So, a student queries me about how to we get the clarity, what is discernment and are they steps on a path or can they present simultaneously. Great musings, on which I’m happy to opine, and that’s all it is; my perspective, informed by my studies and flavored by my experiences.
We go along, merrily merrily merrily, and often turbulently and swiftly, moving from one thing to the next. Like a rushing river, or a babbling brook; like a swale after the storm, like a rushing rage of the torrent, or sometimes bogged down and almost drowning under our own weight.
And, we hear in practice, to let things flow, let the breath and the movements be fluid, feel the rising and falling tide of our breath and dip deep in the pool that is our self – great thoughts, excellent advice, beautiful metaphors, but often very elusive.
What can we learn from water? We can learn that in general, the faster it moves, the more it abrades and erodes; when it does, the water carries a lot of detritus, gets muddy, lacks clarity and is not fit for drinking. We also learn that when it stagnates and ceases movement, energy, fresh input and a release for that which doesn’t serve, that it becomes toxic, unpalatable and useless.
So, when our lives are moving quickly and it seems that we are being smashed on the rapids and rocks of the course, then we should seek the wisdom of water. For every swirl and Charybdis water encounters, it also finds ebb from the flow. The leeward side of the rock, the place where the water can slow, then rest, then pool in softness. When that swift-swirling flow finally has a chance to pool, the most amazing thing happens – the shite falls away. The mud and dirt fall to the bottom, the detritus floats off and the water settles into clarity. And in that clarity, we can discern what lies at the bottom of that pool – what awaits when the flow settles and the view is present.
So, that’s our practice – for some, the flow should be about coming into natural cycle, not furious function. For many, it can take us away from stagnancy and get some flow moving; for others, in that flow allow for some ebbs in the flow. That provides a chance for their water to clear and in that clarity – discernment, or getting to the bottom of it all. What lies below, and how can we clear the view and increase perspective.
That’s one take on it – if it resonates, let me know! Give thanks and praise!
We go along, merrily merrily merrily, and often turbulently and swiftly, moving from one thing to the next. Like a rushing river, or a babbling brook; like a swale after the storm, like a rushing rage of the torrent, or sometimes bogged down and almost drowning under our own weight.
And, we hear in practice, to let things flow, let the breath and the movements be fluid, feel the rising and falling tide of our breath and dip deep in the pool that is our self – great thoughts, excellent advice, beautiful metaphors, but often very elusive.
What can we learn from water? We can learn that in general, the faster it moves, the more it abrades and erodes; when it does, the water carries a lot of detritus, gets muddy, lacks clarity and is not fit for drinking. We also learn that when it stagnates and ceases movement, energy, fresh input and a release for that which doesn’t serve, that it becomes toxic, unpalatable and useless.
So, when our lives are moving quickly and it seems that we are being smashed on the rapids and rocks of the course, then we should seek the wisdom of water. For every swirl and Charybdis water encounters, it also finds ebb from the flow. The leeward side of the rock, the place where the water can slow, then rest, then pool in softness. When that swift-swirling flow finally has a chance to pool, the most amazing thing happens – the shite falls away. The mud and dirt fall to the bottom, the detritus floats off and the water settles into clarity. And in that clarity, we can discern what lies at the bottom of that pool – what awaits when the flow settles and the view is present.
So, that’s our practice – for some, the flow should be about coming into natural cycle, not furious function. For many, it can take us away from stagnancy and get some flow moving; for others, in that flow allow for some ebbs in the flow. That provides a chance for their water to clear and in that clarity – discernment, or getting to the bottom of it all. What lies below, and how can we clear the view and increase perspective.
That’s one take on it – if it resonates, let me know! Give thanks and praise!
