Choice

“Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.”

Buddha

I stumbled upon this quote from The Buddha, as I was searching for meditation readings about Choice. It took me a while to really get a sense of how this message related to my personal experience. Here's what I understood. "Meditation brings wisdom". Yup! Got that... My practice of meditation takes different forms as does my life. What ever way I choose to meditate, one thing is clear: when I take the time to connect with my body and my breath I open the gates to awareness. I am able to come to my body as a wise teacher that has amazing tools to offer.

"Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back". This is the practice, is it not? When I connect with my body and become more aware, there still is a choice of what I bring awareness to and what I choose to ignore. Noticing my choices in my Yoga practice allows me to become more aware of my life patterns somehow.

"Choose the path that leads to wisdom" It seems that there is no right or wrong path. The wisdom lies in the ability to notice how I relate or react to choice itself. By noticing how I choose, what informs my choice, and what I choose for and against, I'm able to create space to choose what serves me best in that moment. If meditation means connecting to the moment, then this ultimately leads to (inner) wisdom. This is the path with no particular destination, only moment by moment awareness. Cool. I'll practice that!

Here's a way to explore Choice in your body: Practice your favourite pose. Choose the one that you just love. Ask yourself; what is it about this pose that I choose for, that I say yes to? Then practice your least favourite pose, the one that you choose against, that you say no to. Be curious about your choice. Be open to anything that may come forward. P.S. Have fun!