A beautiful way to look at this piece is the story of the resolve of a Holocaust survivor to do better. Her story is told in the 2008 TEDtalk by Benjamin Zander (Classical music and shining eyes) about how after her parents were 'gone' and she and her little brother were on the train to Auschwietz. She looked down and noticed her brother had no shoes, and she chided him for always forgetting everything and how stupid he was. This ended up being the last thing she said to him because she never saw him again. She said she vowed after she survived her ordeal in the concentration camp this...'I will never say anything that couldn't stand as the last thing I ever say.'
To Diana,
A practice pointed out to me this week, asI had the same sentiment about family as you, is called tonglen. I hesitate to express much more about this practice because I am so new to it, but please research it. It has turned into a most profound practice, and fits right in with the theme of the essay this week. Perhaps there are others reading this thread who can give a succinct explanation of this, and the practice is amazing.
I am sitting here, in front of my computer screen, remembering just 20 minutes ago running into one of my teen students at my favorite food co op, and getting and giving a marvelous hug, and here I am reading this delightful, uplifting essay...my life is truly blessed. Can't wait to share this with my students...and my family. I feel as though someone gets me, and the validation is heart felt.
Thank you, to whomever took the time and effort to birth this beautiful inspirational piece. I am so grateful. In Hawaiian, Mahalo is the word for thank you. However, the true meaning of this wonderful word can be "May you be in Divine Breath"...Mahalo!
As soon as we believe we are separate from others, we judge. This leads to violence of heart, spirit, or even on the physical plane. Nonviolence drops judgment away, and as we practice the understanding that we are all One, there is a healing that occurs more complete than we ever had imagined. And this healing begins with us...
And once again to Matt.
I understand deeply that we move about our lives, especially when we identify ourselves as being a person, we hope that we are seen by others, that we are heard by others, and that what we say matters.
You are seen today, you are heard, and what you have said matters, Matt. You have instantly become my teacher for this day. You have taught me so much, I am grateful. You have reminded me again that in my life as I attempt to ease suffering in others, the only change I can make is personal. This will help me greatly as I move through the day, greeting and sharing my day with the 125 students I work with, each hoping I remember their name. Thank you again, Matt.
To Mark Tittle:
Oh my goodness, I believe the author's meaning in reference to vexed in spirit meant to give the soul who is exhausted permission to let go of the guilt that comes from trying to care for oneself in the midst of much pain and suffering...to give oneself permission for self care mindfully and by offering grace to oneself in the exhausting time.
Many of us who become exhausted are riddled by so much self judgment when we can't offer more to loved ones who are dealing with their own situation that we are not available to give our best, even though we have good intentions. Sometimes we need time and permission to rest and renew, regain our own sense of giving. Remember, Jesus took time in the wilderness as well.
Please with patient with us, those of us who need self care. We are here for you, always.
Perhaps I could share an example of a more obscure way to share generosity. Be generous with your time. To do this, when working through the list of things to be accomplished by the time you return home, leave at least one/half hour earlier. This will help you be more at ease during the errands. Then, just as you begin, reflect for a moment to prepare for being present and open to the person-the 'teacher'-you are about to come in contact with, and be the 'student'- be receptive. Stop. Give complete eye contact with the person you encounter, and truly listen to their story, if there is a story to be told. You will be forever changed by seeing someone using all your senses. The stillness you offer in the ease with which you open your heart will help them notice Love reflected back, like a still lake or a mirror. Make a plan to do this every day you move about your life. The opportunities to be generous with your time can be as plentiful as each full deep breath.
This tiny experiment may be impractical by nature, but then why else are we really here, if not to interact, be present, and give to one another of our own abundance...time, in this case. Slow down and pause. This can help you reach a mindful meditative state.
I would like to respond to you, Brandi. We are to be compassionate with others who are in pain, and also with ourselves. We can be the change we want to see (Gandhi), and frankly that is the only change we can make. Ourselves. We need to be healthy, though, in order to be the best we can be for others...as in the poem, 'Be excessively gentle with yourself.'
We all care deeply about you, and honor the work you are doing in your fast paced world...please remember to be gentle with yourself.
Much love,
I have already shared this poem with dear friends who are in the depths of cancer treatment. In analyzing John O'Donohue's work, I am impressed with his sensitivity to the human condition of living outside of ourselves, somewhat unconscious, moving in a way that is rushed and frankly deeply troubled, with very little focus on stillness and quiet healing. While most of his writings based on his background focuses on calling on a power (God) outside of us, this work reveals a deep understanding of how much bigger our existence on this planet truly is.
Many interpret the 'still time' he refers to as being overcome by debilitating disease, injury, or grief. Why wait for something tragic to happen? The practice of meditation, yoga inner work, and prayer are all ways to become still enough to get back to Oneself. The reading last week on relaxation and this reading go hand in hand with a focus of slowing down and listening with intention, rather than waiting for 'life' to get your attention!
Honoring the healing nature of tears is something missing in our culture... when really the healing of tears and the stillness rest offers is exactly what we need physiologically-we are programmed to feel. Honoring this is fully connecting to the infinite existence of our true Self during this time of learning. We only find this peace when we let go...aparigraha.
Thank you so much for these readings.
Dear 'Gulrez,' you have affected my life deeply after reading your comment submission. I will call my mom right away. Thank you so much for your heart felt thoughts and beautiful writing.
