Unsolicited Advice from Rich Logananda
Rich Logan, my favorite yoga teacher, got into a bike accident last weekend. That kind of thing usually effs a person's brain right up. I sent him an email to let him know I am glad he is alright, and he replied with the following advice on pain and loving. What a weirdo.
Don't feel bad about feeling bad. Don't feel bad about feeling good. Don't feel good about feeling bad. Don't feel good about feeling good. Just feel. And Do. But don't Do because you feel. And don't feel because you Do. And remember that love is a doing and a feeling unbound by the conventions of time. And compassion is its highest form. Compassion for you first, and when the cup is full then send some around. Now you may think, hey what's with all the unsolicited advice, well it's for me as much as for you. Get well. And be well. And then be a well that others can dip into to get well."
-Rich Logan
For more of Rich's wizzdom, check him out at Yoga Now Gold Coast, Tuesdays at 5:45pm or Sundays at 3:30pm. To share your thoughts on yoga or pain and love, click Take the Survey. If Rich's rattled brain stirred you in the heart area, click Donate.
from google chat:
neuropunk: wtf, I just read Rich's advice
wow, he has a pretty nice voice
when I actually listen to it in class
he sounds a lot like his instructor, Gabriel
but the post in general
I just read it word for word for the first time
it's not bad
me:I know
that's why I posted it
neuropunk: it's basically a huge zen koan
me: uh huh
neuropunk: " Just feel. And Do. But don't Do because you feel. And don't feel because you Do. "
really?
me: that is a toughy
yes, but its hard
neuropunk: no, I agree. if you take at face value, the sentence completely neutralizes itself
the implication is that there's some other impetus
me: well, is there?
i think the idea is to let action be action, and feeling be feeling, without being subject to the rollercoaster of one creating the other
i don't know if we can do that
as humans, but if we become less human, then maybe it makes sense
neuropunk: acting/feeling without thought
me: this problem reminds me of a related attachment issue. for example, a lot of people get caught up in blame. if things go bad, its presumably because they did something wrong, and if things go well, they can congratulate themselves having done something right
then we can sometimes tell ourselves that things going wrong isn't our fault, that it is luck, or god, or destiny - but we are so much less likely to give up the praise when things are good
we want to think that it was our doing. well which is it?
I think this is interesting -
I don't know why we do anything
neuropunk: that's the philosophical crux of existentialism, yeah?
me: I reckon
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