One Heart Sangha

Sangha Expectations

Our sangha supports members in fully flourishing, so that they are fulfilled, strong and deep, and so that their natural healthy expression benefits the lives of all with whom they come in contact. Together, we live Love in Action, each in our own way.

We’ve been through a lot together, including COVID, cancer, serious illness and death of loved ones, healing of old and deep wounds, and a newborn. We’ve developed a lot of love and trust.

If you want to be part of the sangha, it’s important that you meditate daily. Making that choice is profound, and impacts your life in more ways than are readily apparent. Among other things, it enables you to receive and make use of what we’re offering, and gives you common ground with the other community members.

Too, if you would like to be part of the sangha, I’d like you to choose to attend one of the meetings more often than not. Of course, things come up, but members of the sangha care enough about our group to make it a priority and to schedule other commitments around the gatherings.

I’m available for individual meetings with members. Sometimes people like support in their practice, or to discuss life circumstances. I don’t charge for this.

Newcomers are welcome to take a “test ride” and see how it feels. Please let me know how it works for you. If it’s not a good fit, we’ll all understand if you don’t continue.

I’d be happy to discuss any questions or concerns.

You can reach me at john.records@gmail.com.

With love (in action!),

John Records

Below are links to subjects we've discussed recently, and resources. They are posted in reverse chronological order.

For Reflection

Favorite Colors and Chakras

Let's play with color. Do you have one or more favorite colors?

Opening ourselves to the light and colors of the natural world can nurture us deeply.

I enjoy the pure colors of some gems, and the way that we can see and play with the colors on our various devices.

Colors also are associated with our chakras:

1. Root Chakra (Muladhara)

   • Color: 🔴 Red

   • Location: Base of spine

   • Associated with: Grounding, survival, physical identity, safety

   • Element: Earth

2. Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana)

   • Color: 🟠 Orange

   • Location: Lower abdomen (just below the navel)

   • Associated with: Creativity, sexuality, pleasure, emotions

   • Element: Water

3. Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura)

   • Color: 🟡 Yellow

   • Location: Upper abdomen (above the navel)

   • Associated with: Personal power, confidence, willpower

   • Element: Fire

4. Heart Chakra (Anahata)

   • Color: 💚 Green

   • Location: Center of chest

   • Associated with: Love, compassion, healing, connection

   • Element: Air

5. Throat Chakra (Vishuddha)

   • Color: 🔵 Blue (Sky Blue)

   • Location: Throat

   • Associated with: Communication, truth, self-expression

   • Element: Ether / Sound

6. Third Eye Chakra (Ajna)

   • Color: 🟣 Indigo

   • Location: Forehead between the eyebrows

   • Associated with: Intuition, wisdom, inner vision

   • Element: Light

7. Crown Chakra (Sahasrara)

   • Color: ⚪ Violet or White

   • Location: Top of the head

   • Associated with: Spiritual connection, consciousness, unity

   • Element: Cosmic energy / Thought

Some newer or alternative interpretations use gold, silver, or crystal light for the crown chakra to reflect a more universal consciousness or non-dual awareness.

Here's a free color playground I made for you. If you move the cursor to the right of the screen, or to the little menu in the upper right corner, you can adjust the color to your taste. I particularly like exploring the color green, and adjusting it until it feels most satisfying. I can feel it in my body.

Here is a free app for iphones and ipads for playing with color.

This app has a free version and can be upgraded to more features for  about $3.

An easy and needed Love in Action for you

Recent federal budget cuts are significantly impacting food banks across the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has terminated two key programs:

• Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program

• Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program.

This decision could deprive millions of children of free school meals amid rising food cost.

Maybe local and state governments and systems will help out. In the meantime, we have an opportunity to help meet the need.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

Here's what I'm doing now:

• Researched online for local food banks (see the one I found in Newberg, Oregon, above.) Easy search: "food banks near me".

• Checked the online reviews--very good!

• Donated online (any amount, even $1, helps)

• Here's where the "small things with great love" comes in." I'm going to the food bank in person next week to informally connect with the people who volunteer. I plan to open myself energetically to the environment and the people there, feeling into my heart and mentally inviting "Our Hearts", and to share the love and strength of One Heart.  If they have the time and inclination I'll chat a bit.

• I will see what I'm called to do further, if anything.  Monthly donations? Volunteer a bit?

I want to emphasize the benefit to you of taking positive, loving action at a time in which you may feel some overwhelm, perhaps even that you are powerless. This is just one example of something you can do, now, to bring more love and caring into our world.

I would really love it if you would do something along these lines that works for you, and speak briefly about it to our group. We can inspire and learn from each other.

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like any guidance or support on this opportunity.

The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you

Bastards and the Golden Rule

Comedian Garrison Keillor recently restated the Golden Rule:

“Do unto others as you wish the bastards would do unto you,” and this is no piece of cake. [The verse  says]: “Love your enemy, bless those who curse you. If someone takes your coat, let them have your shirt too. Do not judge, do not condemn.”

What the hell? I do not love my enemy. He is Putin’s patsy and so we should let him take Ukraine and let him have Poland and Sweden too? I don’t think so. But this apparently is what Jesus said, that I should love the unelected Nazi who is cutting American aid to starving people in Africa.

Similarly, attributed to the Buddha:

Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time

Hatred ceases by love

This is an unalterable law

For those who remember that death comes to all

All quarrels end.

What’s your view? 

What You Said About One Heart Practice

________________________________________

The practice has the most benefit for me if I perform a set of prostrations beforehand.

The practice ranges from several formal rounds to snippets which arise unbidden throughout my day.  Always a pleasant surprise.  

The feeling I experience with the practice, strongest afterwards, is a sense of ripening and gratitude. It is a part of my ground.

________________________________________

I like that we hug ourself and then the world  (all hearts) at all times - this puts me into the essential timeless place I am not used to.  I don’t have as much relationship to namaste as it’s more common.

________________________________________

I’m not a fan of the prescribed hand movements.  I resonated with all of the philosophy. So I thought, I will create a way to practice the meditation that will work for me…maybe with hand motions, maybe something else.

________________________________________

I have added it to my meditation routine.  After a bow and then a few breaths, I concentrate on my feet being grounded and stay there for a while feeling secure and connected.  I then open my hands and slowly bring them into Namaste/One Heart position.  This position helps me feel very connected to the divine and focus on opening my Crown Chakra and breath and hang out here for a while.  At this point I am always in a wonderful meditative space. 

Then I put my hands over my heart and feel my breath into my hands.  After a while I open my hands and include my family and friends and often think of them individually and often may say a prayer and have a revelation about them.  

Then I open my hands further and further expanding consciousness to all.  I slowly draw my hands to One Heart position as to gather all of us up into a universal consciousness and into my heart  I then touch my heart again and stay in the the mediation, as I am now grounded, connected and open to the divine.  

I immediately notice myself settling down as I start to mediate and feel very soft and loving during the process. The one heart practice gives me a bit of structure while engaging my heart and I often get “lost” in the meditation.  I end with a One Heart position and a bow. 

________________________________________

In doing the one heart practice I notice a concentration on the gestures. When it is complete, I realize I have experienced less wandering. There is a quietness and focus that I appreciate. 

I meditate weekly with a neighbor and friend and we did one heart together prior to meditating this morning—she likes it!

________________________________________

The One Heart Practice on Monday helped me settle in and feel very connected with the group. My day had been pretty hectic and the news was awful, so I appreciated practicing together. I plan to use the One Heart Practice with my women’s group later this month.

________________________________________

Thank you so much – it also helped to have it all written out, numbered in a row to review and remind myself the order. Several times, I’ve forgotten the “my heart” part of it and then need to start over.

I do find that it focuses me in for a meditative place, and doing it 3 times as you suggested helps to bring my wandering mind back in. Sometimes, my mind goes to concerns when thinking about all hearts in the world, but then it also helps me remind myself of the hearts behind the surface issues and settle in.

The overall One Heart practice does help me feel more focused, settled, and calm. And, it feels do-able, which helps a lot.

________________________________________

The One Heart Practice is a great tool in my meditation tool box. I use this practice about once every couple weeks when I feel the need to connect my heart to others.

