Fantasy, Esoteric Yoga and living life from the Soul
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Fantasy, Esoteric Yoga and living life from the Soul
Daydreaming, imaginative fiction, desire and fantasy are things which are often romanticised and even valued in certain circles. We see movies showing people staring out the window, conjuring up images of a better life, imagining a different future or thinking about a more interesting world. Artists are encouraged to be creative, to dream up stories of characters and plot lines to fill what, for most, life is not fulfilling. Visionaries are praised for imagining new worlds and presenting possible futures that are championed and built into strategic documents and planning and desire are often touted as something to muster, focus on and manifest. Imagination and fantasy are well established and even sought-after parts of our daily lives.
Our desires and fantasies, however, are not always grand and big, they can also be mundane and simple. Thoughts about moving to another town, leaving your job, creating a better life, having a stimulating experience or simply buying something new on the weekend, are all examples of the so-called mundane dreaming that we use to fill our days.
Fantasies and desires many have argued, are not real, so therefore they are not hurting anybody – it is just imagination after all, right? However, what happens when these ‘imaginings’ do not work in our favour? For example, what happens when they become destructive? And how do we handle the intrusive thoughts of self-doubt, self-loathing, images of our partner leaving us, our boss firing us or the thought of us one day ending up dying sad and alone? We may romanticise and appreciate the creations we enjoy, but what happens when we get given one that we do not?
What our imagination doesn’t tell is that when we subscribe to its channel, we don’t always know what we are subscribing to, and although we think we are in control of the dial, in truth, we can only stream what we are given access to. We do not create our imaginings; they are given to us.
Fantasies, desires and ‘daydreams’ fill the many gaps in our lives that we leave open and choose not to fill with our presence. It’s an unspoken contract that we have with the world around us. It’s not too unlike owning a property, garden or piece of land. If you’re not attending to the land, then it’s very easy for some weeds to get in. Ignore the weeds and soon you have a jungle, ignore the jungle and soon you have a whole heap of unwelcome creatures living in it. “Not so bad” some might say, until one realises that in this metaphor our bodies are the land, our fantasies the weeds, and the creatures all the unwanted ideals and beliefs which keep us from knowing the purity, beauty and magnificence of our Soul.
Esoteric Yoga provides the perfect anti-dote to fantasy for it teaches us to not only build presence in the body, but also offers us a taste of what life can be like when living informed by the Soul’s intelligence.
By bringing focus to the physicality of the body and the energetic quality of its movements, we are able to provide the perfect environment for the Soul to do its work. Instead of weeds and critters invading one’s land (i.e., the body), there is a clarity and richness in the soil that allows for a perfectly designed garden to grow, one that is tailor made, and specifically there for us to evolve.
Daydreaming, imaginings and fantasy are things we desire as they allow us to ‘create’ a reality or experience for ourselves, even if it’s only for a moment, that lets us escape the reality that we live in. Although parts of that reality may not be enjoyable at first, when we learn to heal, deal with and clear these, there is nothing left but rich soil. And so even though our desire for escape is seemingly not at our expense, the reality is that it comes at the cost of not knowing and living life being informed by the purity, beauty and magnificence of our Soul.
Living impulsed from the Soul offers a very different form of living than that which is delivered by the stream of our so-called created realities. Instead of dancing around in the ‘what is not’, one gets to go deeper into ‘the what is’ – and ‘the what is’ is more magnificent than any fantasy can ever deliver.
Filed under
Conscious presence, Illusion, Mental health, Soul, Yoga
