PranaBeing blog: Ways to Fly

I received a wonderful bodywork session today and I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes from the spiritual wild man Ram Das:

We’re all just walking each other home.

Each time I receive therapeutic facilitation, I am reminded of how valuable it is and how helpful it can be. The energy of the partnership and allowing ourselves to drop into receiving mode creates a unique opening. There are just some things we cannot do for ourselves.

The dynamic shifts again when we come together in groups. Gurudev would say,

Company is stronger than willpower.

When a group of individuals unites under a shared focus, an energy field is generated that is greater than the sum of its parts. This field can lift up and sustain all the members of the group with strength far beyond any one person. Community, known in yoga as sangha, is an essential part of our life support system. Certain things can only be achieved by working in a group.

Finally, we experience ourselves differently when we are alone, and there are some things that we can only experience when we are free from the influence and allure of any other humans. In the moments when it is just us, face to face with the universe, we are granted the opportunity to become intimate with ourselves.

Our capacity to be with and within ourselves is the basis for our capacity to forge relationships in the external world. Ultimately, the way we experience life is all about our relationship with ourselves.

These three modes of being—solo, paired, and in a group—are each and all important.

How are you accessing each of these in support of your highest growth? It’s good to check in periodically and see if any fine-tuning is needed.