For instance, when other people may be in pain and I do not know how I can help (such as LBGTQ community who are suffering under Trump’s policies). Another example is using it when I was very anxious about my cancer diagnostic screens that occur every 6 months. It connected me to other people in my community who I do not know personally, but go through the similar screenings and probably have anxiety about them.

Overall, the One Heart Practice gives me peace and connection. [note from John: I suggested to this person that they practice daily for a week and observe how that affects their life]

The Pearl Beyond Price

As we become aware of this inner void, we might feel a strong desire to be immersed in and filled by this greater Reality. But how?

This sacred journey varies among people. We all have different characters, needs, and gifts. Some may already feel a personal connection with the Divine, through interactions with entities like Grandmother Tree, Divine Mother, Guanyin, Hariharananda, or Jesus. These embodiments of wisdom and compassion can guide and support us, offering insights, comfort, encouragement, and awakening. Many, however, do not have such personal connections with the Divine.Having walked the spiritual path for over 40 years and drawing from diverse traditions and teachers, I have found that the One Heart Practice is particularly accessible and transformative. This practice helps foster a heart-centered connection with the greater Reality, inviting a deeper sense of unity and peace.

One Heart Practice Instructions:

The One Heart Practice involves a series of meditative gestures, each designed to expand awareness from the individual to the universal:

1. Namaste Gesture: Start with hands together in front of the heart, acknowledging the Divine within yourself and others.

2. My Heart: Cross your hands at the heart, connecting with your own heart center.

3. Our Hearts: Open the gesture to include a group, fostering a sense of collective connection.

4. More Hearts: Open the gesture even wider to include a larger group.

5. All Hearts: Open the gesture fully, expanding awareness to encompass all beings across time and space.

6. One Heart: Slowly close the gesture, gathering in All Hearts into the unifying Namaste gesture. This expresses the loving integration of all hearts into the universal One Heart (where they always have been).

Throughout these steps, remain open to various emotions and sensations, from profound peace to heightened awareness of universal suffering and love.

These steps are usually repeated three or more times, with the practitioner's sense of self subtly expanding to that of the One Person. After several cycles, there might arise a sense of the One Person claiming the heart and life of the practitioner as Its own.

Adaptability and Personal Experience

A key aspect of the One Heart Practice is its flexibility. Practitioners are encouraged to adapt the gestures and approach to suit their individual needs and experiences. This adaptability ensures that the practice remains accessible and meaningful across diverse spiritual backgrounds and personal preferences.

Daily Practice

I strongly encourage you to practice this daily, and to notice changes in your awareness. One Heart is a great start for your daily meditation practice. After three cycles of One Heart you might find that abiding in inner peace and love is simple and easy.

A Week With Paramahamsa Hariharananda

When you were in his vicinity (not just near him), you could feel his energy—a palpable sense of holiness, like the warmth of sunlight or the scent of fresh bread filling a room. It wasn’t just his presence; it was the energy around him, as if the air itself was charged with grace. Being with him was both soothing and rejuvenating, like slipping into a warm bath after a long, exhausting day. 

His appearance was deceiving. He spent most of his time lying in bed, absorbed in meditation, his body worn from nearly a century of life. But don’t let that fool you. Twice, he grabbed me with a strength that defied his frail frame. Once, to show me a beautiful flower; another time, to pull me closer to him. Both times, I was stunned—it felt like being pulled by an irresistible force far beyond physical strength. 

He was gentle but fierce in his teaching. If you came to him with a sincere desire to grow spiritually, he would help you, but not always in ways that felt comfortable. He had a way of exposing the parts of ourselves we cling to—our fears, attachments, and habits—and helping us to let them go. This sometimes was brutally painful, like being scoured. 

During my visit, I spent hours summarizing his lectures and guided meditations. His teachings were simple yet profound. Here are some of the things he said: 

"Through sight you see the seer. It is all coming from soul. Who is seeing but God? You practice it, when you will walk, how God is walking. You are not realizing this; apply it in your daily life. When you walk, feel that God is walking. When you stand, feel the divine vibration of God’s presence within you. Watch how the power of God is moving in you. You are forgetting, and deviated from truth. If you remember that you and He are one, and always have been, you are the immortal soul. He is doing work through you. He loves you." 

"The power of God is within you. Your blood is the blood of Jesus, your face is the face of Jesus, the power of Jesus is within you. Remain in God, then all the time you will perceive the presence of Jesus within you. This is religion. This is both the practice and the result of following the path." 

"Walk and feel that He is walking, eat and feel that He is eating, laugh and feel that He is laughing. If you forget, it is your death. You are advancing toward immortality. If death dies, then who will die? Practice it. Who can say who will die earlier, you or I? So just complete your course. Mistake is not mistake, it is for correction. We learn from mistakes. God is giving you time to change your mistakes. Constant alertness, constant perception of Self. This is Kriya Yoga. Seer, sight, seen are one. Feel that at any moment you can die." 

These teachings weren’t just words; they were invitations to live in constant awareness of the Divine presence within and around us. 

One of the most memorable moments came toward the end of my trip. I had decided to ask him, mentally, for the gift of "God-intoxication"—to be swept away, ravished by the Divine. As I walked toward his room, I reflected on the surrounding enormous lush garden he had designed. He knew intimately every plant, every tree. In that moment, I felt a quiet assurance: he was the master gardener, and I was one of his plants. He watered me, nurtured me, and pruned me. He knew exactly what I needed to grow. 

As I continued walking toward his room, I let fall my wish for God intoxication. Enough to offer my love to him, and let what was to come, come in its own time. He was lying in his bed, very still. I touched my head tenderly to his sock-clad feet, and stood up, my hands clasped in front of my chest.

"Come here," he said. I carefully walked over and knelt beside his bed. He looked at me from his pillow and smiled. He reached up with his hand and made a small gesture to come near. I did so, and he stroked the side of my face. Then he pulled my head to his chest and held it. "I am very happy that you have come. It is very cold in your place. But it is very warm here."

Held close by this ancient yogi, a being from another culture, almost a century old, a being who strides through realms unknown and unimaginable to me, "Thank you, thank you, thank you" reverberated within me. He had the wisdom, and the wish, to love me in a way that I could understand and respond to. It was a deeply human intimacy, God-in-Hariharananda holding me close to his heart, caressing me, blessing me, inviting me to return.

That week with Paramahamsa Hariharananda was a reminder of what’s possible when we open ourselves fully to the Divine. It wasn’t just about the teachings or the moments of grace; it was about the way he lived—one with the Divine, yet present for those who came to him. 

I share this story not just to honor him, but to remind all of us that the Divine is always within reach. Whether we call it God, Ultimate Reality, or simply Love, it’s there, waiting for us to remember and to realize it as our own Self. And sometimes, if we’re fortunate, we meet someone who helps us on our path.

• Does a "new year" matter?  Hint: it does if you want it to.

• What is calling you in this new year?

• Will you answer the call?

• What do you want in this new year?

• What two subjects or themes would you like us to explore in our sangha?

• Do you have a vision of peace for the new year? Here is Kurt's as an example: “Because I believe Total Peace is Possible, I am called to BE Peace exciting in others their vision of Peace resulting in Uniting us as the Force in creating Peace IN Everything, Everything AS Peace.”

Christmas 2024

Where Else But Your Own Heart?

The Courage of Uncertainty

Live Powerfully and Happily in Love and Service

I’d like to offer you some admonitions and quotations to help you to live powerfully and happily in coming months and years.

Be careful about media consumption. Most media offerings have an angle, an agenda, a desire to shape your choices and behavior. If you feel you must stay up to date on the news, the Christian Science Monitor has a good reputation for truth and evenhandedness. It’s not a Christian publication as such. https://www.csmonitor.com. 

Turn away from fear. Evoking fear is used intentionally to manipulate you. Both of the major political parties do this. Remember who you are. You are not just flesh and bone; you are also the spark of Divinity awakening in and as you. Fearfulness does not become you, although prudence has its place. Continue to wear your seatbelt!

Avoid catastrophizing. There’s reason for concern—and there’s always a lot of reason for concern! We don’t know what’s going to happen. Some of it will be upsetting, some useful.  Our path remains the same.

