It's All Power, All the Time: Reality

Given that power is primary and occurs within the context of a unity, the maximization of power is reality - that elusive presence clouded by our perspective and our imagination. Sadly one of the most recurring patterns to minimize power is to engage in "efforting."

I came across "efforting" when I was dropping my son off at Princeton University for a Ph.D in Math. I had some free time so I took a yoga class at the local Y. As we were doing various poses, the teacher came over to me to get me to stop "efforting." I thought she was nuts and went ahead with my "efforting."

Of course I did. I had been "efforting" my whole life. What the yoga teacher pointed out was a valuable insight and was similar to my running coach who advised me to keep breathing through weight training exercises. To move my breath or prana smoothly or efficiently meant that I needed to be positioned in such way that I could maintain my pose for a long period. 

Basically we all recognize how quickly we tire if we hold our arms out to the side even with little or no weight. The reason is that I don't have any ground support. I have to be "efforting" the whole time. However, if I can rest my arms on some ground supports, I still get the benefits of extending stretch but without the tension introduced by "efforting." "Efforting" takes away power in order to express power. 

The concept of asana in yoga is designed to offset this efforting. An asana is a pose of being that allows for smooth breathing as well as some expression of stretch or movement. In order for the asana to be maximally effective, I try to find the grounding or structural support. Prior to this emphasis on grounding, my yoga movements were labor intensive and athletic endeavors. The healing properties of yoga eluded me.

In the same way as this occurs physically, my "efforting" can show up mentally. To maximize power in the mental area relies on what Spinoza causes adequate ideas. Basically, our inadequate ideas are those configured by our imagination. These "efforting" structures of the mind rely on our continued reiteration to make them "real." Adequate ideas, on the other hand, need little support because they are grounded properly.

Yet like my tendency to be tense all over when I simply flex my toes, my habits of mind to connect to a series of imaginations when I engage in new ideation. The most power series of imaginations are those which become purpose-driven. Like "efforting," purpose-driven patterns indicate that the power is at the end of the rainbow when in fact it lies at the beginning.