Would you plant the seed of a tree even if you knew that you would never get to enjoy the shade?”
In the silence of meditation, the most remarkable messages come flooding through when we reach a state that the Yogi’s call, “shuniya”. Shuniya is that space where the mind stops calculating and simply witnesses all that is occurring without judgement or the need to change whatever is occurring. Some call it the state of “zero” or “no-thing.” This state is achieved when we use yogic asanas, mudras, chants and meditations that physically challenge and tire the body in order for the brain to relax and “let go.” Shuniya is often fleeting; one moment we may be completely engrossed in “no-thing-ness” when in the next moment we think, “Oh my goodness, I am in the state of zero!” Then poof! It disappears, many times not to be seen again for several days, weeks or even months. It’s a long process to be able to actively reach this state with any level of consistency however, if we can be committed and dedicated yogis, we have the ability to return to this space at will and in a matter of seconds. This is the goal of all aspiring yogis and yoginis.
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I was fortunate enough to enter one of these spaces when a message came through to me so clearly that it almost jolted me out of my meditation: “You only have a few heartbeats left. You only have a few breaths yet to take—Don’t waste them.”
This really got me thinking. So often we never fully consider how finite our life truly is. We sincerely only have a few more heartbeats and a few more breaths left before we leave this plane. Knowing this, might we consider how we would like to spend these remaining precious gems that will one day evaporate before our very eyes?
Would we worry at all about what someone might think about us knowing that our time left was brief? Would we give our attention to things that we truly have no control over or would we notice the small things in life that bring us joy, if we only took the time to notice them once again—a flower, the setting sun, putting our feet on a sandy beach, hiking with no destination or traveling to a place that we always wanted to go. Is this how we would use those remaining heartbeats and breaths?
A dear friend of mine was forced into this position recently when he was given an “expiration date”, as he calls it. He was given the number of breaths and heartbeats that remain in his life in the form of the number months he had remaining. Of course, we can never be sure when our time will come; when we are healthy, we seldom consider when that day will arrive. It will arrive for all of us in due time and it may be just the thing that will give us a new perspective on what it means to truly live.
It has with my friend. His daughter was brave enough to tell him, “You’re so busy worrying about dying that you forgot you are still living.” Sometimes those closest to us are the only ones who can be so necessarily direct with us. My friend is starting to see all of the things that used to seem so important no longer carry any value to him. Expensive luxury cars, a grand home, fights about political views, the grudge that was held for years with a loved one simply because no one wanted to “lose,” have all taken a backseat to what really matters—the connection to a loved one; a flower; the setting sun…All of these things and more have become the most important things in my friend’s life. The luxury car has become a pretty hunk of metal that sits in the driveway of his home. “Far too much energy and time was wasted on that hunk of metal,” he says. “I could have worked a little less and enjoyed the breeze a little bit more.”
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Oddly enough, my friend seems so much lighter. Does he feel his connection to the Divine? Without question. Is he scared? Of course. He is, however, searching for deeper meaning and in his search, he is discovering his own inner truth. He recognizes he is One With Creation and is not separate from it. Now, he no longer feels the need to do “legacy projects” that will carry on his name, rather he is doing his work for the sheer joy of it. He is slowly letting go of the need to fulfill and fuel his ego and instead is using that energy to tell the people he loves how much they truly mean to him. Our ego identifications make all of us feel at times like we are the only thing in existence that matters while simultaneously and paradoxically having us feel so alone and afraid. My friend is letting go of this. He is seeing the interconnectivity of all of the Universe which has become the beautiful by-product of this otherwise humbling health experience that has left him feeling vulnerable.
Planting the Seed:
Adi posed a question to me recently: Would you plant the seed of a tree even if you knew that you would never get to enjoy the shade?”
It seems so simple on the surface that it made me consider my reasons for doing anything. I wondered, “Do I do things in order to enjoy the outcome of the fruits of my work or do I engage in things entirely for the pure passion and joy that the work brings to me during its creation? Do I serve others for the sake of serving or am I hoping for acclaim that I may receive for that very service?” Each has an entirely different vibratory frequency that is heard loud and clear by the Universe. We can’t fool Her. She knows what is in our hearts.
My friend is face-to-face with this very question. Every tree we experience was nurtured and cared for by those who never got to experience the shade that it provided. My friend is left to decide if he is willing to plant the seed of love and compassion for future generations to enjoy. I am left to decide this as well. I am grateful to my friend for having the grace and wisdom to give me this perspective.
In these challenging times, we need leaders. We need spiritual warriors who are willing to rise up and plant the seeds of consciousness in order for our children and grandchildren to enjoy the shade of our spiritual work. We all long for more compassion, more understanding; we long to see harmony around us and the only way for this harmony to exist will be if we illustrate it to everyone we encounter. This is my goal: to teach peace and love in every interaction.
When I told another longtime friend this he said, “That’s a worthy and lofty goal, but it is possible?”
It can never be possible if we don’t try. If I take responsibility for my part, I will be surrounded by those that share a similar mission. Most of us know that like energy attracts like energy. This is the call to those who long to plant the seeds. This is the call for those willing to never experience the shade. Hopefully, we won’t have to have a health scare to answer the call. Preferably, we can answer the call and begin planting the seeds knowing that one day those seeds will become a beacon to future generations to always remember that we are One With the Source and to never forget we are all brothers and sisters on the road back to remembrance.
I write this for my friend with love. He knows who he is now; could there be a greater celebration of a life well-lived than this. I know who I am. I am truth. Truth is my identity. I am love. I am compassion. I am One With God. Let the shade of your beautiful tree provide respite for all those on the journey back to this truth.
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