The Development of Trust (Acrostic)

Day 3’s assignment for Writing 201: Poetry is to write a poem about trust, using the form of an acrostic.

An acrostic is any poem in which the first (or last) letters of each line combine to spell out a word or a phrase, or follow the order of the alphabet.

*****

Here is the result of my effort!

Blind faith does not the basis for true trust make,

Experience after experience is what it will take.

Seeing- hearing, being-doing,

Time, effort and discrimination are a must.

Intuition’s a factor, but inner silence may lead to “knowing” robust.

Let go of the need for perfection, that’s not the aim;

Live, learn, let go, and allow the other to do the same.

*****

The act of writing this poem was an experience in and of itself. I focused on letting go and letting the words emerge rather than trying to force them. When I came to close to finishing it, I was bothered by a couple of lines and wondered if they would be misunderstood. My eyes were then drawn to the line “Let go of the need for perfection, that’s not the aim.” I reminded myself this is my third poem. No one else will expect perfection from me, and I shouldn’t expect it from myself.

Over the next hour or so I tweaked a couple of words. Soon thereafter, I realized the entire poem could be seen as a message to me. I will learn to trust in my ability to write poetry as I continue to write poems!

*****

Journey Into the Mind (Limerick)

I spent the weekend in a place of incredible beauty. The company was wonderful, the food was great. I was doing the things I love to do, singing, chanting, being. What more could I ask? I could ask for a mind that would stop thinking, stop worrying, let me rest.

What better subject to address in my second Writing 201 assignment: “Write a limerick about a journey.”

Limericks are traditionally composed of five lines of verse.
The traditional rhyming scheme of a limerick is a a b b a — the first two lines rhyme, then the next two, and the final verse rhymes with the first couplet.

*****

My First Limerick

Journey into the mind, dark and dreary.
Caught in the maze, alone and teary.
Where is the peace?
Where is the release?
Bring me out of this state so bleary.

*****

Written for Writing 201: Journey

A Glimpse of the Sacred (Haiku)

As a student nurse, I was most interested in Maternal-Newborn nursing, particularly Labor and Delivery. After I graduated in 1970, I spent the next 17 years working in hospital obstetric units, earning a Masters of Nursing degree in Parent-Child Nursing, teaching Maternal- Newborn nursing at the University of Washington and working as the Maternal-Newborn Clinical Nurse Specialist at Swedish Hospital Medical Center in Seattle. Even when I switched to psychiatric nursing in 1987, the therapy modality I used was developmental in nature.

So last Friday, when I saw a news story about a baby who had recently been born still in its amniotic sac I was mesmerized. As I watched the video, I sensed I was getting a glimpse of something very sacred.

Another event that was happening at the same time was that I was preparing to take Blogging University’s Writing 201: Poetry class. I’ve never written poetry before and have no idea if I have any talent for it, but I wanted to give it a try. Our first assignment was emailed to us last night. We are to write a Haiku focusing on some aspect of water. Examples the instructor gave were “A murky puddle or a glistening lake. Amniotic fluid or your grandfather’s glass of Seltzer. A bath, a hose, an oasis.” A Haiku consists of “three lines containing five, seven, and five syllables, respectively.”

When I read the instructions, the baby in the amniotic sac came to mind. Below you will find the video I had seen, and my first attempt at writing a haiku!

Haiku

fetus warm, contained
inside, new life unfolding
parents eagerly waiting

*****

I could have also said:

fetus warm, contained
inside, new life unfolding
God’s gift in human form

*****

Which poem speaks most to you?

*****

Written, in part, for Writing 201: Water

*****

Wayne Muller Quotes: Being Special in Importance and/or Woundedness

Wayne Muller

Grandiosity and Importance

“As we grew, we began to feel responsible for how everything around us turned out– the happiness and suffering of our parents, our spouses, our friends, our colleagues and our children. One of the reasons we learned to judge ourselves so mercilessly is that we held ourselves to a much higher standard than the rest of humanity. Others were allowed to fail, to falter, to seek the help of others; we, on the other hand, were required to do it all perfectly, by ourselves, without a mistake, without the aid of anyone else.” Continue reading “Wayne Muller Quotes: Being Special in Importance and/or Woundedness” →

Sanskrit Fun!

