Willing Awareness into Actions

The Bhagavad Gita is an allegory of wisdom from ancient India illustrating the war within each of us: The light within vs. the five senses. Our story opens with two families vying to rule a nation - one righteously (from a place of light) and the other blindly (from a place of ignorance). The righteous side has chosen a pacifist Lord Krishna minus his army to help him win the battle. The blind side has chosen Lord Krishna's army minus Krishna himself. In a nutshell Lord Krishna's chariot is a metaphor for the human body and the five horses leading the chariot are the five senses. Also of note the blind group has a larger number of warriors, while the righteous side only has Lord Krishna and the eldest, righteous brother, Arjuna. The lesson illustrates that in the war of us against our senses there will always be more enemies than friends, but that we can defeat and control the senses by putting our awareness into action.

American holidays are the perfect illustration of the war within humans that the Bhagavad Gita identifies. We left our home last Tuesday to visit family for Thanksgiving. Initially, I was excited for the time away from obligation that a holiday offers. We packed our bags, canceled Wednesday obligations to avoid the storm, and did a general cleaning of our house. John drove. August fell asleep and I closed my eyes to find a place of meditation. It was glorious. I wouldn't have projects at home beckoning me at every turn. I wouldn't have to cook (by myself anyway) and I'd have extra hands for the baby, so I could do some much needed walking, yoga, and meditation. As a defensive move I even packed some healthy snacks to avoid the looming enemies at gas stations and mom's house.

At home John and I cook a lot. We try to maintain a pristine balance of lean proteins, gluten-free carbohydrates, fresh fruit and an abundance of green, orange, red and yellow vegetables. We try to avoid sugar and I avoid dairy. Consequently when we do meander off track with an occasional glass of wine or sweet treat it is very important to keep portions small, or my digestion notices and responds accordingly.

With the well-laid plan of healthy foods for the three-hour trip to my mom's house, and beyond I was feeling very positive that holiday excess could be tempered. I was successful all the way to mom's house and throughout Tuesday night. The enemies awaiting were abundant: She had cookies given to her, pies to be made and left over Halloween candy. My senses were unmoved; all of my planning had paid off. Consider the defense well in tact.

First offensive strike: Holiday foods and co-conspirators (Mom, John and extra calories needed for breast-feeding).

As I awoke Wednesday morning I could smell mom's coffee. She made Belgian waffles with real maple syrup and offered me to have mine with peanut butter and bananas to be more health conscious. Ok so it wasn't exactly health food, but it seemed like a lesser-evil. Smells wafting from the kitchen, a need to "break the fast" pending, and imagining the taste of peanut butter melting on doughnut-like, golden goodness. First strike received and a hit! Suddenly I'm drinking coffee and eating waffles!!??? Yikes, this was not in the defense hand-book I had so carefully planned less than 24 hours previously. I was overcome by my senses. You get the point. The remainder of the four night adventure at mom's was peppered by less than ideal food choices and coffee, both of which are Kryptonite for my constitution.

It was so much easier to take the offense's hit than scramble moment to moment to re-load. No one else gave a second thought to eating waffles and drinking coffee, why should I be so bummed about such an endeavor? I was was upset, because I knew I'd betrayed myself. Despite the awareness that waffles and coffee make me feel miserable, and moreover consumption of them would make it easier to get off track indefinitely I still managed to give in to the golden goodness. And later the pie and eventually yes - I had some of the left-over Halloween candy.

It starts with an idea. I remember that I like the taste of waffles or coffee or whatever and suddenly the brain is controlling me instead of vice versa. I smell something lovely in the kitchen and I drop good intentions and indulge. These are the ways the five senses can distract us. It is like the evil step-mother saying, "Come eat the delicious, juicy apple." Even though our instinct tells us this woman has nothing good to offer us - we give in and in the end we pay the price.

Over time our bodies have given us messages and as long as the great dancer of breath is within we will continue to receive messages from the five senses - we can choose a strong defense or we can take the offense's hits. Yoga promises that over time we will learn to control the five senses. It is our work to become aware of our war within. Awareness and action are the spoils from our defeat of the senses. But we must use them. Honor what we have decoded throughout our practice. The practice of putting awareness into action extinguishes the power our senses have over our brain. Overtime a diamond strong nervous system and a well-functioning body is evidence of our victory.

Our enemies are sly. Hidden in the offerings of family, friends and comforting traditions we may find ourselves seduced. Write your defensive hand book and make allowances for surprise attacks. Sitting for a time of meditation observing yourself objectively for at least 15 minutes every day is one way to keep the senses in check. Share your awareness with loved ones. When we say things out loud they becomes real and they lead to action. Prepare healthy snacks and make sure you are full before entering a battlefield of holiday trays bedecked with sweet and salty delights. You are a yogi, which means you have the ability to turn every situation to your advantage. You control your senses - one moment at a time.

To a moderate and happy holiday season!