Healing of the earth, the very space-time we occupy is fundamental to our own personal healing and awakening of our consciousness to our cosmic mother. Lately, I have been experiencing this emotion strongly-the need to connect to the planet ever more deeply, to help heal atleast the space I occupy. This monsoon season, I helped plant 1200 trees in our community along with my friend. We picked trees of a rich-diversity that will enrich the soil and provide food for birds. We gathered seeds, dug pits and sowed them far and wide to help rapidly afforest our semi-arid community. I have also helped build bunds and trenches to trap rain water runoff to divert into her womb, so she can be nourished from water that has been painfully drained from her bowels.
Now, I can see hear her sing, as the seedlings sprout, trees bear shoots and birds roam freely with a wonderful choice of fruits to eat!. I am healing as well....
My partner and I have been listening to Eckhart every night before going to bed. Overy time, some of his wisdom has seeped into our subsconsciousness and has brought some presence, spaciousness and acceptance in life and in our relationships.
The true gem for me from Master Eckhart is his teaching which I have found to be so true- the fact that "relationships are there to make you CONSCIOUS not necesarrily HAPPY".Happiness is what lies within us. As soon as I have realized this and striven to practice that, I noticed that peace is the immediate outcome. Making "space" around unhappiness brings acceptance and hence peace. Even if it means that the relationship no longer serves you and you may have to let go- its ok. I don't believe that our job is to make every relationship "right" but to make it right for each of us. I am learning how relatioships serve as mirrors into our selves (esp. the difficult ones) to that which needs attention, to realize and heal, with kindness and compassion towards ourselves and our partners in relationships.
To me Reverence for Life is a deeply intrinsic value just like Gratitude. It is simply inalienable-- a recognition of life itself- in oneself and everything around us. When that recognition dims or fades, unconsciousness takes over and with that comes a feeling of fear and the illusion of unempowerment. I believe we are always empowered through our will and choices, however trivial that may appear in terms of their ability to imapct. Loss of power is an egoic experience and hence an illusion.
I have never really felt unempowered but experienced various degrees of empowerment that seems to emanate from within and less from without. My deepest sense of reverence comes from the earth itself - from the tallest mountains to the tiniest speck of life. My sense of unempowerment comes from experiencing collective unconsciousness like War or the systematic destruction of our planet in the name of progress or economic growth. But even such a context, i see a resurgence of life and hope-- like the syrian immigrant to Germany who is looking to qualify for the olympics or the movement for a shared economy. Hope and with it true power takes birth in the crucible of despair. In the truest sense, we are never really disempowered! This is what helps me maintain reverence towards life.
I am able to look back a lot of incidents and events, which I then saw as negative and detrimental to my being, and now see that it was completely ok. The path from then to now has been fine, with the ups and downs. This realization now helps me deal with current events, the present moment- the people, the events even my state of mind -which I no longer tend to resist as before. I have stopped yearning for things, people and relationships and actually am mystified by the possibilit of NOW. It is a journey and a learning experience. I discover this inner peace, silence in and around me, even in the midst of chaos sometimes.
Gosh!!... Radical Amazement! There is so much to share! For me, it is the silence of nature with its unpolluting sounds, the flow of natural life-the songs of birds, the buzzing of bees, the smell of the wet earth, the changing seasons, the laughter of a child, the gurgling of a brook, the mighty mountains, the endless universe, the curiosity and courage of mankind, the beauty and diversity of birds, animals, insects, rocks, landscapes, cultures, people, the traveling clouds, the blowing breeze, the whistling brooks, magnificent trees, the feeling and rapture of being in love, my own breath and awareness... I am perennially and radically amazed!!
I love this concept of the Circle of trust. For me, it is firstly the desire to seek ad live in solitude for some part of daily living to first center oneself and keep that soul voice alive, regardless of joy or pain. This inner center should then hopefully be able to expand into a greater, inclusive, non-judgmental circle of trust, love, understandind and support.. Herein lies the foundations of real societies and communities.
The story of the universe is unfolding ever more deeply, permeating into our consciousness and awareness, from the science of the origins of the universe to our realizations of our intimate and unalienable connections with our mother earth and each other. We truly awaken to her mysteries, if we stay courageous and loving to embrace her pain, help her heal even as we seek out our own pain for healing. Then we shall finally awaken to a new dawn, a new birth of our universe. Looking forward...!
On Dec 13, 2017 Indira Iyer wrote on What You Missed That Day You Were Absent From Fourth Grade, by Brad Aaron Modlin:
Reflecting on "I am" reminds us that we are complete in ourselves and need not look elsewhere for happiness... The Sanskrit mantra "So ham" meaning "I am that" takes it to the next level of contemplation beyond the "I ness" into universal unity.