*
Yesterday I wrote about some changes I'm making in my writing, in my life, in being true to myself and my goals.
And that is good.
Today I received a note from a writer I had the pleasure of sharing some time with in the Literary Kitchen.
Recently she'd posted a note in our secret Facebook writing group asking for addresses of other writers from the online classes/groups. I was curious and sent her my address.
Today a card and a personal note arrived. It's lovely and perfect and it's made and written by hand.
A simple and perfect message.
Congruent with my post and my being.
Just what I needed.
Thank you, Sailor, and thank you, universe, for helping keep me in alignment.
*
Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Friday, December 21, 2012
With or Without Ritual, the Season Changes
*
This is the time of year when even our clocks feel the stretch. There is so much more to do or at least the expectation that we have more to do and yet we are only left with a daily budget of twenty-four hours.
I know there is someone reading this and saying something like, "Well, you see, Dot, in truth we have exactly yadayada hours and umtydum minutes and xyznanoseconds." I'm sure there's some formula or measure where the number isn't exactly twenty-four hours. Or maybe it is. I don't know. What I do know is that our clocks measure out approximately twenty-four hours every day and that is what we have to work with.
The amount of lightness and darkness we experience changes as we tilt and float through space. But the hours are basically the same.
Different religions and spiritual beliefs hold celebrations during this time of year. They claim different deities or leaders, different dates and significance, different rituals. And we still turn. Whether or not we celebrate, regardless of how we celebrate if we do, the daylight grows shorter and then longer. And cycles back.
The world didn't end today.
But a cycle did. And as we passed the marker in time a new cycle began.
This is a time of change. Of going deep and returning. Of dreams and hopes, reflection both inward and outward.
May all of us be connected to the Greater Good. May our true path and dreams be manifest as we move through our life. And may our connections to the earth and all beings be strengthened.
I wish for light and blessings for all of us as we move into a new cycle and for strength to stay balanced when the darkness threatens to overtake us.
*
This is the time of year when even our clocks feel the stretch. There is so much more to do or at least the expectation that we have more to do and yet we are only left with a daily budget of twenty-four hours.
I know there is someone reading this and saying something like, "Well, you see, Dot, in truth we have exactly yadayada hours and umtydum minutes and xyznanoseconds." I'm sure there's some formula or measure where the number isn't exactly twenty-four hours. Or maybe it is. I don't know. What I do know is that our clocks measure out approximately twenty-four hours every day and that is what we have to work with.
The amount of lightness and darkness we experience changes as we tilt and float through space. But the hours are basically the same.
Different religions and spiritual beliefs hold celebrations during this time of year. They claim different deities or leaders, different dates and significance, different rituals. And we still turn. Whether or not we celebrate, regardless of how we celebrate if we do, the daylight grows shorter and then longer. And cycles back.
The world didn't end today.
But a cycle did. And as we passed the marker in time a new cycle began.
This is a time of change. Of going deep and returning. Of dreams and hopes, reflection both inward and outward.
May all of us be connected to the Greater Good. May our true path and dreams be manifest as we move through our life. And may our connections to the earth and all beings be strengthened.
I wish for light and blessings for all of us as we move into a new cycle and for strength to stay balanced when the darkness threatens to overtake us.
*
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Power of Music - of The Arts
*
I was driving from the pool to work today, listening to NPR. There was a rerun of a story I heard driving home after work last night, and then a new program came on. Traffic was heavy on I-84 so my focus shifted to the road and away from the story, though I caught pieces of it.
When I merged onto I-5 South, I had a couple of miles until the next bottleneck in my journey and tuned in to the story again. Part of the problem is that I couldn't quite catch where they were talking about on the radio.
But I did catch that they were talking about music being banned. It had started as a ban on "satanic" music, meaning any type of music which conflicted with their Islamic beliefs (meaning from the government's view), which soon became any type of music in this country whose name I didn't know.
The name of the country or of a group was mentioned, finally, just as I hit the second congested part of my drive, where I have to make a crazy jog from I-5 South onto I-405 North for a few feet and then this weird overpass onramp to Highway 26 West. It doesn't matter the time of day, there is always some type of backup or traffic interference there, and there was a minimal slow down. So when the country was mentioned, and it wasn't one I was familiar with so I didn't quite catch it, it slipped away.
