Sunrise Conversation

Poetry Friday is starting early! A continuation of “Amazing, Wonderful Happenings” because the moon can not be without the sun:

Sunrise Conversation

Blue sky said ~ “There Is no limit to your vastness.
It’s Impossible to give yourself away
no more than sunrise can mar with color,
or completely fill my open wonder.
It is the same with you, Vast One.”

I smile and knowingly nod
but the Expanse gently prods ~
“There is also no diminishment.
Just like moon knows, 
she is more than a crescent of light,
and the stars, studded brilliant, pierce the night,
remind of Eternity ablaze 
in every source of life.”

“Do you see it?
Can you find it…
In the waking hubbub?”
Blue Sky, open, spacious and free,
took my hand
and we embraced the rising day. 


©2018 Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Amazing, Wonderful Happenings

I love, love, love the season of Autumn. This morning a dear heart friend sent a text that summed up the season of Fall perfectly ~ “Amazing, wonderful happenings.” The smells, the turning of the leaves and the golden light are nectar to my spirit. The world becomes magical and I quite literally feel myself opening and filling with the beauty. I was reminded of this feeling when I spotted the full autumn moon in the night sky last evening, silhouetted in the pines. I was penetrated. No matter how many times I see the moon, I find it beautiful. When I woke early this morning, there it was, setting in the morning light. A koan (short blurb not logically deduced but sparking insight) came to me. Please enjoy: Moon in Me

Bright moon setting in pink autumnal sky,
how is it to move through the world entirely free
and filled with light?

An answer was forthcoming, but my answer isn't important. How does Bright Moon answer you? She will most definitely appear for a date this evening! The answer I heard will be in tomorrow's Inner Constellation Blessing send.*

Here's a sneak peak in closing: I could have passed the moon by last night, I could have not looked for her beauty this morning. Stopping in a busy world is paramount for me, it is my daily practice, it is my dedication. Have a magical Fall, dear comrades. Look for and find the amazing, wonderful happenings.

* IC Blessing send is a short email blurb of daily inspiration: short, sweet and contemplative. If you would like to be added to the list, please contact me as my gift to you!

Fall Mindfulness Retreat: October 14, 2018

It's that time of year when we have the great fortune of retreating at our beautiful Glenbrook property beneath the ancient Cottonwood trees!!! Our magnificent Standing Talls will be turning brilliant shades of yellow, russet and gold as we soak up the shores of Lake Tahoe and each other. It's our annual full day retreat and we'll be leaving from The Studio parking lot promptly by 9:00am and returning at 4:00p. Please bring anything you need for your comfort as well as a vegan dish to share if you're so inclined. We'll be doing sitting and walking meditation, total relaxation (with lullabies:) with the contemplation, "All is One," ~  receiving everything into our practice with an open equanimous heart.

It promises to be a wonderful practice day in community as we ride the wave of Plum Village Community and Thich Nhat Hanh's 92nd birthday celebration (October 11, 2018), drawing from our roots of practice. Please join us in Autumn gratitude and consider bringing a friend (or two, or three....).


More information on LTMC's Facebook events page 

This is True Contentment

This past week, I visited dear friends in the Plum Village tradition, the roots of our local Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community. A discourse was shared that sparked the theme for the month of August ~ True Contentment. Please enjoy this full telling as we explore the conditions that result in happiness and peace.

Discourse on True Contentment

by Sister Dang Nghiem

I heard these words of Thay (my teacher) one time when he was living in the vicinity of Escondido at the Deer Park Monastery in the Oak Grove. Late at night, a group of coyotes appeared, whose passionate howls made the whole Oak Grove tremble joyfully. After paying respects to Thay with the right front paw pointing in the direction of the moon, the elder coyote asked him a question in the form of a verse:

"People, animals, plants and minerals are eager to know
what are the conditions
which bring about true contentment.
Please, Thay, will you teach us?"

(This was Thay's answer)

"To live in community,
to have brothers and sisters working in harmony,
to serve people of all nations ~
this is the true contentment.

"To have a chance to practice and transform,
to see yourself becoming more accepting and more solid,
to recognize that others also blossom ~
this is the true contentment.

"To be able to recognize and forgive,
to nurture gratitude to your blood family and spiritual family,
to express love through loving speech and deep listening ~
this is the true contentment.

"To have time to sit peacefully for your ancestors,
to touch the earth tenderly with each step,
to eat in union with the whole cosmos ~
this is the true contentment.

