Monday, January 17, 2011

Let the Heart Lead the Head in the Dance of Love

Allow the Heart to Romance the Head

There is no small offering for love
For she will burn you through and through
Until you let go of trying to lead
Until you realize she is the life itself
And all elements bend to her delight
And all you can really do is surrender
All you can really allow is the falling
Feel the ecstasy that comes with sacrifice
Melt in the arms of this realization
And she will offer you everything in return
She will offer you the sun and the moon
For what are they but specks of dust to her
She will fill your cup with oceans
For what are they but drops of Eternity
She will light up the night with diamond stars
For what are they but sparks of Limitlessness
You have leapt into this existence with longing
And she has pierced you through and through
Until in that writhing pain you surrender duality
Finally in this merging you become One
© Ganga Fondan, 2011
Working on this post today, while contemplating the words of the quote below, I suddenly had a strange recollection of a movie that had upset me terribly as a young girl. It was the story of a young American who follows his friend back to the Polynesian Islands and falls madly in love with his friend's sister there. After a series of disasters, the local volcano begins to erupt threatening the lives of everyone in the village. A heart wrenching decision by the leaders of the village require her to sacrifice her life by leaping into the volcano. They believe this will appease the gods. The young American begs her to run away with him, but eventually she decides to follow her heart to the top of the volcano. I remember staring at the screen, crying my eyes out, angry with her, with the villagers, with him for not taking her away...and she jumped. Even as I write this, tears are welling up in my eyes. It was such an intense act of love, of selflessness even though she was terrified to do it. She loved the American yet a deeper cause called out to her. Why she would choose to die perplexed me for a long time.
Years later I would meet someone who tells me he has just relapsed with a fatal disease. I look into his eyes and see a man of substance. Every fiber of my being says he is a fighter and he will win his fight. There are moments that call out to us and require a great leap of faith. Many of my friends and family questioned my desire when I chose to marry him but my heart had already fallen in love and was willing to do anything to serve that love. There was not a single doubt in my mind although I did feel frightened of what he would have to endure and that I might lose him. I don't regret a single moment of entering into that love with him. It continues in a profound way even now. I feel him in everything around me and he remains the champion of my heart. There are so many things we will never understand in this life, but if we remember to keep dancing with the heart, find the wonder and beauty in everything that exists in and around us, we will live a life of enchantment and romance. As my Teacher so eloquently puts it:

“This life is a dance between your mind and your Consciousness. It is a romance only if Consciousness leads.” – Tulshi Sen

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