Ordinary Magic

Magical September days are unfolding. I've been home from Deer Park Retreat a week now and was corresponding with a dear friend who was a travel companion about our transition back. We both agreed that we continue to feel nurtured and held by community.

Thich Nhat Hanh, alongside Martin Luther King Jr., have made establishing beloved community their life's work. Both men have been instrumental in my practice of peace and the idea that every moment provides a practice opportunity. It doesn't matter if we're in retreat, at work, knee deep in the mundane or  steeped in the holy; in fact, there's no differentiation. This brings me to dish washing, yes, dish washing! It's something I do every day, but I notice myself sometimes rushing through it so I can move onto the next something.

Guess what work group I was placed in during the Deer Park retreat? Yep, dish washing. Everyday I worked within the collective mindfulness of my team and we assisted with washing dishes for over 200 people. Such occurrence, the opportunity to be so perfectly held in community, is what I now refer to as--The Miracle of Mindfulness.

Here's another example of the Miracle of Mindfulness and beloved community--as you may know, the September Inner Constellation monthly theme is "Magic." This morning, I reached for a book on my shelf that I had purchased after moving from my childhood home in PA. Back then, I was wet behind the ears, having arrived in Florida to begin college. I had stumbled into a tiny bookstore crammed with all variety of, well...variety. A book title jumped out--Ordinary Magic: Everyday Life as Spiritual Path. So I purchased it, and then it sat on my book shelf over the years, somehow avoiding my regular weeding out routine. I just kind of held onto it, never having read it until this month when I needed inspiration for our theme of "Magic." I turned to the first author in this anthology and I find Thich Nhat Hanh! His contribution is entitled, "Sunshine and Green Leaves," and do you know what he wrote about? Yep, dish washing! Another Miracle of Mindfulness wherein I am gently guided by community. So with gratitude, in this same spirit of community, I offer the following gatha (practice poem), inspired by dear Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park, my dish washing team, the Lotus Root :), and the aspiration of practicing peace in every moment:


9/26 InnerConstellation.com Blessing*: Washing Dishes

Hot water, fragrant soap, sponge,
movement of my hands
and strong legs to stand--
each are precious miracles.

©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

May each dish you wash today, nourish you completely as you love and care for yourself, your loved ones and your community.


*Inner Constellation Blessings are short, sweet little ditty's to inspire your practice. They are my gift to you, sent via email Mon-Fri. If you would like to receive, please contact me.

Sister Falling Leaves

I write this first day of Fall while watching storm clouds build over Mount Tallac and roll this way. Wind has picked up as leaves and pine needles drop to the ground. A sweet mantra has formed out of my day's blessing send,* a three word reminder to carry me through the rest of today: sister-falling-leaves. This mantra is inspired by a recent retreat to Deer Park, a Mindfulness Community of practitioners. My biggest take-away was the role of community and the tools of mindfulness to keep me going in the direction I wish to go (ie Charting the Course). Community and practice are my foundation and both water (so tenderly) my seeds of determination to live a happy life.
 

9/22 InnerConstellation.com Blessing*: Magic of Fall

Cottonwood roots bump up through hard ground,
to catch sister-falling-leaves, gladly,
knowing these heart-shaped bodies
nurture and become her own.
 

 ©2016 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Experiencing the stability, peace and collective energy of community, I'm supported and therefore can be stability and peace for others. The roots of practice: meditation, the teachings, sutras, bell, teachers and ancestors hold us, they are solid and share our determination. Strong roots produce beautiful leaves, and as they go through their full glory, transformation and release, the roots catch their sister-falling-leaves, knowing they are not separate but dependent on one another for a good life. 

I also have much gratitude for Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community, my home group, who share in the desire to practice compassion and understanding in ourselves, toward our loved ones and our local community. On this first day of Fall, the storm approaches, the leaves and pine needles drop, but sister-falling-leaves knows the comfort of being held and supported through whatever the season offers. 

*Mon-Fri InnerConstellation.com blessing sends are my gift to you. Please contact me if you would like to receive and benefit from short and sweet inspirations.  

LTMC Fall Mindfulness Retreat 2016

Get ready for a spectacular day under the ancient cottonwood beauties along the shores of Lake Tahoe! Our Zen tradition speaks of conditions for happiness that nourish and grow seeds of mindfulness within us. This home and property has a multitude of such aspects, coaxing and pampering our community into the Fall season. It has sustained through six generations and is a museum of Tahoe local and Native history. We'll be carpooling from The Studio promptly at 9:00a, to arrive in Glenbrook to greet the morning with sitting and walking meditation. Native American visiting drum will be coming as well to join in our theme of "Vibration." Soup, bread and salad will be provided. Please bring something to share, potluck style, with our community aspiration of maintaining vegetarian/vegan options. Come practice peace, understanding and beauty for yourself, your loved ones and your community. More information on our LTMC Facebook page and Fall Retreat Events page. This is an RSVP event. Please contact me if you plan on attending. LTMC looks forward to greeting Fall with you!

Magic

Here in the Sierras leaves are turning brilliant colors and the air has turned crisp with shadows creeping long in the softening light of fall. It's one of my favorite times of year and I find myself captivated by the seasonal process of degeneration in preparation for rest. Magic as a theme seems natural and was precipitated by an early morning run along the river by my home the first day of September. Temperatures were invigorating as I rounded a bend to nearly bump into a white crane. He stood perfectly still about 20 feet from me in the golden grass and didn't move, so I didn't either, and we just regarded one another for a few brief seconds before he took flight. My active mind began thinking of reasons why he hadn't been scared off--perhaps he was deaf, or blind, or both, or....perhaps I had run into a magical moment.

A few days later I read an article on an amazing millionaire who, along with his wife and teenage daughter, rescues refugees out of the sea. In August 2014 at the age of 33, Christopher Catrambone dedicated half his savings to establishing Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS). Red Cross recently partnered with him because he has one of the lowest casualty rates. A reporter had recently accompanied MOAS on a rescue of Tunisian refugees and witnessed the following:

"Back on the Phoenix, one girl, her trousers covered in vomit, collapsed as soon as she got on board. Mostly there was quiet relief as energy snacks, water bottles, blue towels, woollen socks and thin white, wind-blocking protective overalls were handed out. After a few minutes of stunned silence the small children, miraculously, began playing." 

After such a harrowing ordeal, the children began playing. Magic--our internal innate ability to turn toward life and survive and thrive. We have this same desire for others. I reflected this morning on the power of two North Stars--loving-kindness and compassion. Often when I introduce these to folks they'll ask, what's the difference? To me, loving-kindness is doing good for others simply to do good, uninitiated and perhaps this can be associated with friendliness or wishing well and doing our part to be kind to living beings in all circumstances. Compassion on the same hand :) is the capacity to recognize suffering and do what we can to alleviate that suffering, Mr. Christopher Catrambone and his family are prime examples of compassion in action. The incentive of loving-kindness and compassion seem to be the vision of a common good. When we practice loving-kindness and compassion we become forces that lift hearts and minds (ours included) to new heights. As enchanting September days set stage for glorious Fall, I look forward to magical moments with you. Send me your insights, I would love to hear them.