Iron Man

On Saturday I took my son Jimmy to see the new superhero movie, Iron Man. Before going, I was really unsure about the movie, but in the end was pleasantly surprised. I don’t want to ruin the movie for you, but I’ll share the basic plot. Iron Man is played by Robert Downey Jr. He is a billionaire industrialist who is the world’s largest supplier of weapons. He is very egotistical and not very conscious of the destruction and evil his business brings to the world. He is captured by a group using his weapons for tyranny and mass murder. During his capture, he has an awakening. He begins realizing the pain he is bringing to the world. Like all superhero movies, the plot is pretty predictable and in the end, he escapes and saves the day.

Maya is a word in yoga philosophy which perpetuates illusion and duality in the universe. Maya means you are not seeing the big picture and indicates ignorance. In essence, you are suffocated by your own ego and fail to see that your thoughts, words, and actions affect everyone around you and from a quantum prospective, the entire universe. Duality means two—it is living in the mentality that there is me and then there is the rest of the world. Maya is often referred to as “the veil” and is symbolic for separation and not seeing the other side. For many of us, it may be very challenging to fathom this reality. For Iron Man the veil of illusion is lifted abruptly as his contribution to destruction, pain, and death becomes glaringly apparent. Once the veil is lifted, he comes to the realization that he has to change and do something to counter his previous contribution.

Most of us are not fortunate enough to have a powerful awakening experience like Iron Man. That’s right – I said fortunate – because if we could just see how responsible we are for the state of the world it would radically change our thoughts, actions, and words on a daily basis. We would realize change in our world truly begins with ourselves. I contemplate this often within my own life. I always stress in classes and in conversations about the importance of becoming aware of your contribution within your domestic relationships. For me, there has never been a more polished mirror then my wife Sara. 

Can you help me with this? Can you change a diaper? Can you come home early? Can you watch the kids? Can you pick this up on your way home? Can you skip what you want to do to do this with our family? In these situations, Sara is continually asking me to put my needs in the back seat. She’s not nagging me. She’s reminding me of the responsibilities I have to my family right now. I hear the voice in my head to resist and I have gotten pretty good at not reacting to it. I realize that the primary reason for my existence now is to raise three conscious children. If I can do that, I have done my work in this life.

Keeping the veil of Maya lifted takes a serious commitment. It is a moment by moment practice. It is being aware of your thoughts and pausing before you speak and act. Being Empowered is realizing this truth and committing to the practice.