Our world is rife with disconnection. I am not referring to power grid outages. I am referring to outages affecting the human grid of love.
Most people spend more time peering into their screens than into the eyes of another human being. They spend more time in their head than in their heart. They are disconnected from their Self and from one another. They have lost their power to love. That is the power outage that we should be most concerned about.
As Swami Nirmalananda reminds us, our highest priority is to connect to our own Self, our innate Wholeness. When we are not connected in this way, we have little to give to the world except more discord. Our connections are merely means for using others to fill our sense of emptiness.
But when we connect with our Wholeness, we have so much more to give. Our connections become channels through which love and light may shine on others. In this month’s teaching article Making a Difference, Swami writes:
Yoga inspires altruism. It arises in you because the practices change your inner state. As you settle into your own Essence and Beingness [your innate Wholeness], you feel less needy and anxious. Now life is about what you can give. Your interest in others extends beyond the reach of your shared DNA, as you discover that your own essence is the One Essence that is being all.”
Your natural state is to be giving. As research has verified, giving is healing for the giver. By giving from the heart, you maintain your wholeness and health (“whole” and “health” have the same etymological roots).
But it is too easy to forget one’s Essence and Beingness. You get caught up in busyness — in Doingness instead of Beingness. While in the company of a loved one, you are checking your cell phone for text messages. You are disconnecting from your loved one. It’s an outage for the power of love.
Sometimes you are multitasking, which diminishes your ability to be present with another human being. For example, I remember years ago talking to my 91-year old mother on the phone while I was doing the dishes. It dawned on me — no pun intended, but go ahead and enjoy it — it dawned on me that I was splitting from my mom by splitting my attention. It was also disrespectful to her.
And while I was doing two things at the same time, I was doing both of them poorly. I missed some spots on the dishes, and I missed an opportunity to develop a deeper connection with my mom. I am sure my mom sensed that I was not fully present. The conversation failed to get beyond talking about the weather.
I felt bad afterward. Given my mom’s age, there was no telling how long my mom would be around. For that matter, there’s no telling how long any of us will be around. I think of life as like playing musical chairs. When the music stops, where will I be? Will I be seated in my capital S Self, being present and in a state of love and giving? Or will I be in my small s self, somewhere else, unseated and left out?
Entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn said: “One of the greatest gifts you can give anyone is the gift of attention.”
Likewise, the French philosopher Simone Weil said, “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.”
And so let’s pledge to stay connected to Self. Then, acting from a sense of Wholeness, we can give “unmixed attention” to those we are with.
Listen to the other with your heart. See the other with your heart, without judgement. It’s the greatest gift you can give. It’s also the greatest gift you can give yourself. Instead of being a short circuit in the power grid of love, you let love flow from your heart and complete the circuit. You will be happy, as it is your nature to give. All your prayers will be answered.