The Earth and Us

We all come from and return to the Earth.  Yes, maybe we are also made of some distant stardust that has been recycled from millions of years before.  Our bodies are made of the same materials as everything associated with this planet.

I use the endearing term star shine or star dust since this is our primal essence.

We are composed of roughly one-fifth carbon and calcium atoms coming from ancient recycled stars billions of years ago.  These rays were cycled when they collapsed as white dwarfs and exploded as supernovas forming stardust.  Born in a universe 14 billion years old, 93 billion light years wide with over 300 billion other stars.  I guess we are speaking of a finite not infinite universe.

Our planet almost 5 billion years old were life appeared almost 4 billion years and the first hominid creatures showed up a billion years ago

Mostly salt water, carbon, oxygen and many other of the same chemicals, and compounds. Interesting is that our heart is a huge pump that circulates blood and other nutrients so we may function.   With profound humility I find much appreciation when l reflect about my connection to this place and all things that enable me to be here.  The Earth and I are one and the same and my heart celebrates unification .

The word human itself comes from the root as humus, earth.  So too does humble, which makes better sense because the best way of saying humble is to realize you're made of.  Long before science came along to explain the minute details of it happens, cultures all around the world knew that our bodies are made from earth, and when we die our bodies go back to it.*

* The Map of Heaven , Eban Alexander, 20114 xiii

Heart Flow

When I fully open my heart I enter a flow state.  Entering this state of awe I become fully absorbed with all aspects of my moment to moment experience. Entering this flow I find less resistance, and greater rhythm with all aspects of my life.

Greater inner and outer connections happen.   For example I mention to a friend about my sacred relationship with hawks and then I immediately hear a hawk cry outside.  This form of serendipity results when I become more intuitive or right brained.

In this flow, I become more self-actualized, unified and aware.  Entering a more compassionate and trusting state I open to greater possibilities.  Fear based emotions such as doubt, despair, and controlling lessens my flow. Flow is about a zone of effortlessness, and ease.  I experience increased unity and harmonious connection with everything.

It is if I am kayaking on the Shenandoah River and I become the water, absorbed, alert and fully conscious.  The awe of flow brings a form of tranquility, and oneness. No longer is there just the sum of the parts, however, a more vibrant whole.

At times I enter a sense of timeless concentration in this flow state. I even can find stillness in this state of actualized movement.  I become fully immersed in whatever I am doing, however, maintaining a heighten awareness of my surroundings.

There is divine energy or chi when I flow.  This momentous state comes a form of inspiration not desperation.  A more loving  and kind psychic force happens.  An  alignment with the TAO or natural way happens because of flow. Acting in this  Zen place I am unified with a natural pulse. Instead of being with the breath I am the lightness of breath. Great leaders, artistic or athletes exhibit this charismatic zone.  Fully concentrated and motivated work and play become one. 


There are virtuous indicators of flow since I become more open, trusting, fearless, compassionate, sincere and present. Flow Mihaly Csikszenthalyi describes as, "an optimal experience, a state of concentration so focused that is results in absolute absorption in an activity."

When I tap this flow of my heart I touch a higher consciousness and apperception.  I have  unconditionally arrived in this heart filled place.  Flow gives me grace and appreciation of this illuminated way of well-being.

Heartfelt Brain Health

A friend of mine just shared with me a talk she saw on Brain health. Dr. Paul Nussbaum talked about it's a lifelong process to increase brain resilience. The brain has immense power, and you can shape your brain for improved health.

Below gives you 5 basic components of to increase your brain health, according to Dr. Nussbaum:

1.  Socialization : Keep involved, build friendship & family networks, develop purposeful activities. Cultivate what is positive - since our brain dwells to much on the negative. Let go of resentment and anger. Be kind to all including yourself. Compassion, faith, and other virtuous messages give your brain better health.

2.  Physical Activity: Walk as much as possible, engage in aerobic exercise, dance, garden, and even write with your non-dominant hand. Using both sides of your body builds brain resilience. Do routine things a different way than you always have.

3.  Mental Stimulation: Do novel and complex things -- get away from rote, passive activities, Travel, Learn 2nd language,  and play board games/puzzles.  Use the healing power of music and other ways to cultivate wholesome acts.

4.  Nutrition: Increase Omega-3 fatty acids (fish, walnuts, almonds, etc.).  Decrease processed foods, bad fat and sugar; Increase anti-oxidants--  and have 6 servings of fruit/veggies daily

5. Spirituality: Pause, relax and open to a new sense of calm.  First slow down and unplug as much as possible.  Learn relaxation procedures, meditate or pray daily.   Work on breathing rhythmically and slowly several times a day (deep breathing relaxes the body, and betters manage your stress). Power of turning inward is a great medicine.

