When chaos strikes, wheither outside of us in the form of political mayhem, war, and extreme weather conditions, or inside us with emotional grieving, conflicting values, or uncertainty, what we can also face is a crisis of faith. Although this term is often used in reference to religion, the dictionary definitions of faith are varied, i.e.,
1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something: this restores one’s faith in politicians.
2. strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof: bereaved people who have shown supreme faith.
3. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith.
4. a strongly held belief or theory: the faith that life will expand until it fills the universe.
For my immediate purposes, I am most interested in the fourth definition of a strongly held belief or theory. As you read that definition, did one of your own strong beliefs or theories come to mind? For me, an oldie but not necessarily goodie surged up from my depths — If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me. In my youth, this belief not only propelled me forward to achieving many milestones, but it also eventually exhausted me with deep fatigue — depression. For reasons that are still not clear to me, I felt I had to be in control, managing, even manipulating conditions in order to get my needs met. Decades of gradually surrendering control while achieving even greater accomplishments with joy and without depression eventually convinced me to let Life lead me where I need to be.
The yoga teaching asks us to accept Life as it is with the understanding that everything we need is coming to us. Our job is to stay awake to the present moment so we can recognize when it shows up. Setting our intentions or speaking our heart’s desires gives Life a clear message on what to manifest. Louise Haye once said, you only need to know what you want, the universe will provide the how. Typically, the waiting period between “what” and “how” is where the crisis of faith may surface.
To understand and open up to this almost effortless way of being means grounding myself in faith and relinquishing fear’s hold on me. It means having
- faith in Mother Earth to protect, provide, and support me, no matter what;
- faith in standing on my own two feet, financially, emotionally, spiritually;
- faith in standing on my hands and head in Adho Mukha Vrksasana and Sirsasana;
- faith in choosing spirit over ego, no matter what;
- faith in choosing truth, beauty and goodness (i.e., peace, love, and joy), no matter what.
My poem below echoes this hard-won belief of choosing faith over fear, love over hate, joy over anger.
Truth
Truth shows itself whether in aloneness of spirit
or busyness of company. In both circumstances,
the spontaneous vagaries of life tempt curiosity.
Truth finds its foundation by pointing one foot
toward the frail uncertainty of the future
while the other roots solidly in the present.
Such juxtaposition presents the ultimate adventure.
Will we stay static and cling to the familiar?
Or, will we actively embrace life’s emergent reality?
For more yoga actions and teachings, click here. Namaste.
