View from Treadway Mountain.
A few weeks ago I went with some friends to the Adirondacks to camp at Putnam Pond State Park. I’d never been there before, and it was really great. We decided we wanted to hike up Treadway Mountain (none of us had ever been up it before), and the best way to get to the trailhead was to paddle across Putnam Pond. So, we all made the relatively short paddle across the pond, left the boats, and started working our way up the Mountain. It took about an hour, and when we got to the top the view was truly magnificent. We could see almost completely around us, and everywhere we looked was beauty — mountains, trees, lakes. Really incredible.
For people who have been to the top of a mountain, or seen any kind of natural beauty, it’s a wonderful feeling. To me it feels like all the beauty on the outside is erupting on the inside. I guess other people feel that way, too, since I found this nice sutra from the Radiance Sutras (aka Vijnana Bhairava Tantra) about that very thing.
Go to a wide open space,
Gaze without looking anywhere,
The mind stops its building of thoughts,
And rests on its own foundations —
Which is that immensity.
The light that you see by
Is the light that comes from Inside.
I really love the last stanza. I like to think of it as when you see some kind of beauty, it’s just a reminder of all the beauty you have within yourself.
Here is a hip/back opener class, about an hour, with this theme in mind. Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
Take care — John
The Light That Comes From Inside – John McConnell Yoga from John McConnell on Vimeo.