Puffy clouds billowing against yesterday’s blue sky have morphed into a dark shroud this morning; the island is wrapped in gray. Out my big picture (!) window, an east wind bends the palm trees & blows the rain in horizontal
sheets across the lawn . I decided to stay in to meditate.
The BIG PICTURE is all around me as well as within. The gift of this place opens my eyes as never before. Sinking deeply into the daily annointings & Ayurvedic treatments, my eyes, ears, mind and heart realize the Truth that
has always been present. Stillness reigns. My busy- mind plans, thoughts, anxieties & worries about future unfoldments, bodily health, work schedules & priorities begin to soften & dissolve into the vast silence of the Heart. They will surely recur and show themselves as the dancing ego, but inner guides and teachers here have reminded & assured me that we are already totally Free and can humorously & affectionately even, meet & embrace our fears from the real ground of Self. We just have to decide , & choose to live our freedom. This is good news for me, whose mind
occasionally creates such turbulent weather that I make myself physically sick. I have definitely overi-dentified with thought.
As this Maui storm swirls and howls around the house, I am content to just be here. Up till today it’s been sunny, but I’ve only driven the 20 min. to the beach once. I stopped at the grocery store to replenish the vegetables
& fruit I bought on the way in. The island is loaded with attractions, shopping & magical places, and this is the first time I have been here and gone nowhere. Other than Margo and occasionally Jeffrey, I’ve spoken to noone, and this has also softened my face & mind. I sit, dance, (Susan has an amazing music collection), walk, do yoga, cook my simple meals, clean up, nap, read a little. I feel the heartbeat of the world here more strongly
than other places, for some reason. Every time I come to Maui this has happened. Maybe it’s the poignant awareness of being on a small speck of land out in the ocean that brings the cries of the planet more loudly to my ears. Here I am always naturally impulsed to Tonglen & Metta practice.
Karen’s Indian journal has especially touched me (www.gardentstreetyoga.net ), as well as writings from the Gurus of the house ( Ramana Maharshi & various disciples as well as some Buddhist teachers & the passionate poetry of Rumi).
Some jewels of inspiration:
“Dedicate a quarter of a second to the Self” – Poonjaji
“Who Am I?”
“‘Absorption into the Source’ or core of existence (the Heart) is what the paths of Karma, Bhakti, Yoga & Jnana teach.
When the mind withdraws from external objects of sense & beholds it’s own effulgent form, that is true wisdom.
Whence does this ‘I’ arise? Seek this within This ‘I’ then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. ”
Sri Ramana Maharshi
As a Tantrika, I understand this Advaitic teaching well, and enfold it into the knowing that all sense objects also enshrine & reveal the shining truth “I AM” if we have the eyes to see! There is nothing that is not Shiva- the Heart is all-pervasive.
“The deeper the humility with which we conduct ourselves, the better it is for us. Everything that is offered to others is really and offering to oneself. Not to desire anything extraneous to oneself is Vairagya or Dispassion. Not to give up one’s hold on the self is Jnana or Enlightenment. Thus Vairagya and Jnana are really one and the same. Pledged to Vairagya, every aspirant must dive deep into herself and realize the precious Atman, the Self Absolute.”
-Ramana
There is more, but I need to move the body now!
After lunch:
Since last Friday I have only eaten kitchari. Every day I make it fresh & switch off the vegetables for a little variety. I rotate thru asparagus, beets, chard, kale, island carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, onions, garlic, ginger, turnips, with fresh turmeric, & seeds of, coriander, fennel, cumin,,mustard sautéed in ghee. Sometimes I add salt & herbes de provence. And a tsp. or more of flax oil over all. The first couple of days, I added a few sardines for lunch. I forgot, for breakfast I make a warm shake with overnight -soaked almonds & dates with some stewed apples and cooked Ezechial cereal. I will continue thru Thursday and then start adding different grains and slowly bits of fish & other animal protein. I
haven’t missed sugar and am feeling lighter, and very grounded at once. Also, I have been eating enough that I haven’t lost weight. This was to be a different kind of rejuvenation, with more emphasis on building & nourishing than cleansing. I will add some nourishing oil bastis toward the end of the week. The coriander-cumin-fennel tea , walking, asana (& agni sara kriya) & my own warm- oil belly massages supplement Margo’s work and elimination of “old stuff” on every level. Decided to do my Spring cleanse early so I can be ready to help the kula next month! Love the simplicity.
From “Meeting Papaji”, a collection of essays gathered by Roslyn More
Enlightenment is here and now! We are all enlightened, but we don’t know it. Bondage is only a concept, he says. It’s not real. We can wake up from the illusion right now. All we need is a desire for freedom and one moment of inner silence. One moment between two thoughts, two breaths. No need to meditate or practice. ( I strongly believe making time regularly to be in meditative stillness is essential.; the postures for this can vary according to need and temperament.) Nothing to learn, nothing to do. Nothing to reach, grasp or understand. One only needs to keep quiet. That means not doing anything, not stirring a single thought, having no desire, no wanting, no attachment, no expectations.” Shanti Devi
Every person is realized. It is only doubt that makes you think you aren’t realized. When there is a new statue about to to be presented at a ceremony, and there is a sheet wrapped around it to cover it, is the statue there? Of course it is. When the sheet is removed you see the statue. Realization is always there, and you see it when the doubts are removed. Surendra
When Hui Neng was asked by one man “Please teach me the truth,” Hui Neng said the same words as Ramana: “Keep quiet.” When the man became quiet, Hui Neng asked, now when your mind is not dwelling on good or bad, at this very moment, who are you? What is your original face?” As soon as the man listened to these words, he at once became enlightened.” Chandra
The most that he (Poonjaji, disciple of Ramana) offers is a method to be quiet. When you just don’t follow thoughts, the Self that you are reveals itself naturally. And if people had a difficult time being quiet, then he would introduce the second method, which is self-inquiry. When a thought arises, instead of following it, ask yourself, “Toi whom does this thought occur?” “What is this’ I’? “Where does this ‘I’ arise from? This is a simple way of turning consciousness back to itself. The method is direct. When consciousness turns back to itself, then that’s all there is, and the Knowing is present.”‘??When I arrived in Lucknow, satsang was taking place in his house right next to this busy road with taxis, rickshaws & traffic. It was the most chaotic, noisy, polluted scene, with the sound of cars honking all the time. The setting seemed like a distraction until I realized the immense freedom taking place in the middle of everyday existence. There was nothing romantic about it. There was always the filth
and the garbage and the pigs nearby. But after awhile everything became extraordinarily beautiful. It became a magnificent sight. Dasarath
From “You Are That ? Satsang With Gangagi
There may be enormous pain in any individual life. Pain is part of the texture of life. It is the unnecessary suffering that habits of mind support. When pain is met as it is, as simply pain, it can be experienced as beautiful. It doesn’t need to be anything different. When it is rejected and something”not painful” is reached for, pain is experienced as suffering.