual reactions in the midst of our daily life. Yoga class offers a refuge where we can cultivate new ways of being - patience in the presence of chaos. The clarity required by a difficult balancing pose stays with us as we navigate our lives. Breath by breath, it becomes easier to surf the muddy torrent.

Niyama #5 – Ishvara Pranidhana / surrender to the divine

From devotion to the Lord, one is given perfect absorption in Spirit (samadhi).

Yoga Sutras, II:46

In samadhi there is no longer distinction between the person who sees and what is being seen. In samadhi, the separation between ourselves and the universe dissolves. This is what it means to surrender to God... If you are alienated by the God of your childhood, try coming up with another God.

Rolf Gates

The spiritual impulse that compels us to seek enlightenment is that same original intention that has been driving the evolutionary process from the very beginning of the universe.

Andrew Cohen

For [early yogis], the whole world was seen as a vast net woven together in space and time – not unlike our notion of the quantum field. This was called Indra's Net, and at the intersection of each warp strand and woof strand of this net is a jewel. This jewel represents an individual human soul. And it is that soul's duty... to hold together its particular part of the web by being its own unique jewel-like self. In this way, the whole universe holds together as one great interlocking field.

Stephen Cope

As long as we are engrossed in our own needs, in “I” and “mine” we will remain insecure... Cultivating surrender and devotion replaces such self-preoccupation with a sense of our connection that sustains this entire universe. A sense of devotion and surrender opens us to experiences of being nurtured. We also learn that we have the capacity to become instruments of higher consciousness, serving and giving what we can to help others in their own awakening.

Swami Ajaya (Alan Weinstock)

Allow yourself to yield, and you can stay centered.

Allow yourself to bend, and you will stay straight.

Allow yourself to be empty, and you'll get filled up.

Allow yourself to be exhausted, and you'll be renewed.

Having little, you can receive much.

Having much, you'll just become confused.

“Yield and you can stay centered” --

Is this saying meaningless?

Stay whole, and all things return to you.

The Tao te Ching of Lao Tzu, verse 22, translation by Brian Browne Walker

Niyama #4 – Swadhyaya / self-study through reading scripture and self-inquiry

According to Swami Kripalu, the highest form of self-study is “self-observation without judgement”. This type of awareness is often called The Witness.

From The Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope:

1. The witness does not choose for or against any aspect of reality.

2. The witness does not censor life.

3. Witnessing is a whole body experience.

4. Witness Consciousness is always present at least in its potential form in every human being at every moment.

5. The witness is capable of standing completely still, even in the center of the whirlwind of sensations, thoughts, feeling, fantasies – even in serious mental and physical illness.

6. The witness goes everywhere.

   
   

The Self dwells in me as pure witness consciousness, in equilibrium, without form, and without the divisions of time and space.

Yoga Vashista

To study the Buddha Way is to study the self, to study the self is to forget the self, and to forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things.

Zen Master Dogen

There are many models to describe “who we are”. This illustration from The Kripalu Yoga Experience by Richard Faulds summarizes one view from the yoga tradition. There are many more, each reflecting the truth of things in a different way.

Some other book recommendations to get you started:

A Gradual Awakening by Stephan Levine

An elegant, straight-forward introduction to Buddhist philosophy and practice.

Romancing the Shadow by Connie Zweig and Steve Wolf:

A valuable guide to discovering who we are in our completeness. It explores the concept of the Shadow, the parts of ourself that we've rejected or hidden away from our conscious awareness. These parts can cause great suffering by clouding our perceptions or acting out impulsively. By bringing these parts into awareness, we can live with greater integrity.

Meditations from the Mat by Rolf Gates:

The source of many of the quotes I read in class. A very accessible introduction to yoga philosophy and Patanjali's Eight Limbed Path of Yoga.