Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Phallic Life Expressions

He who performs his duty
with no concern for results
is the true man of yoga.
(Lord Krishna, Bhagavad Gita)

We moved at work the other day and as I was putting my belongings up in the new office I noticed that my colleague had left his memorabilia from a previous offsite meeting behind. When I dropped them off he was happy to get them back. One was a conductor's baton that we all got when we met with an orchestra conductor and a handful of musicians to compare our business philosophies. I was thinking to myself that a conductor's baton is in fact is a great symbol of everything I aspire to accomplish as a strategist in the financial industry: guide others with my investment knowledge and get the timing exactly right - just as every good conductor would.

It has been many years since we had that offsite and I have grown a lot personally and spiritually since then. At that time I would never have made these symbolic associations. So I probably put the baton somewhere in a storage box at home and will find it one day when I am moving houses. Yet, as synchronicity has it, a few days before the move I got a coffee mug which has in bold letters "maestro" written on it. So I put it up next to me at work on the book shelve as a reminder of what my true aspirations are. The symbol is always there in the background, yet nobody really would make this association and even I - quite deliberately - face away from it in my day-to-day operations.

Isn't that exactly what the Bhagavad Gita has in mind? You acknowledge your desires, you do your best to get them expressed in a spiritually kosher way, but leave its manifestation up to a higher authority. Being at the top of our game professionally and being admired by our peers for that ability we perhaps would consider a somewhat more refined phallic symbol. Yet, it is the same underlying desire that makes the peacock dance in front of the hens. As it turns out, I am no longer quite driven the way at work I once was and now use my job mostly just to pay the bills. My next career will be that of a writer and a spiritual coach. So from a spiritual perspective this will be an even more refined expression of my being, yet it is exactly the same leitmotif: the desire to be admired for my wisdom.

As long as we walk the earth we have to accept our roots, yet it is very much in our power to transmute life's energy through whatever creation we choose. Take this choice seriously, express yourself in way that works for everyone but don't worry so much about the results. A higher authority will figure out how exactly your creation is being implemented. Successes, disappointments, lucky strikes and faux pas - accept them all as they come. You just worry about burning your fuel in the process, while the Tao guides you home efficiently and in a personally meaningful way. Decide on a creative outlet, do your work to the best of your abilities and than walk away - that is the Way!

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