speak to something you already know

Last week, I was able to leave the house and step away from the confines of injury recovery for a few hours to join our bimonthly Yoga Philosophy Book Club.

Does it go without saying that sitting in community with wonderful people is deeply healing for the soul?

I adore our community!

For this session, we explored Juan Mascaró’s translation of The Upanishads.

I know that the language and ideas found in yogic philosophy can sometimes feel overwhelming or confusing. But as our conversation unfolded, we began to recognise that texts like these are meant to be experienced slowly, contemplated and reflected on.

Each of us brought a different perspective and took something different from the discussion. We found our own ways of expressing the ideas that resonated with us, translating ancient teachings into language grounded in our own experiences.

Sam (who does an incredible job of curating and guiding these sessions) shared Emily Dickinson’s poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death', alongside Taylor Swift’s song Evermore. Both conveyed her experience reading this text.

At their heart, these texts explore the same enduring questions we all find ourselves asking, whether in the quiet of the night or on a random Tuesday after spilling our coffee.

Texts like the Upanishads are not presenting us with unreachable or unfathomable ideals. They speak to something we already know and instinctively reach for as human beings through art, poetry, science, community, and the many other ways we seek to enrich our lives. 

When we have the opportunity to reflect alongside others, conversation can unlock these ideas and allow us to approach them from entirely new angles. That is the beauty of exploring philosophy in community.

Karen xx