October 8th, 2017

October 8th, 2017


Affirmation:  I have the freedom and power to create the life I desire.

It is often easier to know what to do that to do it. Today I will do those things that move me towards being the person I want to be and living the life I want to live.

There is no limit to what I can accomplish if I know the direction in which I am going and am willing to make the effort.


Word of the Day: festoon (v):

1. to adorn with or as with festoons: to festoon a hall.

2. to form into festoons: to festoon flowers and leaves.

munificence (n):

the quality of being munificent, or showing unusual generosity: The museum's collection was greatly increased by the munificence of the family's gift.

bonhomie (n):

frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner; friendliness; geniality.

A Basket of Fresh Bread (1)

If you want to learn theory,

talk with theoreticians. That way is oral.

When you learn a craft, practice it.

That learning comes through the hands.

If you want dervishhood, spiritual poverty,

and emptiness, you must be friends with a sheikh.

Talking about it, reading books, and doing practices

do not help. Soul receives from soul that knowing.

The mystery of spiritual emptiness

may be living in a pilgrim's heart,

but the knowing of it might not yet be his.

Wait for the illuminating openness,

as though your chest were filling with light.

Do not look for it outside yourself.

There is a milk fountain inside of you.

Do not walk around with an empty bucket.

You have a channel into the ocean,

yet you ask for water from a little pool.

Beg for the love-expansion.

A Basket of Fresh Bread (2)

There is a basket of fresh bread on your head,

yet you go door to door asking for crusts.

Knock on the inner door. No other.

Sloshing knee-deep in clear streamwater,

you keep wanting a drink from other people's waterbags.

Water is everywhere around you,

but you see only barriers that keep you from water.

A horse is moving beneath the rider's thighs,

yet still he asks, Where is my horse?

Right there, under you. Yes, this is a horse,

but where's the horse? Can't you see? Yes,

I can see, but whoever saw such a horse?

Mad with thirst, he cannot drink from the stream

running so close by his face.

He is like a pearl on the deep bottom

wondering, inside the shell, Where is the ocean?

His mental questionings form the barrier.

His physical eyesight bandages his knowing.

Self-consciousness plugs his ears.

Stay bewildered in God and only that.

A Trace

You that give new life to this planet,

you that transcend logic, come.

I am only an arrow. Fill your bow with me

and let fly. Because of this love for you,

my bowl has fallen from the roof.

Put down a ladder and collect the pieces.

People ask, Which roof is your roof?

I answer, Wherever the soul came from

and wherever it goes back to at night,

my roof is in that direction.

From wherever spring arrives

to heal the ground, from wherever searching rises

in a human being. The looking itself is a trace

of what we are looking for.

But we have been more like the man

who sat on his donkey and asked the donkey where to go.

Be quiet now and wait. It may be the ocean one,

the one we want so to move into and become,

it may be that one wants us out here

on land a little longer

going our sundry roads to the shore.

_____

On Protest And Pain

Pain is a symptom, not a disease. In human beings, one of pain's key functions is to identify and expose things that are detrimental or harmful to our bodies. Its job is to make sure we know about these things so that we can do something about them. Pain can feel uncomfortable (which is sort of inherent in its definition). Yet it is the avoidance of and struggle with pain that triggers the experience of suffering - and we sometimes try to numb pain as a result. To numb pain is to shut off our bodies' inherent alarm systems. In the short-term, this can feel helpful, but long-term numbing actually makes us more vulnerable to damage and compromises our ability to empathize with others. 

Ultimately, this "damage-detection" system serves a crucial purpose in human beings, even when it can sometimes trigger an experience of discomfort or suffering. Why? At the risk of sounding like a pollyanna, I believe that it is because your life has meaning and value and your body is worth protecting. From a spiritual perspective, you might look at the fact that you experience pain as a sign that there is something out there in the Universe that loves you and wants you to thrive. From an evolutionary perspective, pain is protective. 

In light of the recent controversy surrounding NFL players and protest in the United States, I would like to share some thoughts related to pain and protest from one of my yoga teachers:

When someone protests in this country, it may be annoying or frustrating. We may interpret it as disrespectful or selfish. We may criticize how someone protests, and say their mode of self-expression is inappropriate.

But protest is more than an entitlement in this country. It's a right, which means it's granted within certain broad boundaries no matter what. It's not a reward for "good" behavior. Tolerating and even encouraging its expression is part of the fundament of this country. It's not useful to say, "I will only feel pain if it's not unpleasant. Got it, nervous system?"

Protest serves a similar function to pain. One might attempt to numb protest or otherwise censor it, but it's role is to bring to light that which is detrimental to the fabric of society. Like pain, protest is meant to reveal the part of us that is being hurt. This is a gift. Though we may not agree with all of a protestor's views, we must acknowledge that in their own way they are trying to contribute to the overall health of our collective in the best way they know how.

We might ask protestors to protest in a different way - and they may possibly even listen - but, only if we show that they protests are being heard and the damage being protested against starts to abate. Protestors must know that they are going to be safe and respected. 

Yet, here is where I struggle with this stance: just as taking a knee is a valuable and valid protest, so too is the corresponding outrage.

Again, in the words of my yoga teacher:

We may interpret that protest as perverted. We may think, "Suck it up, white people!" We may believe the pain those people feel is necessary to excise the cancer of white supremacy. That might be true. But it's certainly true that their protests are letting us know that damage is occurring somewhere. And that is worth exploring and trying to mitigate with intention.

As long as racism exists in our society, I hope that protests against racism exist as well. As long as we are causing harm to any part of our society, I hope that a light is shined on it. Kneeling may feel disrespectful, but it is also a gesture of concern and love. Shouting, swearing, and blaming are certainly a far cry from being the most effective tools for communication, yet me must acknowledge that they are tools for communicating nonetheless.