Gemini season is the journey to the top of the mountain that culminates in the summer solstice, the day in which the light shines the brightest. During the journey, our vision is obscured by the mountain itself. Similarly, our potential to see things in a holistic way in our thinking is obscured by the karmic circumstances of our physical existence. Thus we become identified with one-sided perspectives that reinforce our sense of who we are and how the world is.
To ascend to the top of the mountain is to be able to see things from many (perhaps 12) sides. This feat is only possible when we are able to take hold of our thinking with our will. In order to do so, we need to confront that aspect of ourself that compels our thoughts, feeling and actions unconsciously. In many spiritual traditions, this part of ourselves is considered to be a second being, an etheric double, that is actually helping us (though it doesn’t feel like help) to experience the karmic circumstances that are necessary for our growth. The confrontation with your double is often referred to as ‘meeting the guardian of the threshold’. On the other side of the threshold is a more expansive relationship to reality that is akin to beholding the sprawling vistas on all sides from the peak of a mountain.
Bringing will into thinking is none other than practicing the 6th limb of yoga: Concentration. In concentrating we direct thinking towards something we consciously choose. This practice can be done in just a few minutes a day. Choose an object on that isn’t inspired by the lower chakras – survival, desire, & control. If you wake up craving a cinnamon roll (calling myself out here), visualizing a cinnamon roll won’t do you much good. Instead, visualize a mundane object like a pencil. Do this practice every day first thing in the morning for a month. Throughout the month take inventory of how you feel. If you are interested in learning more about the specifics of this practice, email me at rey@practiceyogaaustin.com and let me know, plus make sure to come practice.
Sincerely, Rey