The world has always been
A magic show
Made of sand
In a wind storm
Made of wood
In a blaze
How can you awaken
To what has always been?
You who sport with
Sleeping and waking
Pristine shades of being
We've started a basic Triangle area website, to share information about Durham/Chapel Hill retreats and Satsangs. Right now it is a simple Meetup.com group which let's us get the word out about events in the Triangle area.
Thanks to Cullen and Trey for their advice on creating a "sister site" to the Asheville Sangha!
Teala
We are all born into this world naked and screaming. That’s just one of many experiences we all share as human beings, even if we don’t remember it. My wife and I were fortunate enough to witness this miracle first hand when our daughter, Izabella Luna, was born on April 18th. What a wondrous experience it was. But what a rude awakening it must be for a baby to be thrust from a warm, dark, safe environment, where all of her needs are met, to a bright, cold, unknown world full of lights, strange objects and unfamiliar sounds. All of the sudden, she is at the mercy of all these people who want to poke and prod her, dress her, bathe her, swaddle her. She experiences hunger, which must be a foreign feeling given that her needs have been taken care of in a warm cocoon up until now, and the only language she has to express herself is crying and screaming.
Well, this has been a rude awakening for me too. I naively thought that only unhappy babies cried and that our baby would be different. Boy was I wrong. The first several days and nights were a real wake up call for me. Not only do babies cry a lot, they cry at the top of their lungs, sometimes while kicking and screaming. I haven’t spent much time around babies in my life. In fact, you could probably count the number of babies I’ve held on one hand and have fingers to spare. Now, I’m living with one 24/7 and learning the art of baby whispering. Survival mechanisms, instincts and helpful advice have come into play, and we are all beginning to learn how to live with each other.
When she cries, and we’ve made sure her basics have been covered (i.e. fed, clean diaper, etc.), then I try to soothe her. It’s so amazing that this little being can scream like she’s being murdered for no apparent reason. It’s even more amazing when I can get her to calm down. Using the 5 S’s (Swaddling, Side/Stomach, Shhhh, Swinging, Sucking), and a few other tricks, I can usually calm little Bella down dramatically (even if that’s only for a few minutes).
Something amazing happens when a baby becomes calm after a crying fit. Once that relaxation switch is triggered, through what ever method, her eyes become wide and clear. She has awakened from a fit of confusion and frustration (or so it would seem from the observer’s point of view) to that of a wide-eyed and curious child who’s just taking in her surroundings. That’s a beautiful sight to see.
Another beautiful sight to see is the amount of joy that shines on the faces of those who look upon little Bella Luna. It’s so heartwarming to see my wife look into her baby’s eyes and smile as she tells her how much she loves her. It’s also beautiful to see my parents melt with joy when they hold her in their arms. Of course she’s also got me wrapped around her little finger. I wear her on my chest a lot, which calms her and allows us to do things around the house.
She has taught me (and continues to teach me) a new level of patience and humility. I’ve learned not to take her crying personally, and I’ve developed a sense of humor around behavior which could otherwise be very disturbing. I notice when I experience frustration and I let it go, over and over, knowing that babies cry and it is completely natural (as is feeling frustrated and helpless).
Acceptance is the key to survival, and Izabella is my newest and most powerful teacher (and loudest). She is four weeks old as I write this, so our journey has just begun. I have a lot to learn from her yet, but I am ready, willing and able. The shock of the rude awakening is passing for both of us, as she and I continue to adapt to her life outside the womb. As this dance of life continues, I fall deeper in love with her every day.
Much love to you and yours,
Trey
PS - It’s almost 2:30 am and I’ve spent the last hour or so trying to get her to fall asleep and stay that way. It’s like a game we play, and I eventually win ;)
© 2012 Howard McQueen
This veil between me and everything
I understand to be of my own construction.
Understandably, I relied upon others
to make sense out of all this everything I experienced.
As a result, during my youth and thereafter,
I manufactured a myriad of:
- strategies of avoidance
- strategies of accumulation
- strategies of conformity
...
And this veil, of my own creation,
as I pulled it over myself
it became my invisibility cloak,
and it became my anesthetized outer skin
? of protection ?
? for protection ?
We are each faced with our work to deconstruct and disempower
our veils
and regain the openness and ease of being with
this everything we are born into.
May many blessing be bestowed upon each of us
to support all that we will let go,
in order to feel connected with ourselves,
and then everything else – once again.
Post from www.vasisthas-yoga.com
III.13 “By the apprehension of the perceived or the knowable, consciousness becomes the living soul and is apparently involved in repetitive history. When the false notion of a knowable apart from the knower (consciousness) ceases, it regains its equilibrium.”
The soul, or the jiva, is the result of identifying with the world-appearance. Soul freedom results by letting go of the false idea that you are or have a soul, not by becoming aware of your soul. Being or having a soul is just another story we can tell our selves, to keep the game of “repetitive history” or karma going.
The world-appearance, is anything that is perceivable. Perception is defined as, “the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition.” The taste of your food, the smell of incense, the feeling of your clothes on your body, the sound of the wind through pine trees, and the sight of the book in your hand is perceivable. Also, the thoughts in your mind, the memories of your dreams, the feeling of safety, the emotions of anger and love, all these are perceivable too, and so are equally a facet of the world appearance.
To realize that what is seen is the same as the seer promotes equilibrium and clarity in consciousness.
At first this can be a mental exercise. We can tell our selves (our personality or the soul), that everything we see and experience is a direct reflection of our Self. The person across the street is us. The anger that our father shared, is us. The love we feel being around friends or our spouse, is us. The sky above and the ground below, is us. The stars thousands of light years away, are also our very being. We mentally affirm this. It is a beginning practice.
Then, by intentional meditation, we can encourage direct experience of this truth. Meditation or other effective spiritual practices, help to calm the mind, and balance the nervous system. This way we can sit still and tune into the infinite, which I like to call “the rest of us”. It makes it easier to release attachment to the confined sense of self, that the personality is used to experiencing. Flowing our attention into a boundless thought free state, we contemplate that which we want to know.
Contemplation does not require thought. It only requires curiosity. Calm and centered, we can keep our attention in the higher brain centers, at the crown or the frontal lobe region, and wonder, “What am I that is aware of all of these experiences, both external and internal?” Then we sit and wait. Wondering and contemplating in a state of interested curiosity stimulates “the rest of us” or the infinite portion of our self, to respond. It is like running to get your heart rate up. You begin to run, and your body will respond by quickening your pulse. When you are curious and interested in something, and begin to contemplate that which you want to know, the body of your consciousness, or the infinite, responds by arranging the direct experience or realization of that contemplation.
When this direct experience finally dawns, false notions are seen for what they are, just like on waking up from a dream, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was only a dream. By direct experience of what you are, beyond thought and identification with only the perceivable, consciousness knows its peace, and the ever present equilibrium is realized.
Then as you sit on your friend’s porch, you hear the birds singing summer songs. You see the light reflecting off the lake. You feel the breeze cooling your skin, and it is all your very Self, not something happening outside of you. There is no need for thought. For the seer and the seen are one, and all is happening of its own accord.
