There are three things, Saul says, that are absolutely essential for the Bhakti yogi....
The first is Ecstasy. On the Bhakti path, ecstasy is essential. Ecstasy lifts you out of ordinary life and shows you what is possible. It also shows the truth, the bliss, of reality and the divine and wonderful love of our being.
Ah, to always be in ecstasy.....
I cannot wait for the day when I say"Oh, wow, that was a mind-blowing ecstatic rush of joy! Amazing! Now, why don't I leave this ecstatic rush gracefully? I'll just release that beautiful thought, vision or experience and move into the present moment now.....".
I'm not there yet. I will replay that ecstatic moment again and again, only to switch and fantasize into the future. Once upon a time I thought, perhaps, I could open the eternal portal to ecstasy if I always lived in distraction, Douglas Adams style. But this brings me to Saul's next point.
Stillness. Solitude; Aloneness. The Bhakti yogi knows the importance of going off by one's self and experiencing the stillness that precedes everything. S/he knows the power gained by taking this time, and the realization that comes of it.
I love this. This wonderful truth, this little life hack. When I find it difficult to be alone (my mind likes to keep me company), I turn to yoga to clear my thoughts and remind me; I'm at the center of my experience. And my experience is happening now.
And lastly, Progress. Progress is knowing that all love ultimately resides within the self. As we intertwine our states of stillness and ecstasy, we, paradoxically, reach for and relax into this space.
May you and I flow favorably; may we all grow.
With @SaulDavidRaye, @Shakti Fest (Bhakti Fest's Spring Immersion).
The first is Ecstasy. On the Bhakti path, ecstasy is essential. Ecstasy lifts you out of ordinary life and shows you what is possible. It also shows the truth, the bliss, of reality and the divine and wonderful love of our being.
Ah, to always be in ecstasy.....
I cannot wait for the day when I say"Oh, wow, that was a mind-blowing ecstatic rush of joy! Amazing! Now, why don't I leave this ecstatic rush gracefully? I'll just release that beautiful thought, vision or experience and move into the present moment now.....".
I'm not there yet. I will replay that ecstatic moment again and again, only to switch and fantasize into the future. Once upon a time I thought, perhaps, I could open the eternal portal to ecstasy if I always lived in distraction, Douglas Adams style. But this brings me to Saul's next point.
Stillness. Solitude; Aloneness. The Bhakti yogi knows the importance of going off by one's self and experiencing the stillness that precedes everything. S/he knows the power gained by taking this time, and the realization that comes of it.
I love this. This wonderful truth, this little life hack. When I find it difficult to be alone (my mind likes to keep me company), I turn to yoga to clear my thoughts and remind me; I'm at the center of my experience. And my experience is happening now.
And lastly, Progress. Progress is knowing that all love ultimately resides within the self. As we intertwine our states of stillness and ecstasy, we, paradoxically, reach for and relax into this space.
May you and I flow favorably; may we all grow.
With @SaulDavidRaye, @Shakti Fest (Bhakti Fest's Spring Immersion).