Improving your brain's health and well being is the best thing investment you can make. Stimulate your like minded and positive relationships:  increase your physical activity; stimulate new mental possibilities; feed yourself healthy foods; and cultivate a relaxed and contemplative spirit by listening to your heart to improve your mind.

The Magic of Noble Friends

Over 18 years ago around 10 of us new meditators agreed to meet every other Thursday in a Kalyana-Mitra group.  We came to sit and learned how to profoundly listen and speak with greater mindfulness for 2 hours. 

It is my understanding that Kalyana-Mitra (KM ) or "noble friend" comes from the Buddhist tradition where wisdom and insight is cultivated when like-minded people meet together focused around a common intention.  Our amazing gatherings began in Takoma Park not far from where I was born. Here, we agreed to explore our difficult emotions.

John O’Donohue writes in Anam Cara- A Book of Celtic Wisdom on page 25-26;

KM or noble friend will not accept pretension but will gently and very firmly confront you with your own blindness. No one can see his life totally.  As there is a blind spot in the retina of the human eye, there is also in the soul a blind side where you are not able to see. Therefore you must depend on the one you love to see for what you cannot see for yourself. Your KM complements your vision in a kind and critical way.  Such friendship is creative and critical; it is willing to negotiate awkward and uneven territories of contradiction and woundedness.
 

One of our deepest longings of the human soul is the longing to be seen. In the ancient myth Narcissus looks into a pool and sees his own face, and becomes obsessed with it. Unfortunately, there is no mirror in the world you can catch a glimpse of your soul. You cannot even see you whole body completely.  If you look behind you, the front of your body is out of view. You can never be fully visually present to your self. The one you love, your anam cara, your soul friend, is the truest mirror to reflect your soul. The honesty and clarity of true friendship also brings out the real contour of your spirit. It is beautiful to such presence in your life.

As I celebrate our KM anniversary with our group this weekend I feel boundless gratitude. What magic it is to have noble friends who have elevated my life with such a priceless heartfelt experience.

Fostering Positive Feedback

Taking care of oneself is a conundrum since self care is required.  Creating an inner feedback loop to change old patterns and stimulate new attitudes is paramount to progressing out of the past "stuckness" through self compassion.  Fostering new behaviors that are none judgmental while motivates me to lessen my pain help encourage my greater well being.  Developing and wiring this internal feedback loop can be thought of as turning on one's inner light switch.

Below gives one example how coaching can help develop this;

You might be asking, “Why would coaching help me with fibromyalgia?” The answer lies in the interconnection and "feedback loop" between the body and the mind. Because being in pain creates a physical sense of stress, it releases stress hormones, which, in turn, can affect our mood and contribute to feelings of depression, trauma, and anxiety. A "feedback loop" is thus created where the pain feeds the stress hormones, which, in turn, create more pain. 

Often, those with fibromyalgia have prior life experiences and events that create stress, anxiety and trauma. This, in turn, can give rise to fibromyalgia, because of the feedback loop described above. But even among those who don't have a prior history, the pain and discomfort, combined with the difficulty in getting a diagnosis and appropriate treatment can, itself create feelings of trauma, depression and/or anxiety1.

So much of my life has been filled with negative self talk and/or unskillful thoughts that distract deter or lessen my happiness.  Finding both people and an environment that encourages more illuminating ways of being and thinking is what I welcome.  As a tennis teacher I have for years coached how to accomplish this feat from a perspective of match and recreational play.  How can I boast motivation or make their instructional time the most enjoyable and productive experience?

I come to a threshold.  I can continue to allow my negativity to further my suffering or I can explore new ways to manage this anxiety and celebrate life.  It is my choice whether my remaining time hear is hellish or heavenly. May I benefit from creating a more supportive way of being.

1 https://innerharmonyhealing.com/pain-chronic-issues/fibromyalgia/

Unifying Art - Transcendelia

Nothing is more powerful then the experience of oneness.  Western culture has instilled us with a sense of being separate, fragmented even at times disconnected.  However, when we become united or the sum of the parts we may feel at one.   At times we can find ourselves in this transcendent state of being, in our recreation or other special settings.  This feeling of awe can manifest as we are watching ocean waves reflecting the light of a full moon or the wonder of watching the sun rise, creating a unified feeling by beauty of nature.

