Life is a party – convivo ergo sum – I party therefore I am.

Too often we set goals and intentions for the New Year without reflecting on what is being asked of us in this moment of time, without truly inviting the goal. We then just focus on the action in pursuit of its fruit, without looking at the field of action, the place in which we live and breathe. This setting is the place where we must reveal our hearts true desire. The Greek verb keleuein, to call, means to get something on the road, to get it under way. Heidegger explains, “this old word ‘to call’ means not so much a command, as a letting-reach… the same word in Sanskrit means something like ‘to invite’. We must first invite the intention by providing a good place for it to party.

Focusing on moving and improving forgets the place from which we invite this intention. Light assumes space.

Acknowledging that particular space in which we seek to become through our intention, helps things turn out the way in which we intended.  This space is what needs attention, since it is what holds the intention.  This means setting boundaries or limits, which are not limitations per se, but the borders in which this intention is revealed. Limits set us free by providing a space for being, where the intention can enter and over-flow with all that seeks to dance within.
In providing a space for beings to enter, we open ourselves to life’s calling. Preparing the ground for the invitation, to let life in.  That is the basis from which life comes forth in its fullness, from whence the intention is revealed. Again, as Heidegger put it, Plato did not bring about Ideas, “the thinker only responded to what addressed itself to him.” The in-tent is a shelter for Being, where life can address itself to us, and we can respond. When we dwell in this heart space, we are in the setting of the intention, and must respond to its calling, what is called for.

This is an excerpt from a comparative study of James Hillman’s The Soul’s Code and the Bhagavad Gita, by James Kennard.

The symbolic heart, the anāhata chakra, holds our life’s seminal image. This is the true place of yoga in the Gita, which conjuncts above and below, will and action, being and becoming. We are thrown into life, and become conscious in the middle, a field of action: “kshetra (field), from the verbal root kshad, which means ‘attack’ ‘confront’… the place where paradoxical experiences meet (samaagama)” (Brooks, 2008, p.30). The heart space holds opposing forces, and is prone to “attack” when we cannot ourselves confront such deeply pressing conflicts. Krishna opens us to a greater meaning offered through the hearts longing, through dharma or duty, as it is the “focal point of all experience” (Brooks, 2008, p.30).

What was above is now below: the ground that fell away from our beneath feet is momentarily held by the winged wisdom of the daimon. The Self appears in form of Krishna.  Something new emerges in this focal point, where the wisdom of the heart is revealed. Jung describes this psychic center of our experience:

In the anāhata you behold the purusa, a small figure that is the divine self … People lose themselves completely in there emotions and deplete themselves, and are finally burned to bits … a new thing comes up, the possibility of lifting himself above the emotional happenings and beholding them. He discovers the purusa in his heart, the thumbing “smaller than the small, greater than the great.” In the center of anāhata there is again Siva in the form of the linga, and a small flame means the first germlike appearance of the self. (Jung, 1996, p.39)

The racket of our emotions can drown out the sound of the calling.  Fanned without the proper outlet, or channeled into the wrong place, it becomes uncontrolled. Our desires ruin the life we have up to this point made for ourselves. Krishna says as much:

But if you refuse the call

To a righteous war, and shrink from

What duty and honor dictate,

You will bring ruin down on your head.

These revelations take place in the midst of life, dramatically rendered through a breakdown amidst a war. This is a humbling experience, forming an essential part of our individuation process, whereby we learn to pay heed to our life’s duty, dharma, or calling.  If we do not face the demons inside, they will visit us from the outside, what we call “fate.” We must enter the battlefield of our own desires, as well as the one’s chosen for us by fate.  The Katha Upanishad agrees, “what is within us is without. What is without is also within.” (p. 21). Arjuna’s entry into the field is also an encounter with his “lot” in life, “that space which is your portion in the overall order of things” (Hillman, 1996, p.45).  His fate suddenly dawns on him, and he becomes a basket case, “the word case itself …from the Latin, caere, to fall. Your case is simply the fate that befalls you” (Hillman, 1996, p.280). Having fallen, Arjuna is now in a position to receive instructions from Krishna. He is beginning to realize that his life isn’t entirely his own, but instead belongs to the daimon, soul, or Self.

It is not our appearance that defines our image, but rather our souls image that defines the manner in which we appear. This reversal of perspective is made through a sacrifice of the ego’s position, which is now oriented toward the Self.  When we fall, something must change so that we might be able to continue on our way again. The change required here belongs to the way we are consciously involved in our actions. Krishna continues: “You have a right to your action, but never to the fruits… Action is far inferior to the yoga of insight … the wise man let’s go of all results … and is focused done action alone. Yoga is skill in actions” (2.47-50).

Arjuna picks up his bow and arrow, returning to his life’s purpose. This is his tool or device, a power in which he can realize the self-image. The bow and arrow is akin to the mind’s power of penetrating insight (Jnana), which connects the hearts longing (Iccha), with its fulfillment in action (Kriya). We must focus our intellect, aiming it through the image in the heart. In this way, we connect what is within us, to our fate outside.  Gradually, and over the course of time, we come to know what we must do, and the manner in which we must do it.  The word style comes from the Latin “stilus,” a device for crafting characters: “the very word character originally meant a marking instrument that cuts indelible lines and leaves traces” (Hillman, 1996, p.260). Our character leaves a mark in the world, just as we are also imprinted by our experiences in it. This world is a place to reveal our character and forge the soul’s image. The world is a vale for soul making.

