Tuesday, March 17, 2009

What does it MATTER?

Wow- it's been a while since I wrote - so today I get to be fully META-physical with you.

The pre-fix "meta" is defined as "behind or beyond" - as in meta-carpal and meta-tarsal (beyond the carpal/tarsal) It's also defined as "change" in words like Meta-physics. 

But in my experience - the word Meta-physics really talks about things on a quantum level - a level "behind or beyond" classical physics. 

Jim??!?!?!  What does this have to do with YOGA?

EVERYTHING!

In Yogic Philosophy the physical body - the "Food" body (annamaya Kosha) is the grossest body. There are subtler and subtler "sheaths" behind this body - (prana, mana, vjyana, ananda, etc). Thus, the BLISS body - or Anandamaya Kosha - is really a META-body. 

Why I practice yoga is to experience these subtler "bodies" or sheaths (koshas).  I try to continually "go inside" until finally - my experience becomes a focus on an infinitesimally small point in the center of my being.  This point isn't necessarily a physical place as it can appear to MOVE from place to place.  Sometimes (and mostly) it's between my eyebrows.  Sometimes it's in my heart.  Sometimes it's in my gut.  This point then becomes everything.  So the smallest point imaginable and one that you can barely focus on - instantaneously becomes all pervading and overwhelmingly large. 

It's both smaller than small and larger than everything!  How can this be?  It's because that is what I am - and that is what you are.  Within each of us is the still point of creation - which is the same thing as the entire universe.  It is a meta-physical realm - a  realm beyond classical physics - which is how scientists now refer to the world of quantum mechanics.  

In a quantum world - nothing works like we expect or know in our classical physical world.   Entities can be in two places at the same time (actually ARE the same entity in two places), can communicate with each other across vast distances of space and time seemingly faster than possibly thought (speed of light) and have properties of waves and particles at the same time. And beneath everything you see in the world right now - this quantum mechanism of physics is taking place.  

So, matter doesn't matter - what matters is the meta.  What's behind, beneath the matter that changes everything. 

That's what I do when I hold Trikonasana for 5 minutes.  Or Sirsasana for 10.  I experience the subtler bodies, the koshas, the quantum, the meta. 

Om mani padme hum 




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