As I continue to age, I notice a shift in consciousness. When young, my mom helped instill in me a fear of everything. I did not have this fear earlier, but can remember this nagging tug at how awful life really is from about age 5 on under her tutelage...I am now aware she received this indoctrination early in her life too. The difference now is that she is still fearful, and my fear has changed to something else. My fear has turned to a sense of deep inner peace as I connect to the quiet realization that there is so much more than this experience, and that this moment is to be experienced with every sense, even those beyond the scientifically accepted five senses. This is not to say that I don't feel fear, but now I internally welcome the lesson that rises up from the awareness of that fear, and welcome the next breath, becoming fully present once more. I sat with my dear laborador when he took his last breath about three years ago in the side yard. I was brought immediately to the moment, to the beautiful serenity after his spirit flew, leaving behind the struggles and pain he had recently been dealing with. It was my extreme honor to care after his earthsuit left behind, being fully content and at peace. I miss his earthsuit more than I can ever express, but am fully at peace knowing the spirit that experienced life here with me has arrived in another earthsuit of some sort, to experience the finite once again. I now look at wildlife and nature around my home in a whole new way, and also have looked into the eyes of the children I work with and connected with the spirit I share with them. It helps me slow down. It reminds me of the fact that Love is the only thing...if it is indeed a thing...only Love.
The Essence, the Light, the Fire that can be said to be Me, Self, Consciousness, is always watchful, always moving, always present, always everywhere or nowhere. The vessel, the earth suit, that houses this Divine, needs rest, sustainance, stillness, and breath to fully appreciate the experience of being alive at this moment, and this moment, and this moment...
Since I work with teens in a public school setting, I am most excited when they even have questions. I'm not referring to the questions about the schedule or the class content; I am talking about questions of existence and how they may see themselves fit here in this lifetime. If I had not been living the questions, I would not be able to help them share their questions and grow based on their ability now to still and be open for the answers. It truly is a blessed existence, and sharing my journey of living the questions with these precious beings is blissful.
Trusting the deepest inner truth is key to this concept of forgiveness. While religion can be the path to God, it actually is the external mind manifestations of what is internal heart vibrational connection to all that is. That said, forgiveness is an extention of dropping the ego and embracing the experience we refer to as life. We all may be doing our best each day, and moving closer to the realization that in 'each experience the infinite is having a finite experience' (quote from one of my teachers). Ego sets boundaries, creates judgments, perpetuates dualism-good vs evil, right vs wrong...Forgiveness is a tangible act of remembering we are much more than the vessel we inhabit during this lifetime and that kindness and acts of generosity are healing in light of the distraction of ego centered action. When I was young and impressionable, involved in the activities of the church, I was constantly alarmed by the lack of Love shown between members of the church. A common concept I heard within the gossip was hypocrisy. Members were saying one thing within the church walls, and their actions in the community were broadcasting something quite different. Forgiveness seemed like an act of pulling teeth. As I have come to the present time of my journey, I realize we have tendencies to be 'confused by the idea we are a person' (quote from another of my teachers), someone who can be hurt and wounded by the actions of another. The times I am most at peace is when in the midst of a conflict, my heart watches and marvels at the ego's struggle for righteousness and survival, realizing at that moment there is just experience, and no need for forgiveness...just Love.
As I read and reread the passage, I am struck by the similarity between what I experience as an overwhelming sense of gratitude and this poetic experiential definition of kindness. Both are expressed with an open heart. Both give us pause to remember that right action transcends time. Both can be exercised as a profoundly positive extension of our deeply personal 'story'. Both are extraordinary expressions of the deepest truth we can know...that everything is love.
I am so grateful to have read such a precious story about a parent who really gets it...about who our 'teachers' are on this journey we refer to as our life...in this case, his daughter. What most enchants me about this beautiful writing is that it touches what I know to be true in my deepest inner core-my soul-the Self. At a very young age, as I looked out at the world around me and tried to make sense of it all by making observations and asking questions, I was greeted by 'unconscious' adult rhetoric by adults who had lost that connection to what is, in their own effort to make sense of everything. As a youngster I believed the rhetoric. Confused for a very long time (at least 50 of these years), and dealing with the consequences of not being true to what I know to be true about my life and others around me, only when I began to teach and practice yoga did I offer myself peace and grace. His daughter was shown that peace and grace through the soul connection-the universe connection-the heart connection that occurred in this story. And he was present enough to recognize and reconnect to his deepest inner core, his inner child, as he focused not on what was being said, but what was real about the encounter. I teach children, and know them to be much closer to the Self, and listen to them to connect each time they speak, look intently, express themselves in dance, and their limitless artistic and problem solving talents. I teach high school. I am present every day for these moments described in the story. The 'something' referred to in the story is the 'everything', and the 'only thing'.
Much love, Ricky
Possibly the most inspirational writing I have had the honor to read in quite a while, and it represents exactly the uplifting nature of the deep connection we all have to the Consciousness within us. A dear friend has stated that in answer to the question "Why this then?" when asked what's the point of us being here now, "This is the infinite having a finite experience." And this beautifully written passage captures this essence in holistic terms. Thank you so much.
On May 13, 2022 Ricky wrote on Agent Of Illumination, by Elizabeth Gilbert: