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Light on the Path  (Remember to begin with the Opening Meditation and the recitation of the Three Jewels as in Mindfulness Trainings One through Five -- scroll down in the burninghand blog for this.)
We begin: "In the Name of the Holy One, Boundlessly Compassionate, Boundlessly Merciful... Beauty within Beauty within Beauty..." Thirteenth Mindfulness Training: Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, discrimination, and oppression, we are committed to cultivating loving kindness and learning ways to work for the well-being of all people, nations, creatures, and creation. We will practice generosity and gratitude. We will work to prevent anyone from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other creatures. We will tirelessly advocate for the marginalized and powerless, whoever they are and wherever they live. Reflection: Light on the Path... to where? Where are these Mindfulness Trainings, where are these reflections, leading? Our answer is simple: they are all leading into, and deeper and deeper, into the human heart. We have learned from our own brokenness, as from our passions and joys, that it is only in our hearts that we will find the possibility of well-being and the total happiness that we hunger for. These Mindfulness Trainings and reflections are a call to come together in the only "place" that offers the hope of Planetary transformation... So, this reflection is primarily going to focus on the spiritual / political necessity of "embracing our heart / embracing every heart"... herein lies the Path into the future and the transformation we dream... Enter the Heart The "awareness" and "awakening" implied -- or promised -- by the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings is a "quantum shift in consciousness". Nothing less is going to get us where we -- and this precious blue Planet -- needs to get to. The Mindfulness Trainings assumes the practitioner has no desire to be spun into oblivion -- but desires, instead, liberation for everyone and all life on this Planet. A tall order indeed, but the only one worthy of our humanity and personhood. So, at least for twelve weeks now, we've been making some effort to take with integrity this opportunity. That is good! Let's try to dig a little deeper and find the door that opens onto the paradise Dostoevsky wrote of. Short of an explosion of mind-altering grace (which is always possible), how does one "enter the heart" -- and discover therein the actualization of the prep work of the Trainings? We won't pretend any of this is easy, but here are three overarching "steps" or "actions" required for entry into, and then life in the heart: 1. We need to manifest by thought-word-action the real Reality of Only One, One Love, in our everyday lives. These manifestations happen (or don't) in our homes, every relationship, at work, in recreation, in our diets, in our politics -- in every aspect / part of our lives. Peace, Justice, Compassion, Mercy, Kindness, Equality, Gentleness, Passion, Harmlessness, Beauty, Empathy (you get the drift) are the means for the manifestation of the Holy One, of the Only One, of One Love. We are meant to be the channels and agents of One Love upon this precious blue Planet! What an exalted life of wonder, responsibility, and opportunity! We get to build Paradise (or not). 2. We need to clearly, demonstrably, intend towards greatness. Hafiz wrote at the conclusion of a poem two words that summarize this second step: "act great". In other words, fill your minds with the words and images of people like Yeshua, Francis, Rumi, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Mother Jones, Hildegard, Mirabai, Aung San Suu Kyi, Wangari Maathai, Mandela, Huerta, Chavez, Morales, the Berrigans, Perkins, Arundhati Roy, Juila Butterfly Hill -- the list could go on and on! This precious blue Planet is ablaze with incredibly great beings! Join your name and daily life to this list! Don't settle for what you (or someone else) might think possible -- Act Great, and greatness and transformation will follow! 3. Steps one and two will be sustainable only - or exactly - to the degree that we practice number three: affirm the truth, beginning with you, and then flowing out about you and on into the Universe. Our minds are crammed full with crap -- so start with these words of the Shulammite in the Song of Songs: "I am beautiful!" The "average" person has around 65,000 thoughts a day -- we're not going to change the world until we change our minds! It is as simple and clear as that. To clear your head, turn off every advertiser, turn off every divisive political pundit, turn off every dominator paradigm preacher, stop buying all the crap they want you to sell your soul for! You've got to ask the question, "What am I worth?" And then you've got to answer with no ambiguity whatsoever, "I am worth the very best! I am worth Love!" And then the door into your heart will swing open: because you believe that you are worth the very best, that you are worth Love, you are no longer afraid, and you can stand aside and let everyone else enter before you! That's the Key to your transformation! None of this is about you! It is all about the Other! It is about the Other, every single one of them, being welcomed home! No exceptions, no one is left behind,and none are left out! When you have gotten out of the way, the Holy One has room to manuever! When She starts moving all the furniture in your mind aside, you know She's gonna let loose with One heck-of-a free-for-all- passion-dance through all the cells of your mind, ripping and shredding all the way down into only the possibility of "you"... but by then "you've" circled back Home to Only One, One Love... "O friends on this Path, My eyes are no longer my eyes. A sweetness has entered through them, Has pierced through to my heart... Mira belongs to the One who lifts all, And everyone says she is mad." -- Mirabai It Is Not Yet Safe To Say It is not yet safe to say "Forget your Houses of Worship". So instead, You can read it here... But that is not all! If it is One whom you seek, If it is Love that you desire, If it is Liberation that you want, They can all be found At Road's End, in the Deep Green That hides the Tavern of One Delight: just Look for the sign with a Broken Heart... An Alternate Thirteenth Mindfulness Training: Aware of the One Love alive in my heart, I commit my life to Beauty and Kindness and to the manifestation of Only One in how I think, speak, and act. I will to act great and become an instrument of transformation for everyone and for this incredibly precious blue Planet! This is my joy! Evening Star who gathers everything Shining dawn scattered -- You bring the sheep and the goats, You bring the child back to its mother. -- Sappho At the end of a crazy-moon night the love of God rose. I said, "It's me, Lalla." The Beloved woke. We became That, And the lake is crystal-clear. -- Lal Ded Bless this most beautiful world that I ever did saw. -- Devin at 5 ...Just love until you and the Beloved become One... At every level at which you exist you're part of everybody else. Because: it's all One Being. Really! -- Ram Das Question of the Week: How far am I willing to go in? Practice of the Week: Copy and post in a place very conspicuous to you the section entitled "Enter the Heart". Consider what you really want for the rest of your life. Choose to act accordingly GREAT! Recommended Reading: Creating A World That Works For All, by Sharif Abdullah A Caring Economics, Riane Eisler With Love and Blessings, Michelle and Robert "In the Name of the Holy One, Boundlessly Compassionate, Boundlessly Merciful... Beauty within Beauty within Beauty..." Comments are closed.
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AuthorRobert Daniel Smith was privileged to serve the homeless and marginalized for 30 years in California. He is living now almost within shouting distance of the Twin Cities. He is a poet, artist, writer, and long-time Companion of the Way still dreaming... Archives
May 2022
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