Day 215 – Rolf presents a guided visualization of our practice as a walk “down a forest path.” In this visualization, we are still, one with all things. He then catalogues the assaults of our minds in this lovely example of an afternoon yoga practice, writing: “Then our minds click back into gear and we are transported into another realm. The injustices at work must be sorted out, our fears and desires must be explored once again, and suddenly we feel the familar pain of separation.” He presents these two “realms” we travel between. The mind chatter is one of the “afflictions of a false world,” or kleshas.
Rolf’s words describe an everyday reality for many of us as a “perpetual war against reality,” and, more importantly, teaches us that this, truly, is not real. Although I’m not quite ready to embrace all Buddhist philosophy presented here wholeheartedly (and I’m sure this reading could point out that I’m still afflicted), I think there is a beautiful lesson in the degree in which we battle with the everyday in our minds, and the words we choose to describe it and walk through it–that these so often are without compassion toward ourselves and/or others.
As Rolf writes in another book (Meditations on Intention and Being), yoga “finds its relevance when it can impact the way we are moving through life.” How often I have created an “inner turmoil with the very practices that are designed to relieve it?” As such, I am slowly refining and changing my morning and evening rituals to include some beautiful things, such as dance, yoga, meditation, etc., although gently so, and without attachment, which Rolf describes as “awareness without control.” It has been amazing that on my first evening (last night) of pathwork that I fell into the journey so quickly after just drawing a few cards to set an intention or purpose for my journey. I definitely experienced the two realms within a very short period of time, although how much time, I am unsure, for I practiced this pathwork without measure.
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