What does your Love in Action look like now? What is your natural healthy expression that benefits others as you blossom into your entelechy?

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” This is incorrectly attributed to Gandhi, but consistent with his thought. He did say, “My life is my message.” How might this apply to you?

“We can do small things with great love,” according to Mother Teresa. In your family, in your community, your small acts of love make a big difference. You don’t need to save the world.  Act with love as much as you can with those around you. Too, can you apply this to activities? Can you cook with love? Make quilts with love? Craft wood with love? Drink a glass of water with love?

Rumi offers thoughts that align with Mother Teresa’s above. He said, “Be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.“

Meditate daily, or more frequently. Do the One Heart practice. Keep honoring and claiming the depth, breath, and span of your Divinity. This helps put your daily life and world events in perspective.

Continue to connect with people who love and appreciate you, like our sangha group. This is mutually nurturing.

Work for what you love, not against what you hate.  Resist, resist, resist becoming hateful and embittered. That is a corrosive fuel for your activism.

Remember Gandhi’s exhortation: “Full effort is full victory.” We’re not responsible for outcomes. For things you care about, put all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength into it—that is “full effort.” And that also is your victory, regardless of what the outcome is.

Love in Action: Responding to Change

The recent election has left many feeling unsettled, fearful, and uncertain about the future. It’s natural to feel vulnerable and question how we can navigate these times.

This is a good time to reread (or relisten to) Love in Action. This book, your meditation practice, and our sangha will see you through.

If you're able to do it, open yourself right now to whatever feelings you may have. Where are the feelings in your body? How would you describe them to others?

We might want to leave the world behind, to hide, to go into a safe cocoon. That's ok, and we can do that as needed to restore ourselves. To catch our breath, to gird ourselves, to prepare to live with calm resolve and joy notwithstanding any circumstance. Sing, sing, knowing you have wings!

Far from retreating in fear, this moment calls us to embody the very qualities we wish to see in the world. It’s a call to be the steady, compassionate presence we all yearn for.

Love in Action emphasizes that love is not simply a feeling; it is an active, engaged force that moves us beyond our own concerns to meet the world’s needs.

Instead of succumbing to despair or defensiveness, we can choose to open ourselves as vessels for love to flow through. The world’s pain is indeed real, yet love offers a way to respond with purpose and resilience, transforming even our darkest fears into acts of healing and connection.

At the core of this response is the practice of offering ourselves—our minds, hearts, and hands—as instruments of love. The book’s paraphrase of the prayer, “Love has no hands now but yours,” captures this spirit. This practice invites us to recognize that love can only reach the world through our willingness to act.

We can begin by sitting quietly, placing a hand over our heart, and offering each part of ourselves in loving service: “I offer my hands to comfort,” “I offer my voice to soothe,” “I offer my heart to hold compassion.” Make the practice your own, use your own words. This intentional offering grounds us in love’s mission, reminding us that our actions, no matter how small, have the power to touch and heal.

From this grounded place, we are better equipped to respond to the needs around us. The Prayer of St. Francis, which calls us to “sow love where there is hatred,” “hope where there is despair,” and “light where there is darkness,” provides a practical guide. As we encounter others grappling with despair or anger, we can offer them a quiet presence, an attentive ear, or a few sincere words of encouragement. Though simple, these acts create a sense of connection and security, softening the walls that often divide us.

Embracing this path also involves practicing tikkun olam, the concept of “mending the world.” Although we may feel powerless in the face of vast societal shifts, Love in Action reminds us that every gesture, no matter how modest, is an essential part of the whole. When we volunteer, extend kindness, or listen without judgment, we become part of a healing current that reaches far beyond us. These acts are not just kindnesses; they are conscious steps toward the unity and compassion we wish to see in the world.

In responding this way, we do not ignore our own pain. Instead, we bring our pain into the practice, recognizing it as a shared human experience. Meditation and mindfulness can help us find the quiet center within, grounding us in love rather than fear. These practices remind us that, though the political landscape may change, our deepest sense of purpose and strength comes from our inner connection to love and Spirit.

It’s essential to remember, too, that this work is not about perfection. As Love in Action notes, “Mistakes are inevitable.” We may stumble, feel overwhelmed, or even question the value of our actions. But by simply showing up with a willingness to serve, we embody the love that transcends personal achievement or failure. In our effort to give, heal, and mend, we receive just as much or more in return, finding solace and purpose in the very act of offering ourselves.

Ultimately, responding to this moment with love is a profound act of resilience and courage. By choosing to become love’s hands, feet, and heart, we reclaim our agency. We become a living reminder to ourselves and others that, even in times of great uncertainty, we can choose compassion, we can choose connection, and we can choose to be part of the healing this world so deeply needs.

This is love in action—our quiet, courageous response to a world in need.

Invincible, Indivisible

Some friends are experiencing what one called "election anxiety." This can even affect our ability to sleep.

As we approach the upcoming election, I want to share some thoughts about finding peace amidst political turbulence. I've been reflecting on these words from Albert Camus:

In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.

In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.

In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.

I realized, through it all, that…

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger – something better, pushing right back.

Camus wrote these words in a time of profound social and political upheaval, yet he discovered something timeless – the unshakeable presence of our true nature. What he calls "invincible summer" is what we realize in our meditation practice: that spacious awareness that remains untouched by the storms of circumstance.

As election day approaches, we may feel pulled into anxiety, anger, or fear about potential outcomes. These emotions are natural and human. But our practice reminds us that beyond these passing weather patterns of thought and emotion lies an eternal sky of consciousness – vast, clear, and unchanging.

Whatever results November brings, remember that your essential nature remains whole and undiminished. When you feel overwhelmed by news or heated discussions, pause and find your invincible calm within. When you encounter hatred or division, let it remind you of the invincible love that is your true nature. When uncertainty looms, rest in the knowing that transcends all outcomes.

This isn't about bypassing reality or denying the importance of civic engagement. Rather, it's about engaging from a place of centered wisdom rather than reactive fear. From the ground of being, we can respond to whatever arises with clarity, compassion, and courage.

Remember that you’re not alone in any challenging times, this one included. We continue to love and support each other in remembering and abiding as this deepest truth of who we are.

Part of our contribution to our democracy is to show up as living proof that beneath all division lies invincible, indivisible wholeness.

Resilience

In times of uncertainty, it is natural to feel fear and anxiety. Political unrest, climate challenges, and personal struggles like illness or grief can make us feel as though we are standing on a fragile limb, unsure of where we stand or what comes next. Yet, in the midst of these difficulties, we are called to remember something essential about our true nature.

Libana’s song, Be Like a Bird, offers a profound image of resilience:

“Be like a bird,

who, halting in her flight

on a limb too slight,

feels it give way beneath her,

yet sings, sings,

knowing she has wings.”

Even when the ground beneath us (or the limb on which we sit) feels shaky, we can still sing. The bird sings not because she is oblivious to the uncertainty, but because she knows she has wings. She trusts in her innate capacity to rise, to move beyond the fragile branch. We, too, have this capacity. We are not trapped by our circumstances or bound by the challenges we face.

Meditation helps us to remember this. When we turn inward and realize the depth of our being, we discover that we are far more than the stories of fear and limitation we tell ourselves. We begin to feel the presence of our “wings”—our inner strength, peace, and freedom. This deep knowing allows us to live with greater joy, even in the face of hardship.

As individuals, we carry the capacity for resilience, but we are also part of a greater whole. Our collective resilience—our shared history of facing adversity—runs deep. Across generations and cultures, people have persevered through wars, natural disasters, and societal upheaval.

We can draw strength not only from our own inner resources but from the knowledge that we are part of a resilient community, one that has the ability to rise together, adapt, and create a better world. In unity, we can support one another, weathering these storms with a greater sense of hope and courage.

We don’t have to be consumed by fear or caught in the illusion of being stuck. Just as the bird sings amidst the uncertainty, we too can live joyously, trusting in our own wings—trusting in our capacity to be free.

Let’s come together in this remembrance. Through meditation, we cultivate resilience, and through resilience, we find our song. Be like a bird! And take comfort from our "flock."

Simple Gifts

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 9

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 7

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 6

Death As Graduation

Audio link.

