On Discernment
a blog post by Gregory Morrical

Back in November, Colee wrote in a love letter about the importance of discernment, or viveka in Sanskrit. She told about how she and her family use it to push towards their dreams. Colee uses discernment to select the appropriate next steps in her multitasking process between homeschooling, teaching yoga, and pursuing her interests. Kalei uses discernment in his practice of surfing while selecting which wave to go after and in all the decisions made before, during, and after catching the waves. How do you use discernment in your life?

Viveka is a skill to be developed. Colee describes the practice as, “Taking action with prayer, while weighing facts and in the fullness of time, making a great choice; the best choice for all involved.” Also known as samyak-dṛṣṭi in Buddhism, right understanding is the first step on the spiritual journey in Vedanta philosophy.

It’s one thing to cultivate awareness. It takes a sharp mind, though, to see through to the underlying reality behind everything. This is where having a great practice is important. To dive deeper into the topic of discernment, I would like to bring to your attention a few sayings that I have commonly seen and heard in spiritual communities. These quotes evoke feelings of reassurance and harmony, yet when you look a little closer at what is being said, they do not hold up.

First, “All paths lead to the top of the mountain” is used a lot to promote the acceptance of the all the unique spiritual practices. It is essentially saying whichever practice you use; it will lead to the same “enlightenment”. The sentiment evoked here is noble, and I do believe that it is important to respect peoples’ personal choices and preferences. However, when the saying is investigated closely, it is revealed that this sentiment is built on a false statement. In reality, not all paths lead to the top. If you have ever been on a mountain hiking trail you have surely noticed forks in the path at times. Some of those paths lead to beautiful vistas, some come to dead ends in the brambles, and others loop around and go back down the mountain. We see that, in fact, all paths do not lead to the top of the mountain.

The other quote is, “All streams lead to the ocean.” I really like this one, because it puts one in mind of the idea that all the water on Earth is connected. The sentiment is the same as the previous quote – that all spiritual paths are to be accepted and respected. Yet, when this quotation is compared to the reality of things, we can see that it is also clearly false. Many streams and rivers around the world lead to basins and lakes that never find their way to the ocean. (Except for maybe in the case that they dry up and the clouds containing their water blow out the ocean and rain down there.)

In looking closely at these common sayings, we are using our skill of discernment to look past the feeling of the words and see how they compare to reality. We can use this skill to investigate the belief systems and practices that we choose to participate in. This is why viveka is an important tool for our spiritual tool belt. It is important to use our judgment to determine if the path we are on is actually leading to where we want to go instead of using learned axioms to justify our fixations.

When developing our yoga practice and choosing teachers to follow it is important to use our discernment. We need to examine whether the path before us leads to where we want to go, or if it is a sidetrack. When we find teachers who are further in the direction where we would like to go, we need to develop our relationship with them and the practices that they share with us. And when we encounter teachers and practices that aren’t aligned with where we want to be, it is useful to learn to abandon these. It’s not that one is necessarily better than the other, only that one is a better fit for our own development. This is the process that has led me to continue to study with Colee. I think what keeps me coming back to learn from Colee is that she has a strong sense of discernment. Not only are her ideas in alignment with my ideas of yoga but so are the sources that she chooses to learn from.

In 2022, I had the privilege to study with Nancy Gilgoff on Maui. I went into the experience relatively blind. I knew that Nancy was one of Colee’s most revered Ashtanga teachers and that Colee had studied with and assisted her while living in Maui. When I arrived at the little shala/zendo next to a tomato farm, what I found was one of the most direct, perceptive, and cool people I’ve ever met. The practice of Ashtanga seemed to be a natural part of who Nancy was. The knowledge and insight that she shared were potent, as were the adjustments. The community of folks that showed up to practice Mysore were dedicated and focused which cultivated a great energy in the room. I met some of them and learned that Colee’s light left an impact on the community there and that she is loved and well-remembered.

Nancy was also a great storyteller. She shared a bit about Yoga studies with Pattabhi Jois and her study of Zen with Jun Po Roshi. At the time I was reading the book Heart of Zen by Jun Po Roshi, so it came as a shock that she had studied with the author of the book I was reading. Naturally, the conversation went further in that direction, and she revealed that she had a child with Jun Po Roshi, Vanessa Gilgoff. (I recently learned that the father of one of Colee’s most dedicated students also studied with Jun Po, and they found Colee’s classes without knowledge of the connection. *Synchronicities*) Sadly, Nancy recently passed away, and I was surprised by the amount of influential yoga educators who displayed their reverence for her. Fortunately for us, Vanessa has chosen to continue the tradition and offers Ashtanga at the House of Yoga and Zen in Maui.