Art is a fantastic medium to portray our non dual nature.  Here we can see how we are all interconnected- body, mind and spirit.  Years ago Abraham Maslow stated that the transcendent experience is a healing force.

In the chapter of Eye of the Artist- Ken Wilbur writes in “Sacred Mirrors : Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Inner Traditions 1990 the following writes about the third perspective of contemplation of the spiritual, transcendental and transpersonal world.  Ken calls this the “Eye of contemplation” which discloses a transpersonal, transverbal, trans-egoic world, of luminous soul and spirit.  He calls this realm as transcendelia, where objects perceived by the soul and spirit.

Mr. Wilbur writes of the three overall realms from matter/body to ego/mind to soul/spirit that is referred in various contemplative traditions as the Great Chain of Being.

He describes this in more detail on page 14[1] below;

The secret of all genuinely spiritual works of art is that they issue from nondual or unity consciousness, no matter what “objects” they portray.  A painting does not have to depict crosses and Buddha’s to be spiritual.  This is way for example Zen landscapes are so profoundly sacred in their texture, even if they are just “landscapes.”  The issue from nondual awareness or unity consciousness, which is itself Spirit.  At the height of transcendence, Spirit is also purely immanent of all-pervading, present equally and totally in each and every object, whether of matter, body, mind or soul. The artwork, of no matter what the object, becomes transparent to the Divine, and is a direct expression of Spirit.

The viewer momentarily becomes the art and is for that moment release from the alienation that is ego.  Great spiritual art dissolves the ego into nondual consciousness and is to that extent experienced as an epiphany: a revelation, release or liberation from the tyranny of the separate self-sense.  To the extent that a work can usher one into the nondual, then it is the spiritual or universal, no matter whether it depicts bugs or Buddhas.

A critical theory of art based on the perennial philosophy would demand at least two scales.  On the horizontal scale would be included all the elements on a given level that influence a work of art.   These elements include everything from the artist’s talent and background, socioeconomic facts and psychological factors, to cultural influences.  The vertical scale, according to the perennial philosophy, cuts at right angles to all these earthy facts and deal with the ontological dimension of Being itself.  The vertical would have several components summarized by the question, How high up on the Chain of Being is the work itself situated?

The great artists of the modern era kept alive the quest for the sacred and the search for Spirit, while all about them the cultural world was succumbing to scientific materialism.  For this we are forever in their debt.  The next great movement in Western art is waiting to be born.  It will not be of the body, or the mind but of the soul and spirit.  Thus we await with much anticipation the great artistic symbols “that belongs on the altars of some future spiritual religion.”

Today we need to shift from our paradigm of being divided to one of being united.  Artistic expression provides countless creative acts how that both unify our collective situation and offers invaluable insight.  The need to heal and become whole is paramount.   May artists of all walks celebrate the unification of our great chain of being.   Connecting our body/mind/spirit to new frontiers of oneness and unity will heighten all things to greater collective experiences.

---

[1] Sacred Mirrors : Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Inner Traditions, 1990

New Beginnings

Years ago I had the honor to meet John O'Donohue speaking at a church across from American University. I will never forgot how I ask a question to him in a very non ordinary way. I said that dying was easy but I found living was quite difficult. He responded with great kindness and blessed me with with some friendly words.

John O'Donohue wrote before he died "The Blessed Space Between Us" in 2008 these paragraphs below,

To live in the creative life, we always need a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where new beginnings might be ripening. There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over.

There is a certain innocence about beginning, with its excitement and promise of something new. But this will emerge only through undertaking some voyage into the unknown. And no one can foretell what the unknown might yield. There are journeys we have brought inner riches and refinement; but to travel through dark valleys of difficulty and suffering. Had we known at the beginnings what the journey would demand of us, we might never set out. Yet the gifts and rewards become vital to who we are..

When the heart is ready for a fresh beginnings, unforeseen things can emerge. And in a sense, this what a beginnings does. It is an opening for surprises. Surrounding the intention and the act of beginning, there always exciting new possibilities...*

Also he wrote in the last paragraph of his poem, New Beginnings

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Further in this book Mr. O'Donohue wrote the shape of the human heart  blends together both a circle and a triangle. He observed the heart space as a triad where the self and its otherness unites into a threefold force-the spirit of friendship. This fellowship becomes greater then the sum of the other two dimensions. May we all benefit from John's wisdom and begin once again with the blessing of a new friendly possibility.


*John O'Donohue- The Blessed Space Between Us, 2008, pg, 2-3