image credit: alicepopkorn

The message on the little slip of paper that was attached to the string of my tea bag said, “The universe is the stage upon which you dance, guided by your heart.” A big message from a cup of morning tea; tea for thought for the rest of my life! So I have been thinking about it, that we each create the universe that we live in. For many of us, it seems that it all happens to us haphazardly where we have no control, much less room to guide the universe by our hearts. A life lived consciously would reveal that though we may not have control over what happens to us, the way we relate to what happens, determines the life we have. Indeed, we can dance upon the stage of our lives celebrating the drama and be its  co-creator.

When Chuang Tzu’s wife died, his friend Hui Tzu came to convey his condolences and found Chuang Tzu beating on his drum and singing. Hui Tzu scolded him, “… Isn’t that a bit too much.” Chuang Tzu replied, “…Death and life are like the natural cycle of the four seasons, my dead wife is now resting between heaven and earth. If I wail at the top of my voice to express my grief, it would certainly show a failure to understand what is fated. Therefore I stopped.” Like Chuang Tzu we would be wise to “beat our drum and sing” instead of wailing about the hand that life has dealt us. On the spiritual healing journey, it takes skillful means to find that balance in the in between place where we are still reeling from the blows of circumstance and becoming centered.

In Spanda-karikas a Shaivite text it says, “When one is in extreme anger or experiences surpassing joy, or is in a state of impasse, not knowing what to do, or has to flee for his life, then in that (supremely intensive) state (of mind) is established the Spanda principle, the creative pulsation the divine consciousness.”

We can use our misfortunes to become aware of truth. Working with the  Spanda principle, the creative pulsation of the divine consciousness, at difficult  times in our lives is a skillful means towards becoming centered. This is why meditation is such an important tool for the spiritual seeker. In practicing meditation, one becomes adept at recognizing the pulsation, the throb of consciousness that is the source from which all our creativity, all our thoughts, and our emotions arise. All of creation, the form and the formless is derived from this pulsation of energy. This is why when we witness our thoughts and emotions, not clinging to them, they dissolve again into their source, the pulsating creative energy or Spanda. We can then rest in its spaciousness. This Spanda is experienced as a feeling of deep peace, or joy or light. There is a quality of subtle vibration, it is this vibration or movement that arises as thoughts, feelings and images.

When we are in the in between place, we can work with strong emotions, holding them in awareness and letting them subside into the ocean of consciousness from which they arise. Chuang Tzu was wise in beating his drum and singing after his wife died. When we can make space for the  emotions that arise in times of sorrow through doing something creative, it is conducive to encountering the pulsating throb of consciousness into which we offer our pain. There are many ways to do this, through writing, painting, dancing, kneading dough, chopping wood, weeding or whatever activity in which we can become lost, where our minds can rest and allow us to dive into the ocean of consciousness.

Whatever means we engage in, when emotions arise, let go of the thoughts you have about it, let go of the story-line. Focus purely on the energy of the emotion and the feeling in your body. Notice the sensations of it and the location. As you focus on this experience also become aware of the spaciousness of being,  and hold your experience of the emotion within this awareness. Watch as the emotions slowly begin to dissolve, and you become totally immersed in the bliss of whatever you are doing.

When we think of it, all of life is the “In between place.” We are forever having to come back to center, we all, at various times  experience grief over the death of something, someone, some job, a  relationship, moving to a new home or town and the general uncertainty of life.  We are always caught in change, and moving forward makes us feel alive. To resist change and hold on to what is dying or dead is to be cut off from the ever creative flow of the the dance of consciousness.

Choosing to open our hearts to whatever appears on the stage of our universe will allow us to dance with joy and freedom.

The scriptures of the East tell us that this human birth is a rare and fortunate event. There are a myriad expressions of the one Consciousness and to take birth in this human form, is to have the opportunity for Self-Awareness, the return path to knowing our true nature. Looking at our world today, it is hard to start making sense of this teaching when everywhere we see such ignorance and darkness. Perhaps we have come to a critical mass of delusion, that the time has come for the tipping of the scales in favor of our awakening.

A student approached his master despairing of ever attaining enlightenment. He had caused a lot of harm to himself and to people around him, in his glut for power and economic gain in his earlier life. His master compassionately guided him in understanding the truth. He told him that there is the absolute truth and then there is relative truth. If the student identified with his limited self, thinking that he would never be worthy of knowing his true nature, then this perspective from the aspect of the relative truth would be self-fulfilling. In the absolute truth, all beings are the expression of the one Consciousness, perfect and joyful in nature. This one Consciousness looks out upon a drama, an apparition of a world- appearance for its own sport. A dream, our relative truth. All the sages say that everything one does, whether good or bad, is in reaction to the dynamics within this dream. They accentuate the difficulty in awakening in this world of illusion, if we attach ourselves to a false identification of our limited selves. They caution us to wake up and free ourselves from  this dream, that our true existence lies beyond the boundaries of this imaginary dream.