We did a fun exercise in one of my Sanskrit classes this week. Before I show you the exercise, let me say that every noun in Sanskrit may have 7 or 8 different cases. You can identify those cases by how the word ends. The case endings also differ depending on whether the word is male, female or neuter.

Whether a word is considered male, female or neuter is very different than in English. For example, the word for house is neuter, the word for cup is male, and the word for bottle is feminine!

Cases:

1^st case is the subject
2^nd case is the object
3^rd case – “with” (with a fork)
4^th case- “for” (for the beggar)
5^th case- “from” (from the city)
6^th case- possessive or “of” (boy’s; of the boy)
7^th case- “in, at, on”

So, with that introduction, here is the exercise we did!

Start with Subject and Verb

Karuna eats.
करुणा खादति
karunaa khaadati

Add 2^nd case

Karuna ice cream eats.
करुणा पयोदिमं खादति
karunaa payodimam khaadati

Add 6^th Case

Karuna chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चाकलेहस्य पयोहिमं खादति
karunaa caakalehasya payohimam khaadati

Add adjective

Karuna lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunaa caakalehasya bahu payohimam khaadati

Add 3^rd case

Karuna, with a spoon, lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunaa camasena caakalehasya bahu payohimam khaadati

Add 5^th case

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunaa camasena cashaakat caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Add 7^th case

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, at home, chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् गृहे चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunnaa camasena cashakaat grihe caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Add another 7^th case

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, at home, in the evening, lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् गृहे सायङ्काले चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunnaa camasena cashakaat grihe saayangkaale caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Add a direction and also another 7^th case

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, at home, in the evening, in front of the television, lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् गृहे सायङ्काले दरदर्शनस्य पुरतः चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunnaa camasena cashakaat grihe saayangkaale dooradarshanasya purataha caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Add another adjective

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, at home, in the evening, in front of the television, slowly, lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् गृहे सायङ्काले दूरदर्शनस्य पुरतः मन्दं-मन्दं चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunnaa camasena cashakaat grihe saayangkaale dooradarshanasya purataha mandam mandam caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Add another 3^rd case

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, at home, in the evening, in front of the television, slowly, with happiness, lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् गृहे सायङ्काले दूरदर्शनस्य पुरतः मन्दं-मन्दं सन्तोषेण चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोहिमं खादति
karunnaa camasena cashakaat grihe saayangkaale dooradarshanasya purataha mandam mandam santoshena caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Add 4^th case

Karuna, with a spoon, from a cup, at home, in the evening, in front of the television, slowly, with happiness, for fun, lots of chocolate ice cream eats.
करुणा चमसेन चषकात् गृहे सायङ्काले दूरदर्शनस्य पुरतः मन्दं-मन्दं सन्तोषेण परिहासाय चाकलेहस्य बहु-पयोदिमं खादति
karunnaa camasena cashakaat grihe saayangkaale dooradarshanasya purataha mandam mandam santoshena parihaasaya caakalehasya bahu-payohimam khaadati

Lessons are for Learning

I was debating whether I would title this post “Lessons are for Learning” or “Look for the Good in Everything.” Both statements are true and they both fit the situation that I am about to describe. My thought was to use the first one that came to me, i.e. “Lessons are for Learning” but I decided instead to accept that “I Will Know When I Know.” I would decide on the title after I write the post!

As many of you know, I had been really looking forward to last Sunday’s divisional championship game between the Seahawks and the Packers. I was planning to watch it with my ex-husband Al. Due to jet lag, I only slept two hours Saturday night and attended a Sanskrit class Sunday morning. The game was at noon so I was going from the class to Al’s, with no time for a nap.

A variety of things had happened that day that triggered me and being so exhausted I was not at my best, to say the least. To top it off, on the way to Al’s apartment, I realized that he lived so close to the stadium that there was no way in the world I was going to be able to find a parking place. By then I was in a really bad mood, especially since it was raining and I did not have an umbrella or an appropriate coat in the car.

