Superheroes

My talented artist friend, Tobias, makes customized superhero figures. As in, he turns you, and your story, into a superhero (or villain, if that’s your thing). For my birthday he made one of me, complete with back story of my transformation from ordinary yoga teacher into extraordinarily bendy bestower of Samadhi:

 

(You totally want one for yourself. Get it at www.imatoy.com.)

As small children, we learn self-soothing, the ability to calm ourselves down when we are upset. At a young age we need self-soothing primarily so that we can go to sleep without help from parents, but it is also an important skill to learn for life. Self-soothing allows us to successfully negotiate emotional landmines as we get older and can no longer cry for mom to come and fix the problem or take the pain away.

Some of us learn healthy self-soothing techniques as a child and are able to implement them as an adult. Many of us do not, and turn to substances outside ourselves to try and take the pain away, be it food, alcohol, drugs, or sex. Still others rely on those around them to step in and heal the hurt, and are continually disappointed when those needs aren’t met.

One of my favorite superheroes, Wolverine, has the ability to heal himself when physically wounded by regenerating skin, bone and muscle as if the injury never happened. This may not be possible for us ordinary humans, but as adults we can learn self-soothing skills we may not have had the opportunity to learn as children. The philosophy of yoga says, again and again, that the answers to our biggest questions will not be found outside of ourselves, but that only by looking inside will we come into contact with the peace and truth that we need. Successful self-soothing in times of distress are exactly that ability to find peace and truth below the turmoil.

The Hindu pantheon is filled with gods and goddesses – the original superheroes – performing amazing feats of bravery and self-sacrifice. Hanuman, the monkey god, leaps across the ocean to Lanka to save the kidnapped Princess Sita. That same Sita, when her loyalty is questioned, walks through fire to prove her trustworthiness and emerges unscathed. These acts are performed from an unwavering closeness to center, not from a place of self-doubt, fear, or attachment to pain. Of course, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to fly without an airplane or be left unburned by fire, but these are just metaphors for the bravery and strength we all possess.  We can be superheroes when we allow the truth at our center to come to the surface and soothe our pain, like balm to a burn.

This is not to say that we cannot ask our friends for support, advice, or help. It would be unwise to never allow ourselves to be vulnerable to others out of fear of pain or suffering – in fact the etymology of the word vulnerable is wounded – but the healing of our own wounds is something we must address on our own. In the end, we’re on this journey of life with just ourselves, and by reminding ourselves that we are our own greatest source of strength, clarity and love, we are well on the way to living as the superheroes that we all are.

“We can be heroes, just for one day.” – David Bowie

 “Our parents raise us to the best of their ability; we must raise ourselves the rest of the way.” – Manorama 

Comments

[DianaBol]

Great article, thanks for sharing.

Diana