In summary, The Gita teach us that life’s battles are to be devoted, as an offering:

The whole world becomes a slave

To its own activity Arjuna;

If you want to truly be free,

perform all actions as worship. (3.9)

By worship you will nourish the gods

And the gods will nourish you in turn;

By nourishing one another

You assure the well-being of all. (3.11)

We are often pulled into distractions, or senseless activity’s. The purpose is to harvest meaning from our actions in the world, and in so doing we are yoking and expanding consciousness with it.  The collection of experiences we call a life is offered back into the fire of reflection, the light of consciousness.  Holding steady in the difficult moments, we can craft our experiences into something meaningful, unique to our soul’s style. This is a process of fermenting the experiences to make a sweet nectar, nourishing to our spirit, the soul’s well being.

We are safe from harm when we devote life to its calling. Being true to this experience is an end in itself.  The happy life (Ancient Greek: Eudaimonia), “life that is good for the daimon” (Hillman, 1996, p.260) is something nourishing for all.

All Rights Reserved.

For many, especially children, the joy of the festive season revolves around the Christmas Tree. On top of this symbol is a star, or guiding spirit, who orients the communal celebrations. Whilst not all people celebrate Christmas, this holiday spirit is part of our popular culture. There is so much divine play, Lila, moving in us through the festive season, that we cannot help but see this brilliance all around. Reveling in this presence, the ritual of concealing and revealing presents, embodies the movement of Shiva, who dances the creation of the world.

This image has roots in the Jewish Cabalistic tradition with the Sephiroth, also known as the tree of life. The Tree of Life is the divine subtle body structure that supports all of life, as if from above. It is often depicted as the cosmic body of Adam Cadamon, who like Shiva (or Purusha) from the Hindu tradition, unfolds down through the Tattvas, as different aspects of reality. The lighting up of the Christmas tree thus reenacts the illumination of these different aspects of a divine essence in a joyful celebration. In yoga, this subtle body structure is known through the chakras, and our practice is also a ritual dance, lighting it up.

The Vedas depict this as a Bodhi Tree, with its roots in the starry firmament. Our entire existence is supported by this presence, which is immanent, growing down into the world.

To all who came to Preshana this year for practice, and everyone who made it in spirit, we thank you, and wish to see you in the new year! 

Holiday Blessings To All,

Ananda, Jim & the Preshana Team

 

Words by Ali Fleming
Photography by Vassi Dyulgerova

Yoga is one of those practices we return to every couple of months or so in a bid to lengthen our limbs, increase our flexibility and of course, calm our busy minds. Upon meeting Ananda Trettin – a devout yogi – we felt that familiar urge resurface, but with added enthusiasm. Our Adho Mukha Svanasana (or for the uninitiated, our downward-facing dog pose ) took shape instinctively. We’d agree that Ananda’s own understanding of why she undertakes the practice, also guides others toward her studios, “It has helped me emotionally find stability, physically find strength and spiritually rediscover and establish faith”.

For Ananda, yoga isn’t a once a week endeavour. It is a lifestyle and one she has embraced wholeheartedly, “I have my dogs and a hubby, and they all do yoga too, so it gives us the opportunity to play together with a shared interest.  Mostly our puppies just do down/up dog, but still it’s a fairly consistent practice…”. It has also seen Ananda open the doors of her successful Preshana Hatha yoga studios, one in Sydney’s east and the other in the inner-west. Ananda explains her business and lifestyle go hand in hand, with yoga a prominent aspect of her everyday, “I was fortunate enough to recently go to the Galapagos on a yoga retreat with my husband, which was a wonderful experience on many levels. So my life outside of Preshana is still intimately connected to yoga practice”.

While Ananda’s poise and grace may have you believe this former-model is dripping in confidence, she explains it is only in recent years she has ‘come into her own’, so to speak. Her time spent modeling, through her teens and twenties, was a period she describes as being, “traumatic, confusing and confronting”. While her creative surroundings were an inspiration in and of themselves, “I loved being a part of such a creative powerful industry. Having the gift of working with leading design houses and photographers gave me wonderful insights into the world of artistic and philosophical creation”, she acknowledges pain connected to the modeling industry was “simply because I was growing up” and that, “For better or worse my way of learning seems to be the school of hard knocks”.

In discovering what she did and didn’t like about a very consuming industry, Ananda sought comfort in the practice of yoga, “I had hit rock bottom – probably even dropped below rock bottom to a place where I had followed this belief and way of living that was based on the idea that I was not good enough… I knew that if I continued to move in that direction that life would cease to be. One day, I had an epiphany and I realized that the way that I would be able to shift my life and turn things around would be through the practice of yoga – by pouring myself deeply into its teachings”.

Ananda’s first studio opened in Glebe – a shop front with her home at the back. Beginning as something of a co-op structure – “The studio started as a donation-based studio… It started with some new teachers who all wanted a space to teach and share”, Preshana has continued evolving into a successful small business venture. When the need for more room presented itself, Ananda found the light-filled space of her Oxford Street, Darlinghurst premises, “After five years of being open and having experienced moderate success, I felt a tremendous yearning to expand the space with a location that would be accessible to people in the eastern suburbs in Sydney. Stepping into the larger space, I had no idea what was going to be asked of me, or the degree I would need to grow in every way in order to develop that space. Darlinghurst has now been open for almost two years and within those two years I have absolutely been pushed to my full capacity”.

Every aspect of the Darlinghurst studio resounds Ananda’s personal values of strength and respect: the openness of the space, Ananda’s staff and fellow teachers, as well as the woman behind it all. Within the world of Preshana, one feels completely at home and in good hands, “People can come to Preshana with confidence that they will receive knowledgeable instruction and that they will receive more personalized attention to alignment in the poses… Growing a strong and vibrant community is important to me, and I would love to see our student body expand as our culture becomes stronger and more stable on these roots”.