Breath, Desire, and How To Open The Heart

As we breathe is it possible for us to die with every breath? Can we allow there to be a release that cascades throughout our physiological system that ensues with the termination of each breath? Can we breath in such a way that our eyes become like a crystalline still pools of water? Can we, even as we are stuck in traffic, waiting in line, or when our kids are screaming their heads off continue to breathe in this way?

Strangely, by watching the unfolding currents of the breath and the continuous flowering of sensations that accompany each cycle we are slowly able to disentangle the fixity of our labels for things and the things as they are themselves--the fixity of our labels of how things are or we think they ought to be slowly dissolves. As thought structures begin to dissolve we can, if we are attentive with soft eyes, open ears and a vacuous palate, develop a relationship with the oceanic force that connects all things and is the energy of desire that drives and directs our lives.

This force, says Lama Yeshe, is the wellspring of energy that we must draw upon and direct towards awakening, or enlightenment. Otherwise, this energy will inevitably orient itself towards the unquenchable desires the are limited to the world of NAMA and RUPA, or NAME and FORM. Yoga of course is that ultimately satiating experience that comes from embracing the totality of our world in all of its forms, names, their interconnections, and the sparkling hollowness that lies at their core. Yoga is not limited to the shells of things and the names that we give them. From brushing our teeth, to surfing The Web, to calling our friends, to driving to work and sharing moments with loved ones, this energy of desire is pulling us ever forward like a great and surging tidal wave. In fact, it is this perpetuity of desire that enables us to become fountainheads of positive change in the world around us and to become beacons to light for those who have lost their way in the dark. And through the cultivation this energy and working tirelessly for the sake of others, we find what is means to live with a truly open heart.