Yoga is a discipline of bringing body, mind and spirit together. Psychologists, even those who observed humans 5,000 years ago, know that one sign of illness is when your emotions, mind, body are out of balance and working at cross purposes. One classic Yoga pose that is often the picture used when someone discusses it is called tree pose. This is a balance pose where you stand on one leg, the foot “rooted” to the ground. The other foot is placed on the inner thigh of the “trunk.” The hands are above the head with palms together.
I try to hold this pose for at least 10 breaths. What you discover is that the trick is not balance, per se, but focus. You must clear your mind, focus your eyes on a stable object then concentrate on your breathing.
I’ve been writing a lot about focus lately, because I’ve discovered it is key to a spiritual life. My study of Mark has reached the last 3 chapters where Mark tells the story of Jesus’ last couple of days on earth as a human. I’ve been contrasting Jesus (our model) with Peter (someone with whom we can identify).
Except for the interesting story about his cursing the fig tree, Jesus faced his coming trials and knowledge that his friends would desert him with tremendous focus and balance. His stable object of focus was God. He never wavered from his life with his father. And he kept his balance. Whether being grilled by the ruling council of his religion or by civil authorities with the power to kill him, he was a model of balance. He did not lash out at his accusers–even though the accusations were not true and even contradictory.
Peter, on the other hand, lost it. His emotions swung from blustery “I’ll never desert you” to “I never knew that man.” He lost his focus out of fear. But do not condemn him. Can you say that you have Jesus’ perfect courage? Look inside yourself. What would you have really done in his place? Stand up in the face of the crowd and be killed, too?
Then Peter came to self-realization. He saw into his own mind, body and spirit. He wept. This was a moment of realization. You cannot truly live with God until you realize deeply that you don’t have that focus on God. We also know the rest of the story. Jesus said he would go ahead of them to Galilee after he was raised from the dead. He did. And he met Peter. And he blessed Peter three times to counter the three denials. And Peter realized his focus, his strength, and his balance. And he became a great leader.
Tags: Christianity, forgiveness, Prayer, Relationship, spirit
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