There was a man that went to the Department of Agriculture to find out how to cope with crabgrass that was spoiling his lawn. The department responded with a number of suggestions. The man tried them all, but he could not completely eliminate this crabgrass. Exasperated, he wrote the department again, noting that every method they had suggested had failed. His yard was riddled with crabgrass. He got back a short reply: “We suggest you learn to love it.”
This is one of my most favorite stories. Ponder it for a while and you can come up with many great lessons. Our initial reaction may turn inward considering something about ourselves that we just need to accept. Or consider a work situation or circumstance that is undesirable. Perhaps now is the time to stop resisting and begin to manage more positively what is in front of you. Even as parents, we may not like what our kids like, but if it’s not harmful, maybe embracing their passion is a better next step.
A very good friend of mine is a scientologist. She has been for decades and we’ve had several discussions over the years on different subjects at hand and the point of view from scientology. I am a curious monster. Always have been. I absolutely enjoy different perspectives on anything. You could say it is my passion. My friend looks at this story from a very unique point of view. Scientology or Dianetics uses specific language to break down an issue. I am not a scientologist so I can’t recite these words verbatim, but I will summarize. In any situation where there is a break in your reality, where there is a break in your affinity (love of something no matter what degree) or where there is a break in your communication, you must go back to when that first break occurred and label that which you felt. For instance, “I felt violated”, “I felt my integrity being compromised”, “I felt submissive”, or “I felt abandoned” and the list goes on. As we all can agree, when we give a feeling a name, the energy it once had over us is diffused. It doesn’t mean it goes away, but our ability to work with it increases because it does not have the same control over us as it once had.
But, yogis, here is what’s so interesting, According to my friend and scientologist, the discovery of this “break” when unraveled now becomes part of your past and no longer takes the energy away from the moment. And, when we are in the moment we can see and act from that “higher point of view”. Ok, stay with me. As yogis we advance in our evolution of thinking. We are not confined to just the limited views of the mind. Remember, we practice, every day in class, staying present, staying with the breath and over riding the fluctuations of the mind. Advancing yogis are ones with heightened awareness and catch those traps of when we sift information strictly through our own filters of thinking (another term used is ego). Our job as practicing yogis is to align with the higher laws of nature, not the ego. (Wayne Dyer, best-selling author, motivational speaker and student to Bikram Yoga calls the ego, Edging God Out).
So, in deciphering your own disturbing situations (crabgrass) at hand, go back and play detective and notice where the “break” occurred and with no judgment seek to know your raw feeling about it. See if that gives you not just clarity but release. Now take it further, if and when the situation occurs again, you’ll see it for what it is (a part of your past) and without the same reaction see if it enables you to stay in the present moment. In essence, you’ve replaced that stuck energy with consciousness and isn’t that what we want more of! You are in a pure state of being and the harmonious flow of life can come and move through you!
T. Harv Eker, author, Secrets of a Millionaire Mind, uses a great phrase, “if a hundred-foot oak tree had the mind of a human, it would only grow to be ten feet tall.”
The power of the present moment and living with higher consciousness is where greatness lies. Watching the great leaders of our time and quite honestly, studying the personal mentors that I’ve had in my life, I’ve noticed they all have one thing in common – they listen. It is only through detaching from our own narrow patterns of thinking and becoming more present that we can attract to a higher frequency of listening. We become more open and available to information that aids in a higher expression of who we are. We can then do greater things with our lives and for humanity.
As the studio expands to three times its current size in less than 10 weeks, I can’t help but think that it’s really our collective consciousness that has outgrown the size of our current container. Bikram’s gift in the yoga is to wake up and self-realize. Your countless stories have expressed your discovery in how the power of yoga is the very tool needed to “love the crabgrass.” You’ve grown from the inside out. Your work over the last decade has raised a level of consciousness both individually and collectively. And it’s spreading. It’s only fitting that BYSJ follows you and grows in a similar proportion. It’s here where greatness lies!
–Michele Vennard