Every human being has within his or her experience certain shadow sides, dark corners of their existence, voids and places that are frightening. In Winter, these parts of ourselves are reflected by the barren trees, the dark nights, and the veil of clouds that hide the bright sun.
What most human beings don't realize is the incredible opportunity that is given by these experiences. As we get accustomed to the long nights, the cold air, and the rain, we are given the gift of time and space to look deeply and honestly at the shadows and dark corners.
The amazing gift of darkness is that darkness is not darkness. Darkness contains within it brilliant, radiant light. Some traditions have called this darkness the Void, Emptiness, or the Dazzling Darkness. And, it is only by embracing the darkness, the fear, the despair that we come to see the hidden secret inside the total dark.
For thousands of years, humans have celebrated this time of year, this winter solstice, with the exquisite embrace of darkness, and in celebration an unveiling of the Light that cannot be hidden even by the darkest night.
Nearly every spiritual and religious culture has some deeper understanding of the nature of darkness. In mystical cultures such as those found in Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism there is deep significance to the power and sublime symbolism found in the dazzling darkness. In the Sufi tradition, Layla represents the divine feminine, embodied as darkness and with a magnetic pull of divine Love. In Hinduism, Krishna is described as the 'dark lord' whose quality is also that of the irresistible draw of divine love. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, practitioners are instructed to enter into the darkness to discover the ultimate dimension of being. And one of the most beautiful expressions is represented by Christmas, where we acknowledge the indestructible Light that stands amidst the darkest, most barren hours. The dazzling darkness is where we find the profound opportunity to enter into the silent solitary depths of our being to discover radiant light. The gift of darkness, is ironically, the gift of Light.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Green Karma Wisdom Energy
Like all the other aspects of wisdom energy, karma energy has two ways of appearing in our lives. This energy can appear through dysfunction and ego-consciousness, or it can appear as an aspect of wisdom.
When karma energy appears as egoic dsyfunction it arises as a constant state of doing, which comes with feelings of jealousy, competition, and comparison. This dysfunction is fueled by a deep fear of failure. The drive for success and accomplishment gives rise to an anxiety, aggression, and speed that keep one from truly being.
As karma energy is transmuted into wisdom, it embodies all-accomplishing action, which is able to act with love, generosity, and ease. We see that the aggression and speed that are apart of egoic consciousness are unnecessary, and a true lightness develops as we act with spontaneity and aliveness. The simple shift from ‘doing’ to ‘being’ has a sublime way of acting in this world with intelligence and peace.
We bring our attention to transmuting karma energy from its dysfunctional focus on competition and the fear of failure, into its wisdom aspect which brings our attention to being, accomplishing all with the ease and perfection of our true nature.
When karma energy appears as egoic dsyfunction it arises as a constant state of doing, which comes with feelings of jealousy, competition, and comparison. This dysfunction is fueled by a deep fear of failure. The drive for success and accomplishment gives rise to an anxiety, aggression, and speed that keep one from truly being.
As karma energy is transmuted into wisdom, it embodies all-accomplishing action, which is able to act with love, generosity, and ease. We see that the aggression and speed that are apart of egoic consciousness are unnecessary, and a true lightness develops as we act with spontaneity and aliveness. The simple shift from ‘doing’ to ‘being’ has a sublime way of acting in this world with intelligence and peace.
We bring our attention to transmuting karma energy from its dysfunctional focus on competition and the fear of failure, into its wisdom aspect which brings our attention to being, accomplishing all with the ease and perfection of our true nature.
Vajra Wisdom Energy
We will conclude our focus on the wisdom energies that are represented by the tibetan prayer flags. This month we will be visitng vajra, which is represented by the blue flag and the element water. When vajra energy is distorted through the lens of ego, it comes across as sharp, intellectual, and bitingly critical. It is cold and aloof within the world of concepts and skepticism. When vajra is in its awakened conscious form it represents clarity and what is known as 'mirror-like wisdom'.
Vajra sees things as they are, rather than seeing things with ego, which makes us opinionated, judgmental, and sarcastic. The challenge for vajra types is to pierce through the fear of intimacy and embody tenderness through being vulnerable and open. The movement from the reasoning, intellectual doubter in the head to the clear sighted, vulnerable warrior of the heart is the transmutation of vajra from neurosis to sanity. The challenge is, as always, to stop living life from the head, and to live life fully from the heart.
Vajra sees things as they are, rather than seeing things with ego, which makes us opinionated, judgmental, and sarcastic. The challenge for vajra types is to pierce through the fear of intimacy and embody tenderness through being vulnerable and open. The movement from the reasoning, intellectual doubter in the head to the clear sighted, vulnerable warrior of the heart is the transmutation of vajra from neurosis to sanity. The challenge is, as always, to stop living life from the head, and to live life fully from the heart.
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