Snow White Yoga

inspired by Dr. Seuss’s Sutra: the Zax and Patanjali’s Sutra: yatha abhimata dhyanadva (Chapter 1, v. 39)

One day, making Okeys
In the mountain of Dokey,
Posed a West-Going Yogi
And an East-Going Yogi.

{See, an Okey is approval,
An endorsement as such.
Each yogi seeked okeys
So very much.}

And it happened that both of them posed in a place
Where they bumped. There they stood.
Foot to foot. Face to face.

“Look here, now!” the West-Going Yogi said. “I say!
You are blocking my mind. You are right in my way.
I’m a West-Going Yogi and I always think west.
Get out of my way, now, and let me do best!”

“Who’s in whose way?” snapped the East-Going Yogi.
“I always think east, making east-going okeys.
So you’re in MY way! And I ask you to move.
And let me go east in my east-going groove.

Then the West-Going Yogi puffed his chest up with pride.
“I never,” he said, “take a step to one side,
And I’ll prove to you that I won’t change my ways
If I have to keep posing here thirty-nine days!”

“And I’ll prove to YOU,” yelled the West-Going Yogi,
“That I can pose here in the mountain of Dokey
for thirty-nine years! For I live by a mantra
that I learned way back in West-Going Tantra.
“Still the mind! That’s my mantra. Still the mind is the best!
I’ll pose here, quite still! I can and I will
If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still.

Hey… said East-Going Yogi
I learned that as well.
Let’s check yoga sutras
Won’t that be swell?

Chapter1, verse 39
to be quite exact.
Focus on things that
you won’t find distract.

There are numbers of ways
For the mind to become still.
Focus on what you please
To Fulfill!

It is the process of focus
Which makes us a yogi
Not the specific practice
You see, Okey-Dokey?

Patanjali says to practice
Right from the heart
Allow this to deepen,
For that is the art.

Fix the mind!
Any object you choose,
As a focusing prop to
Fully fix and bemuse.

Get absorbed in your focus,
Without distraction.
You can attain stillness
And sweet satisfaction.

Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me NOW!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how.

The enlightened sage, Dr. Seuss, in the revered text The Cat and The Hat, teaches us how to tune into our Highest Self, listen to our small, limited, fears and even invite them out to play with each other. My intention and desire is for us to value and understand this text in the highest spiritual sense. May this process lead us to a higher capacity for insight, for revelation, for learning at a deeper level, so clarity about our Self become possible.

Cat in the Hat begins on a cold and wet day at the house of two sad children stuck inside with nothing to do, until the Cat in a Hat shows up, transforming the dull day into an adventure. As he steps in on the mat, we can relate the action metaphorically to Yoga Sutra 1.1. Now, the teachings of yoga. As he begins to express his philosophy to the children, their pet fish begins to express his hesitation and fears. The Cat reassures him with a simple “Now! Now!” That answer is an important teaching in the whole text, because it teaches us to let go of our old social order, and enter the present, which is new. “Now” in Sanskrit is “atha”, signaling the value of what you are about to dive into. “Atha” is also the first spoken word of Yoga Sutra 1.1, its entirety being~

1.1 Ātha Yogānuśāsanam The teachings of yoga, have been presented. You don’t need to wait until the sun comes out, an authority figure is watching, or your fear is gone. All that it (Yoga) requires of you is a YES. In essence, then, The Cat in the Hat, just like Patanjali ,is telling his students to get ready to receive the knowledge on the subject of “yoga”.

The fish in the tiny bowl represents our limited, concealed self, and our karma mala. He is fear, limiting our ability to act. The cat is a wise trickster. He questions authority, encourages enthusiasm, seeks new experiences, while destroying our old way of thinking. He is our Big-Picture Play of Consciousness. He is our Highest Self.  Your higher self is consciousness. Your higher self is the real you. Your higher self is the more complete you.

Shiva Sutra 1-1 Chaitanyam ātmā. Consciousness is the self.

The children were still able to recognize, the fish’s concern. Fear is natural; it’s an adaptive instinct. Don’t try to squelch it down or ignore it. Without fear, we wouldn’t have courage. Without courage we wouldn’t be brave. The Cat in the Hat was able to listen to the fish, listen to his fears, and playfully act upon them.
“Have no fear!” said the cat
“I will not let you fall
I will hold you up high…”

Introducing three Tricks to greet your Higher Consciousness (HC)…ie Cat in the Hat  and Small Fish (SF)  i.e Karma Mala, Fear.

1.Listen

Close your eyes. Breathe in through your heart and out through your third eye. Continue to follow your breath. Listen to your heart. Sometimes HC sounds like the whisper of a wise old man. Sometimes HC sounds like a voice you recognize that is playful, friendly, and compassionate.
The voice of your SF is usually scared or angry. It’s probably much louder.

2. Look

Invite C to sit with you and have a conversation. Ask questions. When the answers sound wiser or more knowledgeable than usual, you’re probably talking to your C. Just keep talking to this manifestation of your higher self until it feels like you’re talking to someone else and the answers you’re getting don’t seem like they’re coming from your own head. What does C look like? Invite F to the table as well. What do you see?