How does one start making sense, to wake up? While we are engaging in this dream, how do we interface  the aspects of this relative truth and the truth of our absolute existence? We cannot say to the person who has been severely abused in childhood , ” It is all the one Consciousness, what is there to forgive, who is there to forgive?” That would be abusive in itself. I believe that the compassionate way of helping one to heal from such a trauma is to acknowledge the pain that person is experiencing, to help them to find ways to overcome the suffering, to let go of the past and to begin living from a perspective of the absolute truth. Within this dream of our human existence, the suffering of hunger and strife is real. As long as we are living this dream, we have to be compassionate to the plight of others and assist those who are in need of food, shelter and other basic needs.

How do we begin to make sense of the relative and absolute realities when we are mostly conscious of the relative? The Buddhist Heart Sutra tells us that all is emptiness, meaning that there is no solid reality to any phenomenon because everything changes, nothing stays the same, everything is interdependent, nothing has a reality of its own accord. The sages  teach that the cause of all human suffering is grasping on to the emotions or material things which are all empty, all illusions, and the way out of suffering is through mindfulness. The Heart Sutra says, “…Therefore, in emptiness there is neither form, nor feeling, nor perception,…no suffering, no extinction of suffering, no path; no understanding, no attainment..Because ther is no attainment, the bodhisattvas supported by the Perfection of Understanding, find no obstacles for their minds. Having no obstacles, they overcome fear, liberating themselves forever from illusion and realizing perfect Nirvana…”

In the Yoga Vasistha, a Hindu text on how to live in the absolute truth, it says, “… The contemplation of the self which is  infinite consciousness banishes sorrow, terminates the long-dream vision of the world-appearance, purifies the mind and the heart, and dispels worries and misfortunes.” It goes on to say that different forms of meditation also lead to self-knowledge and the direct experience of the absolute truth. In this very human body we can know our true nature or pure Consciousness.

In this journey to knowing the absolute truth, all that is asked of us is to accept ourselves as we are, at whatever level of awareness we have. When we relax our minds and let go of our grasping at illusions, we allow the unfolding of the absolute truth to take place. This inevitably happens when we let go of our attachment to the relative truth. Simple? Perhaps. In my dream last night, I was watching people go on a long journey, carrying lots of empty water bottles, some of them so huge that even if they were full, they would be useless because of the weight. We only need what we can use, and carrying lots of  empty containers is not going to be useful on the journey. Carrying around spiritual teachings without practicing is not skillful if we do not  use the wisdom teachings. We would be carrying around empty containers. To start making sense, we have to drop all our unnecessary baggage and just become immersed in the absolute truth which is already with us, waiting to unfold.

Yesterday, Howard Zinn died. He was a great historian, an activist for civil rights and civil liberties, and he participated in anti-war movements.When I read his most popular book, A People’s History of The United States, I was moved by his courage to go against the status quo, to give an alternate perspective other than the limited view of the history books. In his book he wrote about the struggle of Native Americans against conquest, slaves against slavery, union workers against capitalists, women against patriarchy and African Americans fight for civil rights. He was a man who made practical his love for humanity, for truth and justice,  by writing from the perspective of what really happened. The world will miss him, a rare beacon of truth, a man who inspired many with his humility and humor.

Dr Zinn’s life’s work to tell the truth of the people’s struggle makes possible the healing of a nation. In all healing, the truth must be told. No matter how painful, how vulnerable the exposure of injustices, it is the starting point of the healing process. Until we can acknowledge the oppression  of whole ethnic groups, women, and the working  class, until we can restore their basic rights and dignity, the stage for forgiving and being forgiven is blocked and alienation continues.

Coming clean is the path to healing on all levels, for physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Howard Zinn was a man who challenged the status quo to relinquish its silence and opened the perspective of many to a greater conscience and moral obligation. I hope that his work will be more openly recognized and honored. An emblem for the healing of a nation.

We are often in battle.
So often defending every side of the fort,
It may seem, all alone.

Sit down, my dear.
Take a few deep breaths,
Think about a loyal friend.
Where is your music,
Your pet, a brush?