But when I was safely on 26 and in the lane I wanted I could focus, again. And I caught the end of the story with a festival organizer talking about the life of musicians in this country.
He talked about them having to hide their instruments. If they wanted to play music they had to do it very, very quietly with all drapes and windows closed and no neighbors home; and even that was extremely risky. Even mobile phone ringtones were banned, and of course any type of music players - digital or otherwise.
I was thinking about this and at the same time I was thinking about the people who doubt the power of music. Or of any of the arts. And here was a government who thinks that the music is so powerful that it will corrupt an entire country so they've banned it all.
Music - and art, writing, dance, theater, creativity - heals. It teaches. It gives us cause for and enhances celebration. It calms us and excites us and eases our fears. It puts us to sleep and it wakes us up. Creativity gives us purpose and goals and reasons to keep on, well, keeping on. Music and writing and all types of creative activity help us explore and express our experiences.
Powerful.
I was able to find the country with the total music ban: Mali. Click on the picturesk and the one headline, of Mali musicians below to read some articles about this situation. And, yes, I know there are other places where music and writing and art have been banned. But this is what I learned today. And it struck me as powerful and as something more to explore.
... and a video of Mali music to listen to. Beautiful. ..
*
I was driving from the pool to work today, listening to NPR. There was a rerun of a story I heard driving home after work last night, and then a new program came on. Traffic was heavy on I-84 so my focus shifted to the road and away from the story, though I caught pieces of it.
When I merged onto I-5 South, I had a couple of miles until the next bottleneck in my journey and tuned in to the story again. Part of the problem is that I couldn't quite catch where they were talking about on the radio.
But I did catch that they were talking about music being banned. It had started as a ban on "satanic" music, meaning any type of music which conflicted with their Islamic beliefs (meaning from the government's view), which soon became any type of music in this country whose name I didn't know.
The name of the country or of a group was mentioned, finally, just as I hit the second congested part of my drive, where I have to make a crazy jog from I-5 South onto I-405 North for a few feet and then this weird overpass onramp to Highway 26 West. It doesn't matter the time of day, there is always some type of backup or traffic interference there, and there was a minimal slow down. So when the country was mentioned, and it wasn't one I was familiar with so I didn't quite catch it, it slipped away.
But when I was safely on 26 and in the lane I wanted I could focus, again. And I caught the end of the story with a festival organizer talking about the life of musicians in this country.
He talked about them having to hide their instruments. If they wanted to play music they had to do it very, very quietly with all drapes and windows closed and no neighbors home; and even that was extremely risky. Even mobile phone ringtones were banned, and of course any type of music players - digital or otherwise.
I was thinking about this and at the same time I was thinking about the people who doubt the power of music. Or of any of the arts. And here was a government who thinks that the music is so powerful that it will corrupt an entire country so they've banned it all.
Music - and art, writing, dance, theater, creativity - heals. It teaches. It gives us cause for and enhances celebration. It calms us and excites us and eases our fears. It puts us to sleep and it wakes us up. Creativity gives us purpose and goals and reasons to keep on, well, keeping on. Music and writing and all types of creative activity help us explore and express our experiences.
Powerful.
I was able to find the country with the total music ban: Mali. Click on the picturesk and the one headline, of Mali musicians below to read some articles about this situation. And, yes, I know there are other places where music and writing and art have been banned. But this is what I learned today. And it struck me as powerful and as something more to explore.
 |
| cool planet. on the line. |
 |
| militants declare war on music |
 |
| about muscian, Keletigui Diabate |
... and a video of Mali music to listen to. Beautiful. ..
*
Monday, April 30, 2012
A Test of Wills or a Test of Faith
If this is a test, I'd like it to be done.
There are a few conflicting things happening in my life right now and I was getting a handle on things, having faith that things would work out for the best. Really, I was holding on to the belief that all would be okay.
