“If I am the play, I want you in every act,” U, Spellbound, by Paisley Park
Can you observe what happens to you as the Witness, or are you so lost in the weeds (the actors playing at someone else’s words, and the stage direction) that you miss all them purdy flowers (the events unfolding)? What if we were all the play,we all were the actors, we all were the (entire) audience, and we all were the and?
Witnessing the events of our lives is not for the faint of heart, but comes with its own rewards. This’ll help you process, and weed-whack your way to clarity.
Ha! Now do it without judgement, or ‘gramming it, lest no one believe it happened.
How can we reconcile, or at least come to terms with, or at least-least be less skerred of this way of looking at our lives? Here’re some thoughts, but first a bit of background for grounding and context.
Prakriti, in Yogic philosophy, represents the female, and all that moves. It is associated with Shakti.
Parusha, in Yogic philosophy, represents the male, the fullness of life, and its continuity. It is, by nature, still, steady, and true. It is associated with Shiva.
*Note: this is (perhaps a gross), oversimplification, but for the lay people among us, there’s that KISS method again. Thank you for the guidance, my some-time Yoga-at-the-gym buddy and co-worker. All thoughts, inaccuracies, and tangents are wholly mine.
Either way, Shakti and Shiva are intertwined. You cannot have one without the other.
Each of us has a duality, to some degree or another. The most feminine among us, the most masculine among us, as well as the most not-quite-sure-what-box-I-check-but-also-boxes-are-stupid-and-confining among us, and the darn-your-stupid-boxes-anywayz’ have at least a dash of other, however many others there may be.
We are the Witness (the audience), and the actor (the doer, not an inauthentic puppet) and the event.
In this song, the narratress* wants to dance for U, the as-yet unnamed. Perhaps she wants to reunite, to join back into her whole Self. She has lost her way, and does not realize that while she has her own qualities, she is not alone. She is separate in her mind, not in reality. She is part of a whole: Shakti and Shiva.
Shakti wants to move, to dance, to uuuuundulate. She offers herself to her love, Shiva. From the song: “u make me wanna dance for only u…all I want is u.” She sultrily issues an entreaty to him to watch her dance.
Each of us has a duality, to some degree or another. We are the dancer, the dancee, the Witness to it all, and the music. The most masculine among us, the most feminine among us, and the most not-quite-sure-what-box-I-check-but-also-boxes-are-stupid-and-confining among us, have at least a dash of other, however many others there may be.
“This is not fantasy, this is fact.” Hey, mebbe she’s not so far gone, after all, and will reunite with her love soon.
*English lends itself to brokenness and make-up-ery. Why shouldn’t there be a gendered word for our storyteller?
If this resonated with you, please feel free to comment below or drop me an email. Until our mats unfurl again, be well.
-M
Yoga by Meredith 