After dropping food off at Al’s apartment, I drove to a light rail station located about 4 miles from the International District where he lives. I parked the car and boarded the train. As I was walking back to the apartment, after having disembarked from the train, I noticed the strangest sound. It was loud and it sounded a bit like freeway traffic, but that wasn’t right either. What was it? Could the sound be the crowd cheering in the stadium? Unbelievably, it was!

By the time I made it back to the apartment, my bad mood had shifted and I was eager to watch the game with him. As the Seahawks made error after error, however, my excitement withered.

I knew that taking the light rail home was going to be a very overwhelming experience. Tens of thousands of fans descending on that station when I was so exhausted would be incredibly difficult. Al and I agreed that if the game ever got to the point where it couldn’t be salvaged, I would leave. When the Seahawk’s pass was intercepted with less than four minutes on the game clock, and a score of Packers 19 – Seahawks 7, l decided that time had come.

I left feeling fine about my decision. When a few minutes later I had the opportunity to give money to a panhandler, which is something that has been difficult for me in the past (Judgment or Compassion), I was even more confident that my choice had been correct.

Seconds later, there was loud cheering from the stadium followed by fireworks. What was going on? Al called me and Whats App texts started flying between my son Sreejit, who lives in India, and me. The Seahawks had scored a touchdown!

Soon I reached the light rail tunnel. In less than a minute’s time, the Seahawks recovered an onside kick and scored another touchdown, followed by a two point conversion, the combination of which put them ahead by a field goal. (I can’t believe I’m saying all of this, and even have a bit of a clue what I am talking about. Me, who until last year had NO interest in football!)

The tunnel was filled with fans who, like me, had left early. They were following the game on their phones and when the news that we were winning came through, the whole place erupted with cheers. I felt so much a part of this community experience.

With 14 seconds left, the Packers kicked a field goal that tied the game and sent it into overtime. The game was still going on when I reached my station. The elevator that took me from the tunnel to the surface street was full of people who had left the stadium early. One man said “I’m not here. If anyone asks, I’m still at the game. What happens in this elevator stays in this elevator.” Everyone laughed, and once again I had an experience of community.

I walked to my car and listened to the game as I drove home. Between the time I got out of my car and the time I turned on the television, the Seahawks had scored yet another touchdown and we had won. We were going to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row! And instead of facing tens of thousands of people in the light rail station, I was already in the quiet of my home. All was well.

Over the next few days there were times when I felt sad that I had missed all the excitement, but at the same time I knew I hadn’t; I had just experienced it in a different form. And I watched the game highlights that day, and in the days that followed, so that I could actually see what had happened.

Embed from Getty Images

I felt a nick of sadness again when I received pictures from friends who had been together when the big moments came.

But while I hadn’t been with Al, Sreejit or friends in those moments, I was definitely not alone. I was with Al and Sreejit via media and had had Seahawks fans all around me. I had felt connected and a part of all the excitement. It was just in a different way than I had expected.

I feel thankful for all that I experienced. As I reviewed the day in writing this post, I saw that I had an opportunity to work on the following lessons:

Lessons are for Learning
Look for the good in all situations
Be here now
Be willing to let go of plans
Let go of expectations
Lighten Up
There are no accidents
Don’t overthink
Learn from my mistakes.
What I (or others) think are mistakes may not be
Community comes in many forms
I belong
Choices are not good or bad.
I can learn from any choice I make
I will know when I know
What is right for one person may not be right for everyone else
Be compassionate and kind with yourself and others.
Never say never

So what will the name of this post be? I will go with “Lessons are for Learning.” And while I know it is important to never say never, I think it is safe to say I will never intentionally leave a Seahawks game less than four minutes before it is over, no matter how far behind they are!

Seattle-जनाः एकं कुतुम्बं अभवन्

Seahawks_Fans_are...the_12th_Man_(5341448344) — Photo Credit: Wikimedia

I returned to Seattle on Saturday, January 10 and yesterday, Sunday January 18, attended a Sanskrit class. We are required to write sentences for each class. I, of course, decided to focus on the Seahawks playoff game that would start an hour and a half after that class ended!

