Early last month, I attended a talk at Asia Yoga Conference with a teacher named Carlos Pomeda. I wanted to take his class because the first time that I did, 4 years ago, something about his presence moved me. It wasn't the content of his talk, it wasn't what he taught, but it was his presence itself. So there I was, at a 2pm class, and I was a really "bad" student. I dozed off because I was so sleepy after lunch, when I woke up, I kept drinking water so I won't fall asleep again, which meant at some point in the lecture I had to go to the bathroom past other students and come back. I am sure he knew I was distracted and wasn't completely present, because the lecture was held in a theater-style room where he could see everything. At one point, before he was about to give the meditation instructions, a couple of students stood up to leave, walking right past him. And he said, completely without sarcasm, without ego, and with lightness and humor I might say, "Are you escaping?" And he waved them goodbye. That to me, was a great teaching. The way he handled errant students like me and the others was a testament of what it is like to be unattached, what I could be like if I were enlightened. Because he allowed me to be with my struggles, because he held the space for me, he gave me the gift of believing in enlightenment, because of how he was.
The focus of the month is called "In the Light of Love", and I felt during those few hours that I took this teacher's class, that his being is lit up with so much love that it touched me too. It made me understand that love is not a raging emotion of attachment, but the quiet acceptance of others as they are. In the light of love, we accept the struggles and so-called imperfections of others. In the light of love, we hold space for ourselves and others to grow. In the light of love, we are kind even when we or others struggle in each our own paths.
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