I made out a scheduling/life template and believed in it; I just wrote it out the middle of last week. Then I found out some information which has the potential to disrupt everything. It's a row of dominoes. I was thinking maybe a house of cards, but the dominoes are stronger and can withstand more - so I'll go with the dominoes image. If X happens at VRS, then that has the potential to reduce $ by a significant amount. In order to improve the $ picture, I have to add more Y to the schedule. But if X is reduced and Y increased, it has to be exponentially increased because of some other losses which are attached to X. And if X and Y happen, then my template won't work. And if I try to stick to the template, then $ will definitely be decreased and some of the things on the template will be impossible.
Really. I'm not making this up.
Writing is on my template. More than I've been doing: dedicated, specified time to write and revise and submit.
Sleep is on my template. Enough sleep is an option with parameters. A couple of times when I've slipped below the minimum, I've known, my body has let me know that I can't do that any more. So sleep really is non-negotiable. No more 4- to 5-hour sleep nights.
Work is on my template. Yes, indeed.
And time off. Including trying to get two days off together in every week. Well, let's say most weeks. Which includes trying to get one day off each week where I don't have appointments to go to; not just time off from work. Time with friends and partner and time for fun. And activity: walking, swimming, hiking, kayaking.
This new news isn't good news. Not terrible; I'm not losing my job. But it's a really bad time and it's not just me saying "oh this is awful and I need to add more hours." It's real. And if the information turns out to be true, I should know within a week and I will have to give up: some time off, or blocks of dedicated writing time, or time with my partner, play time. I can't cut down the sleep or health care.
I had a plan. A good plan; reasonable. Reasonable for everyone and not just me.
And I think about people who wonder why workers lose faith and commitment to the giant corporations for which they work. This is one. There is no reciprocity and I keep thinking that I know that, but I keep getting taken by surprise. I keep thinking that being really good at what I do, going along with the numbers and the changing rules, being honest and dedicated to what I'm doing will matter; not in a kiss-up, brown-nosing kind of way but in a commitment to doing this job well. And maybe it does matter to the clients - I hope. But I keep feeling like I am just a number at work and a number which can be replaced.
I think about being flexible. I am flexible; I like some variety. Yes. But a good friend once said, "I'm flexible until I snap." I think of it like a plastic debit/credit card, or a piece of wire: you can bend it and bend it and bend it back again until one day it snaps; no more flexibility. I'm getting frustrated with the bending and won't snap - but I may lose some flexibility.
I want to hold on to the serenity I've found and believe in the good in people (and there are people behind the giant corporation walls, right?) and to hold on to hope that things can be okay without doing what isn't healthy for me.
Right?
So I'll just keep writing. Not just about this, I promise. But if I keep writing then it keeps moving through.
And I can retain my resiliency.
And if this rumor/threat comes into being, it may push me back up on that ledge where possibilities live and the corporation goes back to being the safety net and not a false sense of security.
Writing. Where life happens. Where the Chi flows and stagnancy is prevented.
And, for fun, a video as a reminder to myself and to others who may be living/working under similar circumstances. Enjoy!
There are a few conflicting things happening in my life right now and I was getting a handle on things, having faith that things would work out for the best. Really, I was holding on to the belief that all would be okay.
I made out a scheduling/life template and believed in it; I just wrote it out the middle of last week. Then I found out some information which has the potential to disrupt everything. It's a row of dominoes. I was thinking maybe a house of cards, but the dominoes are stronger and can withstand more - so I'll go with the dominoes image. If X happens at VRS, then that has the potential to reduce $ by a significant amount. In order to improve the $ picture, I have to add more Y to the schedule. But if X is reduced and Y increased, it has to be exponentially increased because of some other losses which are attached to X. And if X and Y happen, then my template won't work. And if I try to stick to the template, then $ will definitely be decreased and some of the things on the template will be impossible.
Really. I'm not making this up.
Writing is on my template. More than I've been doing: dedicated, specified time to write and revise and submit.
Sleep is on my template. Enough sleep is an option with parameters. A couple of times when I've slipped below the minimum, I've known, my body has let me know that I can't do that any more. So sleep really is non-negotiable. No more 4- to 5-hour sleep nights.
Work is on my template. Yes, indeed.
And time off. Including trying to get two days off together in every week. Well, let's say most weeks. Which includes trying to get one day off each week where I don't have appointments to go to; not just time off from work. Time with friends and partner and time for fun. And activity: walking, swimming, hiking, kayaking.
