A Sea of Silence

I am sitting peacefully after a busy day touring Gort and Galway City in County Clare. Nothing remarkable to report and I am in need of some quiet time. I just glanced out my window to look at the River Shannon this evening. As the sun sets is reflects as silver on the water. Moonlight in the day light, I have written about that before. What is particularly striking this evening is the stillness of the river. I am inspired by the Shannon to share this poem. The adventurous Marsha will return tomorrow. The question is, will she be wearing socks?

A Sea of Silence

In a sea of silence
my breath rises up and down
like the waves of a great ocean
that rocks and rolls to the rhythms
and challenges of life.

Underneath there is a stillness,
a sense of perfect calm,
a base of stability
that is the underlying assurance
that all of life is an outpouring
of infinite wisdom and love.

In the stillness lies the answer
for all of life's complexities.
The journey is glorious.
The sojourner is One.

A New Beginning for Everyone

Today is a new day for America, the world, and for us. As we gather in Washington, D.C., around our televisions or our computer screens to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama, we will not only be witnessing history, we will be sharing in a spiritual moment filled with hope and inspired by a man of great integrity and vision. Today is a new day filled with possibilities for our nation and ourselves.

Yes, these are difficult times. While today's circumstances seem particularly daunting, they provide for us an opportunity to examine our lives and our personal priorities. When a house of cards falls flat it leaves a level playing field, a clearing, an opportunity as we pick up the pieces, to reexamine who we are and how we want to be in the world. It allows us to take pause and gain clarity; determine what is important, and understand our true passions.

This historic inauguration is a particular moment in time for all of us to take pause, give gratitude for every triumph and every difficulty that arises. Today is a moment for introspection. How will we live going forward and in a way that is for the greater good? What is the most significant contribution we can each make to our families, friends, communities, the nation, and the world? How will we create a meaningful life? What does that mean? How can we learn to live a spirit-inspired and fearless existence that is in the best and highest interest of all concerned?

President Barack Obama is not just the new leader of our country, he is an inspiration for the world and for each of us. The house of cards is still tumbling as an economy built on pretense continues to falter. Its far-reaching effects clearly demonstrate the interconnectedness of all nations and people. This is a new opportunity to reassess;new beginning for each of us. If we can get past the fear, let go of the preconceived notions and expectation of how things should or have to be, then we have a real opportunity to create a life of meaning; a gentle, loving, spirit-filled existence - the one we are meant to live.

We are spiritual beings in human bodies. Understanding this will help us to examine our personal priorities as our new president reaffirms the values and solid principles that drive our economy, our nation and the world. May this historic moment fill you with new found optimism and inspiration. May you realize the extraordinary possibilities for the greater good and for your own life. May you live fearlessly and find great joy and peace in the midst of extraordinary change.

Namaste,
Marsha

Peace Prayer

May my breath
fill every corner
of the world
with love.

A love that
envelops, surrounds,
overcomes
all adversity.

A love that
brings with it
serenity, harmony,
peace on earth.

Leading A Spiritual Life in Troubled Times

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. "