3. Feel

The cat in the hat starts at your spine and goes up to the crown of your head and beyond! Feel your cat getting taller with each breath.

Sit!
Sit!
Sit!
Sit!

Root your left sitting bone to your left heel and your right sitting bone to your right heel. Thing 1 begins in the lowest part of your left belly. Thing two resides in the lowest part of your right belly. Lift Thing one and Thing Two, both lowest bellies, up like a kite. Most everything conspires to drop low abs. The trick is to keep lifting thing one and thing two) The game is don’t spill energy, must be a conscious effort to Feel!

A Thing is defined as some entity, object, or creature that is not or cannot be specifically designated or precisely described: anything that is or may become an object of thought: things of the spirit.
things, matters; affairs: a fact, circumstance, or state of affairs so the trick is to LIFT Your Things! Lift your entity, being, matter, act, deed, event, material object, body, being, assembly, council, suit, matter, suit, plea, concern while keeping your sitting bones rooted to your heels. Try this in different shapes~standing, forward folds, backbends, twists, supine..Notice the difference.

Reponses received from kids~
“Thing 1 and Thing 2 teach me I can do it!” Ella, age 7
“My little baby tiny weeny self is in my head. My Huge, humungous ,, big giant Self is in my heart and body.” Claire, age 9
“My High Cat knows I can do big things” Madeline, age 5
“My Highest Self stands up for the world. My small Fish gets angry at myself and others.” Lauren, age 6
“My High Self is beautiful and colorful.” Emily, age 6
“My Highest Self tells me my gift is seeing the future in my sleep.” Hunter, age 7
“My Fear is in my foot. My Highest Self is upside down now. It’s telling me to pay attention.” Dodge, age 9
“Higher Self is standing up for myself. My Little Self is always looking around at others.” Amelia, age 8
“My Fear is sliding down a pole. I see that picture (of the pole) any time I get scared.” Sarah, age 9
Once you’ve tuned in to your C, you’ll be able to get some key information about why you’re here and where you should go, and who you should go with. Your C is watching over you and helping to steer you in the highest direction. This playful practice is for each one of us to embody the deep empowerment, the authenticity, and the fullness of who we are.
Please share how it goes. Now~ You’ve got to have fun, but you have to know HOW!

Or
The map to LUCIDITY
Inspired by Yoga Sutra 1.33 which reads:

maitri karuna mudita upeksanam sukha duhkha punya apunya
visayanam bhavanatah cittaprasadanam

The map to LUCIDITY?
YES! Have you heard?
Takes four states to get there~
Not that absurd.

The first is of FRIENDSHIP
toward those who are happy.
Even when you feel distant,
resistance and slappy.

The second is of COMPASSION
toward those in distress.
Tough when annoyed,
imposed on and stressed.

The third is of JOY
toward those who are good
through roadblocks of useless
and misunderstood.

The fourth is of EQUANIMITY
toward those who are foul
who are lacking in virtue,
and react with a growl.

Here in our mapping
Four residents are mentioned.
How we perceive them
Is our fierce contention.

Our attitudes we go for
From composure to kind~
Get us closer to LUCIDITY
Where we STABILIZE our mind.

Memorize these four~
And observe in daily life.
During times of quiet,
Noise, and even strife.

So buckle up~
And prepare for a ride~
To align your attitude,
And try the untried.

Close your eyes~
Feel the state you are in~
Soften your heart~
your throat, and your skin.

Drop your breath
right into your heart~
It’s made up of LOVE~
And that’s where you start.

Inhale with the thought~
May I be friendly~
Exhale with the thought~
May I give friendship.
.

May I be COMPASSIONATE
with your next inhale
May I give COMPASSION
with your next exhale.

Inhale with the thought~
May I have JOY~
Exhale with the thought~
May I give JOY.

May I have EQUANIMITY
with your inhale.
May I give CALMNESS
with your exhale.

When someone comes to mind
Offer these prayers
No matter their issues,
Their stains, or their stares.

May you be LOVING~
May you be LOVED ~
May you be PEACEFUL~
May you give PEACE~

Your states of envy and mean
Get smaller each time~
Intolerance is removed
You get closer to SUBLIME.

Once your mind is CLEAR,
And you’re CENTERED and FREE
Skillfulness in ACTION
Will be … Will be~

As Earth Day approaches this year, I am struck by what it means to truly foster Peace on this planet. I remember as a child, learning about anti-nuclear protestors who chained themselves to fences and were forcibly removed and jailed. These brave souls became my heroines and heroes in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. I was moved to tears singing Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and hearing stories of civil disobedience and the message of non-violent resistance. Later in the 1990’s, when I danced barefoot on my very first Earth Day, a lump would form in my throat when I celebrated each small victory (and the Gigantic Hearts) of environmental protestors who sacrificed so much to save a single tree and worked to preserve open space for our children’s children. Peace.