Transforming obstacles with myth & grace. The origin story of Ganesh.
What is a myth? My understanding of a myth is that it is a story passed down that may alter a bit over time or based on who is telling it. I believe myths are stories that can be used to make the intensity of the human experience less personal.
Today, I'm rewinding and sharing a small part of the story of Ganesh. Ganesh is widely known as the remover of obstacles. He isn't just the remover of obstacles though, he is also the one that presents the obstacle in the first place. Why is that so? My understanding is, for our evolution. Most of us wouldn't ask for an obstacle. That would just be crazy, right? Yet, we see time and time again that when humans transcend their painful obstacles, they offer beautiful gifts to other humans. When we get to the gifts, can we also be grateful for the obstacle?
The obstacle is the inspiration for the growth. Discomfort can be a powerful prod. How we engage with our challenges and transmute them into something of value is what being a yogi is. Our challenges eventually become our assets.
Let's focus not on the outcome, the gift, because we never really know how something is going to turn out. We enter this story in the middle, and this is the essence of Ganesh. The beginning is the middle of things, when the you know what hits the fan.
Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Shakti, the divine masculine and feminine. He is born from their separation. Shiva is upset that Shakti won a gambling game they were playing with dice. Shakti is upset that Shiva is behaving like he is entitled to her gifts. Shiva retreats to the mountains to meditate and Shakti is at home alone. Shiva & Shakti eventually reconnect and recreate better, but before they do, Shakti imagines another being, a son (Ganesh), into life from her sweat and blood.
Ganesh is foundation. The breath is foundational. He is a jovial character and this is what makes him light, his attitude. His body is dense and this represents the guru, the teacher inside ourselves.
Ganesh's head was cut off by his father before he knew who he was. Shakti asked Ganesh to guard her bath. When Shiva came home unexpectedly after his long absence, he didn't know the man that was guarding his beloved's bath. When Ganesh wouldn't let him pass, he cut off his head.
Shakti demanded Shiva make this right. The first animal Shiva's posse saw was the regal elephant. He has a big belly from enjoying the sweetness of life and he rides and dances along with his mount, a mouse. The mouse represents our small self: anxiety, stress, and addiction. Ganesh befriends the mouse.
His big ears ask us to listen closely. He is the elephant in the room. Everyone knows he is there. Make your inner presence outer (his kundalini is on the outside, his trunk). Make explicit your inner state, be willing to be seen. Be willing to be vulnerable. Intuition comes from within, not the brain.
Can you see yourself in different parts of the story? I have learned that we are all the characters in the story. We may relate with one aspect more than another and our understanding of the myth is what we receive.
I value the things that I have had to practice more than the things that have come easy for me. The obstacles I have found my way through have brought me growth and expansion. What challenges, or obstacles, have served your growth? Can you see the beauty in your path?
"The divine is always more than meets the eye! The divine is all that the eyes can meet." "There is always another possibility. . ." These words are from Douglas Brooks.
This next week, I will be sharing the story of Lakshmi, Goddess of Abundance. She offers the beauty of giving and receiving. Her greatest offering is the light in our character and soul as we delve into our spiritual practices.