Transcript

Gustavo Brett:

Welcome to the Molten Golden Teachings with John Records, where heaven, sky, and spirit kiss the earth and support the ground of human experience and awakening.

John Records:

Colin Dunbar, a dear friend with whom I've meditated regularly, recently died suddenly and unexpectedly.

This is dedicated to Colin.

What is death?

At its simplest, death is when the physical body stops working permanently.

Does anything or anyone survive the death of the body?

Yes, it does.

Many people, myself included, have had the experience of contacting connection with someone whose body has died.

For example, my friend Colin contacted me and spent about a day with me after his physical death.

He asked permission to stay for a while and gave me a sweet and loving thank you when he was ready to go.

Several other people reported a similar post-mortem loving connection with Colin.

I've had this kind of contact with a number of dead people.

I don't seek this out, but I'm open to the visits.

So why does someone die at a particular time?

In Colin's case, I feel that he graduated.

Because of our close spiritual connection, I knew about his big life issues, and I was delighted to see how he intentionally and consciously worked to refine his awareness and to let go of habits of feeling and thinking that didn't serve him well.

In the past year or so, Colin learned that he was worthy of love without having to earn that, and how to express his true self without fear, and how to stand on his own.

These were major aspects of his life work, which he accomplished magnificently and triumphantly.

Shortly before his death, he told many people that he was very, very happy.

Colin had, I think, finished his life work and was ready to take his next steps.

We who remain in our bodies, for a while anyway, can help those who have made this transition into the next stages of their growth.

Some feel that funerals are just for those who survive.

In fact, the spirit of the deceased often is present, and the funeral can help the spirit, as well as the survivors, to find closure in the stage of life just completed.

In the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche, we have one compilation of wisdom on how we can both prepare ourselves for our inevitable physical demise and help others in their journey.

That's a book worth reading.

What about grief?

Grief is okay.

It's natural.

It's appropriate.

Even enlightened beings grieve the loss of their loved ones.

Paramahansa Prajnananda, for instance, wept for days after the death of his beloved guru, Paramahansa Hariharananda.

Even though we know and experience that the spirit or the soul, survives, we well may long for and miss the daily physical presence of the deceased person.

For example, in his physical form, Colin was a world-class champion hugger.

We who survive in the flesh will miss his hugs, his smile, his generosity, and his humor, even though we know that he still lives.

Our natural response is to be sad at our loss.

We can prepare for our own graduation from this life by practicing meditation daily, and we can support those who have graduated by thinking of them with love, wishing them well, and in due course releasing them to move on.

We can keep in mind that there's more to us and to our lives than meets the eye.

Gustavo Brett

Death as graduation.

What to say in regards to listening to that?

I recently lost my beloved dog and this journey between accepting and or opening to what's beyond her passing and this profound longing and grieving for her physical existence.

I have found that to be the single most transformative experience of my life thus far.

A lot of it is just a matter of time before I can say, "I'm not going to be able to live without her."

I've been through a lot of things building up to it, a tremendous amount building up to it, but as far as a singular event, that's been my biggest enlightenment, I'd have to say, to life and death.

And I guess just to say, you know, first of all, as a graduation, we spend so much time, it seems as though most of us, thinking of death as a horrible thing.

And I wonder if one of those reasons for thinking of death as such a terrible thing is simply the difficulty of that longing for the physical life and love that we had with those souls.

Do you think it's possible that's one of the reasons we dread this transition so profoundly?

Or at least my view is that we, at least as Americans, dread death, physical death.

Death.

It may not be true, but if it is true, could that be one of the reasons of how much we just miss and long and grieve for the physical life to still be there?

John Records

I think so.

As mentioned in the reading earlier, even very highly developed enlightened beings grieve the loss.

When your dear dog, Sydney, whom I loved in my own way, died physically, she left a big hole in your life.

And even if she may still be connected with you spiritually, your physical day-to-day life has changed profoundly, in some ways for the better.

But I know that you would gladly give up those few benefits to have her with you again.

I've observed that for humans, and maybe even with our animal companions, that prolonged suffering makes it easier for us to let go.

I think from the perspective both of the person dying and the loved ones, that at some point the feeling may be, okay, done now.

Let's finish this off.

You know, there's been enough pain, enough suffering.

I kind of doubt that animals feel that way, but people seem to.

Gustavo Brett

I think that's a good point.

Their animal suffering may well feel that, in my view.

John Records

I have an old friend who has worked in the hospice movement for some time, and he said once, why would we mourn the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly?

Thing is that we're used to the caterpillar.

We live the lives of the caterpillars, and I don't think that we're really built most of the time.

Gustavo Brett

I think that's a good point.

John Records

There is the horrible loss, and there is this sense we have that it's still not the end.

I'm wondering for you, Gustavo, have you felt connection with Sydney after her physical passing?

Gustavo Brett

I don't know how to answer that question.

I am so different that it's hard to say if I feel her.

It's hard to say.

I mean, I feel her because I am with her a lot, mentally, you know.

I walk with her.

I talk out loud.

I have an altar that's been changing over the months before, during, and after her death.

I had a discussion with her about leaving this property that I live on eventually, that we're going to walk it again for probably a couple more months together, and I could feel that earth energy, and I don't say that lightly, but I could literally feel how the earth is soaking that up, and it's a lot of work.

It's a walk we've taken thousands of times together, at least over a thousand, maybe not thousands, but years and years of this same walk, and I feel, I guess what I feel with her, how I feel her is in my integration of grief.

I feel the physical death because I literally felt like I physically died when she died.

I felt like a piece of me actually died.

I felt like I was some kind of chunk, and I always do this with my hands, which is I put it right on my lower left solar plexus when I say that every single time, unconsciously, and now I feel this integration of grief and enlightenment, and that term is used incorrectly, I think, or overused, but enlightened, meaning lighter, less egocentric, more spacious, and more open, and I feel that I'm not alone.

I feel that I'm not alone.

She's with me, generally speaking, in my psyche, in my soul, and the way I weep for her on a regular basis after basically spending 40 years of my life not crying.

I cry a lot now on a regular basis.

It doesn't take much.

And I cry for myself and others now, whereas they just couldn't come before.

So maybe that's how I feel her.

John Records

There's a lot to respond to in what you said.

Let me suggest that with her physical death, you really did lose a piece of yourself.

You know, we could talk about that kind of thing symbolically, but it seems to me that with our loved ones, human and animal, that what we might think of as the boundaries between the two beings is blurred and maybe even erased.

So my thought here is that with Sidney, there was, in a way, you and Sidney are one soul with two bodies.

And when one of the bodies dies and part of that one soul goes on to its next steps, there is that loss of self.

This is in addition to how our daily lives change when someone moves on.

And maybe the process you're describing as enlightenment has to do with the reintegration of yourself in this new configuration after part of yourself has moved on.

I think, too, as you were talking about your ability to cry and how you had not for 40 years and are now crying for yourself.

And for...

For others.

That Sidney's passing her gift to you was catalytic.

That what's going on is, in a sense, bigger than your response to the death of your loved dog.

Rather, an opening of a profound wound in your being which permits healing to progress.

So those are some of my feelings and thoughts about what you said.

Gustavo Brett

Hmm.

Well, one more thing to just respond to.

And I guess as I'd ask the question and then just tell this quick story, the question would be, is there some ways that you would encourage people to find ways to link themselves with their human grief, physical grief and emotional grief, and this connection?

Connection to that person's life or soul or spirit as a past.

You know, this paradox of, yes, it's this way on earth and then connecting with what isn't so earthly.

I had a friend who's doing a documentary about people who lose their dogs and she said she had asked life or God or whatever, to give her a sign or Kali to give her a sign that she had made it cleanly to the other side.

And after they had cremated her, she came home and there was a magazine in the mail with a picture of a woman walking a dog.

And it looked a lot like Kali.

And she thought, well, you know, that's a bit of a coincidence.

You know, maybe that's it.

And then later that day, she went back to it.

And on the corner was this tiny little inscription of the illustrator of that picture.

And the woman's name was Kali.

And as soon as she said that, what hit my intuition was, that's life wanting you to know that it's okay.

Both, but for some reason, both sides are okay.

