The meaning of "Strength"

Rob

One of your first posts on this site asked for us to share a definition of  “strength”.

Where did you end up with this definiton and are you any closer to defining the meaning of the word from your own perspective and from the perspective of others.

Damon

Re: The meaning of "Strength"

I think if I had to boil strength down in to one short simple definition I would float it out as follows:

Strength is the ability to do and the capacity to be.
Strength is your ability to do, to take action, create movement, change, stability, etc. It's your ability to enact into manifestation. That's one half.

The other half is of course the being. Strength is also your capacity to be, it's your ability to hold, witness and settle as the now arrising.

Without the being, doing is ultimately weak. Now sure you may have tremendous power and influence in a company, in your family, in a weight room, within a friendship but if your motion, activity and influence isn't informed by the depth of being then you're standing on shaky ground.

Similarly without doing being is weak. Yes you may be rooted in being's ever present seat; however, if you've dissociated and ejected yourself from manifestation and unable to engage deeply and passionately with this relative evolving dimension - that's weak. A different form of weakness but nonetheless weakness playing itself out.

If you'd like a long, but entertaining blog on strength check my blog on Strength and the Spiritual Pursuit here.

As for other's imput I haven't recieved much, but this is where I'm at with regards to defining and enacting strength in my life and practice. How about you?

~R

Re: The meaning of "Strength"

I like this definition Rob - Ability to do and capacity be - very Tao.

The focus of strength as a core prinicple in my life and practice is an attempt to cultivate both of these elements - do and be.  At this stage I have nothing to add to this definition.

What I would like to add is a passage from the Bodhisattva Vow to reflect on this meaning:

” In the beginning we need the strong aspiration that accompanies the pure motivation.  This will act as the earth, as the ground from which everything grows”

Strength as a core value for me has become the earth - the base for the rest of my life.  The focus of strength training has been so much more than the grounding of body but the grounding of Bodhi (little pun to break up the seriousness). 

Damon

Re: The meaning of "Strength"

:-)

Beautiful. I’m without additions myself at this point. It’s pragmatic and inspiring.

Thanks for the Vow Damon,
~R

Re: The meaning of "Strength"

Strength, for me, is external and internal and they both are inter-connected to each other. Without internal strength, it is hard to push yourself externally, to get your self to the gym, to climb that mountain; but without internal strength, you can not finish climbing that mountain, lift your last rep or continue to push that baby out (literally and figuratively).

Strength gives you the the ability to sit and breathe, to allow yourself space to listen to your body, to allow things to percolate and to admit the things you need to change.

Strength gives the ability to not react; instead to be proactive and look for the win win situation.

I think that being an athlete, the perserverance and dedication, the discipline that comes from workouts and meeting coach's expectations and your own, carrys over to other parts of your life.

Strength also gives you patience, the ability to see in your mind's eye what you want, where you want to be or what you want to look like and work long and hard towards that goal.

Re: The meaning of "Strength"

Hey Strength Pod!

I've missed you guys, which is to say I've been missing the gym. I haven't been nearly as much as I have wanted, though other things are coming to the forefront; I am saving (and soon to do a 4 hour sponsored meditation to help raise funds for, 15% of which will go to a local homeless shelter) to engage a 5 month program on Tibetan Yoga with Reggie Ray in Crestone Colorado, starting March 2009. Can't wait! (which is slightly ironic ;  )

This question of strength for me has been, as I'm sure it is even more so for some of you, an ongoing one.

I love Rob's definition of a holding both Being and Doing in a dance of Is.  I have written a blog recently on Grief and how I worked with it using meditation instruction given to me by a lineage holder of Trungpa's line and also therapy/awakening work with Robert Augustus Masters, which you can check out here

However, just to show I do some physical work, here's a video of me training with focus pads.

I am near completing a training course under world-level self-protection guru Geoff Thompson, after being his student for now 8 years, which I'm really pleased with  :  )