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Found Exhortation (for the New Year)
If you can find a vision, it will form any resolution that might be supportive.
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A Good Week for Sadhana
This morning, when I was reviewing in my head some of the meetings and other work matters upcoming this week, I thought, “what a good time to practice all the things I have been studying.”
It felt like progress to think that and then notice my first thought was not, “this week is going to be awful,” or even, “this week is going to be challenging,” instead of thinking the latter and reminding myself of the former.
And having a homemade popsicle after a long day certainly helps make this heat wave more enjoyable.
Lime, cucumber, mint popsicle (cucumber and mint from the garden)
Notes on a Meditation
and she could count the waves…
Feeding the Demons (Bali Dana)
On the last morning of the trip, when we were standing next to the bus (how blessed we were to have a well-driven, air-conditioned bus to take us through southern India; I was most grateful and conscious of its protective bubble) getting ready to head north for Chennai, I noticed that there were limes under the wheels of the bus. I was standing next to Douglas Brooks, the leader of the trip. “Why are there limes under the wheels?” I asked. “To feed the demons,” he replied, “so that they do not feed on you. We make offering (bali dana) for auspicious memories and a safe trip home.” The offering to the demons, bali dana, recognizes, I think, that we cannot eradicate demons. We can feed them, though, avert their gaze with our offering to something they find more desirable and delicious than feeding on us.
On our last day of riding the bus, we were witness to the aftermath of a cyclone that downed trees and shut down power and tore roofs off of houses and rutted roads (thanks to all who noticed that I was in that part of the world and sent emails inquiring about our safety). When it hit, we were far enough south that all we got was a little rain. We flew out long enough after it showed, that it did not impact our flight, which went perfectly smoothly. I do not know whether putting limes under the wheels of the bus made any difference to the external flow of our trip. I do know, though, that I cannot kill off my demons; they are an essential part of me and my history. Shifting the gaze of my demons and shifting my own gaze at my demons, though, is another matter entirely. When we can turn our gaze (drishti) to the auspicious, even when looking through the eyes of our demons, that is when we can truly see what is best in things and better be able to respond with true embrace to whatever life hands us.
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Gratitude
Sometimes at the top of the list of that for which I am grateful are the problems that I have. I fully appreciate my good fortune in only having problems I can handle in one way or another. Not every one is so blessed.
I was thinking this about “problems” and how to address them in the most graceful way as I read the Supreme Court’s decision. Heavy going reading, but absolutely fascinating from so many perspectives. Awe-inspiring in fact to think of the collective behavior and engagement of so many millions (yes millions by active involvement to greater or lesser degree or by apathy and inaction in this democracy of ours) of people that contributed to this writing. One aspect of it is how much of people tend to think, both individually and collectively, as life endlessly posing problems to be solved (I include myself in this) and not as offering opportunities to engage, shift, nurture, and grow. How we approach the Supreme Court’s decision collectively and individually will most certainly contribute to its impact.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