Here on the Big Island, we have Colee carrying on Nancy’s teachings with her own flavor and other influences. How fortunate are we that we have someone who is one step away from the direct influence of Pattabhi Jois?

When we choose a teacher, it is more than just a matter of taste or personality; trust is a major factor in the decision. Trust not only in our own skill of discernment, but trust in the discernment of that teacher, and their teacher’s teacher. All the knowledge that is passed on to us is filtered through a series of discerning minds. We are trusting that the teacher was skillful in their discernment of what to pass on to their students and what to leave behind. It seems that what we have here with Shala Life Hawaii is a lineage involving individuals highly skilled in discerning what is valuable in this practice of yoga. When we make these decisions to carry and share knowledge, we have no idea how many people are going to value our discernment and look to us as sources of quality knowledge. Discernment, along with skillful communication, is what allows us to positively impact the lives of the people around us.

The ability to accumulate knowledge is great, however, discerning whether it is accurate and helpful is what makes that ability useful. It takes a particular sharpness of the mind to develop skillful discernment. After having studied briefly with Nancy, I am certain that Colee’s mind was sharpened by one of the best mind sharpeners around. May Nancy’s spirit continue to relish in the peace and love that she cultivated throughout her life.

I say that it takes a sharp mind to develop discernment because the mind is not always straightforward about its wants and needs. When we start listening to the mind, it is common to go towards the things we crave and to recede from the things that cause pain. I mean, it makes sense, right? What gives us pleasure is good, and what brings discomfort is bad. Naturally, that’s what we all want in life.

If we use our discernment to assess the true value of these sensations, we often find that, for long-term happiness and measuring our trajectory in life, it is the other way around. Continually choosing actions that provide immediate pleasure and comfort can lead to stagnation. You can create a comfy nest of ignorance if you choose to spin in this circle. But recognize that it is your choice. If you want to grow in this life, however, that immediate pleasure is not a means to that end.

The pain and discomfort that our mind instinctually tells us to shy away from, if we face it, often leads us to deeper understandings which show us an overall sense of satisfaction that is self-generated. By facing the pain and working through it, we learn things about ourselves that pleasure could never teach us. This is one way the practice of asana is so valuable – we go to that edge of that discomfort and make friends with it, and over time the range where the body is comfortable expands and the asana deepens.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that you go to a place of pain that causes injury – once again discernment is necessary to recognize which sensation of pain will lead to growth and where harm may occur. This can all be summed up with the popular phrase that goes something like, “Growth occurs outside of the comfort zone.” I’m not saying to always avoid pleasure, it’s just that when our intention is to grow, pain is often more of a friend in the process than pleasure. Use your discernment to determine when indulging in a bit of pleasurable activity is useful, but be honest with yourself, and understand your responsibility if undesirable consequences occur.

Simple example: I want to maintain a healthy diet, and I crave lilikoi cheesecake every day. To fulfill my intention, on most days I must choose the pain of denying my craving over the immediate pleasure of indulging in cheesecake. I might say yes to the craving on some days, and if I’m more consistent with denying the craving then I will experience greater growth and a long-term sense of pleasure for having fulfilled my intention of a healthy diet.

So what is going on here?

When we want to grow, we assess how our actions in the past led to where we are now, and we use those observations to shape the path ahead.

How can we do this?

1. Quiet the mind – meditation and asana practice are great ways to find this quiet.

2. Identify Sankalpa – use the calmed mind to understand your intention and the way in which you would like to grow.

3. Make choices - Think and feel the connection between the object of your investigation and your sankalpa. See how each choice leads toward or away from your sankalpa.

This is part of what makes yoga so powerful. It allows us to see the connections and the freedom present in every moment. To finish this message, I leave you with Colee’s thoughts on Viveka.

“This is offered right on the mat, floor, ground, grass…the physical practices of the yoga. We make small little choices based on what we observe and feel. We choose to spread awareness around the body. We purposely choose going inward attending to the unseeable veiled details. Breath running this vehicle as we choose alignment of the central channel, choose kindness and dristi, choose commitment and mudras, choose curiosity, choose humility, choose forgiveness, choose to work: choose action… It’s one of the reasons the daily practice improves the yoga practice itself; ‘on the mat’ work effects the ‘off the mat’ adventure. There is so much to explore…”

-Colee

If you have any questions, comments, arguments, or want to show your support for these ideas please leave your message on the blog page.

-Seido