The Furnace, Not the Sparks
Last night at a dinner gathering, a lady told me that she was exploring Kundalini yoga, and Iasked her why. She said that she wanted to discover the “real” her, and to learn about advanced powers of mind. She had invited me to comment, so while I usually keep my mouth shut about such things, I decided to share some thoughts.
Thirty years ago, the “Faces of Science Fiction” book profiled me, and I offered a thought on creativity I learned from one of my early teachers: the primary creative act is the work itself. That is the art. Books, screenplays, poems, whatever are not “art” in that sense--they are “objects of art”, by-products of artistic process, “sparks flung out of the furnace of creation.” We must concentrate on the feast itself, not look backwards or sideways at the trail of bread-crumbs we leave behind. Pay too much attention to the results, and you shift the objects from peripheral to foveal focus, and fall into the dream rather than lucidly moving through it, creating as you go.
The same is true in the realm of the physical. The body you have is nothing but the result of living, eating, feeling, moving and thinking in certain patterns. Align action, emotion, and intellect in one way and you produce one result. In another way, we get another result. But the results are interesting, but secondary to the process. Pay too much attention to the results, and you can become frozen in place.
I say this because according to Sri Chinmoy, the “siddhis” or powers attributed to disciplines like Kundalini yoga are the same thing. All sorts of bizarre synchronistic phenomena routinely happen to meditators. They are great fun, but I’m not interested in debating whether they are “psychic” or not. Why? Because you shouldn’t pay much attention to them in the first place. Your attention needs to be on the twin questions: who am I? What is true?
Do that, and the rest follows beautifully. Try to “develop powers” and at the least, you are distracted by the shiny toys. At the worst? Well, every fairy-tale and supernatural story about evil wizards is nothing but a metaphor for the corruptive power of the Chase. All world cultures have these stories. I doubt that is an accident.
Don’t chase after the finished product. Just be who you are, every day, in every moment, and from the corners of your eyes notice if the results are in alignment with your values. If not, shift behaviors. If so, motor on.
Enjoy the view. Life is short: have fun!
Namaste,Steve
(p.s.--I currently have room for two coaching clients in my schedule. If you are interested, FIRST please visit www.diamondhour.com and take a look at “Steven Barnes’ Life Coaching”to understand how this is handled. Then...get in touch and let me know how I can help!)
Thirty years ago, the “Faces of Science Fiction” book profiled me, and I offered a thought on creativity I learned from one of my early teachers: the primary creative act is the work itself. That is the art. Books, screenplays, poems, whatever are not “art” in that sense--they are “objects of art”, by-products of artistic process, “sparks flung out of the furnace of creation.” We must concentrate on the feast itself, not look backwards or sideways at the trail of bread-crumbs we leave behind. Pay too much attention to the results, and you shift the objects from peripheral to foveal focus, and fall into the dream rather than lucidly moving through it, creating as you go.
The same is true in the realm of the physical. The body you have is nothing but the result of living, eating, feeling, moving and thinking in certain patterns. Align action, emotion, and intellect in one way and you produce one result. In another way, we get another result. But the results are interesting, but secondary to the process. Pay too much attention to the results, and you can become frozen in place.
I say this because according to Sri Chinmoy, the “siddhis” or powers attributed to disciplines like Kundalini yoga are the same thing. All sorts of bizarre synchronistic phenomena routinely happen to meditators. They are great fun, but I’m not interested in debating whether they are “psychic” or not. Why? Because you shouldn’t pay much attention to them in the first place. Your attention needs to be on the twin questions: who am I? What is true?
Do that, and the rest follows beautifully. Try to “develop powers” and at the least, you are distracted by the shiny toys. At the worst? Well, every fairy-tale and supernatural story about evil wizards is nothing but a metaphor for the corruptive power of the Chase. All world cultures have these stories. I doubt that is an accident.
Don’t chase after the finished product. Just be who you are, every day, in every moment, and from the corners of your eyes notice if the results are in alignment with your values. If not, shift behaviors. If so, motor on.
Enjoy the view. Life is short: have fun!
Namaste,Steve
(p.s.--I currently have room for two coaching clients in my schedule. If you are interested, FIRST please visit www.diamondhour.com and take a look at “Steven Barnes’ Life Coaching”to understand how this is handled. Then...get in touch and let me know how I can help!)
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