The spiritual journey is as easy as 1,2,3. In theory anyway.
Part 1: Discover the problem.
Part 2: Come up with a creative solution and resolve the problem.
Part 3: Reap the benefits.
1. I am asleep to my true nature.
2. Find an awakened teacher who does not share my shadows.
3. Wake up myself and live life fully!
To live fully essentially means that you will continue to uncover challenges, conflict and trauma, you will again and again utilize the wisdom of the awakened mind, and you will continue to be a creative contributor to the Cosmic unfolding.
This three step process can be found in many forms, including at the beginning of The Yoga Sutras, although Patanjali changes the order slightly.
I-4: vrtti sarupyam itaratra:
(The problem is ) identifying with dysfunctional ideas about myself.
I-2: citta vritti nirodha.
“yoga (the creative solution) is resolving the dysfunctionality arising in the mind field.”
I-3 Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam.
“(When mental conflict is resolved), ever-present Being reveals itself effortlessly.”
Nirodha is often translated as ‘stopping’ or negating, but those English words do not capture the energetic alchemy of the mind field Patanjali’s ‘creative resolution’ describes. This yoga is not empty-minded, but rather is the vital, energized, dynamic aliveness present in an awakened mind. Or to use a slightly different wording, when the light of the 
soul shines unobscured, it can evoke creative responses to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that befall us.
The light of the soul is ever-present, unbounded and infinite. It does not appear as the result of eliminating conflict. It is unchanged whether the mind is conflicted or not. What the yoga alchemy does is to liberate, or ‘unstick’ some of the mental energy stuck in dysfunctional identification and point it to the soul. This is the beginning of the awakening and the birth of creativity. This process is like raising children. It requires nurturing, patience and deep trust in the mystery of Being.
How can we begin to resolve our own conflicts and trauma, connect with this ‘inner light’ and discover our own unique and infinite source of creativity? As somanauts, how can we use our practice on the mat to embody this process and integrate it into our moment to moment existence off the mat? How can we get unstuck and find freedom and creativity?
We are going to call on an old friend to help us look more deeply into the notions of creativity, conflict, and the alchemy of yoga described by Patanjali. Ron Alexander, author of “Wise Mind, 
Open Mind” will offer insights from his book on the role of mindfulness and his own ‘three step’ program in awakening to the soul, and evoking our inherent creativity to transform conflict and trauma into positive action in the world. (Ron and I went to high school together; Braintree High, class of 1968, Go Wamps!, and Kate and I had a lovely dinner with Ron and some friends the other night in LA.)
Before Ron became a psychotherapist, he was a musician, and thus had an intimate understanding of the artistic mind and the nature of creativity. He became involved in yoga and meditation practices in college and thus began a life long exploration of the body/mind/spirit connection. When he began his therapy practice in LA, he came into contact with actors, musicians and artists who were struggling with the usual human issues of loss, anxiety, and other emotional traumas, and thus were often ‘stuck’ in their lives. Realizing that he could ‘speak their language’ and could use that as way to begin helping them get ‘unstuck’, he used his experience and training to create the three step process described in his book. Anyone could use this process to help resolve the stagnation and reawaken the flow of creative juice and he based it upon the ‘simple’ practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a word that points to the art of being ‘present to’, or ‘aware of’, whatever is arising in consciousness, on a moment to moment basis. It involves a ‘meta’ level of attention because there is a distancing or separation from the particulars of what is appearing in the mind field and a conscious choice to not get lost, entangled, or stuck in their stories. It’s power lies in the capacity to observe ones thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and ongoing commentary from a place, or a mental space, of open curiosity. As the mindfulness becomes ‘stronger’ through practice (hello Hebb’s Axiom), the capacity to see conflict and trauma from a distance awakens.
We are all subject to conflict and trauma. The teachings of Buddhism begin with acknowledging that life will bring dukkha, usually translated as suffering. Dukkha literally means to be stuck. The wheel of life stops flowing through you, or if it does flow, it is not smooth, but jarring and unpleasant. This is universal. Mindfulness is stepping back and noticing. Wow, I am stuck. I am suffering. From the open mind this may actually become ‘something is stuck’, suffering is happening and it is very unpleasant, or worse.
