Comet E3 2022 (ZTF) Photo by Miguel Claro from space.com
Dear Reader,
I’m writing this on the day of my daughter Lucy’s 22nd birthday. On the eve of her birthday, we gathered at a local Indian restaurant, which turned out to be a rather underwhelming experience. Despite a two-hour wait for food that was clearly not made with love and attention, our party remained undaunted. Ten of us made our way back to our little flat, my partner Alistair lit a fire and I made a pot of chamomile, spearmint and rose tea to share. There was an enormous bottle of gin, and bubbly available, but the requests came in for tea, so tea it was! We chatted, sang, laughed and simply relaxed with each other until midnight struck and we greeted Lucy’s 23rd year on the planet. Before our party dispersed, we had a spontaneous group hug in a circle, affirming our love and support for each other and the importance of community and connection in these transformative times.
Due to the capture of our attention by media, advertising and the proliferation of information we are flooded with these days, we can be prone to missing the things that really matter in life. Our hyper-normalised, neoliberal culture has emphasised individualism and deprioritised gathering and community. This has resulted in an epidemic of loneliness, higher rates of depression and a profound sense of lack, even in those who are relatively well off. Our homely gathering cost next to nothing, yet it gave us so much. Having “circle time” deepens our trust in each other, furthers our understanding, kindles our compassionate hearts and nourishes our souls. What is more, is that we can create this magic without any need for Netflix, Spotify or even a huge splurge at a major supermarket. Adverts convince us that we need to buy stuff to find happiness. Yet, the truth is, we can nurture our hearts with very little monetary outlay. When we realise this we find freedom, an inner freedom that, paradoxically, is born from a sense of being held and supported by community.
Gathering to share wisdom is a key aspect of yoga. It is called satsang. Sat means truth, and sangha means association. More broadly it can be translated as “the company of truth or wisdom.” There is another type of gathering called kusangha. Let me quote my beloved teacher Swami Nischaladananda here:
“How can we tell the difference between satsang (good association) and kusangha (wrong association)? In satsang, even if you disagree with what is being said, you will feel an underlying atmosphere of harmony and constructive exchange. Generally, you will feel balanced and at peace. In kusangha there will be gossip, meaningless chatter and backbiting, all of which leave a nasty taste in the mouth, lead nowhere and degrade all who participate.”The Edge of Infinity, Collected Works 1990 - 2002
Swami Nischaladanada Saraswati
Those in the yoga world may associate satsang with gathering around a teacher, listening to their interpretations of the yoga texts, asking them questions, chanting and meditating together. This was my understanding too, until recently. I feel there is a sea change in the structure of things, as I’ve mentioned for some time now. I sense a movement from the hierarchical to the networked, from pyramid structures to flat structures that distribute power more evenly and do not put select individuals on pedestals. For we have seen too many people, many yoga gurus included, that have fallen into delusion and darkness through being granted too much power. When we give our power to others in this way we become more vulnerable to being manipulated and abused. This is true in all spaces, both the spiritual world and in the wider world of politics, work, commerce and institutional organisations. We are seeing the fallout of this right now, it is painful to witness, a lot has gone horribly wrong in our systems of governance, there is corruption, greed, poor management, ill-treatment and a culture of denial.
These days, when I decide whether or not to engage with a spiritual teacher who pops up upon my path, my main question is: “do they possess humility?”. If someone gives me the impression that they feel that they are somehow “worth more” or “better than” or even “more spiritual” than the next person, then I swiftly pass them by.
In the fifth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna counsels Arjuna:
“The wise see with equal vision a learned and gentle priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcast.” (18)
…
A person who neither welcomes the pleasant nor rejects the unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, unbewildered, and knows the science of God, is situated in transcendence.” (20)In the commentary Ranchor Prime goes on to say:
If we learn to see all beings as Divine, as part of the Supreme and therefore intimately connected with one another and with ourselves, we do not discriminate on the basis of species or form, or on the basis of class, colour or creed. The Lord himself is the friend of every creature, dwelling inside their hearts and treating them equally without discrimination.
Bhagavad Gita: Talks Between the Soul and God, Ranchor Prime.
I feel that humanity is currently returning to this ancient and wise understanding of the nature of reality. This phenomenon has been very clearly expressed recently by the writer Charles Eisenstein in his Substack article What is the Next Story? In this piece, he clearly defines the Old Story and the New Story in terms of the specific beliefs we hold about ourselves, power, science and the underlying reality.
Astronomers have only recently sighted an unusual green comet, unromantically named Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF) or the green comet, which was last viewed from Earth in the Stone Age. They weren’t initially sure whether it was going to pass close enough to Earth to be seen unassisted, by the human eye. But it is now visible and will be for another couple of weeks. It has travelled from the Oort cloud, which lies at the edge of our solar system and won’t be passing us again for another million years, at least.
Comets are traditionally thought to be omens of significant change and transition. We are indeed going through a huge paradigm shift, as Charles Eisenstein describes. These days, I am viewing the world with different eyes. These new eyes seem to have a wider, deeper vision, they reside in the heart, in the gut, and in the third eye space. Yoga helps me to keep connecting and reconnecting with this everyday wisdom. It is indeed, all around us, in Nature, in our families, in our friends, in outcasts, dogs, herbal tea and gentle priests. And, may I add that yoga might not be the path you take to explore your New Story. The journey within and towards this knowledge also resides in myriad other experiences of life. If you are regularly immersing your being wholeheartedly into something that fills you with joy, gratitude, wonder and bliss, this is a sign that you are living in the realms of the New Story.
As we move from hierarchy to networked flat systems, we are now all complicit in the creation of our culture, our beliefs our shared values. We can no longer rely on or depend upon our so-called “leaders” to shape our precious future. We are all a part of creating the New Story together on a global scale. It’s time to take to heart the statement “think globally and act locally.” Where do our food, energy and resources come from? How are the people treated who grow our veg, deliver our parcels, tend to our elders, and come to our aid in a medical emergency? What happens to those people who do not have private medical insurance when they need immediate treatment? Are pharmaceutical companies at the service of our health and wellbeing or their balance sheets? What are children being taught in school about history, science, about their own bodies and minds?
One conversation at a time we can re-invigorate our lives by infusing our experiences with love, curiosity, hope and connection. Watch out for messages you hear in the news that seek to divide us and consider the idea that we are all equal, unique and divine parts of the Cosmic Whole. The more diversity we experience in our circles the better. Being around people from different age groups, different backgrounds, different beliefs and different ethnicities enables a broader, wider perspective. It stops us from being prey to the Divide and Rule tactics we see so much of in our newspapers and social media. If you know someone in your circle who has refugee status, then you will have much more empathy for the struggles of people the world over who have been forced to leave everything, their jobs, homes, family and country due to war or extreme poverty.
So, perhaps let’s make some time and space in our busy lives to gather in circles, in the company of truth and wisdom. In this way, we might quietly and steadily contribute to the co-creation of the new values, ethics and philosophies of the times ahead. It is literally as simple as meeting with your friends for tea in an atmosphere of harmony and constructive exchange, with a view to weaving bright golden threads of The New Story into the fabric of your life.
Holistic Yoga classes are on as usual next week. I’ll be doing my yoga therapy course from Thursday to Sunday, so I may not have time to record next week’s podcast, I will try! The ideas are brewing already. But I also have last-minute essay writing to do!
You can book the free Monday Meditation, and the group in-person or Zoom Somatics class on the Holistic Yoga timetable, just click the button below.
With love and good wishes,
Julia
Gathering in the Company of Truth and Wisdom