Within and WIthout

Yesterday I had a visit with an out-of town family I am friends with. I heard an interesting, as of yet unheard-of loving criticism of their son; my soul brother and introduction into this wonderful family. They said that my friend (who has some health problems (is a very New Agey guy and, African drummer, and is engaged to a beautiful, devoted yogini) is a selfish person because all his new age thinking is all about centering his attention on himself, working with himself, getting in tune with himself. This has altered him, and in their opinion made him selfish because now he has cold feet about the upcomming wedding

Their opinion is the concern of a traditional catholic family whose son went rogue new age, but they do indeed have point. This is not the first time I've heard that statement about New Agers. So it made me think about my own selfishness. Even as I'm writing this on Sunday Morning, I'm sitting around the kitchen while my wife, and in-laws are who are eating breakfast talking about celebrity gossip and cats. I'm here, but I'm not there.

Part of this self exploration also involves engaging with the world, something I personally have trouble with. Very often, conversation on the outside, and this particular instance today and this weekend, are so banal. It's been pet talk all fucking weekend, literally. So of course I'm gonna tune out. I have things to work on...books to read, guitar to practice, yoga I wouldn't mind doing...stuff. However, as much as I hate the topic of conversation, or dislike hanging out with my side of the family, it's necessary to stay out of head and interact with the people around. Which I'm going to do shortly.

We can't grow unless it's tested in the laboratory of our lives. I myself need to strike that balance between interior and exterior life, that it is just as important, if not more so than the masculine/feminine balance we are talking about elsewhere. I could stay in my headspace all day long and work on my personal projects all week at the expense of time with my wife, so it is vital that I keep my head out of my ass. It's too easy for someone working on self-improvement to alienate himself from those around him. It's been said that "The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance." I know the Founding Fathers didn't mean it for the individual trying to liberate himself from outmoded thought patterns, but I think such a statement can be applied to us who are hard at work on the road to personal liberation.

Ok, now I have GOT to go...