I Want to Look Just Like That
The lost self...Dropping the Yoga Ball...Does my butt look big??
There is no finish line in the search for perfection. Perfecting something only accomplishes the ego's view of success or enlightenment. In reality, when the ego thinks it has accomplished something to perfection, the process of growth and learning just stops and voids the very concept of following your chosen path.
Westerners (especially Americans) worship the perfection concept, but worshipping anything or anyone is a dead end and a no-win situation. This worship mentality is created by your ego to deny you the ability to translate any accomplishment (physical or spiritual) into success. The ego prefers to see failure. It is a way to keep you and your progress down. We usually define our judgment of what "perfect" or "successful" is by choosing someone to use as a template for our future insecurities and failures - a master. The master is (to your brain/ego) the finish line. The ultimate attainment of what ever it is you are undertaking, and that's the first domino to fall in the line; you, on some conscious level, deciding before you even start that there will be no achieving what the master has (you know, finding the secret to perfection). Your ego perspective takes charge before you even try. "Oh! I could never do that!"
Guess Again Kids!
Whether it's losing 10 pounds or doing a double-reversing-screaming yellow-drop kick, nothing special or secret is going on. Those things are accomplished first by making a choice and secondly, by believing in your choice; a belief of true accomplishment no matter what the ego master has to say about it. This is every true Master's secret (or non-secret); that the view they have of themselves is without limits or judgments. They attempt, define, and move on. True masters look at the learning process in regards to their own physical abilities and limitations (yea, they've got 'em too), and move forward regardless of how they look. The Master is only concerned with what is brought to the table for his education of the true self. Again, judging only the outcome and its correlation to the whole, not the parts.
The deadly art of selling ideas and packaging outcomes is the ultimate deception. Any true educational approach to a certain discipline can be, at the very least, lost when the student does not experience the learning in the physical presence of a true teacher. That's not to say that books and articles can and often do help, but more often than not they just create more confusion and an inconsistent influence for a lay person. They say that pictures are worth a thousand words, but glossy photo spreads, flowery tributes, and endless hyperbole generally only add to the confusion of the student and they end up drawing false conclusions from a visual miscue.
If the goal is to find a true or genuine guidepost in the form of information or teachings, the packaged glossy version ain't the way to go. It may very well be real and solid info, but it gets lost in the marketing and packaging of a product (magazines, books, DVDs, etc.): "Hey Bob! I've got an idea. Let's put the Yogi on the cover with a naked chick and a Benz rollin' on some sweet DUBS!" Some things are just not meant to be sold or packaged. Just being aware enough to not be impressed with this kind of crap is the starting point. Letting the ego drive is a bad idea. Your ego loves the Yogi thrown down with bling and bunnies, but letting the ego drive your life is like your true self wanting a 5-course gourmet meal but allowing the ego to hit the drive-thru for a Happy Meal.
Helter Skelter: The Beatle Example
From epiphany to embarrassing in sixty seconds flat. The 60's. There's a book in and of itself. Peace, love, rock and roll. The beginning of a lot of things and the end of all of it. The Beatles, the icons of music and style of the 1960's, found meditation in the form of one Maharishi Something Something who would take them to the realm of hallucinogenic, utopian, cosmic self-awareness. The really, really good part (even though this guy was probably pretty legit)? He and his whole transcendental thing, that was older than dirt itself, would not be ready for the nuclear explosion of attention the Beatles would bring with them in the form of media and thousands of sycophants who wish to imitate them in every way. In mere moments, the media distilled and repackaged (for your consumption of course) the essence of peace and love through mediation and pared it down to a nice little button with the happy slogan Flower Power (please insert finger down throat here). This created a lexicon and a shallow deception of a very true practice. Even the Beatles couldn't handle the media crap, and don't let me get started on Yoko. They gave up the sycophants, dropped acid, pretended to mediate, and the Yogi? Well, the Yogi found a nice stripper and bought a Rolex. Okay, okay, that's not true, but a guy can dream! The moral: the media and packaging obliterated the hell out of meditation as a valid process toward finding your true self by permanently tattooing it with the Flower Power tag.
What you are is not what you have. What you already are is exactly what you have: nothing more, nothing less. It is all encompassing. And that ocean of unexplored terrain should be enough for anyone, but Mr. & Mrs. Everybody never seem to feel they have a choice to explore in any way - external or internal. Marketing and packaging takes care of that. A nice outcome has been chosen for them depending on their specific demographic of course. "Relax! We know exactly what you think you know you want. Here it is, wrapped up real slick-like so you just canŐt resist."
The solution, of course, is to become aware and awake. Awake to the things that so easily slide under your consciousness radar. Choose to be a student of yourself first and foremost. Learn what real moment-to-moment awareness really means and is. In reality, all your life comes down to is choosing to show up. But beware! Packaging and ego will inevitably do what they can to tell you this is an impossibility - that you'll fail - success is for other people. But what Buddha, Yogis and you have in common is this: you all have access to the same universe. They just happen to understand and realize that attachment and ego are the universal roadblocks to peace and happiness. Dump them.
Try it for one day. Every time you think you can't, or don't have time to, or it's just too hard, go the other way: KNOW you can and really believe it. You'll be amazed at what happens if you can really commit to changing your thinking just that one day. And it will make you want to continue.
So, What's this All About?
It started when I saw this magazine cover of a guy doing one hell of an impressive Yoga move. The picture on the cover made me pick up the magazine. At first, I wanted to know more. I have really dedicated my life to the physical and spiritual, so any time I can add legitimate information to my brain pan, I'm there. Education is the key to forward progress and I learned a long time ago that dumping ego and opening my brain is the fast-track to greater everything.
Now this paragraph took all of a blink of an eyelid to come and go in my brain, so what I got to thinking about after going through the magazine was: How would (and do) most people react to a visual like this on the cover of that Yoga magazine?
It goes like this:
Person A: has an Immediate Ego Intercept followed by some brilliant verbal awareness prompting the comment "That's stupid!"
Person B: another Immediate Ego Intercept followed by a second brilliant comment "Oh, I could never do that!"
Person C: I.E.I. followed up with a truly unconscious quote: "That's not such a big f#$*ing deal, I know this guy."
Person D: I.E.I. followed by the groupie syndrome comment "He's a God! I must worship at his Yoga mat."
And so it goes, on and on
Marketers utilize this insecurity, ignorance, and competitiveness to sell the idea of greener grass and greater results...so you better buy the special outfit to help you get there. But folks, you are already ass deep in fresh, green grass. Just look around you!
The thing is that this guy,s amazing ability and accomplishments have been nicely packaged for your easy digestion. Now, I know these magazine people have to get their message out, and this guy should be on the cover, but it's what the public does with it, and how they've been trained to perceive it that is somewhat disheartening.
SO, WHAT'S YOUR POINT?!
My point is this - people need to realize that to accomplish anything in life they need only ask themselves one question: "What do I want?"" If you can honestly answer that one, you get to move to the head of the line of the Life Buffet - All You Can Eat plus Dessert! Enjoy!