Divine Play and Amino Acids

Hello from Kripalu Yoga Retreat Center!  My, just three days here and I have been on an entire self-actualizing journey.  I must catch you up!

I'll begin by sharing my one take-away from this time at Kripalu.  And that is the Divine Play that is life.  I was taught this yesterday during a workshop on the original Hindu concept, called Lila.  Here is a Wikipedia explanation similar to what was told to me (translate Brahman as God):

Brahman is full of all perfections. And to say that Brahman has some purpose in creating the world will mean that it wants to attain through the process of creation something which it has not. And that is impossible. Hence, there can be no purpose of Brahman in creating the world. The world is a mere spontaneous creation of Brahman. It is a Lila, or sport, of Brahman. It is created out of Bliss, by Bliss and for Bliss.
—Ram Shanker Misra, The Integral Advaitism of Sri Aurobindo

An appropriately playful doodle.

Was that gibberish? I hope not. What it means is that God is perfect and therefore would only create the world for the sake of play, otherwise that would mean that God needed something from the world, which God could not if God is perfect. Names of god and interpretations of god aside, let me explain the message I, personally, am taking away from this concept of using the world for Bliss.  The world is the world is the world.  And life is life is life.  We are who we are and we will experience what we experience.  This does not mean we should be passive, without any hope of improving the world, our lives, or our spirit.  BUT why not experience all of these ups and downs as the Play of Life? Play, not necessarily meaning joyful, or even playful in the usual use of the word.  But play as in experience, as in optimism, as in fluidity, flexibility, and connection to the earth and to self.  Going through the waves of life with ease instead of resistance.  And I recognize, suddenly, that most of my "issues" are results of my resistance to life and all it has to offer.  Why not play, instead?


There is no end of the journey to personal happiness and enlightenment, so instead of waiting for it to end, enjoy the ride! Explore! Play! (It's okay if the word play is starting to sound funny in your head.) Even body image and food issues can be play if I just take myself a little less seriously.  This has been hard since, until I had this thought, I had been searching for THE answer during my time at Kripalu.  The cure-all that would help me figure out what step to take next.

But a cure-all doesn't exist and never will.  And if I can let go of that idea, then I will have more room for play in these sometimes tense moments.  Funny enough, as is the way of these things, the second I stopped looking for a panacea, I found inspiration!

It is....drumroll....another book!  The Diet Cure is it's name and amino acids are its game.  By that I mean, it focuses on the essential amino acids we need for chemical balance (of serotonin, endorphins, adrenaline, melatonin and all those good things) and helps one self-diagnose which amino acids one might be deficient in. And now that I'm googling this stuff, it looks that it's widely accepted knowledge! We are always told about our chemical deficiencies that cause depression, anxiety, etc. but we are never taught about how our INTAKE (ie. food) provides the proteins/amino acids that make the bindings of those chemicals possible (or impossible, as the case may be)! Such food for thought.

Apparently, amino acids are also a quite popular soy sauce substitute.
Guess what yoga retreat center has some on every table?

Now, I am not looking for a "cure" like the book offers; I kicked diets years ago and, like I said, I don't believe there is a complete lifetime solution for me, and possibly not for anyone. It does not surprise me that this how-to book is packaged to sell, like most are.  I also find the language of the book incongruent with some of my positive body-image beliefs, such as not focusing on one's weight.  But I am taken by the scientific research done by Julia Ross, the clinician who wrote the book and the (overly emphasized) success stories she has on file.  So I'm going to try out this amino acid supplement thing and I'll keep you updated about whether or not I feel any different (though it takes a couple of weeks of supplement planning, so don't expect news too soon)! If it is a cure-all, I will shout Halleluyah and dance in the streets, but for now, I'm just tryin' to play and see what comes of it!

Another little piece of inspiration came from a Lovingkindness Meditation that Louis and I attended on our first night here.  In this meditation, you give blessings to benefactors, loved ones, friends, neutral acquaintances and even people you can't stand, ending with blessings for all human beings.  During the beginning lecture session, the instructor, Bhavani, explained one purpose of meditation and that is to let go of suffering.  "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is a choice." I thought that was just the most empowering statement I had ever heard.  And I connect that intimately to the concept of living life as Divine Play.

And now I have a question for you, as I explore the possibilities of play in my own life.  Are there ways for all of the pictures below to be a part of play? (The first few may go without saying for some people.) Does it change the way you look at the pictures to imagine that there a might be a joy in going through all of the facets of life? Even the seemingly mundane, difficult, or even impossible parts?

The facets of Divine Play:

  

What do you think?

With Zen and Yoga Dances,

Gabriella