Surely one who has lasted as long as you
Knows some avenue or place inside
That can give a sweet respite.

If you cannot slay your panic,
Then say within
As convincingly as you can,
“It is all God’s will!”

Now pick up your life again.
Let whatever is out there
Come charging in,

Laugh and spit into the air,
There could be holy fallout.

Throw those ladders like tiny match sticks
With “just” phantoms upon them
Who might be trying to scale your heart.

Your love has an eloquent tone.
The sky and I want to hear it!

If you still feel helpless
Give our battle cry again,

Hafiz
Has shouted it a myriad times,

“It is all,
It is all the Beloved’s will!”

What is that luminous rain I see
All around you in the future

Sweeping in from the east plain?

It looks like, O it looks like
Holy fallout

Filling your mouth and palms
With Joy!

Taken from The Gift:Poems by Hafiz. Translated by Daniel Ladinsky.

When disaster strikes, whether it is on a personal level or on a mass scale, like it is in Haiti today, we have the opportunity to contemplate our interconnectedness. When there is pain and suffering anywhere, we are all affected, even though we may not be aware of it.

As we contemplate our interconnection, we can easily see how our actions affect everything around us. Awareness leads to  consciousness that elicits behavior that is compassionate towards the welfare of all beings. When  ignorance prevails, we act in ways that cause disharmony to our environment and its eventual destruction.

Reiki Help Blog has written a post on this subject and well articulates the sentiments that some of us have been expressing. I invite you to take a look at an alternate view that empowers us to make change happen, not just on the physical but on other levels.

When I was growing up, I learned that God is in heaven above, and when we die, if we have followed his laws, we will join him again in heaven. What if I was taught a different myth about God, would my life have been different in keeping with an alternate belief system about God? I have written many posts in the past about my beliefs that God is everywhere. The one Consciousness has taken form as everything, animate and inanimate. I found this wonderful quote in a book on an anthropological look at healers in the Mexican culture, They All Want Magic by Elizabeth De La Portilla:

When you know the truth, you are free…when I knew and I learned that the meaning of God, the meaning of God is life, es la vida, el amor, la verdad, la inteligencia, la unidad, el espirito, y el principio, and I learned the meaning of God…el principio. Es la vida, in my heart, in myself, and God can do everything. And then I ask myself, “What is the problem?”                                    —Golondrina

Isn’t this an uplifting principle by which to live? God is life, God lives in our hearts. Everyone and everything is an expression of God. When we learn this truth about life, we are empowered to live from our highest potential. There is no more need for self-doubt and all of its ensuing unwanted emotions. As Golondrina said, “What is the problem?” We are free!

This teaching is liberating, yet we continue to live life from the programs we have that tell us otherwise. These programs are deeply ingrained, perhaps even from past lives. Even when we learn the truth, we have to continuously practice remembering. We have to keep coming back to center. We have to keep renewing our connection to Source that expresses through us. This is the path of the spiritual healing journey. Through spiritual practices, we keep a constant vigilance against  delusion, and remain awake to the truth. Be aware!

How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? I did not make any; I do have an ongoing  resolve to stay centered. This I believe is the basis of all life. No matter what we want to achieve, we have to be centered to access the resources within, to put forth the best of what we can be and do in that endeavor. This  applies to all that we create, whether it is our own state of mind, or  the manifestations of our relationships with family and friends, our careers, or the creative outlets of  our artistic inclinations.

To be centered means to be at peace within, to sit in stillness no matter how chaotic everything  is around us. Moving outward from that still center, we work from a foundation of balance which is strong and steady. We are not blown away by the winds of  angry words of the disgruntled. We are not sucked into fixing the dysfunction of the world at the risk of loosing the integrity of our own center. We are not dependent on accolades from the world to maintain our self-esteem. From the still center of beingness we are able to feel our own wholeness and can access the fountain of peace, strength and courage, to help those whose lives we touch. In these times of outer turmoil it is easy to feel hopelessness and despair. I believe that we are called to make a difference where we can, within the vicinity of our own lives. If we can each be the  pillar of strength within our own families and communities, it will magnify and collectively affect all of humanity on a mass level. It begins from within our own inner center.

How do we become centered? There are endless resources available everywhere, including free information on the internet. We have only to be committed to give this gift to ourselves. The secret to sticking with a method for reminding ourselves to become centered is to choose what resonates with us. It may not initially be fun, but how it makes us feel after practicing is what matters. We  all function better in a particular modality. Some of us are more visual, auditory or kinesthetic. We would be inclined to stick with a practice that matches our personality. Making time at the start of our day for some kind of practice is the most beneficial. We come in contact with our energy source, feeling refreshed and grateful for  the wonder of this life. We can then move into our day with a dynamic enthusiasm, expressing the joy we touched upon in our practice.