That she was here and now she isn't.

That's what hit me when she said that.

Like message, you know, in a bottle, in the form of a mailbox.

And so with that, you know, are there things we can do to strengthen our ability to connect and open ourselves to the graduation process of death?

John Records

Thank you for that beautiful story.

Thank you.

I appreciated the... the nuance and the finesse of that expression of the, you know, the woman walking the dog, the picture that looks kind of like Kali, and then to see the little inscription with the person's name.

I think the workings of the divine in our life are often not recognized.

They can be very subtle.

So in response to your question, I note that Jesus said, ask and you will receive.

Knock and the door will be opened.

So to ask for what?

To ask for what we want.

And then to look for it, like your friend did.

And I think that by asking, for instance, to the universe or to the divine, to Jesus, you know, whatever works for you, say, I miss my dog, my spouse, my child so much.

Please give me a sign that all is well.

Or let me know more about the next steps

Then, then to be on the lookout for a response to that.

So to ask, to knock on the door, and then to observe.

I think the fact that we ask the question, that may be part of how the answer is already offering it to us.

In other words, it may come into our perception in a way we're not aware of, that there's an opportunity to be reassured, and by asking the question, we align ourselves with the process of that expression and that reassurance.

The question may not just come from us, in other words.

It may be kind of a prompting of the divine to ask that question.

Gustavo Brett

Well, I made a deal with Sidney that we'd see each other in a field, beyond the, I call it the field, beyond the field, beyond the veil.

I don't use that to hide my grief.

And I don't think it'll be the same, you know, as it was when we were here.

That's a key component, I think, to that.

And I allow us to be together for whatever time it is, and then transition however we're going to transition again.

But I'm glad that at least a part of me is open to any form of connecting and being with her, or being around her, or understanding more about my own life and other people's lives and deaths.

So I am grateful for the grief.

I'm very grateful for it.

I'm not thrilled and happy about its power, but graduation is just that.

It's a celebration, and it's facing the unknowing at the same time.

And the next steps.

Yeah, and then what's next.

So thank you.

Thank you for that teaching and that explanation.

And anything in closing to say to people about graduation?

John Records

I think that it's important that we live the lives that we have.

Sometimes people are very concerned about what their prior lives were, what their next lives will be.

Let's live the lives that we have now, and love fully, mourn, and grieve, as we must.

And celebrate when we can.

Gustavo Brett

Indeed.

Mm.

Amen.

Thank you, John.

This is Gustavo Brett and John Records, Molten Golden Teachings.

Thanks everybody.

This has been a Molten Golden Mountain Teachings with John Records.

John can be reached at moltengoldenmountain.com.

Produced, recorded, and interviewed by Gustavo Brett at Transform Studios.

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 5

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 4

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 3

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 2

Revisiting Meditation in Light of Awakening 1

Entelechy and Awakening

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

Questions In Support of Your Entelechy

● Is there anything in your life that is hindering you, that you need to change or let go of?

● Suppose you have a long and fruitful life, in which all of your gifts flourish. What would you like to be remembered for?

● For what do you think you came to this life? Do you have any unfinished work?

● What things in the world, things that you might be able to do something about, break your heart?

● What is calling you?

● Will you answer?

● What do you want?

After you've read these questions, please go back and read them again slowly, and notice if any of them stir you, What answers arise as you reflect on these questions?

Why Wait Til I'm Dead? - Nikki Cuthbertson

Now I create in love and allow it to move and inspire my body movements , voice, creations and relationships.

Life has been so very challenging for the better part of this year but I am more grounded in who I was meant to be than ever before.

Life is still challenging but I’m very in touch with both my ground of being and the divine realms.

My hope was that I could through my body, bridge heaven here on earth and it is what I am living in the here and now.

I thought, why wait until I’m dead?

xoxo

Nikki

Discomfort When Opening to Suffering

How can we face this? Should we even attempt to receive this? Are we damaged by such practice?

The answers to these questions will differ depending on who is reflecting on them. Some people with histories of abuse and trauma will want to be very careful in opening themselves to the suffering of the world. I feel that doing this in our group is unlikely to cause irreparable damage, but also that careful, gradual engagement may allow one to open more fruitfully.

I myself experience great pain in the practice, as you may have noticed when I cried out on Monday. It was like getting stabbed or electrocuted. I have learned through experience that I reintegrate from that quickly, and suffer no long-term ill effects. My 40+ years of practice plus a knack for this kind of work serve me well in this regard.

As I’ve mentioned, I feel that we help to “metabolize” the individual and collective suffering when we practice like this, although one member of our group wondered if it really helps. Whatever the benefit to those whose suffering we receive, we ourselves benefit because we partake of healing when we accept the suffering of the world instead of turning from it, and choose to be the vehicles for healing others.

When it is just too much in this practice for us as our “smaller selves” (even larger versions of our smaller selves) and we overload, this opens the door for what we call the Divine, Spirit, One Heart, Love, and so on to enter into and even take over the practice.

You may have noticed that after we went through a couple of cycles of One Heart practice on Monday, One Heart took over and claimed our individual hearts, overtly blessed and loved us in the group as well as those with whom we were in solidarity, and went on to offer Love to the perpetrators of the horror. This extravagant Love is part of the nature of One Heart.

Continued daily practice, and immersion in our supportive sangha, gives us the strength and courage to open ourselves to the horrible suffering of the world, and to be supported and healed ourselves in the practice by One Heart, by Love.

So I encourage you to be prudent in your opening to suffering, and to open if you feel it’s right for you,  inviting One Heart (or Spirit by whatever name you like) to express in you, through you, and as you throughout the process. This is a heroic path, and rewards us with substantial growth including healing for ourselves.

Who You Were Meant to Be

One of our members mentioned recently that they felt they were becoming who they were meant to be. That's the work of a lifetime.

One perspective is that the purpose of your life is to become fully yourself, to fully blossom, to become who you were meant to be. This fully-realized state is called your entelechy, which also means the vital force that helps us flower from within to our full development. This includes our inner, spiritual development as well as our external expression.

To provide some examples, we could say that the entelechy of a rosebud is a rose in full bloom, the entelechy of a caterpillar is a butterfly, and the entelechy of an acorn is an oak tree spreading wide its magnificent branches and leaves.

How does this apply to people? A person in full blossom has found her or his higher purpose and expression, has usually gotten support in developing that, and is living it out in their activities and in the world. This greatly benefits the person because it is supremely satisfying, and it benefits others because of the beauty, wonder and contributions of those who are in full bloom. 

This flourishing can be easy to observe in athletes and performing artists. Through their training, effort and enjoyment of their work, they often make miraculous levels of performance look easy and natural. Some examples include  gymnast Simone Biles, basketball player Stephen Curry, and jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant.

Many who are in full bloom have little fame or recognition, such as wonderful teachers, healers or parents. We all have the opportunity to grow into our entelechy. What will support your entelechy, and your full development?

In brief, it is good to feed yourself in body, mind and spirit. This includes:

● taking care of your physical needs (sleep, food, exercise)

● engaging in practices like meditation to honor your spirit

● consuming media that uplifts and inspires you rather than bringing you down

● spending time with caring and supportive companions (entelechy flourishes in relationship)

● and very importantly doing things that you find meaningful and that are your natural, healthy and enjoyable expression.

Conversely, your entelechy is undermined when your being is not fed (see above), and when you are unreasonably constricted. Constricting influences include:

● Physical and emotional injuries (some in childhood) that haven’t been supported in healing

● Relationships in which you are consistently put down or disrespected

● Getting stuck in things that don’t matter, trivial meaningless things

● Being trapped in situations (work, relationships) that unreasonably limit you and don’t give you the opportunity to grow and express the depth and beauty of your being.

These areas of constriction need to be addressed, sometimes with help from others. For example, therapy can help us deal with old wounds, friends can give us perspective on relationships and work situations, and wise guides can help to catalyze the next steps of our unfolding.

Kindly reflect on how you are fed in body, mind and spirit. Is anything missing?  Too, what unreasonably constricts your growth?

In subsequent weeks we'll explore other aspects of your entelechy and how to support your full development.

