All Minds are Joined
I was an atheist for about 10 years. Before that I considered myself Christian, but through a series of events (perhaps a story for another day), I got very angry at God. Atheism was the only solution for me at the time. Then one day, I went to my first yoga class with a friend of a friend, having just moved to New York City to start a postdoctoral fellowship. Unbeknownst to me, the class was taught at a studio founded by Yogiraj Alan Finger, who with his father, Mani Finger, developed ISHTA Yoga. In the class, ancient Hindu teachings about the nature of the universe were woven through the asana practice (i.e., instruction about yoga poses). I was introduced to the idea that “we are one” and fell in love.
In many western yoga practices, namaste (usually with hands in prayer pose and a bow) means something along the lines of, “the divine in me recognizes the divine in you.” Yogiraj Finger and his students taught us about the little self that each of us thinks we are and about the big Self that is our true nature. Through the practice of meditation and stilling one’s mind, ISHTA Yoga teaches that we can each access a vast universal intelligence and achieve enduring states of peace. I found these teachings incredibly freeing as they gave me a way to connect with something greater than myself without giving up atheism (although once I was introduced to A Course in Miracles and a completely different way of understanding God, giving up atheism made sense).
When I sit in mediation with others, I feel a strong sense of peace and connection. This makes sense from the standpoint that all minds are joined. So too does the lack of peace that it is so easy to feel in the presence of someone else’s “bad day.” We influence one another constantly, whether we know the other well or whether the other is a total stranger. In a grocery store, a stranger may lean over and pick up an item I dropped, an act of kindness that is always welcome! I may “pay this forward” and offer another customer with just a couple of items to go ahead of me in the line at the cash register. More good feeling! But leaving the store parking lot, another stranger may lean on their horn because I inadvertently cut them off. There goes the good feeling!
Achieving a sense of peace on a day-to-day basis depends on training the mind. The ancient word, “dukkha” means suffering and is part of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Each of these traditions teaches ways to understand dukkha, as well as methods and practices for ending dukkha and achieving peace of mind. A Course in Miracles (ACIM) also teaches that “an untrained mind can accomplish nothing” (W-in.1:3). It contains much that is familiar to me from my background with yoga and meditation, while also going off in a different direction. One key idea taught in ACIM is this: given that all minds are joined, how I see you I also see myself. In particular, judgments and unloving thoughts that I have about you only hurt me because all minds are joined and we are, in fact, one.
This has proven to be an incredibly powerful idea, underpinning the practice that goes along with it, which is to notice my thoughts. At the beginning, let me tell you, there was a lot of judgment to notice! Even now, after over 15 years of practicing nonjudgment, it still takes considerable work at times. But the gains in peace of mind have been extraordinary.
All quotes are from A Course in Miracles, copyright ©1992, 1999, 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, 448 Ignacio Blvd., #306, Novato, CA 94949, www.acim.org and info@acim.org, used with permission.