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  elisabeth September 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  An old axiom: The Story of the Snake 

  Once upon a time, a holy man went from village to village visiting the people and giving assistance wherever he could.  One day he came to a town and entered the market place.  The people were all looking so unhappy.  “What is the matter, good people?” the old man asked.  “We are so frightened,” they said.  “We can barely do our work for fear of the snake.  It bites us all the time.  We don’t know when it will appear.  We are afraid to go to work in our fields, to let our children play in the streets, to even be here in the market place.”  The old man wandered on and soon came upon the snake.  “I hear you have been biting the people,” he said, “and I would like you to stop.  They are frightened of you and don’t get a moment’s rest.”  The snake realizing how much the holy man loved it agreed not to bite anyone again.
  The old man continued on his journey and a few months later came back to the same village.  When he got to the market place he found the people were laughing and shouting.  Everyone was so happy.  “What has happened?” he asked.  The villagers told him that the snake had stopped biting them, that it came out each day from its hiding place but no longer attacked them.  The old man wandered about the village and soon came upon the snake lying in the gutter.  It was bleeding, and badly cut and bruised.  The old man could see that the snake was dying.  He gently picked it up and took it into the forest and laid it down out of the hot sun.  “What has happened to you?” he asked the snake.  The snake on its last few breaths said to the holy man, “ I did what you told me.  I stopped biting the people, but they started attacking me.  Wherever I went they would throw stones at me and kick me, and thrash me with sticks.”
  The holy man held the snake with great love and tenderness and stroking the snake said to it ever so tenderly,  “I told you not to bite, but I never told you not to hiss.”
   
  My dear spiritual mentor recently told me this story.  It brought tears to my eyes. I felt such compassion for the snake. 
  When you are confronted, rather than fall back into your old patterns that keep you disempowered can you hiss, but not bite?

   

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  elisabeth August 25, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Becoming Conscious 

  Meditation is an unfolding process in becoming more conscious.  Conscious means that a person can remain aware and remain centred without becoming overwhelmed to the triggers from the past that have created discord within oneself.  Certainly in a meditation practice consciousness will grow in spirals.  There will be times of deep inner stillness, followed by times of old wounds and issues from childhood, family problems and unresolved relationships coming to the surface.  People may get discouraged at this point and feel that meditation is not working for them.  They want their sitting practice to be filled with bliss.  Memories and feelings in our bodies will surface during meditation and they need to be welcomed, not denied nor pushed away.  Meditation can be a means of hiding from our feelings and emotions.  We can use a meditation technique to become focused and concentrated and block out all feelings and emotions.  We can become “skilful” meditators but so distanced from what we are feeling that we block the flow of life that enables us to fully experience the joy of being in our bodies, here and now.  Accept and allow whatever comes to the surface during meditation.  If a feeling is continuously overwhelming, you may find you become destabilized throughout your practice.  Then it may be timely for you to seek some professional guidance, whether a spiritual counsellor or someone else who may guide you through your emotional turmoil.

   
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  elisabeth August 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  When it’s Cold… A Helpful Hint for Meditation 

  I received a wonderful gift.  It’s a big soft blanket.  My dear friend suggested I wrap it around myself on these cold mornings when I get up to meditate.  Usually I wear a shawl around my shoulders.  This blanket is very warm and light.  Not only can I wrap it around my whole body but I can also cover my head with it.  I find doing this not only warm but also soothing.  It’s like being physically cocooned in such a way that lessens even more sensory input from the outer environment.  Noise is reduced immediately. 
  It makes good sense to do this.  After all, covering the head has been a traditional practice in monasteries and convents for centuries.  It’s also a symbol of withdrawing the senses from the outer to the inner world.

   
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  elisabeth August 4, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Sudoku 

  I have been introduced to Sudoku.  Now this is a game I would never have imagined I would have any interest in.  For a start, it’s a game of logic. Maths, algebra, and Latin were never my best subjects at college.  With my friend’s guidance I started at Level 1 the other day.  He’s a good teacher because I seemed to get the drift of the game and how to follow the patterns to work out the missing numbers.  When left by myself to do the next puzzle, I rushed in with great confidence only to find near the end of the game I had doubled one of the numbers in the box.  I had to begin all over.  My nine boxes became so scribbled out there was barely enough room to put in a new number.  Well, finally I got it finished.
  I noticed how heated my head became.  A sort of vague headache was pulling my eyebrows together.  My poor brain was firing electrical charges that were ricocheting off neurons that had been abandoned for decades!  Then I had this insight that back when I did my first Vipassana meditation course, the fourth day was no different.  The sheer concentration of sensating the body left me, not in tingling bliss but in absolute overwhelm.  I did persist.  Years later I realize how meditation has helped me so much with focus and concentration. 
  Yes, Sudoku is not what I normally gravitate toward.  But I am enjoying this game.  Perhaps if I had not carried on my meditation practice I would never have developed the concentration to persist in any logical pursuit.