Meditation is perhaps the most common tool for centering. There are many forms of meditation ranging from sitting  and focusing on our breath, to more active forms such as Tai Chi and Hatha Yoga, or engaging in some form of ritual that draws us into the sacredness of life. Writing down the stream of consciousness made famous by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way can be another form of centering. In this practice, the first thing in the morning, we write down all our thoughts in an unedited stream for a half to one hour. This clears our mind and makes room for focusing on the stillness within. Taking a walk by ourselves preferably in nature, loosing ourselves in making something that requires a focus, dancing, singing, or any activity where mindfulness draws us to the still center within, are good ways to return to our center.

The beauty of returning to the still center is that we create the state of mind that we want. How often do we feel tired, confused or scattered, not knowing the source of our distress? I believe that we are magnets for all of the energies that are emanating all around us, for example in the office, the subway, or the media. We are constantly being bombarded with the thought forms that are swirling around  our environment. How we stay afloat within this swirling soup of fear, anger, frustration and all its counterparts, depends on how centered we are. We can become hooked in by these feelings, identifying them as our own if we are not aware. Being centered helps us to distinguish what is our own state of mind and to keep refreshing that state of connection to our source.

Here is one of my favourite poems that speaks of the still center. It is by Rabindranath Tagore.

Break Open the Door

When the heart is hard and parched up,
come upon me with a shower of mercy.
When grace is lost from life, come with a burst of song.
When tumultuous work raises its din on all sides
shutting me out from beyond, come to me, my lord of silence,
with thy peace and rest.
When my beggarly heart sits crouched,
shut up in a corner, break open the door, my king,
and come with the ceremony of a king.
When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust,
O thou holy one, thou wakeful,
come with thy light and thy thunder.

I came across a book on stories and poems about Kuan Yin and was quite amused to read that in some Buddhist and Taoist temples, people worship statues and paintings of Monkey, Pigsy, and the  pilgrim, Tripitaka. The authors suggest that they are based on a religious text that was originally written as a humorous novel called Journey to the West in the 16th century in China. The novel was based on an actual pilgrim, Hsuan Tsang (c. AD 596-664) who journeyed to India to fetch the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures to bring them back to China. The author of the novel added  stories of the Monkey king, Pigsy and other characters as protective companions to the pilgrim. The novel was  written for the Buddhist scholarly class who patronized such works in that period during which the literary arts thrived. It was not about actual beings and was never intended to be a religious text. The wonderful characters invented for the novel have now become a part of the pantheon of gods, inseparable from the historical pilgrim and are worshiped  by people today.

This anecdote reminded me of a story one of my teachers used to tell. In short, it is about how some rituals come into being,  empty of meaning but are  blindly practiced without questioning their origin. The humorous story tells of the ritual of tying up a cat to a tree in the yard  whenever  students  gather for spiritual discourses. In the early days  when their master was still alive, he owned a cat that made loud noises, disturbing the master and the students. He ordered that the cat be tied up outside before the students arrive for the discourses. Since then, even after the cat and the master died, a cat was always tied up before discourses began.

These thoughts led to a lively discussion in our house about how a myth creates a culture. There are many cultures based on a myth that has become the basis of reality for that culture. In the West, it is Christianity, in the East, it is predominantly Buddism, Taoism, Hinduism and Islam. Though today, the myth of political and economic power has largely replaced religion in the West and is beginning to erode the traditional cultures in Asia.

The discussion continued on to the ridiculous notion, that perhaps many centuries from now, Harry Potter would be worshiped as the protector of young people. This led to another discussion on how saints and other deities come to be. We wondered how much of the ability to bestow miracles come from the power invested in them by their worshipers.

Joseph Campbell said “The gods and goddesses then are to be understood as embodiments and custodians of the elixir of Imperishable Being but not themselves the Ultimate in its primary state. What the hero seeks through his intercourse with them is therefore not finally themselves, but their grace, i.e., the power of their sustaining substance. This miraculous energy-substance and this alone is the Imperishable; the names and forms of the deities who everywhere embody, dispense, and represent it come and go. This is the miraculous energy of the thunderbolts of Zeus, Yahweh, and the Supreme Buddha, the fertility of the rain of Viracocha, the virtue announced by the bell rung in the Mass at the consecration, and the light of the ultimate illumination of the saint and sage. Its guardians dare release it only to the duly proven.”

