Dancing this Dance
( From October 2010 archives: )
Letting go of getting a grip
“ It is not the dance that I enjoy, but something else – I enjoy that which makes you dance.”
Papaji
This morning, sitting in a new cafe to write, or perhaps not, I’m surrounded and infused with life. It rises, falls and rises again, like the steam off my tea. I turn to my pile of notes – a jumble of colored Post-its noted on the trail of life and tucked into my bag for further exploration, inspiration and reflection. I feel like a boy bringing out my favorite marbles! One at a time, I marvel at each, roll them gently over in my heart, and gradually, almost reluctantly, pick my favorite walleyes to play with today. I never know which ones they will be, so that’s always a nice surprise. So today, just to get things rolling (I haven’t written for about two months, what with the move and all ) I have a metaphoric handful of beauties to poke through. So now I’ve selected nine, from which I may or may not, pick today’s favs. They’re all kinda green, like the eyes of the lady sitting nearby; viewed all together, their color seems to find a theme set smack dab in the transience of this life we think we’re living – “grasping”.
A closer look at “grasping” reveals tempting sub-themes which I’ll let evaporate like steam from the coffee machine behind me.
Let’s start with one of my favorite marbles –a gem we’ll call a “Jean Klein”:
“ In total intelligence…in relaxation, all of the senses are totally engaged…receiving. This is contrary to the so-called Normal State where all of the senses are grasping. When you live in your completeness, your whole body is a hand open to all that appears in life.”
Now, isn’t that a beautie? And here’s another “Jean Klein” I’d like to show you. The light hits it particularly well!
“See that all situations which come to you are immediately apprehended by a subject (you) which interprets…You take this subject as yourself. This subject is itself only a habit, a way of thinking. When this First Habit (caps mine) is seen, you are outside the field of all habits.”
“ All Habits.”
Now isn’t that another beautie? Klein goes on to say how we, seeing through personal habits, can then let go of our compulsive grasping, our seeing life from a limited and personal point-of-view. We can then see “from our totality.”
I’m tempted to keep rolling here, but maybe not. Maybe now is the time and place to linger and, like the Beatles who are singing just now, don’t think about it – let it be. Let it be.
“ As the lotus does not touch the water, do not let the world enter your heart. Being busy in the world is no trouble unless you are troubled being busy. Then the only trouble is the trouble.”
Papaji