Setting the Cruise Control to Astonishment

Tonight I was in Yin Yoga class. This style of yoga is amazing. You stay in poses for 5 minutes each and experience a level of release which is incredible. The stretches are passive, meaning you use your own body weight and props as opposed to muscular engagement. The openings happen deep in the body, beyond muscle: in the ligaments and fascia. These are the deep, dark places which are entwined with the unconscious and a vast storehouse of emotions. Each stretch is like an archaeological dig. You keep getting old stuff out of the way so you can go deeper. It suddenly becomes very clear where you are "holding on for dear life" inside your body. The letting go can be painful at first, then, a relief. What an incredible practice.

While we settled into gentle, oceanic ujai breathing, our teacher spoke on the topic of astonishment. She asked us what it would feel like to intentionally spend a whole day immersed in the feeling of astonishment. What would it feel like to see everything with a sense of wonder and elation? To cherish in every second? 

Of course, I loved the idea. But then I began to wonder...really, how does one really go about existing in such a high frequency mode of perception? To really sustain a thunderstruck level of surprise and jaw-dropping awe? Is it really possible? I know that yogis high in the mountains and monks in temples probably get to a place like this through incredible mindfulness and meditative discipline. Many party-goers can get there on a fast track with a capsule of Ecstasy. Esther Hicks seems to be able to live in that place by devoting 2 hours daily to her appreciation practices and by channeling a non-physical collective... certainly I have been able to amplify my own joy with specific exercises I have learned over the years... but is there a way for the average person to live in astonishment without all these intense practices or substances, for a sustained amount of time. Is there a switch we can throw as easily as turning on the cruise control in a car? At current I get there and can live there for hours on end, sometimes even days, but there is certainly always a drop off and bumpy return to consensus reality. This investigation is my biggest passion and fascination...

Comments

[Ezra]

LSD is kind of like this. It opens the floodgates to amazement and astonishment. In measure, it is enlightening and blissful. Beyond a certain point, and it leads to a detachment from our physical selves and our psychological selves, causing problems with our bodies and our relationships with other people and our earthly obligations.