The Underground Currents of Being

Ask Me

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.

— William Stafford

William Stafford’s poem speaks of the “silent river” that deep underground hidden current of our soul flowing beneath the surface of our busy lives. In our yoga practice we have an opportunity to slow down, become quiet and still and listen to the silent river of our own being.

So often in yoga we talk about ‘spirit’ and rarely do we speak of ‘soul.’  One of my favorite definitions of soul is: “spirit that lives in a particular place.”  The soul of Torrey Pines State Park feels very different than the soul of the Arizona desert, the soul of Yoga Del Mar feels very different than the soul of other buildings.  Spirit embodies in each of us, too, as our unique soul.  Each of us has a unique feel, a unique call, a unique path to live into in life.

Spirit is the one universal energy that lives everywhere in everything.  In our yoga practice when we connect to spirit we awaken to experience a ‘felt sense’ of peace, love, and bliss.  When we connect to our own soul we feel, a deeper, more grounded presence within: underground currents of the living waters of our own being — carrying messages of who we are, what we love, and how we belong to this world.  The soul is spirit grounded in this material world and in each of us.

“What the river says, that is what I say.”  There’s such an inner felt sense of integrity and wholeness when we follow the quiet voice of soul.  In contrast without the luxury of quiet time, it’s easy to be alienated from the deeper current of being and instead to be guided by the above ground raging currents of ego pushing us onward toward achievement, success, looking good, and feeling ‘up.’   It’s a very different journey get quiet and listen to the deep, ‘down,’ underground river of your own soul guiding you home – to be yourself, to live the life that calls to you — the one that only you can live.