1. seek and study information that has practical application in your life.
2. information becomes pracital through structured cricumstance.
3. push your limits in what you choose to focus on by working veritically.
these points glared, spoke directly at me. i've spent a good deal of life wanting to know everything from how electricity works, to microorganisms in our body, to writing haiku's, to watching youtubes on doing backflips.
never did a backflip. neveer even tried. forgot everything i read about electricity. know that microorganisms are small and duplicate rapidly, and know the 7-5-7 meter of haiku's, but don't really write them.
so what use is having all this info? for me, it's come with the arrogance of being always, of refusing to look at the inevitability of passing on, of being something by knowing everything, of being a rabid consumer, taking classes on astrology and 16mm cameras. i suffer from being bloated with stuff that sits in my mind like landfill, and only grows three headed frogs that have no place in the eco-system.
over the past few years, due to learning by ageing, i've grown a bit more specific on what i ingest. stopped reading the papers, and books on airconditioning, and anything else that doesn't serve my purpose.
what ali shah's lesson on learning is contingent on is carrying forth and growing deeper in Purpose, which he terms as Tradition.
in carrying forth the tradition of my family, my focus is on traditional medicine. there are many. my focus is on ayurveda/yoga by way of and from the lens of the path of Surrender.
learrning massage techniques enhances this, as one of the primary modalities of ayurveda is touch therapy, and involves knowing the mechanics of the body. studdying a & p and kineseology, helps me understand more deeply, the body's i'm working with and how to best locate muscles, nerves, vessels in question.
learning herbalism serves the medicine making component of ayurveda, including preparing the oils for panchakarma treatments. the techniques of creating formulas, based on traditional chinese medicine, gives me greater insight into the secret science of ayurvedic formulations, which are based on panchamahaboota and ritualistically follow the prescribed recipes of the sages, as listed in carakasamhita.
getting deeper with nutritonal science, and the chemistry of food, serves this purpose, as food/diet is the primary medicine of the ayurvedic approach to preventive health. food in ayurveda is based on the tastes. the tastes are based on elements. the elements are what we consist of and some imbalance us. having an understanding of enzymes, protein production, bone health conducters, will help to amplify my ability to develop meal plans prescriptively for those i work with.
the path of yoga, in it's holism - breath, attitude towards life, Quiet, asana practice, meditation, warrior code, serves to growing deeper in understanding the body and tapping into the body and breath to address health issues.
but getting into the minutuae of cells, and tissue, as i have been, will only serve a shelf of other useless knowledge, since i will really not be using these. of course they are useful and interesting to know, but i would just be taking time away from the other areas i am working to develop.
time is gold, as precious as sunsets, and marked by the whithering of our bodies. our Purpose is to align, serve to align, in working towards ensuring the GreatHarmony.
so, essentially, the first of the points ali-shah speaks to is be discriminate in what you are studying, learning - if you are not going to use it, lose it, as it will be lost anyway. for mme, this is different from leisure. reaading novels, history of where you live - are enriching. they are useless, when it becomes about trying to learn about everything, like how chairs are built. unless you plan to make chairs, this is useless.
#2. to make the knowledge you place life into learning meaningful, there has to be circumstance that draw it out. for instance, if i am watching and reading about yoga sequences, but never apply it, it is uselss. but part of the reason it's useless, is because there is an absence of structures that draw out the practice of these sequences. so how can this happen. a steady discipline practice in asana, that is strictly adhered to. teaching yoga, with a schedule and accountability to the people you are teaching, and or practicing with. this has to be the case - accountability. accountability is the key component in strucutre. when you have to get to work at 8am and you live an hour away, you'll be up by 6 or 6:30. if you don't have such a cricumstance, you can rationalize slipping, wake at 9, 10...a slippery slope.
discipline is made possible by structures that are embedded in accountability, usually to others. this shows just how interdependent we are, and just how much we need others for ourselves to thrive and grow.
my boy sim tells me that business is a creative thing, and has to be practiced daily. i cringe at the word. have always. but have been thinking sustenance, self-sustainability, creative entrepreneurship that grows me and is of service to others and in the process enriches my community and tribe.
so...look out for asana videos that incorporate anatomy and physiology and kineseology. look for classes on pranayama, and meditiation, and asana to develop the center, and focus, and strengthen the back, and detox through swedhana...
...look out for medicinals - tonics, herbal pastes, creams, tinctures, tea blends that involve ayurvedic principles...
...look out for nutritonal bars, that address vitamin deficiencies and health imbalances, and help to balance your doshic imbalance....
...look out for ayurvedic assessments, treatments, and advice, and counseling sessions...both in person and online
#3. as for working vertically, this involves stepping up your game by working with those who you admire, by working under those you admire, whose game is tight, who are deep in their Quiet, who are so deep, that they are who you aspire to be. working horizontally will keep you in a toxic state, without the sweat neccessary to detox.
how can i do this? i will deliberately take classes with those who i respect, who can help me grow, because they are deep in their path in these respective areas...this includes classes in yoga, in mtaking advantage of those in my life who are massage therapists, who have deep skills, and those who i may not know, but could learn from and take classes with to enhance my learning. i could ask them the right questions and immediately put it into action, immediately step it up.
reach for the rim...you may get the backboard, but eventually, if you keep jumping, with presence, with technique, with humility to the process, you'll get there, insh'ALLAH...