This new news isn't good news. Not terrible; I'm not losing my job. But it's a really bad time and it's not just me saying "oh this is awful and I need to add more hours." It's real. And if the information turns out to be true, I should know within a week and I will have to give up: some time off, or blocks of dedicated writing time, or time with my partner, play time. I can't cut down the sleep or health care.
I had a plan. A good plan; reasonable. Reasonable for everyone and not just me.
And I think about people who wonder why workers lose faith and commitment to the giant corporations for which they work. This is one. There is no reciprocity and I keep thinking that I know that, but I keep getting taken by surprise. I keep thinking that being really good at what I do, going along with the numbers and the changing rules, being honest and dedicated to what I'm doing will matter; not in a kiss-up, brown-nosing kind of way but in a commitment to doing this job well. And maybe it does matter to the clients - I hope. But I keep feeling like I am just a number at work and a number which can be replaced.
I think about being flexible. I am flexible; I like some variety. Yes. But a good friend once said, "I'm flexible until I snap." I think of it like a plastic debit/credit card, or a piece of wire: you can bend it and bend it and bend it back again until one day it snaps; no more flexibility. I'm getting frustrated with the bending and won't snap - but I may lose some flexibility.
I want to hold on to the serenity I've found and believe in the good in people (and there are people behind the giant corporation walls, right?) and to hold on to hope that things can be okay without doing what isn't healthy for me.
Right?
So I'll just keep writing. Not just about this, I promise. But if I keep writing then it keeps moving through.
And I can retain my resiliency.
And if this rumor/threat comes into being, it may push me back up on that ledge where possibilities live and the corporation goes back to being the safety net and not a false sense of security.
Writing. Where life happens. Where the Chi flows and stagnancy is prevented.
And, for fun, a video as a reminder to myself and to others who may be living/working under similar circumstances. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Music as Inspiration and Healer
From time to time I write something about music which inspires me - in that moment, over time, while I write or make art. If you've been following my writing for long you've seen Philip Glass appear more than once; a favorite of mine for many years and most circumstances. And I've been thinking about writing a short piece about music - but this is not that.
This is the first full song played on the radio this morning as I was waking up. There was the end of the song before it - which I don't recall at all: incomplete and the song which pulled me from sleep.
But this one. Perfect for today. Perfect for this moment. It resonates for me, in this period of transition and healing, at many levels, not only for myself, but friends, as well. Self healing, friends with physical condition flare-ups or new levels to adapt to, a friend caring for a dying parent, friends with difficult work situations - and more.
The song is "Come Healing" by Leonard Cohen, from his new album. Come healing, for each of us in the way appropriate and desired - yes.
It was a nice way to wake up.
This is listed as an "unofficial" music video. And if you'd like to see the lyrics, go to the YouTube link - they're all there.
... now, back to finishing typing up the two written assignments due today (one in Inga's Decerebralization online writing class and one in Ariel's Lit Star Training class), which will be followed by brunch with a friend, then doing a new free write for Inga and a quick write for Ariel and then - tada - work! ...
I hope you enjoy the song and that it touches each of you in some way.
*
This is the first full song played on the radio this morning as I was waking up. There was the end of the song before it - which I don't recall at all: incomplete and the song which pulled me from sleep.
But this one. Perfect for today. Perfect for this moment. It resonates for me, in this period of transition and healing, at many levels, not only for myself, but friends, as well. Self healing, friends with physical condition flare-ups or new levels to adapt to, a friend caring for a dying parent, friends with difficult work situations - and more.
The song is "Come Healing" by Leonard Cohen, from his new album. Come healing, for each of us in the way appropriate and desired - yes.
It was a nice way to wake up.
This is listed as an "unofficial" music video. And if you'd like to see the lyrics, go to the YouTube link - they're all there.
... now, back to finishing typing up the two written assignments due today (one in Inga's Decerebralization online writing class and one in Ariel's Lit Star Training class), which will be followed by brunch with a friend, then doing a new free write for Inga and a quick write for Ariel and then - tada - work! ...
I hope you enjoy the song and that it touches each of you in some way.
*
Friday, November 25, 2011
NaNoWriMo Day Twenty Five
Today was another productive day in terms of sleeping and writing. And working - yes, working. Oh, and I got my laundry put away; it only sat in the basket for one day. That's probably a personal NaNoRecord.
