YOGA - WEST OF THE NARROWS

Pain and suffering seem to go together, like socks and shoes or peanut butter and jelly (or if you are like me, peanut butter and chocolate!). But a year ago I listened to a broadcast that combined two of the greatest forward thinkers of our time, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra. They dissected this and debunked the 'two peas in a pod' theory of pain and suffering.

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You see, pain is built into animal and human biology for purpose. It alerts us to potential dangers and awakens us. However, suffering is much more predominant in humans. Ever see that cartoon with the human walking the dog and thought bubbles over their heads? The human's is bogged down with a bunch of images (worries, cares, deadlines, etc.). The dog's thought bubble has only one; the image of the present moment. Now, who do you think is partaking in suffering?

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So what causes the suffering to occur? Clearly having too much on the mind is going to contribute, but even with one image we can fall prey to the Suffering Boogey-Man. The suffering, according to the above mentioned great minds, is what happens in THE GAP. The gap exists in varying degrees between what the reality of the present moment is, and how our mind/ego thinks it should be. Diving deeper, reality is not the reality as you see it, through your lenses colored by years of conditioning (judgments, beliefs, ideals, and the like), but reality as Pure Being - independent of chaos, distractions, events, people, circumstances, etc. Just simply the facts.

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For example, what if your car breaks down? The reality is that the vehicle is inoperable. On the other side of the gap, WAY over there, is the idea that you should be on your way to work, happily belting out the words to your favorite jam. The gap (aka. the suffering) is the narrative you identify with. It is the event vs. your INTERPRETATION of the event. It might go something like this, "Man, if I'm late again I may get fired, and this dang car was JUST repaired! How could this happen on a Monday? Just my luck. My friend told me not to buy this model of car. I can already hear him saying, 'I told you so.' how much is this going to cost me? This really sucks. I want to scream!" Sound familiar?

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"If your life in the present moment changes, your life changes, as your life IS the present moment." - Eckhart Tolle

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So what are we to do? The advice of Eckhart and Deepak is to align what is happening and what your mind is saying about it. Use the present moment to become aware. Ask yourself if you are arguing with what is in the present moment, or maybe reducing the present moment as a means to an end, or a moment before the next which is going to be "better" (something I am quite guilty of myself).

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Can you locate the added narrative? Ask yourself, 'Who is thinking this narrative?' and watch your ego slink away, tail between its legs as you point the finger at it. Is all that narrative necessary (similar to the abundance of images in the human's thought bubble)? See what happens if you just accept the present moment's challenge as it is. This doesn't imply indifference, just acceptance. Dropping the drama doesn't take the pain away, but it may alleviate the suffering and is worth the effort.

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Here's to closing The Gap and aligning the present moment with your thoughts about it (hint: try a few positive ones in place of the negative).

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Happy trails, Yogis!