Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 24, 2014

Play

I have been spending most of my time on play related activities. As most of you know, I worked on sewing the costumes for a while and then switched to backdrops. I did not attend many play practices early on because there were so many different groups rehearsing throughout the day. I eventually asked Chaitanya which would be the best ones for me to attend. I went often enough to know that it was a powerful play, one that brought up so many emotions in me, mostly tears of one sort or another but also plenty of laughter. During one practice, I was crying and looked to the right and left of me and saw that all of the people nearby were crying as well. This play hits deep. (For those of you who don’t know, it is about the life of St. Francis of Assisi.) Continue reading “Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 24, 2014” →

Nature Cycles

For Photography 101: The Natural World and Wordless Wednesday

Quote of the Week: Pir Vilayat Khan

Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Khan asks us to view pain in this way:

Overcome any bitterness that may have come because you were not up to the magnitude of pain that was entrusted to you. Like the mother of the world who carries the pain of the world in her heart, each one of us is part of her heart, and therefore endowed with a certain measure of cosmic pain. You are sharing in the totality of that pain. You are called upon to meet it in joy instead of self-pity.

What is your reaction to his suggestion?

From: Pir Vilayat, Khan, Introducing Spirituality in Counseling and Therapy (New York: Omega Press, 1982).

Negotiating the Supermarket of the Mind

Question from someone at Amma’s 2014 San Ramon Retreat:

I have a question about negative thoughts and emotions. I find myself wondering what the right attitude is and how to prevent negative thoughts and emotions from affecting my life and affecting others. Continue reading “Negotiating the Supermarket of the Mind” →

Overcoming Myself

Last Thursday morning brought another challenging prompt from Sreejit at The Seeker’s Dungeon. This time the prompt was to answer the following question: “Tell us about your experiences with overcoming yourself.” I knew immediately what I would write about.

My post will actually contain three different stories. The first two are very different from each other and in the third the two come together, addressing a way I am working to “overcome myself.” Continue reading “Overcoming Myself” →

Silencing the Mind

When I am miserable it is usually because my mind is full of negative, discounting messages. That might happen because I’ve done or said something I think was wrong or stupid, because I am worrying about some future event, or because I’m upset about something someone else has done. I have to admit that when I am stressed and/or miserable, I am likely to go to the store and buy a big cookie, a doughnut, chocolate or ice cream!

While sugar is all too often part of my “fix”, I generally don’t stop there. I have learned many things over the years about quieting the mind. As I remember the teachings, or use the techniques I have been taught, my inner critic tends to calm down. Continue reading “Silencing the Mind” →

Rumi: “Do You Think I Know What I Am Doing?”

Do you think I know what I’m doing?

That for one breath or half-breath I belong to myself?

As much as a pen knows what it’s writing.

Or the ball can guess where it’s going next.

— Rumi

From Open Secret: Versions of Rumi by John Moyne

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Jelaluddin Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. (Biographical information and picture are from Wikepedia)

Loss in an Army Brat’s Life

My father joined the Army long before my birth, so being an army brat was all I knew as a child. I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and resided there the first five years of my life.

Continue reading “Loss in an Army Brat’s Life” →

An Early Morning Walk

I decided to do something different today. I would take a walk, let my feet go where they wanted to go, but carry my Android in my hand. I would take a picture whenever I felt led to do so. In my mind was a song I wrote many years ago, but this time the words were “Good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning, good morning to you.” I sang that song throughout my half hour, six-block walk. Here are the results of my experiment! (You can click one of the pictures to make it bigger or turn it into a slideshow.)

Written for The Daily Post Weekly Challenge: List Lesson

My Favorite Quotes

“Don’t be discouraged by your incapacity to dispel darkness from the world. Light your candle and step forward.” — Amma

“It’s not learning that brings you to perfection, it’s unlearning.” — Mother Antonia

“Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened!!” — Dr. Seuss

“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. Sometimes I just wish he didn’t trust me so much. — Mother Theresa

“Lord, Please help me make it through this self imposed, and totally unnecessary challenge.” — Author Unknown

“Teilhard de Chardin wrote that we must ‘trust in the slow work of God’………Ours is a God who waits. Who are we not to? It takes what it takes for the great turnaround. Wait for it.” — Gregory Boyle