'Forewords:
Philadelphia 2008
I went to hear Douglas Brooks speak in 2008 and was captivated by the concept of Lila—my yoga teacher friend Marni from Cleveland, named her baby this——and this is what I wrote about Lila in July 2012
Asheville 2012
Dream: I had a dream about a man who was young and died as a result of something he did. I am not sure of what he did but I think it had to do with a car accident. His parents were at his side right before he died and he wrote the word “off” twice for his dad to see right before he left his body. “Off” as in something he did was off and ended in death or was it “lift off” ‘I am out of here’? I am not sure. I just know that I awoke thinking about Lila. The divine dance of the Universe and what it all means. Because stuff happens all the time that doesn’t make sense; sometimes the Universal pull and energy is on our side and sometimes it is not. I guess for this guy it was all karma….not Lila or maybe it was Lila taking a nap. The other face of Lila we don’t want to see.
We learn karma from such an early age. It is the earth’s magnet…it is the spoon dropping from the highchair that once dropped can no longer be reached until we bend down and pick it up. Even though karma isn’t immediate we know it exists. A sense of ‘gotcha now or gotcha later'…but the bite will come eventually. It is the essence of Buddhism…the ripple of existence that keeps echoing until we can somehow evolve and get it right. Karma has a predictability that somehow keeps us in line. Even thought we might not be believers in anything else; on a primitive level we all believe karma to be true. It is a ‘new age’ word with an old age meaning.
Lila though is something all together different. Lila is that which can never be understood. It is the psychological concept of ‘learned helplessness’ in spades. It is “stuff happens”. Lila is grace—it is forgiveness when one does not deserve to be forgiven. It is a whim, a prayer and a dance all in one at the same time not co-occurring. It is a paradox that is misunderstood because it doesn’t make sense. In Christian philosophy it is the resurrection of Christ so that our lessons are buffered by prayer and forgiveness. The slate can be washed clean through the power of repentance. It is petition and contrition. In Tantric tradition it is the mirror and window…as you look out you look in….
Karma and Lila… free will and pre-destiny. Not one or the other but the intertwining element of both that creates beauty and mystery.
Asheville 2014/2015
Post Note: After the dream, coincidentally a few years later, I had two clients that took the same risk that this young man did, one lived (in 2014) and the second one died (in 2015).
Philadelphia 2008
I went to hear Douglas Brooks speak in 2008 and was captivated by the concept of Lila—my yoga teacher friend Marni from Cleveland, named her baby this——and this is what I wrote about Lila in July 2012
Asheville 2012
Dream: I had a dream about a man who was young and died as a result of something he did. I am not sure of what he did but I think it had to do with a car accident. His parents were at his side right before he died and he wrote the word “off” twice for his dad to see right before he left his body. “Off” as in something he did was off and ended in death or was it “lift off” ‘I am out of here’? I am not sure. I just know that I awoke thinking about Lila. The divine dance of the Universe and what it all means. Because stuff happens all the time that doesn’t make sense; sometimes the Universal pull and energy is on our side and sometimes it is not. I guess for this guy it was all karma….not Lila or maybe it was Lila taking a nap. The other face of Lila we don’t want to see.
We learn karma from such an early age. It is the earth’s magnet…it is the spoon dropping from the highchair that once dropped can no longer be reached until we bend down and pick it up. Even though karma isn’t immediate we know it exists. A sense of ‘gotcha now or gotcha later'…but the bite will come eventually. It is the essence of Buddhism…the ripple of existence that keeps echoing until we can somehow evolve and get it right. Karma has a predictability that somehow keeps us in line. Even thought we might not be believers in anything else; on a primitive level we all believe karma to be true. It is a ‘new age’ word with an old age meaning.
Lila though is something all together different. Lila is that which can never be understood. It is the psychological concept of ‘learned helplessness’ in spades. It is “stuff happens”. Lila is grace—it is forgiveness when one does not deserve to be forgiven. It is a whim, a prayer and a dance all in one at the same time not co-occurring. It is a paradox that is misunderstood because it doesn’t make sense. In Christian philosophy it is the resurrection of Christ so that our lessons are buffered by prayer and forgiveness. The slate can be washed clean through the power of repentance. It is petition and contrition. In Tantric tradition it is the mirror and window…as you look out you look in….
Karma and Lila… free will and pre-destiny. Not one or the other but the intertwining element of both that creates beauty and mystery.
Asheville 2014/2015
Post Note: After the dream, coincidentally a few years later, I had two clients that took the same risk that this young man did, one lived (in 2014) and the second one died (in 2015).
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