Many miraculous stories are recorded about people who invoke Kuan Yin and are protected from disaster even though there is  confusion around this deity. It is said that Kuan Yin who is widely worshiped in Asia as the goddess of compassion today, is the same masculine deity, Avalokita the Bodhisattva of Compassion of Indian and Tibetan lore. When Buddhism came to China, Avalokita was called Kuan Yin and worshiped as a male deity. Years later, Kuan Yin was depicted in a female form by artists and since then, Avalokita has been visualized in this female form and confused with the legendary Chinese Princess Miao Shan, a compassionate being.  The Princess Miao Shan legends have since been assimilated into the legends of Kuan Yin. Perhaps the deities such as Kuan Yin have extraordinary power because so many people over the centuries hold the belief of their divinity and have therefore become  the vehicles for the bestowal of grace. Does it matter if people pray to Kuan Yin or the Monkey god, Pigsy or the pilgrim, Tripitaka? And is it our search for the miraculous that create the manifestations of such visitations as the Lady of Guadeloupe which then becomes a powerful cult based on the vision of one person?

This is a fascinating subject and I reflect on what the Dalai Lama said in the movie, Short Cut To Nirvana, that people should not convert from one religion to another because they are all the same. Thich Nhat Hanh has also said that changing religions is not advisable because our grounding is shaken when we separate from our family roots. This topic continues to play in my mind about religion and its origins. Does it matter what religion we participate in since it is the “elixir of Imperishable Being” we are after?

It is that time again when we reflect on the past year and either make resolutions or wish-lists for the coming year. This year I am taking heed of the many teaching stories that remind us to have resolve. For there is much to be distracted by, along the way to manifesting  what it is we are intending to create. One of my favorite stories on this theme is the Hindu myth about the churning of the ocean to create Amrita, the nectar of the gods.

In this myth, the gods have been at war with their enemies and were unable to defeat them. They approached the Lord and asked him for a boon to conquer their enemies. The Lord told them that first they should make peace with their enemies until He gave them the ability to become stronger and invincible. The nectar, Amrita that can make the gods victorious,  could only be obtained by churning the ocean with the help of their enemies. The Lord’s advice was that the gods should allow their enemies to have anything that fancied them that was churned out of the ocean and that He would take care of the rest.

The churning began and many delightful beings and things, as well as the unpleasant and poisonous, came out from the ocean before the appearance of the Amrita. The enemies as well as the gods were  enamored of the beautiful nymphs and treasures that came out, each side taking what they desired. Along with the pleasant there was also  poison which was compassionately swallowed by the great Lord Shiva to protect his people. A few drops of it dropped on the ground and were taken up by some plants and snakes.

While the gods and their enemies were distracted by the bounty that was being created from the ocean, the Lord transformed himself into a most irresistible  woman, Mohini. Everyone was so lured by her dazzling light and beauty, that when the Amrita showed up, the enemies of the gods were sure that she could be trusted to share the Amrita equally. While their enemies were entranced in Mohini’s charm, they did not notice that she was only offering the nectar to the gods. Only one of them, Rahu realized what was happening and tricked Mohini by pretending to be a god. When the gods were alerted to what happened, they cut off his head. Rahu’s body died and only his head lived and in revenge, he became a planet in the heavens and each year he sucked the sun and the moon at different intervals creating a total darkness in the skies.

This story is a wonderful metaphor for being mindful of our creations, that there is much that is delightful and pleasant but not necessarily in our best interest. There are  many lessons to be gleaned from this myth and one that really stands out for me right now, is that life is a mix of the pleasant and the unpleasant.

In the churning that takes place in the ocean of the unconscious, there are many kinds of  thoughts, feelings and experiences  that will be thrown up. We ask for the nectar of life that will give us peace, joy and light. On the way to receiving that gift, we first have to make peace with all the enemies of the mind. We make friends with the ego and all of its desires.  The path of moderation, not denying the ego, being mindful of the goal, not caught up in illusions of good and bad, even poisonous thoughts and feelings would be absorbed by the compassionate self to bring clarity.  Along the way, we do encounter the stray bits of poison and the pleasant distractions, but when we just let things be, not fighting them, our energies are free to focus on what we do want. We are filled with resolve to accept  the gift of our birthright. With practice we come to identify with our divine aspect, our true nature. Through the gift of grace, we realize eternal love, peace and truth.

On this eve of the new year, may you be blessed with the gift of resolve to unfold the greatness of the truth of who you are.

Happy New Year!

Namaste!