Dr. Ron’s first step, once established in mindfulness, is ” Let Go”. “The art of creative transformation begins with the willingness to be mindful of your hidden resistance, examine it, and break it down so that you can sweep it away like sand on a door stop.” When we resist what is unpleasant, we reflexively contract. We become gluey and dense, on every level of existence. As somanauts, we can find tension in the skin, muscles, fascia, fluids and organs. In our ‘samyama in asana‘ we use gravity, leverage, subtle movement, breath and intelligence to transform this holding and tension into freedom. We learn how to support the body in letting go.
Stuckness can arise in life situations as well. “If all signs point to the need for change, it’s important not to deny them and cling to the status quo even as it is slipping away.” These moments can arise in relationships, jobs and even with spiritual teachers and spiritual communities.
Ultimately, what we are letting go of are our dysfunctional ideas and beliefs that perpetuate our own stuck-ness. These all stem from feelings of inadequacy because we have lost sight of the light of the soul. Inadequacy can lead to feeling small and unworthy, burdened with negative self commentary. It can create an exaggerated sense of self importance and entitlement. Or inadequacy spawns a helplessness that needs to continually impose its will on the world to feel safe. When mindful attention allows us to see the futility of these beliefs and patterns of behavior, and the problems they inevitably create, we can begin to release them, to stop feeding them with energy.
This intuitively arrives at Ron Dass’s second step, ‘Tune In’. “The second step in the creative process is tuning in and listening to the wisdom of your soul by achieving open mind, the state in which core creativity takes place, beyond the limitations of the mind’s thought process. Whenever you reconnect to this core, authentic self through open mind, the temporary circumstances of life stop distracting you. You’re able to trust that the creative process will produce opportunities and possibilities in due time. You don’t find yourself feeling that you’re running out of time and must make a decision quickly.”
The ‘open mind’ Ron mentions, developed in a strong mindfulness practice, is also the foundation of our somatic explorations. Somanauts learn quickly that thought is useless in 
the deeper levels of cellular inquiry. Something else, something unknown, mysterious and vibrant, must emerge. In yoga terms, the soul is the vehicle of the prana shakti, the Divine Feminine, as it emerges into atoms, cells, organs and fluids. As B.K.S. Iyengar frequently noticed, asana is prayer, an invitation for the Divine to emerge as aliveness. This is the soul. Ron adds: “The soul, which recognizes its connection to the divine and to eternity, is quite different from your false, external self, the part of yourself that identifies with the temporary world of your senses.” This is the identity problem described by Patanjali in I-4. This false self keeps throwing dysfunctional road blocks in our way, but when we can step back and watch this phenomenon in action, and then let the inner light trigger creative imagination, we are unstuck, we are back in the flow of Divine imagination and creativity.
Then step three arises: ‘Move Forward’. “Accepting that discomfort and suffering are a natural part of life, you’ll understand that happiness ebbs and flows, and that you can’t be a Zen master at all times. You’ll never be able to fully eradicate the little voice in your head that harshly judges you with thoughts such as “You’re no good” or You’ll never succeed.” In many ways, this voice is like an undertow in the ocean, trying to pull you out to sea and away from what you want. To be successful at surging forward, you have to learn not to be sucked into the undertow.” Practice and discipline become part of your life, like eating and breathing. A confidence arises that is not artificial, but stems from a deep connection to the soul level, where you and the Cosmos are surfing the moment to moment waves of creation. Everything is exactly what it is. Your life continues to unfold.
Here is an opportunity to evoke your Divine imagination, and because Bonnie is coming to Santa Barbara in February to do more explorations in embryology, we will imagine that the spinal discs dissolve into fluid and/or light and then we will bring back the nucleus pulposi, one per disc, as a string of luminescent pearls. These are the remnants of the original notochord, a crucial component to embryological development.
Start simple with one of the large lumbar discs. I’m in a serious supported bridge pose phase and this is a fun place to play with this. find a balance across the block and float the lumbar vertebrae. With a balance of double action, zero in on the disc and find its center. Feel fluid vibrancy. Let the center of the disc emerge as a pearl of light. Link it to the one above and below so you begin to create a strand. I can get one or two, but T12 keeps disturbing the vibes when I try to link in the thoracic discs. T12 is my spinous undertow and muse. It wants to suck me back into the past, but also invites me to find a new and more creative future. As long as I stay open to my soul, no worries. An who knows what surprises will arise when the discs become luminous?