Thanks for giving rich material to reflect. Mitulkumar, you have the material here to be the author yourself for a fine Awakin Reading article few weeks from now !
We are all living in one space.Processes move with time but the "bucket" ( Planet Earth) has always been there. Our lives are much more interconnected now than ever before , for good and bad. For example someone in China is performing Yoga now and I am using a mat manufactured there. A trending Caribbean dance comes up on Instagram reels and the whole world starts getting impressed by the fluidity and exuberance. Also trye that (Alas ) we all mindlessly contribute to heating up the globe and thousands lose their lives to a flash flood in a remote part of the Himalayas.
Man has been gifted extra capacities by Nature and, as Wendell Berry puts it gently and we'll, may we consciously retract, reflect, repair and reflourish the culture back to nurture mode.
That is exactly what the experience of the Awakin Circle has been - a space to share and listen. Priceless moments of openness to oneself and others in the context of a larger reality. Heartfelt thanks to the person who started it all ( Nipun Mehta) and the warm hearted hosts over many years in my city Bengaluru.
Well related. So true that when inner composure is there (from reflections, understanding, meditation), we are better able to take outer discordances in our stride. A good reminder to make it a daily practice
This complex piece made me ponder deep and long relative to the other weekly readings. Reflections of some of you here (especially Nipun's) were another factor to get back to the piece and probe what is it I have experienced about life in the light of what Nora Bateson is saying (a piece of Art , isn't it ?!).
For me ( and many other Indians too, I suppose) the songs from our movies have a great impact. The actual depiction on the screen is usually forgettable but , by themselves, the music and lyrics of the songs are very evocative. A short phrase conveys a lot and the music tugs the heart. The remembrance of them brings a certain charm to individual and collective situations of life.
Life (and humans) seem to be becoming more and more automatised by the major forces shaping us - science, economics, etc. Attention spans are becoming briefer. Only when creative, sublime art 'informs' our lives , can we break out of set patterns
Obviously a radically transformed person will live like this spontaneously. But what about me ? Can I take Lariv Athem's lovely lines as an Anthem ? Fake it till I make it !?
Wonderful, Janet. Very moving .Made me recall a stirring call by a poet saint of the Indian subcontinent ( Bulleshah)..." Go ahead, destroy temples and mosques, if you wish. But never destroy a heart filled with love and passion (for the truth), for in IT dwells THAT ....Being truly human is to reflect the spark of divinity in each being
Wow, let's wish HR departments too unserstand CV the way you perceive it, Anil. The wonderful thing is Capability keeps evolving, the "receptacles" themselves keep modifying
Very true, Geri. It is a feature of "humanization" to be sensitive enough to spot hypocrisy in us and others. And then act to stay in enquiry leading to personal discovery In a never ending spiral of transformation....once started.
Just meditation by itself , in my experience, has mainly physiological benefits. It ought to go hand in hand with pondering on great insights about reality ( for me, Ramana Maharshi long ago to Francis Lucille and a few others now ) coupled with steady practical Work within and with fellow explorers.
So true. Briefly, simply said.Thanks, Susan.
Its a felt experience of each of us that nature in its wondrous beauteous forms always evokes an inward settling down , rapture and gratitude. We , in these times, all the more owe it to her to care and restore her
As I have moved into senior citizen hood , and thanks also to still prevailing traditions , I often sense a softness in the response of service providers and any public person i come across and request help from.
Speaking of myself , a feeling of gratefulness and sufficiency in me helps to manifest softness towards others apart from the usual trigger of the vulnerability and innocence in the other person
Further research indicates to me now that after this experience, Douglas Harding went on to explain that the "headless" perspective is something simply available in every moment. See his book " on having no head".
Blessed, you are. I have heard it said that it's not caused by us. Rather, it's Grace.
These lines from the piece " A peculiar quiet, an odd kind of alert limpness or numbness, came over me. " seem to confirm that.
But yes the cleaning up, the deep persistent (thoughtless enquiry) presumably create a receptiveness to that Grace.
It has been a distinct experience for me once , though ,not as full. And fleeting moments now and then which act as a validation and motivation
This extract really blooms when one reads the complete article by Alisha Gorder. Movingly poignant. Ah, the feeling component of the human being !! What a wonderful part when consciously complemented with physical experience and thoughtful reflection.
If one feels just a state of satisfaction, peace and no lack, i will agree that it exists both when a no-desire state is there and when a simple desire has just been fulfilled. However, my experience has been that the actual state, after deeper desires are fulfilled, has been such that there arises a higher emotional charge compared to the state of my being in a no-desire state. It is another matter that this charged emotional 'enjoying' state is usually one in which I am lost in identification and, further, it gives rise to perpetuation of the tendency to hanker for the same gratification, as Stephen has observed so well in this blog extract.
Yes, negativity, egotistical, shameful, or never-good-enough attitudes are constricting. Gentle acceptance is relaxing and neutralising . Reverence to the (un-apparent) sublime in us is expanding. Frequent rememberance of this is an antidote to the unhelpful habits of the mind. Striving for perfection or doing better at whatever i aim for is, in itself, a necessary driving force. For example, for creating this very post, i have had to be patient, delve into my experiences and reflect. However, as Brian Plachta, explains, one ought not to tilt into imbalance. Usually keeping to deadlines of time and accepting the realities of situations is a balancing factor against getting too carried away with perfectionism.
Loving / accepting myself unconditionally, in one recent situation for me, after having committed a mistake, arose in me naturally when i had an organic feel of something in my being which was unaffected, pure. The wallowing in guilt was broken.
Grasping for meaning ....
What's lowndry , essle-tindering ?
Ok, maybe ,let me take a hint from "The deep-now seeks to liberate my meaning-seeking mind."