Nowadays there are many uncertainties in the world, and it is being demanded of us to change.  This is a time of evolution for humanity.  We will either do the work inside that will help us to evolve or we won't.  The middle ground has been eroded away by our actions in the past.  Although in reality it has never been truly safe to rest in our illusions.

Most of the time we will not change unless it has become too uncomfortable to stay where we are.  But how do we change and what is it that needs to change?  These are the questions that are addressed in yoga and meditation.

In yoga we usually want some type of physical attainment.  I want to be more flexible. I want to do an advanced pose. I want my body to be out of pain.  In meditation I want to get some type of higher spiritual attainment, I want to be blissful, I want to be happy, I want to be free from worry, I want some peace from my mind's incessant thinking.  In either case there are two major flaws in our endeavor, one is I and the other is want.  I WANT!

I remember a pivotal moment in my yoga practice when I was doing a poses, struggling to get deeper to some place I wanted get to and I realized that I didn't have a clue what I was doing, it was at this moment of "not having a clue" that I started learning how to do yoga. In meditation I was forced to go beyond what I thought I knew to a place of not knowing. This is when I woke up and began to sincerely practice meditation.

The practices of yoga and meditation point to going beyond what we think we want and who we think we are, to a deeper question.  "What am I?" "What is this?"

America is being forced to ask similar questions, "what are we doing and why are we doing it?"  "Where are we going as a country?"  This is a very frightening time for many people.  Jobs are being lost homes are being foreclosed on.  We are in two major wars.  The level of stress and uncertainty is sometimes overwhelming.  The interesting thing is that even as these terrible and uncontrollable things are happening we are being woken up to ask ourselves some important questions; What can I really afford?  If I die tomorrow what is most important today?  Am I truly helping this world in any way?  How can I help this world?  Or maybe you have the realization of how totally scared and overwhelmed you are. In this way many people are starting to wake up and look at their life.

Having some tools to look at these important questions and help keep us from being totally overwhelmed is where yoga and meditation can help. Besides helping us be healthy and stress free they are a daily practice that reminds us to pay attention to what we are actually doing.

I recently read a short story I'd like to share.  A long time ago at a Zen temple, during the cold winter months the temple would close.  A student asked his Zen Master to stay with him at his home in his village over the mountain, the teacher agreed.  They set off on the journey over the mountain it was foggy and snowing.  At some point in the journey the student lost his way and ended up leading the master to the edge of a precipice.  He was very much ashamed and said to the Master I am sorry to have gotten us into this very dangerous situation.  The Master was not worried but he said to his student, "if you want to save your life and mine you must jump, JUMP NOW!"  The student was very frightened but grabbed the Master’s hand; hand in hand they jumped from the precipice.  The next moment they were walking into the village of the student’s childhood.

So I say to you, "you must jump"  "JUMP NOW!"