by Genevieve McClendon
“There is sunlight that fills all the world; there is moonlight and also firelight. Know that all these lights are of one light, which is my light.” -Bhagavad Gita 15.12
Gods Light is one light; every entity in the universe is a part of this light. This light is also known as purusha, the essence behind the changing forms in nature, Spirit. Purusha is the omnipresent, that which is spirit and has no form. Prakriti is our physical body or anything that is matter. It is the apparatus, or the cavity in which purusha resides. Purusha comes through and lives in us all as light. This light shows up in the small cracks we never suspect, from the blazing sun above us and through all the beautiful beings we interact with day to day. It is the consciousness that appears in all different forms to comfort us and to love us.
One week ago, I found out that I was born with an extra electrical current in my heart. Two months before this, I was hospitalized because my heart was beating at 222 beats per minute, three times the speed of a normal resting heartbeat. Due to this extra shakti current in my heart I was awakened to a deeper fragility and awareness in being physically vulnerable.
While being wheeled down the hallway of the emergency room, I slipped into the state of pratyahara (withdrawal from senses, one of the limbs of yoga). Forced into a state of complete surrender, everything moved slowly around me. All I could feel was the fast drumbeat of my heart. I knew I had no choice but to give it all over. I asked God to send me an Angel.
In that very moment a nurse, whose name I will never know, came to my side saying, “oh baby you are going to be just fine. You have what I have and my heart was going even faster then yours. This doctor is the doctor that helped me and he is going to do the same for you. You just be still and we are going to take good care of you.”
I can still hear her voice and have been extending my deepest gratitude to her everyday since. She will never know she was my light, my angel that saved me in a moment of distress. I am so thankful that out of all beings I received a nurse that had the deepest and most genuine empathy for what I was going through during that surreal moment. Her spirit touch was an answer to my prayer. It allowed me to relax, trust and know that the universe was conspiring to help me through this tough time, guiding me to surrender more deeply. The Light essence of purusha was coming through her to help calm and heal my spirit. She was Sakham, serving as a friend of God.
“I see you embodied in an array of countless forms wherever I turn: arms, bodies, mouths, and eyes, on and on to infinity. You are everywhere; you have no end, no middle, no beginning. O Lord of the universe, your body is the entire cosmos.” -Bhagavad Gita 11.16
Beyond the five senses, beyond this human experience there is magic. We are all a part of how purusha, the spirit that lives with in dances and weaves the interconnectedness of this sacred life. Yoga allows us to witness this when we feel our bodies and our soul that swims within it. It is also the act of seeing God in every one and everything. Seeing the magic in the flower on the tree as you walk down the street or the multi-colored cat in the ally or the nurse that gives calm loving words during a hard time. The lesson I learned is that we are never alone, God is in everything, everywhere. We are one source. You never know when your kindness or hard life experience could be an instrument of healing in answering someone’s prayers. We only have to ask, be willing to receive and witness the blessings of magic in the light. Truly this Light is beyond words.
Once we acknowledge that God comes through boundless vessels and unexpected places, we are always held, there is always peace and we will forever have comforted.
Genevieve is committed to serving and helping others come into their wholeness. She is a compassionate teacher that invites all her students to live their truth and celebrate who they are as they are. Genevieve teaches Restorative Yoga with Reiki on Friday from 6:45-7:45 and Sunday from 6:30-7:45. View Online Schedule