“I’ve waited 4 years to start this, put yourself in my shoes. Have you ever waited 4 years for anything in your life”. I had no response. It’s was a trivial disagreement between a close friend and I, on trading strategies. I walked out of the room, because I didn’t know what to say. and the words rang inside my head all day like a Gong or a Church bell, shattering the silence of my peaceful little world. I had to think. Nope. I really haven’t every waited 4 years for anything. what about… I could not think of a single event.
So, with a single statement, I put my dreams on hold, and once again I felt the facade of maya fall away and another step forward towards self-realization. What does Patience mean? I mean Really, not just the textbook answer. Is it knowing that there are a million different ways to accomplish our goals/outcomes/destiny and sometimes it just a matter of waiting and enjoying the journey as much as it is taking on The World with a sledge hammer and trying to sculpt the world into your design. And so the decision is made. My 6 month holiday is over. It’s back to the City!
We all make sacrifices along the road to our destiny, and sometimes you make a sacrifice just to serve others. There is a body of knowledge that says that the Lessons of Mastery must be learnt before embarking on the journey of self-realization. It’s the Journey of the Ego, Self and Soul. It’s the journey of the archetypes again. The Lessons of Mastery teach the art of balancing the lower three chakras. The Base Chakra, the Sex Chakra (or the Seat of Emotion as it is sometimes called) and the 3rd chakra at the solar plexus, representing personal power, commitment and willpower.
Traditionally we talk about the root chakra to represent security – groundedness and being ‘Down to Earth’. Sometimes we forget that this chakra also represent money, which is a modern day abstraction of security. If someone loses their job or their bank account is cleaned out, it’s likely that the energy of the root chakra will be whacked out of balance, and stop Flow. It will bring up old-brain instinctual reactions of fear for ones safety and security – like losing one’s home. Remember this is often when people turn to spirituality. However I believe it may not be the path to self-realization, because that is the art of balancing the lower triangle, the 3 earth chakras with the upper triangle, the upper three heavenly charkas at the heart center. And remember there is no judgement, only decisions.
In this similar way it was taught in ancient times, that to embark on a true journey to self-realization the spiritual apprentice would first have to earn sufficient privileges or material (earth based) wealth to be able to maintain themselves and their family for the rest of their lives..
And, so with this in mind, I’m off to the city again. It may take me a year, maybe two years, maybe even 4 years to reach my goal now, but in that time, I will integrate the lessons I have learnt at such a deep level. It will make me a better teacher, a better Yogi, it will allow me to become a better healer, and it will allow me to be at the heart of this most intense, emotional roller coaster ride, once more. In many ways, a training to be reckoned with.. to have a neutral mind in this environment is to be a Master of Self.
And straight after I made the decision, flow came back to my life … already, I have manifest an interview on monday, came out of the blue, and the role is made for me..let’s see what happens.
I expect that this time it’s different. I expect I will maintain my daily practice starting at 4:30am. I will maintain the yogic diet, and I will continue to do workshops and seminars at weekends. I will continue to Flow. I will continue to blog, to tweet and podcast, and to be active on facebook so that your words of wisdom and feedback will allow me to learn from two very different worlds, a contrast to be reckoned with. It’s almost exciting… Looks like @cityguyyoga takes on a newer deeper meaning.
The question that remains seems trivial but to me it is not – to cut my Kesh and trim the beard, or to walk into an interview “Au Naturale”… I’m guessing I’ve leave it, but I’ll see the reaction.