Continue reading “Seattle-जनाः एकं कुतुम्बं अभवन्” →

Protecting Mother Nature From Straws

When I was in India recently, I used so many straws to drink coconut w to the world’s plastic garbage problem in my face. It also reminded me of a short article I wrote recently for one of our GreenFriends Newsletters. I am going to reprint that article here both to give you information and to remind myself of the importance of changing my behavior. Continue reading “Protecting Mother Nature From Straws” →

Adventures in Amritapuri, India 2014-2015 : Index

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Each year, I spend six weeks in Amma’s ashram in South Kerala, India. Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), who is sometimes referred to as The Hugging Saint since she has hugged 33 million people worldwide, is also known for her extensive networks of humanitarian projects called Embracing the World.

My last trip to Amritapuri was from November 30, 2014 to January 9, 2015. For the first time, I shared my experiences there through this blog. Afterwards, numerous people told me that the posts made them feel like they were taking the journey with me.

I decided to create this index of posts in case anyone else wants to accompany me vicariously on that journey. Enjoy!

My Journey Back to Seattle (Jan 2015)

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

My taxi was scheduled to leave Amritapuri at 5 a.m. on January 9th. Around 9 p.m. on the 8th I was informed that it had been moved to 4:30 a.m. There would be no time for being idle that morning!

In the past, my itinerary has been to take a 11 p.m. taxi to Trivandrum for a 4:30 a.m. flight to Dubai. That flight is 4 ½ hours. The Dubai layover is two hours and then the flight to Seattle is another 14 ½ hours. Traveling that way means I miss a night’s sleep before I even leave India, and another night’s sleep on the flights (I do not sleep much on airplanes.) As I get older, I have had increasing trouble with jet lag. India is 13 1/2 hours ahead of Seattle so their day is our night and vice versa. The last few years it has been weeks before I adjusted.

I decided to significantly change my itinerary this year. With the new plan, I would leave the ashram at 4:30 a.m. after getting a reasonable amount of sleep. The flight left Trivandrum at 10 in the morning. Once in Dubai, I had a 21 hour layover. Even though it was expensive I had reserved a room at the airport hotel so spent the time resting or sleeping. I hoped it would make my adjustment to Seattle easier, and even if it didn’t it felt a lot better to get significant amount of rest before the long flight. The flight to Seattle was scheduled for 9 a.m. so I missed no night’s sleep before taking the final leg of my journey.

Dubai airport

The bottom floor of the Dubai airport consists of miles of duty free shops. It is loud and has very bright light. The second floor seems to be primarily a business travelers facilities although I only looked down into it so don’t know for sure. The hotel was on the third floor and was absolutely silent. What a respite from the over-stimulation below!

I had an experience there that will probably amuse some of you and make others shake your head wondering what is wrong with me.

When I entered my hotel room, I found this in the bathroom!

What in the world was that in on the left? I had never seen anything like it. Was it some kind of men’s urinal? It was a mystery to me. I kept looking at it and soon realized it had no flush so it couldn’t be a urinal. Still later, I realized it had a spout and handle that released cold and hot water, as well as a stopper and drain like a sink. A sink like that in the bathroom? I didn’t get it.

I took this picture and sent it to some other Americans and they didn’t know what it was either. I had fantasies of what people who didn’t know what it was for would do with it, and some of those fantasies were pretty gross.

Later in the day I decided to write a friend who is a world traveler. She immediately responded that it was a bidet. A bidet? I knew what that was and have even used them. But they have always been hoses and/or spray. There was no hose and no spray. It was just like a sink. Sitting in something like that after using the toilet still seemed really gross so I didn’t go near it!

When I returned to Seattle, I searched on the internet until I found a Wikipedia article about bidets. The picture on the article was this same type of bidet.

Bidets can be found in some countries in the Americas, especially in South America, and are a standard feature of homes in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. They are common in Arabic countries[citation needed] in the Middle East, such as Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and in the Maghreb, especially Egypt and Morocco. Much of East Asia, particularly Japan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea, use bidets as well.

I also learned that you use toilet paper before you sit in this kind of bidet. I am still left with the question “Why?” but at least it all makes sense, and was a pretty funny experience. What can I say, I’m an American!

I had other interesting experiences during my layover. There was an information station that had a cut out of a man. When he answered questions, his mouth moved. It looked like it was a real man who was actually talking. And stranger yet, when you walked by it looked like his head and eyes follow you as he talked. How did they do that? Was it some kind of hologram? I never really investigated it but I watched it every time I passed by.