   
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  elisabeth July 28, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  “Women Have One Flaw…” 

  I watched a video showing how amazing women are, and what they do.   At the end of the video the one flaw that women have was revealed.  Do you know what that is?  The one flaw according to the writer of the video is that women don’t consider themselves worthy.  If you are a woman reading this blog, would you agree with that? 
  Certainly for me it’s been a major issue.  I believed most of my life that I was never worthy enough, or good enough.  We women carry this erroneous belief in our collective consciousness.  We carry it in the form of shame that is passed on from one generation to the next.  It’s been there for a long, long time. 
  We can only bring about change by changing the fundamental beliefs we hold about ourselves.  It can seem like a daunting task.  These core beliefs are so programmed into the unconscious mind that we act them out often, without even being aware of what we are doing.
  If you have been meditating for some time you will be more mindful of your thoughts and behaviour.   For example, when you put yourself down, you may catch yourself doing that.  You become conscious that what you are doing is in no way benefiting you, or others around you.  You will know that your harsh judgment of yourself is unhealthy because your body won’t feel good.  It’s telling you that you are out of alignment with your intrinsic truth, beauty, and goodness.  Also, having some good friends, or a partner who challenge you when you are unkind to yourself will help to remind you when you become unconscious in your thoughts!  We are usually much harder on ourselves than we are on others.  
  You are worthy.  A meditation practice will enable you to observe those myriad thought forms that pass through your mind.  You know how irrelevant most of them are.  The harsh thoughts you hold are irrelevant because they keep you locked in a mindset that impedes the flow of life.   And if you feel worthless you will limit yourself to experience that flow of life.  Meditation is another tool to help you release and let go of those limiting beliefs, the most destructive being the belief of worthlessness.

   
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  elisabeth July 21, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Being Here Now 

  I’m here writing this blog and you’re out there somewhere on the planet reading it.  And as I write I reflect on a concept that came out of last week’s blog called, Footprints in the Sand.  I realized that day on that walk that those imprints would never be repeated in the same way again.  Just as in this moment of writing, or you reading this will never again happen in quite the same way. 
  Everything is rising and falling and passing away.  “All is annica, annica, annica”, as the Buddha taught.  Each moment is totally unique.  Some moments may be repeated again and again, but not one will be quite the same as the other.  And how many unique moments slip by because we are not fully engaged in the present?  Our minds are so often grappling with the future, or besieged by the past.  Have you noticed how much richer and fulfilled you feel when you are fully present in anything you do?  With this understanding comes a greater appreciation of the gift of life.  Out of this gift there is gratitude to hone our senses so that not only do we live mindfully, but also in greater accordance with our true nature, that of truth, beauty and goodness.

   
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  elisabeth July 14, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Footprints in the Sand 

  Today the sand on the beach was a sea of footprints.  There were the deep dug trenches of runners’ trainers, the slight imprint of a child’s foot, and the sharp points in the sand of dogs’ trotting feet.  Now and again I noticed that youngsters had made marvellous drawings, and written their names clearly in the solid sand.  Before too many hours the tide will come back in and wash away all these imprints.  For probably a short time the sand will be smooth, unfurrowed, and without creases.  And then the next day’s foot traffic will begin all over again.  These patterns left on the beach will never repeat themselves in quite the same way as they were today.  Each footprint was arranged in its own unique way, and in its placement on the beach.  All these footprints represented others who were thinking as they walked.  What were their thoughts?  I’ll never know.  Maybe some were anxious and worried thoughts.  Maybe some were happy and uplifting thoughts.  And it’s interesting to wonder at these footprints representing thousands and thousands of thoughts.  And where did all those thoughts go? 
  So I’m thinking thoughts right now as I write!  And when I sit and meditate I intend that like the sand, the lapping waves wash across my mind, and the waters of awareness gently smooth the thoughts that distract me from being in the present moment.