Retreat at Holy Terror Farm, Paonia, Colorado, September 2023

Below are reflections on our recent retreat from members of our group. If you folks will set it up, I'll be happy to travel for this kind of gathering a couple of times a year.

I felt and experienced One Heart with my partner

We sat at a scenic farm near a creek. We heard the creek, the gentle breeze, and felt them, too. Like those, the sound of John’s voice was heard and felt, and that of all of ours. What was said was much less important than what was experienced. 

We became present - we became presence. Present with each other, present with our environment, and present with those dear to us. Ultimately, present with All. 

What I came there for was nothing short of communion with the Divine. To offer myself as a vessel of Divinity, in whatever form it might choose to express itself. And to embody that, and relate in that way to those I connect with in any aspect of life. This would make the retreat worthwhile and memorable beyond comparison.

I did receive what I asked for. As an example of this, we paired off and shared a “worthy of love practice.” I felt and experienced One Heart with my partner. We were both there, distinguishable, but yet we were one. We are One. It’s not just something to be said. I will carry this experience with me always. It has transformed me, as I have invited and permitted it to. My work is to keep this way of being at my surface. I am grateful.

__

Wherever you go, no matter how hard you look, no one is more deserving of love than you 

Small me: focusing on problems, story going strong and repeating in my head, emotions and story ruling.

Big me: Stepping back from story and aware of it running (thanks Chris!); compassion for others in the story and considering their story takes over.

Wherever you go, no matter how hard you look, no one is more deserving of love than you (practiced this with my husband and daughter, too!).

Reinforce a feeling of belonging (thanks Judy!), which I realize was lacking (IS lacking) in my family throughout my childhood.

__

 Loving the practice of moving into my spiritual higher self

It was a love celebration.

Firstly, a sharing of the one heart, with a small special intimate group. BEAUTIFUL. Special.

I felt a heart opening, both for myself and looking around at our group.

“No one is more worthy of love than you” - There was a profound shift from loving others (which we seem to be very good at), towards loving ourselves, deeply.

There was a closeness that enabled this practice to sink in more than the other times I have done this.

Perspective - loving the practice of moving into my spiritual higher self, that enables my smaller self problems to get so much smaller.

Finally - a circle of deep love in this mini retreat. I’m blessed to have found John Records, as his teaching and guidance has transformed me. Discovering that which is never born and never dies, and enjoying my meat and bones body. Feeling into my higher self, deeper and deeper - so peaceful.

__

I have felt renewed with a passion and excitement for the work I do

Thank you so much for taking the time and creating the space for me and the group to be supported, seen, held, loved, taught, nourished, and inspired. 

 I felt instantly comfortable and safe with the group to be vulnerable and honest to ask questions and to share my struggles and thoughts. I don't have another group of friends or others that I can share with in this way which helps me to feel connected to, grounded in, open and yielding to Spirit allowing Spirit to flow through me and help me remember who I truly am... a child of God, divine light, and extension of God with power to love and guide others towards healing, recovery of their true self, connection, and love.

I am reminded that we are not meant to do life alone and that in myself I am very little, limited, and weak. In Spirit I can do all things. I love the analogy, meditation that you shared with us about being Spirit's hands, feet, eyes, heart, etc. I would love a reminder of this.

Since the retreat I have felt renewed with a passion and excitement for the work I do in the world and a new motivation to want to do more....  from my heart. I had been feeling burdened, burned out, confused, and uncertain of what to do next. 

Many things became clear and easy for me, I have felt a letting go as well as a filling up. I am encouraged by the hearts, thoughts, and desires of the group to want to be more connected and grow their own gifts and contribute to this world. I am so grateful, honored, and humbled to be a part of this sacred, beautiful, loving group.

—

 There was a special energy in the experience of being together

Experienced a strong embrace of spiritual energy and support  from the group, quiet and powerful.  An opportunity to experience awareness of the present moment together — in our circle.  Felt the beauty of Nature as it surrounded us during our time of sitting together.

Zoom works fine for me, however, there was a special energy in the experience of being together in this mini-retreat.  I hope we can do this again within the next year and I am willing to work with folks in our group to make this happen.

Don't leave us, don't leave us!

Chakra Nectar

Chakra Nectar Meditation

By Doug, Marvin and John

A recent meditation session led by John Records spontaneously resulted in a guided meditation which we have called Chakra Nectar. We found this meditation to be effective, enjoyable, and a slightly different approach than our usual practice. We share a description of this meditation here in hope that you find it as enjoyable and effective as we did.

A Way to Understand Chakras

Chakras are energy centers within the subtle body. Seven major chakras are usually recognized, located along the central subtle energy channel that roughly coincides with the spine. You may notice a front and a back to the chakras.

Each chakra has its own intelligence, which you can think of as the manager or guiding spirit of the chakra. Some people regard these as deities. The chakra and its intelligence are a manifestation of the corresponding primordial chakra, which in turn is an aspect of the Cosmic Being, sometimes called the One Person, of which we ourselves are aspects. Our view is that the One Person wears the Cosmos as its body, and is awakening into our world in, through and as us.

In this practice we talk to our chakras and develop a friendly cooperation with them. The chakras as living intelligences respond to attention, love, and respect. They may have their own needs and offer their own support and advice. They can work together as well as operate more or less independently.

You can take this perspective with a grain or two of salt. You needn’t accept this as literally true, just as a provisional way to think and feel about your own being and the way Reality works, and to use this in support of your development.

The Practice

First we take a short time to settle ourselves in meditation. We find our silence and openness and rest in and as that open awareness for a few breaths. Once settled, we can proceed to become (re)acquainted with our chakras.

We can mentally feel our chakras just as we might mentally feel our knee or elbow. We may not ordinarily be aware of a skeletal joint or a chakra, but if we put our attention there, we can feel it. With chakras, we can put our attention in the general area described below and feel around until we find what feels like the right place. It’s a bit like closing your eyes and using your hand to feel in a sack for a jewel. You might have to feel around a bit until you find it.

Here is an overview of practice involving the seven chakras. You can apply it to any individual chakra. Some like to connect with just one chakra in a session, or to connect with more than one or all of them.

You may start with the first chakra, counting from the bottom, the root chakra. Take a few breaths to locate the chakra, feel it in the body. The root chakra is often described as being at the base of the spine. People may perceive it differently. It may be found a little forward of that, just above the furthest extent of the perineum, next to the anus or as a zone of energy in this general vicinity. Trust your own feeling about where the energy centers are. Suggestions below seem correct for the authors, but your experience may differ.

If you are doing this practice alone, feel free to talk out loud to your chakras or silently, whichever you prefer. In a group, you know the approach - silence is best.

In this example we will first greet the chakras one at a time, invite the nectar, and then thank each chakra.

You may greet your chakra something like this: “Hello, respected root chakra. Good afternoon. With great respect and love, I welcome you with all my heart,” or “Hi root chakra, I’m so glad to connect with you! Thank you for your presence in my life and all that you provide.”  Speak in a way that feels real to you. Your attitude and intention is more important than your exact words. If nothing feels authentic now, just do your best.

Continuing with the chakra communication, “Let’s just sit and enjoy each other for a few moments. Know that you are seen and appreciated. Please feel free to communicate your needs to me. I welcome your insights and advice.” Be open to any responses but without expectation. Responses may be subtle in the form of feelings, images or other perceptions. Sometimes the response may come in words. It’s best not to visualize here, but rather to open to whatever is present.

If you don’t stop here, continue to greet each of the chakras in turn. The sacral chakra is often located just behind the genitals, extending from above the top of the tailbone in back to the pubic bone in front.

The third chakra is located about navel height on the spine and may be felt extending to the navel or below in front. Trust your own feeling.

The heart chakra may be felt roughly mid-sternum, extending from higher on the spine in the back. It might be felt a little to the right of the physical heart, or in a generalized zone in the area of the heart.

The throat chakra may be felt in the throat above the sternum between the collar bones, extending back and up on the spine.

The third eye chakra (also called the “soul center”) is perceived at or behind the middle of the forehead, above the eyebrows, inside the head.

The crown chakra (also called the “God center”) is felt at or just under the top of the head, with energy extending up or down, in the area that would be the soft spot on a baby’s head.

Having welcomed the chakras, let's start again at the root chakra, inviting the nectar.

