Sharing is Not Always Caring
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is a book that is often referred to within yogic philosophy, science and practice. When I read this book there was a verse that really had me stop and think. Verse 11 (found on page 37 for those of you who may have a copy of this giant book) describes that for one to attain siddhi (a Sanskrit word that translates to perfection or success), they must keep their journey a secret because when it is “revealed it becomes powerless.” What a soul crushing sentence to read in a book that holds so much weight within the yogic realm.
What I realized was that upon first reading this, I didn't fully understand it. Initially, I found I was crunching my face up and was internally defensive against this claim. Especially as I am the type of person who loves to share the things I love with the people that I love. So of course this claim created some cognitive dissonance within my self.
As I continued to read through this text I felt my shoulders relaxing, my defenses deteriorating, and my understanding expanding. I began to comprehend the sentiment. To help explain the point try and visualize a candle in a small room. Imagine how it will keep the entire room
illuminated. If you take that same candle outside into the open night sky what will happen? The flame would be dulled and barely visible, right?
Transferring that same analogy and applying it to our energy, picture how you manage and grow your own light. By sharing it with other people (especially those who don’t share the same light) will diminish the energy and the brightness of one's own internal flame. I know conceptually this is quite obvious but practically its a concept I had not given much thought to.
What I have taken away from this is that not everything in my life needs to be shared. Its okay to take the space inwardly to grow in my beliefs, until they are fully developed and ready to be spoken. Or if I feel the need to share, to share my journey with those who will allow my light to shine brighter.
As I continue to grow and understand myself and what yoga means to me will allow me the opportunity to share with others down the road. Once everything is illuminated, I can expand whom I share my journey with but until then I will allow my mind to hold onto that energy. This is definitely a shift in my yoga practice as I want to be able to achieve the strongest psychological benefit.
This was something I experienced heavily after returning from Bali. I had a hard time integrating back into my life here. I felt those in Bali, who were in the bubble with me, could understand and relate to me. Whereas, those outside of the bubble I just couldn't quite reach.
My life partner was the one who was able to put words to my unspoken thoughts and feelings. What I discovered was that I did not want to share with everyone the magic I had experienced in those two months I lived in Bali. For reasons that I both can and cannot explain.
One of the reasons I can put my finger on is that those I choose to share with may not understand the significance of these moments for me. It’s been over four months since I have returned and I find this to still ring true. In all honestly I find it to be true about almost all adventures I go on. These moments make up my soul, my being and finding the right words to convey that is a challenge in itself.
The lesson for me here is that space is okay, being selective in whom I share my stories, experiences, moments, emotions with is also okay. Sharing is not always caring, caring is keeping my energy within until its fully understood and then sharing it with others who genuinely want to know about that piece of myself. This allows both parties involved candle light to shine brighter.
