Momentous life events like marrying your best friend, the birth of a child, purchasing your first home, or bravely setting off for a land where the people, language, & customs are completely foreign are also the moments where we gain real perspective on our lives -- what we truly want to accomplish with our time here, how much we have to live for, how much there is to be grateful for, & how innately happy we truly are. In other words, in these most significant moments we are experiencing Samadhi or Turiya, the highest state of consciousness, of bliss, a oneness with God. (*In the symbol OM, this state of consciousness, called Turiya, is represented by the diamond shape sitting above the crescent. It's the state of being beyond. You can think of it as the star atop the Christmas tree or dallops of whip cream on top of an already decadent dessert...it just takes you beyond!) These moments lend themselves to a feeling of connection to something higher. They are so moving, that we literally are pushed out of our own way & for once, surrender ourselves completely to the enormity of the moment. I felt this as I watched EGP's head emerge, heard his first cry & held his squirmy little body against my chest. Pure, ecstatic, joy & contentment. The ultimate high. Over the past week, everytime I look at him, I feel a yearning for that giddy, happy state that I know is within me. I've become a Turiya junkie.
Looking back now at week's worth of journal entries I've been able to see that as a student of Yoga, I'm constantly practicing to clear away the clutter & chaos of my mind so that I can move toward a clearer state of physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual awareness. As a Yoga teacher, it's my goal to inspire & encourage others to search for this mind-body awareness & connection to something higher in their own practice & lives. And just like when we're in the middle of one of those momentous, life-changing events, experiencing that feeling of wholeness & happiness is easy when you're in a yoga class; you're in a controlled environment with lighting, music, & movements geared specifically toward cultivating peacefulness, a sense of empowerment & feelings of wholeness. But what about when you step outside of those four zen-filled walls? I once heard someone (sorry, baby brain!) say that anyone can achieve enlightment if they lock themselves away & meditate for 16 hours a day. Who has that luxury? A monk perhaps but, definitely not a new mom. Those of us living as members of secular society have chosen the more challenging spiritual path to enlightenment -- it's called everyday life. But, that doesn't mean we're SOL. It just requires that we take a different approach, that we are guided by a different map to the same destination. My intention is to seek out, hear, feel, & experience the blissful vibration of OMMM in the challenging, frustrating, & joyful every day moments that come with being a wife, new mom, yoga teacher, & human being. That means, searching for (even just a glimpse of) ecstatic bliss during 3 am feedings & diaper blow-outs, while trying to get the laundry done, keeping up with the dishes, & balancing my return to teaching Yoga classes with now also being responsible for another (really adorable) human being. This blog is an account of my humble attempt to find the peace, joy & bliss of OMMM amidst the chaos & strife of everyday life. -- Ommm Mama G