Speaking to any or each chakra (depending how many you’re working with in your session), invite along these lines: “Respected root chakra, know yourself as an aspect of the Primordial Root chakra. Invite your divine presence to fill your being as divine nectar. With each in-breath invite the divine nectar of the One to fill you. With each out-breath let that nectar flow through you and throughout the body. Let’s continue for a few breaths. Thank you.” You can invite the nectar to bless and nourish each cell, each atom, in your physical body.

Invite the divine nectar from each chakra in turn.

After completing with the crown chakra, take a few breaths to bask in the well-being this nectar immersion facilitates.

Finally, crown to root, thank each chakra for their generous participation and offering.

Open your eyes when ready. Marinate as long as you like in the nectar, savor it,  and give thanks.

Being Present and Aware In Our Lives

Blessing

Blessings to you. Did you know that you have the ability to bless? How might you do that?

The Sweet Lingering Kiss of Heaven and Earth

Professor Jacob Needleman put it this way:  We are free to be -- and are obliged to strive to become -- beings through whom and in whom the highest energies of consciousness and eternity blend into a unity in relationship to all the forces of earth and passing time. 

We don't do this just for ourselves. It's part of the great mending of the world, tikkun olam.

This development is supported by practices like meditation, sharing of energies, and opening to each other and to Reality in our sangha.

Along the way we have plenty of opportunities to love and support others in this weary world, to practice love in action.

“May we, in being transformed and set free, become someone in whose presence others feel safe, seen, and accepted. For it is in such encounters that this weary world becomes a truly blessed place to be.” —James Finley, Ph.D., “The Healing Path”

I'm a midwife and a participant in this process. 

Are You a Wounded Healer?

(Image: Guanyin checking out at the grocery store)

I'm a wounded healer. Are you?

We might wonder what it means to "heal."  I still carry the pain of my wounds, but much of the time I'm ok and function well. For me the pain is part of my connection to wounded humanity.

The wounded healer archetype is a powerful one that has been explored in many different cultures and traditions. It is the story of someone who has been through a lot of pain and suffering, but who has emerged from that experience with a newfound wisdom and compassion. These individuals use their own experiences to help others heal, and they often become powerful teachers and healers.

There are many examples of wounded healers throughout history. In Greek mythology, for example, we have the story of Chiron, a centaur who was wounded by an arrow dipped in the blood of the Hydra. Chiron's wound was incurable, but he used his pain to become a great healer and teacher. He taught many of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology, including Achilles and Hercules.

In Judaism, there are many examples of wounded healers. One of the most famous is Rabbi Tzaddok, who lived in the 2nd century CE. Rabbi Tzaddok was a great teacher and healer, but he was also a man who had experienced great pain and suffering. He had lost his wife and children, and he had been exiled from his home. But through it all, Rabbi Tzaddok never gave up hope. He continued to teach and to heal, and he became a source of inspiration for many people.

Another example of a wounded healer in Judaism is Reb Nachman of Breslov. Reb Nachman was a Hasidic rabbi who lived in the 18th century. Reb Nachman was a brilliant scholar and a gifted storyteller, but he also suffered from a debilitating illness. Despite his illness, Reb Nachman continued to teach and to heal.

In the Christian tradition, we have the story of Jesus. Jesus knew great pain and suffering. He was betrayed by his friends, and crucified by the Romans. But through it all,  he continued to love and forgive, even those who had hurt him.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva Guanyin (aka Kuan Yin) is often seen as a wounded healer. In some stories, she is said to have been born with a wound on her foot, which caused her great pain. However, she eventually learned to use her wound as a source of compassion and understanding for others who were suffering. She is now known for her ability to heal the physical and emotional wounds of those who come to her for help. 

The wounded healer archetype is not just a myth or a story. It is a real and powerful force in the world. There are many people who have been through great pain and suffering, but who have emerged from that experience with a newfound wisdom and compassion. These individuals use their own experiences to help others heal, and they often become powerful teachers and healers.

If you are feeling wounded, know that you are not alone. There are many who have walked this path before you. There are others who can help you heal. And there are others who need your help.

If you are called to be a wounded healer, there are many things you can do to use your wounds to help others. Here are a few suggestions:

• Listen. When you listen to others with an open heart, you let them know that you care. You also help them to feel understood and validated. Often, this suffices.

• Share your story.  Once you get to know someone, at the right time and place, it might be helpful to share your story with others. When you share your story, you let others know that they are not alone. You also show them that it is possible to heal from pain and trauma.

• Offer hope and healing. When you share your own stories of hope and healing, you give others the courage to keep going. You also show them that it is possible to find peace and joy, even in the midst of pain.

By using your wounds in these ways, you can make a real difference in the world. You can help to create a more compassionate and loving world, one person at a time. Your ability to relate and listen to others who have suffered might be improved because of your wounds..

You don't have to do anything outside the scope of your day to day life to be a wounded healer. However, you might also be moved to volunteer to help others, or even to find work aligned with your own challenges.

• If you have suffered grief through the loss of loved ones, you might volunteer for hospice

• If you have been through abuse, you might become a counselor or advocate for victims of abuse.

• If you have been through addiction, you might become a counselor or mentor for people struggling with addiction.

• If you have been through a mental health crisis, you might become a peer support specialist or advocate for people with mental health challenges.

• If you have been through a physical illness, you might become a patient advocate or volunteer for a health-related organization.

The stories of the wounded healers provide powerful examples of how our own pain and suffering can be used to help others. They remind us that we are all connected, and that we all have the potential to heal and to be healed.

No matter what your wound is, you can use it to help others. You can use your story to connect with others who are hurting. You can offer them compassion and empathy. And you can offer them hope and healing.

When you use your wounds in this way, you become a wounded healer. You become a source of light in the darkness, a beacon of hope in the midst of despair. You become a force for good in the world.

So if you are feeling wounded, don't give up. You can choose to make your wounds a blessing for others. You can choose to become a wounded healer. 

(If you are on this path, or called to it, you might enjoy Becoming Kuan Yin, one of my favorite books.)

Proceed on from the top of the pole, and you will show your whole body in the ten directions." 

Mumon's Comment

If you go on further and turn your body about, no place is left where you are not the master.

But even so, tell me, how will you go on further from the top of a hundred-foot pole? Eh?"

Mumon's Verse 

 He darkens the third eye of insight

 And clings to the first mark on the scale.

 Even though he may sacrifice his life,

 He is only a blind man leading the blind.

--

 Top of a 100 foot pole, are you there?  Sometimes I think this Zen practice is not only like climbing to the top of a 100' pole but the pole is also greased  and I keep sliding backwards.  I have been playing a lot of music these days now that I have retired from regular work.  I have been practicing one song quite a bit and the other day during my evening sit I could not get that tune out of my head for the whole hour.  It's ok but I have worked all these years on training this (my) mind to be quiet.  And then my wife is adept at showing me where I am still attached.

 If you get to the top of the pole and truly quiet your mind then just sit there for a while, relax, look around, the path on is clear.  Your whole body fills the ten directions.  Do you see that?  All that work for such a simple insight but still it is a revolution.

The last of the Ox Herding Pictures shows a joyous Bodhisattva giving out gifts to children.  All your years of hard work are not for your ego bound small self.  That self is just an illusion and by now you know that.  The outcome of all the hard work is that now you partake in the activity of the Universal Bodhisattva which is really your true self. 

__

John Tarrant Roshi of the Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, California, talks about the "100 foot pole" is his wonderful book Bring Me the Rhinoceros. 

Do you want to participate in the activity of the Universal Boddhisattva? Love in Action is a good guide.

One Heart Practice final

The One Heart Practice is transformative for some. Here's the last video in this series, in which Doug Matchett and I practice together, facilitating for one another. You might get some ideas on how you could practice with a friend, or for your own practice. The video is a bit shorter than 15 minutes.

One Heart Practice continued

People are enjoying One Heart Practice, so I'm offering more videos on it. In this video, Doug Matchett, who has a lot of experience with meditation, and I discuss Doug's use of One Heart Practice, and how he has modified it to his own taste and needs. I offer observations from my own experience. If you haven't seen the first video, please look below for that.

