The Myth of Mastery

During a conversation with a friend the other day, we ran across a topic which i know is familiar to many yoga practitioners and teachers.  I'll call it the 'Myth of Mastery'.

For a teacher, it goes something like this:
"What the hell am I doing trying to teach this stuff - I'm not ENLIGHTENED!  I can't even meditate in [choose your favorite difficult posture]!"

Some of us will even use this negative self talk to sabotage the avenues in our lives where we might be of service to others - because we are not "masters" yet - whatever that means.

For the student, this often occurs when we are thinking of trying something new.  Many people never make it through the door for yoga or meditation class because they are afraid simply to be beginners.

For myself, it can be easy sometimes to lose faith.  I think that perhaps it is because I see how high the bar has been set, and sometimes I despair of getting there.  I know of some yogis how feel just fine, perfectly comfortable in their practice - and I rejoice for them.  But I wonder, if you are perfectly comfortable in your practice, are you really growing into the places that you need it the most?

Many of us who come to yoga, kung fu, or the like, have an innate strength or calling toward the kinesthetic  body-based activity and growth.  Others of us, who gravitate toward meditation have an innate spiritual sense.  Your strong suit is not really what I am speaking to in this article, i am speaking to your weak link.

If you are sensitive, you'll know right where your weak link is.  Many yogis i know could answer you in a split-second if you asked them what the weakest spot is in their practice.  What an amazing self-knowledge to hold.

If you've never done the work, however, you won't know what I'm talking about, because your weak link is just that thing that you avoid.  It's something we avoid before we even think about it - as if part of the mind has pre-decided "that's not me".

It seems to me that the Myth of Mastery can rear its head in two ways.  One is that we begin to actually think we've become a master.  I think this can mean that we've settled into the places we feel strong to the exclusion of those in which we feel weaker.  I hold a "Master's" certification in Qigong, but it doesn't mean I've stopped learning.  The moment I think I know everything there is to know about something is the moment my knowledge starts getting stagnant.  The greatest spiritual sages have never made high claims about their own "mastery" - they simply went about loving their world, living balanced lives.  I think our own practices can flow this way if we let them.

 The second way it strikes is the recurring thought that tells us to "quit now", because mastery is so far away.  This can come up if your meditation is a little to thought-full for a few days, or your yoga practice doesn't seem to be changing.  Rather than see these as signs that something is wrong, we can learn to look at them as signs that we are growing!

I'm making it a practice to go looking for the places where I let this myth stop me from serving others, and stop me from growing myself.  It means tuning in to that place that feels wobbly or nervous, and learning to just be with that feeling - understanding that it means I'm learning something new!