My ending word count for today is 41,912. Still on track and a few hundred words ahead.
I was able to get in the flow for a bit and it felt good. It was probably the right amount of time - I'm not sure if I would have maintained that flow for much longer. But it was good.
The story is making progress, again. It has taken an unexpected turn. I do see a definite pattern emerging in my NaNoNovels. Well, at least the ones I like and which seem to get somewhere (my second NaNoAttemptedNovel was a failure; I passed 50k but the story went absolutely nowhere and I wasn't enjoying the story and it dried up easily).
Again, this is not a theme I would have picked out to include in my novels. I'm not opposed to it, but I would not have thought to write about it - or include it in my stories for a variety of reasons.
I have learned more about myself, my writing, my author's voice this year. This is good. I'll save the details for later. But wanted to mention that learning has happened again - while writing has happened - and while I've let the characters and the story move things along. And I've treaded water with the characters and the story, too, drifting while waiting for something to happen.
I'm pleased with how this NaNoAdventure has gone - is going. And I think I will have something to work with when I'm done.
#SheWriMo
.
My ending word count for today is 41,912. Still on track and a few hundred words ahead.
I was able to get in the flow for a bit and it felt good. It was probably the right amount of time - I'm not sure if I would have maintained that flow for much longer. But it was good.
The story is making progress, again. It has taken an unexpected turn. I do see a definite pattern emerging in my NaNoNovels. Well, at least the ones I like and which seem to get somewhere (my second NaNoAttemptedNovel was a failure; I passed 50k but the story went absolutely nowhere and I wasn't enjoying the story and it dried up easily).
Again, this is not a theme I would have picked out to include in my novels. I'm not opposed to it, but I would not have thought to write about it - or include it in my stories for a variety of reasons.
I have learned more about myself, my writing, my author's voice this year. This is good. I'll save the details for later. But wanted to mention that learning has happened again - while writing has happened - and while I've let the characters and the story move things along. And I've treaded water with the characters and the story, too, drifting while waiting for something to happen.
I'm pleased with how this NaNoAdventure has gone - is going. And I think I will have something to work with when I'm done.
#SheWriMo
.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Quote from Pema Chodron
Today's Pema Chodron quote in the weekly email, Heart Advice through Shambala, is excerpted from her book, Comfortable with Uncertainty. I have this book; I haven't read it for a long time. Seems it's time for me to take it off the shelf and read some of it again.
POINTED TOWARD THE EARTH
.Spiritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the top of a mountain. We leave our attachments and our worldliness behind and slowly make our way to the top. At the peak we have transcended all pain. The only problem with this metaphor is that we leave all others behind. Their suffering continues, unrelieved by our personal escape.
On the journey of the warrior-bodhisattva, the path goes down, not up, as if the mountain pointed toward the earth instead of the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we let it be as it is. At our own pace, without speed or aggression, we move down and down and down. With us move millions of others, our companions in awakening from fear.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
synchronicity
.
I've been trying to write this post for an hour. Getting nowhere. So I won't for now.
Except to say that right now seems to be a time of pieces coming together for me. And some not. Of writing about something or a person and then, they appear somehow (an email, perhaps; or a mention from someone who I didn't know had that connection, too). Of reading a discussion thread about a topic and then receiving and email or a class list about just that topic the next day.
I'm not really talking about cause and effect.
More like the energy in the air and multiple sources picking up on it.
Yes - it's in the air and it's being tapped into. Like the waves at the beach, touching the shores for miles and miles and touching the toes or lives of many, who just happen to be there about that same time. And notice the water at their feet.
.
I've been trying to write this post for an hour. Getting nowhere. So I won't for now.
Except to say that right now seems to be a time of pieces coming together for me. And some not. Of writing about something or a person and then, they appear somehow (an email, perhaps; or a mention from someone who I didn't know had that connection, too). Of reading a discussion thread about a topic and then receiving and email or a class list about just that topic the next day.
I'm not really talking about cause and effect.
More like the energy in the air and multiple sources picking up on it.
Yes - it's in the air and it's being tapped into. Like the waves at the beach, touching the shores for miles and miles and touching the toes or lives of many, who just happen to be there about that same time. And notice the water at their feet.
