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..."
Twelfth Mindfulness Training:
Aware that terrible suffering is caused by war and conflict, we are determined to cultivate nonviolence, tolerance, religious reconciliation, equal rights - in every way - for all, understanding, and compassion in our daily lives and in our society. We will promote peace education, nonviolent conflict resolution between persons, groups, and nations, and cultural transformation within our community, nation, and in the world. We are determined to follow the path of harmlessness and seek the fulfillment of the vision of "the lion being the guest of the lamb".
Reflection:
"For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life." -- President John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
What President Kennedy said in 1961 still holds true today -- which is a terribly sad commentary on the decades since then. "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are not clothed" -- President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Clearly though, this is not just the fault of governments: we are all complicit because we are all involved in every way, especially though through economics, through everything that we either buy or sell...
According to the United Nations approximately 30,000 children under the age of five die of hunger and diseases related to malnutrition every day. While at the very same time, the assets of 3 families, Bill Gates, the Waltons, and the Sultan of Bunei have a combined wealth of around 135 billion dollars -- this equals the income of 600 million people living in the world's poorest countries...
Okay, so we have this Twelfth Mindfulness Training, but what is it that we really want? We very seriously ponder this question... as did (from among many others) Gandhi... Huh? What is it that we really want? We ask again! Only too aware of the subtle power of our Shadows, we must pause before the Altar of Power... is it here that we secretly, yet truly, wish to kneel? Gandhi, upon the liberation of India could have acquired the Presidency, Prime Ministership, or Kingship of his beloved Mother Land. What did he do instead? He fasted for peace, for nonviolence, for reconciliation... he refused Power, and chose Place... the only place for the Lover of the One, for the Servant of All, is in Peace: in the "not yet" of the New Creation, in the only rEvolution that matters... Gandhi walked away from the seductive lure of the dominator paradigm and into the Divine Wholeness that is even now, once again, being born upon this precious blue Planet... THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!!
So the question this mindfulness training proposes is "how do we get a little bit closer to there"? Listen to this: "Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether our baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: 'We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs'.
"From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says 'Disarm, Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice'. Blood does not wipe our dishonor nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after their own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.
"In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace."
-- Julia Ward Howe. Boston, 1870 (The original Mother's Day Proclamation)
"With the power of motherhood within her, a woman can influence the entire world. The love of awakened motherhood is a love and compassion felt not only toward one's own children, but toward all people, animals and plants, rocks and rivers -- a love extended to all beings." -- Amma
"Love is the very breath of life." -- Amma
"The half of humanity in charge of the world's agenda is led by men addicted to power and maintaining their dominance. Only now, there are weapons of mass destruction that can cause more suffering in a shorter time than ever was even imaginable. And, if patriarchal religions continue to exercise control over women, there will soon be more people than the Earth can sustain. Our beautiful blue and white planet, this garden island in space, our Mother the Earth needs our help... It is time to gather the women to save the world." -- Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.
"If Mother Archetype, Mother Goddess, Mother Earth, the deep feminine placed a classified ad in the 'Help Wanted' section... The ad might read: HELP WANTED: Everywoman. Home keepers for Earth. Must keep premises safe for all. Have concern for children's needs and development, ability to manage resources, resolve conflicts, work collaboratively, ask questions, listen, and learn from the experience of others, be empathic, and act with compassion for the benefit of all, including generations to come'. " -- Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.
"Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. we know that it does not take 'everyone on Earth' to bring justice and peace, but only a small , determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale." -- Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Or as Michael Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, makes: "I give you a large piece of paper, and ask you to fold it once over, and then take that folded paper and fold it over again, and then again, and again, until you have refolded the original paper 50 times. How tall do you think the final stack is going to be?" No one guesses this right. Answer: If it were possible to do, "the stack would be as the distance to the sun. And if you folded it over one more time, the stack would be as high as the distance to the sun and back." The tipping point occurs when a critical number of people embrace a new idea, value, or perception...
In summary, patriarchy and every aspect of the dominator paradigm, is going to be transformed -- BY YOU! BY US! From the inside out, from the bottom up. This is already happening -- it is happening all around us, everywhere. Sacred Circles have been forming all across and around this precious blue Planet. Women are gathering and standing for peace and justice, for their children and for the Earth. We are on the verge of tipping, finally, and returning to where we wanted to be all along... we are just about to the door of our Home...
"Suppose it never, ever comes true, and there is no paradise... well, I'll still go on preaching. And yet how simple a matter it is: in one day, in one hour it could all be brought about at once! The chief thing is to love others as oneself, that's the main thing, and that's it -- absolutely nothing more is necessary: you would immediately discover how to bring it about." -- Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
Alternative Twelfth Mindfulness Training:
Aware of the failure of the dominator paradigm, I am choosing to write a new story with my life: it will be a story of Divine, and Everykind, of connection. It will be a story of fraternity with this pecious blue Planet and with a beautiful future for every child. It will be a story of gratitude, sufficiency, graciousness, and harmony. It will be a story of Beauty and Paradise, wild with passion and infinite possibilities! Watch me!
Question of the Week:
How deep am I willing to consider the way of nonviolence?
Practice of the Week:
Find (or purchase if you can't find) either cloth or paper that you will cut into squares of any size you choose. With puff paints or marking pens, write favorite inspirational quotes upon the squares. String them together. Hang the "Inspiration Flag" over your personal, family, or community altar (you have one right?).
Recommended Reading:
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, by Dostoevsky (Dorothy Day's favorite author)
With Love and Blessings,
Michelle and Robert
"In the Name of the Holy One, Boundlessly Compassionate, Boundlessly Merciful... Beauty within Beauty within Beauty..."
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