Today in yoga class we visited the place of inner quiet, the silence that emanates from within. Thanks to the fire again, we could understand the subtle quality of presence. Listening to the whispers of the fire we could experience that presence has nothing to do with loosing oneself in the act of being, feeling, sensing. Thanks to the murmur of the fire we could experience that rather than getting lost in the anaesthetics of feeling, presence has a subtle quality of being alert. We understood this better by looking at the way cats sleep: they are not lost in the experience of sleep. They are fully relaxed indeed but deeply alert as well, ready to become active if necessary. We talked about the many ways in our ordinary experience in which we put ourselves to sleep and we forget who we truly are: we numb our ability to perceive with high doses of sensory overload, we use pleasure as an anaesthetic to the pain inherent to being alive, we indulge in the gluttony of non-stop activity incapable of contemplating for no reason, we lose contact with our inner reservoir of silence which is the helm that tells you the way. All these things fire can teach, when we listen. In order to listen to the fire you must remain quiet. Embracing your breath you hear the murmur of the fire and you start to perceive a distance between your breath and the sound of the fire. That it is! that is your inner silence,  you have arrived. This is the practice of being fully present but not responsive to your senses, the practice of being fully alert but non-reactive. It is called Pratyahara or the withdrawal from the senses and the direction of the attention. We do a lot of Pratyahara in my classes but we do not give it a name.

Tao Te Ching Poem 15

“The ancient masters were profound and subtle (…)
They were careful
as someone crossing and ice-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water. (…)
The Master does not seek fulfilment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present and can welcome all things.”