.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
upcoming workshops
.
Poetry, Perception and Play with Dawn
6 Wednesday Evenings, March 10 - April 14
Time: 6:30-9:00pm
Location: NE Portland
Wednesday Morning Writing Practice with Dawn
8 Sessions, March 24-May 12
Time: 10:00am-12:30pm
Location: SE Portland, Sellwood
Tuesday Morning Writing Practice with Dawn
8 Sessions, March 30-May 18
Time: 10:00am-12:30pm
Location: SE Portland
Wednesday Evening Writing Practice with Rhea
8 Sessions, April 7 - May 26
Time: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Location: SE Portland
Sacred Story Writing with Dawn
6 Wednesday Evenings, April 21 - May 26
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: Multnomah Village
One-Day Events
Inner Fire: Spring Equinox
a writing and spirit workshop with Rhea
Saturday, March 20
Time: 1:00-5:00pm
Location: TBA
Embracing Change: Transforming Fear into Power
an astrology & Sacred Story Workshop
with Emily & Dawn
Saturday, March 27
Time: 10:00am-2:30pm
Location: Multnomah Village
Writing our Stories of Motherhood
with Traci Schatz & Dawn Thompson
Saturday, April 17
Time: 10am-12:30pm
Location: SE Portland, Sellwood
...from Portland Women Writers....
Poetry, Perception and Play with Dawn
6 Wednesday Evenings, March 10 - April 14
Time: 6:30-9:00pm
Location: NE Portland
Wednesday Morning Writing Practice with Dawn
8 Sessions, March 24-May 12
Time: 10:00am-12:30pm
Location: SE Portland, Sellwood
Tuesday Morning Writing Practice with Dawn
8 Sessions, March 30-May 18
Time: 10:00am-12:30pm
Location: SE Portland
Wednesday Evening Writing Practice with Rhea
8 Sessions, April 7 - May 26
Time: 7:00pm-9:30pm
Location: SE Portland
Sacred Story Writing with Dawn
6 Wednesday Evenings, April 21 - May 26
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: Multnomah Village
One-Day Events
Inner Fire: Spring Equinox
a writing and spirit workshop with Rhea
Saturday, March 20
Time: 1:00-5:00pm
Location: TBA
Embracing Change: Transforming Fear into Power
an astrology & Sacred Story Workshop
with Emily & Dawn
Saturday, March 27
Time: 10:00am-2:30pm
Location: Multnomah Village
Writing our Stories of Motherhood
with Traci Schatz & Dawn Thompson
Saturday, April 17
Time: 10am-12:30pm
Location: SE Portland, Sellwood
Sunday, May 3, 2009
intention: a poem
I sent an email out and attached my "writer" signature (I have one for interpreting, one for my adjunct faculty job, and one for writing). I rarely look at the content of the signatures any more -- isn't that why I set them up? So I can just select which one applies, press the mouse, and voila, there you go!
But today I did notice. It was one of those emails which didn't really require a signature attachment but it seemed like a good idea. But it doesn't fall into the interpreting category at all and it is not a writing thing.
So, today, I noticed.
At the bottom of my "writer" signature is this poem by Mary Ann Radmacher. Fitting. It's where I am mentally and spiritually and, I suppose, even physically at this moment in time.
It's a reminder I wanted to put out into the world today to anyone else who may be needing a little boost or confirmation of intention.
But today I did notice. It was one of those emails which didn't really require a signature attachment but it seemed like a good idea. But it doesn't fall into the interpreting category at all and it is not a writing thing.
So, today, I noticed.
At the bottom of my "writer" signature is this poem by Mary Ann Radmacher. Fitting. It's where I am mentally and spiritually and, I suppose, even physically at this moment in time.
.............................................................
live with intention,
walk to the edge,
listen hard,
practice wellness,
play with abandon,
laugh,
choose with no regret,
continue to learn,
appreciate your friends,
do what you love,
live as if this is all there is.
live with intention,
walk to the edge,
listen hard,
practice wellness,
play with abandon,
laugh,
choose with no regret,
continue to learn,
appreciate your friends,
do what you love,
live as if this is all there is.
