Peace, level by level
Talking with my brother about the yoga training I did was kind of cool because he articulated something so profound to me: there's a difference between namaste peace and spiritual peace.
Yes, we go to yoga and get zen-ed out on our mats while sitting in lotus position, eyes, closed, and our hands bent into different mudra shapes, maybe throwing in some "ohhhhhhms" if you will.
But that "peace" is so much different than the kind of peace I feel reading the scriptures or sitting at church. This thought has led me to ponder the question:
"What are the different levels of peace?"
Level 1 is having a peaceful atmosphere. Exterior. Surrounding. Environment.
Everything around us can be peaceful; like a placid lake, a secluded forest, or the perfect stillness after a fresh blanket of snow.
But the outside can be totally different from whats going on in the inside! You could be sitting at the beach stressed out of your mind and not even enjoy the fresh rays of sun and salty air.
Or sitting on top of a mountain and over looking the immense, beautiful world but feel like you're just one in a million, that you're going to be late for a meeting, that there are 3 errands you still have to run, that your midterm is this week and you don't feel prepared, or that the Creator of this earth just dropped you here by chance with no direction or purpose.
Well yoga can help you solve some of those issues. Ya know, when you sit down and get lost in the calm music or in a meditative space where you force every thought out of your mind and just enjoy the emptiness for a second. That's pretty zen. That's level 2. It's like bringing the serene landscape into your mind and using it to push the stressful thoughts out.
Well level 3 is a whole new playing field. It's the spiritual peace. When you know who your Heavenly Father is and that He created YOU in His image as His child. And when you feel the sacrifice and love of your Savior working to make you whole-- that's when every fiber in your being feels at peace. It's more than calming your mind or dispelling stress... The stressful things in life can still exist in that space, but they begin to not matter as much. The crazy itinerary you have planned for the rest of the day becomes bearable and priorities begin to sort themselves out. You realize your divine worth and your infinite potential. You suddenly know, not just feel, but know that a loving God is in control and that everything will turn out okay. We don't know when that will happen but it's simply knowing that it will.
In fact, it's such an incredible feeling that I don't think any combination of words could ever do it justice. All of the confusion or doubt or fear that this world throws at you dissipates. It gets dissolved in a warm, happy, euphoric feeling of love.
Moral of the story-- feeling zen is way different than feeling truth and love resonate through your whole body. Nothing is suppressed or artificial. Something clicks.
Yes, we go to yoga and get zen-ed out on our mats while sitting in lotus position, eyes, closed, and our hands bent into different mudra shapes, maybe throwing in some "ohhhhhhms" if you will.
But that "peace" is so much different than the kind of peace I feel reading the scriptures or sitting at church. This thought has led me to ponder the question:
"What are the different levels of peace?"
Level 1 is having a peaceful atmosphere. Exterior. Surrounding. Environment.
Everything around us can be peaceful; like a placid lake, a secluded forest, or the perfect stillness after a fresh blanket of snow.
But the outside can be totally different from whats going on in the inside! You could be sitting at the beach stressed out of your mind and not even enjoy the fresh rays of sun and salty air.
Or sitting on top of a mountain and over looking the immense, beautiful world but feel like you're just one in a million, that you're going to be late for a meeting, that there are 3 errands you still have to run, that your midterm is this week and you don't feel prepared, or that the Creator of this earth just dropped you here by chance with no direction or purpose.
Well yoga can help you solve some of those issues. Ya know, when you sit down and get lost in the calm music or in a meditative space where you force every thought out of your mind and just enjoy the emptiness for a second. That's pretty zen. That's level 2. It's like bringing the serene landscape into your mind and using it to push the stressful thoughts out.
Well level 3 is a whole new playing field. It's the spiritual peace. When you know who your Heavenly Father is and that He created YOU in His image as His child. And when you feel the sacrifice and love of your Savior working to make you whole-- that's when every fiber in your being feels at peace. It's more than calming your mind or dispelling stress... The stressful things in life can still exist in that space, but they begin to not matter as much. The crazy itinerary you have planned for the rest of the day becomes bearable and priorities begin to sort themselves out. You realize your divine worth and your infinite potential. You suddenly know, not just feel, but know that a loving God is in control and that everything will turn out okay. We don't know when that will happen but it's simply knowing that it will.
In fact, it's such an incredible feeling that I don't think any combination of words could ever do it justice. All of the confusion or doubt or fear that this world throws at you dissipates. It gets dissolved in a warm, happy, euphoric feeling of love.
Moral of the story-- feeling zen is way different than feeling truth and love resonate through your whole body. Nothing is suppressed or artificial. Something clicks.
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