Does your yoga practice expand your awareness of the Great Dance of Creation itself? – The Dance between desire and fulfillment.  BUT WAIT!  Which came first……the chicken or the egg?  Or did they just “arise” at the same time?  Does it matter?  In one “map of the territory” it is suggested that Fulfillment came first.  The Egg comes before the chicken.  It is obvious.  In fact, “Fulfillment is the Seed of Desire.”  The Egg is the cause of the Chicken just as Fulfillment is the cause of Desire.  The Chicken is the effect just as Desire is the Effect.  Within the Effect is the Cause; within the chicken is the egg.  This is a primary rule of the science of Cause and Effect:                                       

The Cause always contains the Effect, and the Effect always contains the Cause.

Let’s go one rung deeper down the “rabbit hole.”  

There are three concepts for understanding the Natural World.  The first is that Consciousness is the singular thread that weaves through all of Creation.  

The final two concepts relate directly to the nature of consciousness.  Specifically, there is one law that governs the realm of consciousness and there is one force that influences consciousness.  The moment that we truly understand the one law and the one force, all paradoxes in physics are reconciled.  

The one law states that in the realm of consciousness like attracts like and opposites repel.  Everything that occurs in our reality flows from this one law.  

The one force that influences consciousness is an opposing power, a countervailing force that uses the one law to conceal itself, and thus propels the world toward increasing chaos.  The Once Force is “The Opponent” or “The Advesary.”It is a force that propels this world – and our individual selves – away from the Source of true reality.  

Since true reality is perfect order (Total Fulfillment), the further we move away from it, and the greater the distance and space, the greater the increase of disorder in the physical realm.  On the individual level, The Advesary impels us to receive instead of share, and it is this act of receiving that distances us from the Source of perfect order and happiness. 

True Reality is a realm of Light.  The Light is pure, boundless consciousness and it encompasses an incalculable, inexhaustible happiness.  The Light created a vessel – the souls of humankind – to impart this happiness forever through the union of two opposites; Sharing and Receiving; Light and Vessel.  In the realm of consciousness however, it is impossible to unite opposites because of the law that states opposites repel.  Hence, the first paradox appears.  How does The Light share happiness with humanity if humanity’s Desire to Receive is the actual culprit of the separation of these two forms of consciousness?

There is a short parable entitled “The Drifter and The Miser” that suggests the key to reconcile this primary paradox:

Sal, Fisherman, was, without question, the most miserly man in town.  He was also very rich, and very arrogant.  One evening, as he was leaving for his office, he spotted a homeless person camped out on the sidewalk.  Normally, Sal was oblivious to such a scene.  But on this night Sal Fisherman, feeling self-righteous and for his own shameless self-amusement, ungraciously tossed a few coins at the old man as he passed by.  But then something happened that Sal never anticipated.  The old man handed him back the coins.  He politely refused them. “I prefer to earn my own way through life,” the old man explained.  “But I thank you anyway.”Probably for the first time that he could remember, Sal felt embarrassed, taken aback by the homeless man’s obvious dignity.  “Look, I’m a wealthy man”,” Sal responded.  “These coins mean a lot more to you than they do to me.”  Still, the drifter refused, “Please, don’t take it personally,” the drifter said, “I appreciate your kindness.  But I feel obligated to work my way out of this unfortunate situation on my own.  I cannot accept your money.”Goaded now by pangs of humiliation, Sal broke out in a sweat.  He was uncomfortable and humiliated in a way he had never experienced before.  Sal pulled out a check from his wallet and wrote down a large sum of money and handed it to the ragged old man.  He then pleaded with the drifter to accept the charity.  Yet the old man remained firm.  “I cannot accept it,” he declared.  “I may not have any money, but I do have my self respect.  Please do not take that away from me.  I am sorry but I cannot receive your kind gift.  I know you will understand.”  And that is when Sal became truly mortified, as all his years of self-indulgent shameful behavior flashed before him.Sal’s anguish and pain was not lost on the other.  Insightful as well as good-hearted, the old man suddenly saw that he had the power to remove the rich man’s pain.  “Please sir, I’ve had a change of heart,” the old drifter said.  “I will accept your money.  And I deeply appreciate your kindness.”  To his astonishment, Sal Fisherman felt an overwhelming sense of relief, followed by a feeling of deep fulfillment that was indescribable, unlike anything he had ever known.  And to think he felt this way because a homeless old man had finally agreed to accept a sizable gift of money from him!  Sal Fisherman shook his head in wonderment at the homeless man on the sidewalk, tipped his hat respectfully and went on his way.  

This story reveals the key to uniting the Light and The Vessel; The Vessel must receive physically but for the sake of sharing on the level of consciousness.