In November 2001, following the events of 9/11, I was honored to sit on a panel at the Foundation of Light in Ithaca, New York to address how to lead a spiritual life in turbulent times. I was privileged that day to be sitting among some very learned spiritual leaders and teachers including several of the Dali Lama's monks from his monestary in Ithaca, as well as practicing Muslims, Sufis, Kabbalists, Hindu spiritual teacher and world philosopher Ram Roy Bhaskar, Christian clergy and others whose diverse spiritual practices converged in an opportunity to share our perspectives and practices. Our hope was that we could help others remain grounded and optimistic among the fear pervading our country following the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States.
I started my remarks stating that there are always troubled times. We are a species stuck in our egos, creating a sense of separation from one another and the Universe. Some of us even see ourselves separate from G-d, or the Divine. What arises from separation is fear and all its negative aspects: hatred, envy, greed, self doubt, a sense of superiority or inferiority, and more.
While rooted in Kabbalah, my perspective is broad, universal in scope. I am done with labels. I am learning all the time from others. Rumi writes: " Not Christian or Jew, not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not up out of the ocean, nor natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all. I do not exist, am not an entity in this world or the next, did not descend from Adam and Eve or any origin story. My place is placeless, my trace is traceless, neither body or soul. I belong to the Beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath, breathing human being." (The Essential Rumi - translations by Coleman Barks).
We are connected. We arise from the One. What follows are a few excerpted paragraphs from my remarks regarding my own practice.
"Chanting, which I came to a number of years ago in a very spontaneous way during my middle-of-the-night meditation, helps to raise my vibration beyond my minds chattering and its drive to create separation, negativity and fear. It allows me to go to a place of peace and connectedness to Truth, to the understanding that allows this mind- body to flow through what seems like a separate journey to a place that recognizes only One. I realize that this is about awaking to Self. Through a spiritual practice, the manifested “me” catches glimmers of Oneness and experiences peace and joy. And these moments are what ground me, center me, open me to the flow, the continuum of my journey. It is the practice of chanting - meditation that helps me to stay connected to the inherent intuitive guidance. I begin and end each day in gratitude for the incredible blessings and I recognize that those blessings arise in challenges as well as in moments of effortless ease and expressions of love. "
1 comment:
I loved reading this post as I struggle with today's notion that we all need to be so individualized and seemingly separated from one another. And yet, what I notice the most, is that so many people are really connected to one another by a victim mentality!
In my work, I see many people who simply cannot conceive of healing...if they were to heal, they would lose their identity and what allows them to demand due compensation for all the hurt they have experienced.
We have become addicted to labels and we have allowed those labels to assume a life of their own in destructive ways...what was meant to allow a person to acknowledge a past issue without shame has now required said person to live up to the damage already caused by the past...
We are never free if we cannot release labels and heal - and this must begin with forgiveness above all else. If we cannot forgive, we have sentenced ourselves to a lifetime of experiencing the negative energy of the past over and over again.
It is no wonder that our bodies are crying out with chronic pain and disease that burrows in and holds us hostage.
Let us, in this Christmas & Holiday Season, release the past, forgive ourselves and others as we claim with passion the decision to heal. Let us understand that December 25th means the birth of a a new way of perceiving, believing and behaving. Blessings to all.
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