..................................................by Mary Anne Radmacher
It's a reminder I wanted to put out into the world today to anyone else who may be needing a little boost or confirmation of intention.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter/Eostre/Eastre
From History.com
Who borrowed it from an article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
Who borrowed it from an article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company
Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The origin of its name is unknown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St. Bede, believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.
Such festivals, and the stories and legends that explain their origin, were common in ancient religions. A Greek legend tells of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day; her return symbolized to the ancient Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. The Phrygians believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring equinox to awaken him.
The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name for Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
practice: tonglen
We don't have to live in fear
nor do we have to
ignore the crises
as if they didn't exist.
We can help ourselves, our country, all beings of the world
with breath.
The following article explains the Buddhist practice of
Tonglen
written by Pema Chodron
as published on Shambala.org.
nor do we have to
ignore the crises
as if they didn't exist.
We can help ourselves, our country, all beings of the world
with breath.
The following article explains the Buddhist practice of
Tonglen
written by Pema Chodron
as published on Shambala.org.
In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves.In particular, to care about other people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly, selfish, mean —you name it— to have compassion and to care for these people, means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves. In fact, one's whole attitude toward pain can change. Instead of fending it off and hiding from it, one could open one's heart and allow oneself to feel that pain, feel it as something that will soften and purify us and make us far more loving and kind.
The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. It is a method for overcoming fear of suffering and for dissolving the tightness of our heart. Primarily it is a method for awakening the compassion that is inherent in all of us, no matter how cruel or cold we might seem
to be.
We begin the practice by taking on the suffering of a person we know to be hurting and who we wish to help. For instance, if you know of a child who is being hurt, you breathe in the wish to take away all the pain and fear of that child. Then, as you breathe out, you send the child happiness, joy or whatever would relieve their pain. This is the core of the practice: breathing in other's pain so they can be well and have more space to relax and open, and breathing out, sending them relaxation or whatever you feel would bring them relief and happiness. However, we often cannot do this practice because we come face to face with our own fear, our own resistance, anger, or whatever our personal pain, our personal stuckness happens to be at that moment.
At that point you can change the focus and begin to do tonglen for what you are feeling and for millions of others just like you who at that very moment of time are feeling exactly the same stuckness and misery. Maybe you are able to name your pain. You recognize it clearly as terror or revulsion or anger or wanting to get revenge. So you breathe in for all the people who are caught with that same emotion and you send out relief or whatever opens up the space for yourself and all those countless others. Maybe you can't name what you're feeling. But you can feel it —a tightness in the stomach, a heavy darkness or whatever. Just contact what you are feeling and breathe in, take it in —for all of us and send out relief to all of us.
People often say that this practice goes against the grain of how we usually hold ourselves together. Truthfully, this practice does go against the grain of wanting things on our own terms, of wanting it to work out for ourselves no matter what happens to the others. The practice dissolves the armor of self-protection we've tried so hard to create around ourselves. In Buddhist language one would say that it dissolves the fixation and clinging of ego.
Tonglen reverses the usual logic of avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure and, in the process, we become liberated from a very ancient prison of selfishness. We begin to feel love both for ourselves and others and also we being to take care of ourselves and others. It awakens our compassion and it also introduces us to a far larger view of reality. It introduces us to the unlimited spaciousness that Buddhists call shunyata. By doing the practice, we begin to connect with the open dimension of our being. At first we experience this as things not being such a big deal or so solid as they seemed before.
Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have just died, or for those that are in pain of any kind. It can be done either as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. For example, if you are out walking and you see someone in pain —right on the spot you can begin to breathe in their pain and send some out some relief. Or, more likely, you might see someone in pain and look away because it brings up your fear or anger; it brings up your resistance and confusion.
So on the spot you can do tonglen for all the people who are just like you, for everyone who wishes to be compassionate but instead is afraid, for everyone who wishes to be brave but instead is a coward.
Rather than beating yourself up, use your own stuckness as a stepping stone to understanding what people are up against all over the world.
Breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us.
Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.
You can read the article in its original form
on the Shambala.org website by
clicking on the title of the article below
The Practice of Tonglen .
on the Shambala.org website by
clicking on the title of the article below
The Practice of Tonglen .
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