One Heart Practice

Our hearts are an aspect of, a facet of, a gateway to, One Heart. This video guides you through simple movements and perceptions to realize the One Heart.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

-Mary Oliver

• How does this tie-in with the other themes we've been exploring recently?

• What does it mean "to be good"?

• Do you ever feel despair? 

• Is it true for you that you only have to let the "soft animal of your body love what it loves?

• How do you relate to nature? What aspects of nature inspire you or comfort you?

• Is there timelessness in this poem?

• Do you ever feel alone, frightened, lonely? Are you part of  the "family of things"? 

A Request for Your Song

I’m following up on the theme of our frailty, foibles, quirky humanity, and the ineffable quality of Spirit awakening in us.

My dear friend Nikki Cuthbertson (photo below) is a modern mystic and spiritual teacher. What do you make of this, which Nikki wrote recently?

A Request for Your Song

Moods float through us like clouds in the sky.

Yet each one was meant to savor.

Each one serves a purpose- a nudge to feel, explore and open to what was meant to celebrate within each breath.

Do not stop breathing with the seriousness of this world.

Find your breath and offer your song to each moment.

Birthing, living , dying all require the song of your Being.

Vibrate and express, if only you express silence and be aware of what you offer in that expression.

For you are a living prayer, a sentient blessing, meant to bless this world with your uniqueness.

The world will bump up on and push on your inner world, whether you like it or not.

Whether you withdraw or not.

Simply look at these moments as a request for your song, your Being to be expressed, if only it is within the container of silence.

Place your intention within it for it is a vortex to create the life you want. 

Remember that conflict is a request for your prayer, your song , your blessing.

Your opportunity is to refine that expression beyond the distortions of your wounds.

When you do, you transcend your wounds, make them your gift.

Your wounds were meant to help you find that perfect pitch to your expression. 

Not so much by expressing the wound as much as the Light that moves through your internal landscape that includes your wounds.

Much like the way the wind moves through the meadows, the trees and mountains.

You are a living prayer, a living blessing.

Walk with that in your heart today- or better yet, dance.

I’m feeling a little frail today.

About a week ago, I was out with a friend. We were riding our electric bikes on a beautiful autumn day. We went to a local and popular trail with the intention to reach a glorious meadow with a great view.

It started as an easy ride, but a ways into the ride we needed to walk our bikes often. The trail become steep, with lots of ruts and big rocks. Even on our powerful electric bikes we couldn’t handle the uphill climb.

It was pretty challenging. Before we reached the meadow, I told my friend, “I’m getting tired and my left knee hurts. I’m more prone to injury like this. I need to turn back.” My friend readily agreed and we headed back.

As we retraced our route going downhill this time, we of course encountered the extremely rough parts of the trail we had pushed our bikes up earlier. We agreed to get off and walk as needed.

I recall thinking to myself, as I saw my friend ahead of me on his electric bike carefully negotiating a steep, narrow and very challenging part of the trail, “I can get off and walk at any time.”

Instead I chose to keep riding, and this was literally my downfall.

I wasn’t going terribly fast, but I began falling to the right. I tried to catch my balance with my right leg, which folded under me and I landed pretty hard on my right side, with my bike on top of me.

I said “Shit” as I hit. That’s a very popular mantra in such situations!

As I lay on my side I mentally scanned my body. My right ankle, shin, ribs and elbow hurt.

My friend, having heard my cries of pain, came to help me up. It took awhile to figure out how to do that because I was straddling the bike while lying on my right side, with my right leg pinned under the bike. So we had to figure out how to lift up the bike with me on it. We finally disentangled my legs from the bike and my buddy pulled me to my feet.

I was able to get back to the trailhead with my friend close at hand.

Apparently no broken bones from my misadventure, but I’m shaken up, feeling a little vulnerable, a little frail as I said.

That one error of judgment, choosing to ride down the trail when I could have walked, could have killed me or given me a life-changing injury. Fortunately I’m ok, but impacted somehow. I’ve experienced trauma, and my body knows what happened. I feel a little weepy as I listen to my body as I type this.

Our lives are full of such decision points, where we make choices that can impact us for years or decades, choices that we might look back on with regret, choices that we perhaps should have known better than to choose. These choices may not look like a big thing at the time, but they can impact our relationships, livelihood, health, and more.

I want to emphasize that if you are looking back with regret on some of your choices, that you are not alone. As human beings we make mistakes, and sometimes make the same kind of mistake more than once. Taking myself as an example, the story I just told you about my bike crash is the fourth identifiable mistake I’ve made on bikes in the past 18 months or so, and the most serious. Perhaps I should stop riding bikes, but I probably won’t stop.

Sometimes I think Earth is a planet for slow learners. Across the entire vast universe, the slow learners are sent here. That would explain a lot about our choices, society, politics and social priorities. 

And I’m on this planet for slow learners for good reason, it seems.

As human beings we are subject to all kinds of difficulties. Poor choices. Repeated poor choices. Hunger. Impatience. Anger. Lust. Despair. Self-medication. Low blood sugar now and then. Illness and stress from all kinds of sources, including a harsh economic system.

No one escapes our human frailty and foibles. Mother Teresa often was depressed. “The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader known for his promotion of tolerance, patience, and forgiveness, has revealed what makes him angry: careless staff. In an interview with The Times Magazine, the Dalai Lama admitted that “small things” still get to him, but he doesn’t hold on to his anger.” Jim Finley, a respected contemporary Christian mystic, says he has days he can scarcely make it through.

If some of the most advanced and caring human beings of our time have these challenges, it should come as no surprise that we, too, stumble. The same is true for others, of course. So we can be forgiving of others and of ourselves.

It can help not to take ourselves too seriously. After all, we have the bodies of primates. We’ve been called “naked apes.” As my dad observed, “we came down from the trees, and not too long ago!”

Fortunately, that’s not all we are. Through regular practice of meditation and support from others with similar perspective and practices, we can realize that in addition to our vulnerable, animal aspect we also are unborn, undying, and capable of giving and receiving great love.

In this short, humble and humorous video, the Dalai Lama explains our commonality. None of us are special, and we all have the potential to create ourselves anew.

Everyone—even the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, you, and me—has challenges and imperfections. Yet there are people who despite their human stumbles change our lives. Here’s a definition of saints by Frederick Buechner:

“A saint is a life-giver […] a human being with the same sorts of hang-ups and abysses as the rest of us”. Yet, “if a saint touches your life”, he concludes, “you become alive in a new way”.

We all have this potential! We don’t have to become perfect in some sense. It suffices to continue to choose to open ourselves to Spirit, to the Stillness, to the Great Mystery, to the Ground of Being, to the Divine.

We needn’t get hung up on the name for this—look within for what these words point to, and do that daily. As we do this, the lives we touch will be positively affected, without our intending to do so and without effort.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Let Evening Come

by Jane Kenyon

Let the light of late afternoon

shine through chinks in the barn, moving   

up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing   

as a woman takes up her needles   

and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned   

in long grass. Let the stars appear

and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.   

Let the wind die down. Let the shed   

go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop   

in the oats, to air in the lung   

let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don’t   

be afraid. God does not leave us   

comfortless, so let evening come.

The Magic and Mystery of Aging, by Douglas Pennick.  This is from the Buddhist publication Tricycle.

Questions for reflection:

• What is perfection and (apparent) imperfection?

• In light of our human nature and foibles, what we can expect of ourselves and each other?

• What is the bell?

• Who rings it?

• What does "still can ring" mean?

• What is the "perfect offering"?

• What is the "crack"?

• What is "everything"?

• What is the "light"?

• What does the light get into?

Other Videos

Shortcuts to Meditation ebook

I emphasize using gestures (which I often call "gestures of release") to shift our consciousness. This ebook coaches you through the use of gestures to release, to let go of, your daily consciousness and to find the stillness that always is at the foundation of your being.

Audio Podcasts

Podcasts are a good way to listen while walking or driving. The free Molten Golden Mountain podcast has readings from Love in Action with commentary, plus miscellaneous other spiritually-based offerings.

 Just click below. If you like to listen on your phone or tablet, you can open your podcast app and search for "Molten Golden Mountain" then subscribe.