After twenty-five years of going to India I am used to being in large groups of women wearing colorful saris and men wearing dhotis. There is a large Muslim population in the part of Seattle where I live so I am also used to seeing women dressed in long black robes (abaya) and/or the Muslim headscarves (hijab). There are even many Muslim women in Seattle who wear the burqa, a cloak that reveals only the women’s eyes.

It, of course, was no surprise to me that there were many more people in this kind of attire at the Dubai airport. Some of the women’s burqa had slits that were smaller than I was used to seeing, but there were considerable numbers of women who wore less restrictive clothing as well. Many of the men wore full length white robes (thobe) and a headress (keffiyeh).

At one point, I saw what I believed to be a Muslim mother and her teenaged daughter. The mother was in the black abaya although I don’t think she wore a headscarf. The teenager was wearing the kind of western blue jeans that contain more holes than cloth. I sure would love to know their story!

As some of you will remember, on the way to India I had been given an upgrade to business class. What a boon that turned out to be. I had hoped some miracle would happen and I would be give that opportunity again but it was not to be. The plane left at 9:30 a.m. and arrived in Seattle 14 hours later. Staying the night in Dubai made it easier, but it was still an exhausting trip.

Malidoma

Many years ago I read a book titled Of Water and the Spirit by an African shaman named Malidoma. He lived in the United States but returned to Africa each year “to learn from his elders and detox from Western civilization.” I resonated with that statement and have never forgotten it.

I have the same feeling when I am in India. Sweating from the heat even feels like detoxification. Sometimes it seems like all of my cells are being cleaned out and restructured…. or maybe a better word would be renewed. I rest at a level in India that happens nowhere else. I sense even my soul is at rest. One morning on this trip I awoke to find my earplugs in my hands and my covers off. I realized I had fallen asleep before I even covered myself (normally I have a sheet, a light blanket and a shawl over me since I use a fan at night.)

When I return to Seattle I find I have more respect and appreciation for my life in the U.S. as well as increased respect and appreciation for my life in India. I am better able to be content anywhere. While Amma’s body is not in the U.S. except when she comes here for the North American tours, I feel her presence no matter where I am.

Seahawks

Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile or who know me from Seattle, know that a very strange thing happened to me last year. When Seattle went crazy for our Seahawks football team I went crazy along with everyone else! I have never had the slightest interest in football, but something inside of me changed. I know in part it is because of the incredible sense of community that has developed in the city because of this team. (Opportunity for Community May Come When You Least Expect It)

When I read about their coach’s values and the way he treats his players and expects them to treat each other, I received another level of understanding about why I felt drawn to them. He even had them meditating and doing yoga! Last year after they won the SuperBowl there was a victory parade. 700,000 people stood for hours in 20 degree weather to participate. I was one of them!

While I was in India I still followed the games. It seemed no accident that the first playoff game started only a few hours after I returned to Seattle. Knowing I would be able to watch the playoffs made it easier for me to leave India and come back to my Seattle home! I still shake my head incredulously when I hear myself talking this way about football. You never know where life’s journey will take you!

As I end this year’s trip to Amritapuri:

I know I will miss:

Being with Sreejit, Chaitanya and Akshay
Being with Amma
Being with my other Amritapuri friends
Evening bhajans
Living in community
The warm weather (but not the hot)
The simplicity of living in one room with minimal belongings
The beautiful views of nature
The deep sense of rest and deep sleep
The accelerated level of synchronicities, blissful moments and lessons

In Seattle I am looking forward to:

Being and working with the colleagues and clients in my therapy community
Being with my friends in the Pacific Northwest Amma community
Leading bhajans at satsang
The potentially mild winter (it is 50 F this week!)
Watching the Seahawks play and being part of that Seattle community
Being in my comfortable house
Warm showers
Watching my worms
Sleeping in my bed
Working in my garden
Getting beyond the jet lag and being able to sleep
Blogging!

With this post, my report of this year’s journey to Amritapuri is complete. I appreciate those of you who have been interested enough to take part or all of the journey with me. I feel abundantly blessed