   
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  elisabeth July 7, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Frugality 

  Yesterday my friend said he has started making soup for his evening meal.  This is a ritual I do every night, and one I learnt from my daughter when she was staying with me earlier this year.  Every night we would prepare together a simple and nourishing soup.  I have carried on the tradition since she left.  I find this meal not only satisfying but also an opportunity to be mindful as I prepare the vegetables and stock.
  My friend remarked that he was inspired by this meal, and that he liked the frugality of it.  I began to think about the concept of frugality and what it really means.  I went onto the net to find out the definition of the word, frugal.  I found so many websites that are about frugality and living simply.  It’s become the latest “buzz”.  Frugality is all about being economical, avoiding waste, and living simply. 
  It could well be that others like myself and my daughter are becoming increasingly aware of the proliferation of consumerism, and the exhaustive amounts of “stuff” that goes to the land refuse sites.
  Perhaps you too have a daily ritual where, for example, you prepare a meal that calls you to be aware of the ingredients you use, and of the way you prepare those ingredients.  When you sit down to your meal you are conscious of the nourishment of the food, but at the same time the economical simplicity of what you have chosen to eat.  The experience of this is not only food for the body but also food for the soul.  There is something about simplicity whether defined in the concept of frugality or not.  It’s about feeding a part of ourselves that requires very little for inner peace and outward happiness.

   
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  elisabeth June 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Inspired by Kindness 

  Following on from last week and blog on friendship, I found this beautiful poem by Naomi Shibab Nye, called “Kindness”.  I just wanted to include it here, as you may be just as inspired by it as I am.
   
  KINDNESS
   
  Before you know what kindness really is,
  you must lose things,
  feel the future dissolve in a moment
  like salt in a weakened broth.
  What you counted and carefully saved,
  all this must go so you know
  how desolate the landscape can be
  between the regions of kindness.
  How you ride and ride
  thinking the bus will never stop,
  the passengers eating maize and chicken
  will stare out the window forever.
   
  Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
  you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
  lies dead by the side of the road.
  You must see how this could be you,
  how he was someone
  who journeyed through the night with plans
  and the simple breath that kept him alive.
   
  Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
  you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
  You must wake up with sorrow.
  You must speak to it till your voice
  catches the thread of all sorrows
  and you see the size of the cloth.
   
  Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
  only kindness that ties your shoes and sends you out into
  the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
  only kindness that raises its head
  from the crowd of the world to say
  it is I you have been looking for,
  and then goes with you everywhere
  like a shadow or a friend.
   
  From: Words Under the Words: Selected Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye

   
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  elisabeth June 23, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Blessed By Good Friends 

  Last night a dear friend and I had dinner together.  He brought a gift for me.  I love receiving surprise gifts.  What about you?  When I opened the box there held between packing was a figurine.  This little sculpture is named, “Friendship” and is carved by an artist called, Susan Lordi.  There are no features on her face, and yet her tilted head, the flowers clasped in her tiny hands, and the way her body is held conveys a loving gesture, and an innocent delight in reaching out.  I find the carving very inspiring.  After my friend left I sat for a long time reflecting on what friendship means.
  What makes a special friend?  A really good friend accepts you for who you are.  They don’t try to change you to fit in with their image of how you should, or shouldn’t be.   They somehow seem to accept your “faults” and “limitations,” often more than you may do yourself.  They’re really not so hard on you, as you may be on yourself.  And they’re also themselves in that they don’t try to change to be liked by you.  A good friend is respectful, honest, and loyal.  A cherished friend cares about you.  
  Recently another dear friend of mine went out of his way to help me when my kitchen became flooded after a deluge of rain.  I can’t tell you how much I felt cared for and supported.  Not only that, he came back a few days later and did some more repair work just to make sure the leak had been fixed.  Now that’s a great friend to have. 
  In these blogs I usually weave the writing around meditation in some way.  I was thinking that meditation offers a person friendship.  This is quite an abstract idea.  Let me explain.  Sitting in meditation I observe my thoughts and feelings as they arise.  I don’t judge them and I accept them as they are.  Over time I become less judgmental, softer on myself and not so given to punishing myself if I screw up.  Like a good friend meditation helps me to accept myself for who I am.  Like a good friend meditation leads me to becoming more open, honest and respectful.  Especially, I become more honest with myself.  I grow into a really deep friendship with myself.  Meditation like a good friend is kind and caring.  The more I keep in touch with meditation just like friendship it deepens.  Deepening the qualities of friendship within me I become a mirror to those who would wish to be my friends.