"To create mindfulness practice centers and hold regular retreats,
to turn gymnasiums and theatres into Dharma* halls,
to bring the Dharma rain into ghettos and prisons ~
this is the true contentment.

"To witness police officers, business people, legislators,
scientists, and war veterans enjoying the Pure Land
with their mindful breaths and mindful steps ~
this is the true contentment.

"To provide a joyful environment for young people,
to help them reconnect with their families and society,
to show them that there is a beautiful path ~
this is the true contentment.

"To practice, work, study and play together,
to realize the beauties and hardships of your brothers and sisters,
to cherish and protect them as your own marrow ~
this is the true contentment.

"To live a life, simple and uncompetitive,
to come back to your breath as your soul food,
to rejoice in the music of the bell, wind song and laughter ~
this is the true contentment.

"To avoid speaking and reacting in anger,
not caught by your ideas and judgments,
and to be diligent in doing beginning anew ~
this is the true contentment.

"To savor the freedom in non-waiting,
to transform the grasping mind into that of true love,
to be a kind continuation of your spiritual ancestors ~
this is the true contentment.

"To see all life forms as your brothers and sisters,
to enjoy simply being together,
to actively build a beautiful past with your true presence ~
this is the true contentment.

"To rise in the morning with a smile,
to retire each night with peace, content to let go of all,
to know that you have loved and have been loved deeply ~
this is the true contentment.

"To live in the world
with your heart open to impermanence and change,
to progress stably on your true path, free of fear and worry ~
this is the true contentment.

"For he or she who accomplishes this,
arriving and at home wherever she goes,
always he is peaceful and happy ~
true contentment is in the moment one lives."

Thay finished the teaching and the coyotes were extremely delighted at what they had heard. At once, they stood up with posture erect and gave rise to another harmonious and joyful howl. The moon smiled contentedly from above as she floated freely in the immense space.

Transcribed from Mindfulness Bell #41, Winter 2005-2006


* Dharma has a variety of meanings of which are the teachings of great beings and the teachings of everyday life

Kindness of Strangers

Beautifuls! Happy summer! As many of you may know, summer begins the crux of my reading. I’m a total cornball and even develop a summer reading list to savor in the hot days of summer after a good ride, run, tennis match or swim in the Lake. So, my latest read, “The Kindness of Strangers,” includes a preface from the Dalai Lama who encourages us to think about the many ways  our survival depends on the kindness of other sentient beings. It seems a perfect question to ponder in our exploration of “altruism,” this month of July.  We can begin with the very basic kindnesses we’ve all experienced from our parents who brought us into the world (weither known or unknown), the animals, plants and minerals that we consume to nourish and keep us alive, the sun that warms our earth and without which we could not exist....you can go down the rabbit hole very quickly. The question after the pondering is then, “why then in the middle (of life) should we not act kindly toward others?”

When exploring altruism, I hold to be true that kindness is a path of paying attention to the needs of others, being thankful for the many ways that we ourselves are supported and to wish with a noble heart, to return our good fortune with those whom we cross paths. It truly is a matter of common sense. What is done for me, benefits me and comes back as a benefit and blessing to others.

As another tidbit of interest, “The Kindness of Strangers,” posits that an altruistic act is most clearly defined as selfless when done for a complete stranger. Why? Our identity is unknown, thereby shadowing the need for approval or secondary benefit. Also, recipients of the kindness of strangers report that the acts, no matter how small, tend to be remembered and treasured. Why? For the exact same reasons, the motive is pure and without ulterior motive.

Loves, let’s get out there and keep our eyes peeled for the many ways to express kindness and allow the fuel of our own experiences of kindness to inspire us on this summery altruistic exploration!

Letting Go Of Ourselves

July presents the theme of “Altruism,” and the impulse of letting go of ourselves for the needs of another. Typically altruism is thought of as a heroic action and such stories of self sacrifice move our hearts and we may ask, if I were in a similar situation, how would I respond? Yet, is altruism something that can be practiced? Can we practice letting go of all the minutia and holding as foremost our love for one another?

Speaking of love ~ you all know my love of the poet Hafiz, here’s a poem he named for himself ~ that steps into the heart of “Altruism,”

Hafiz

It
Is all
Just a love contest
And I never
Lose.
Now you have another good reason
To spend more time
With
Me.

Hafiz also reminds that it is possible to receive love, care and comfort across space and time....

The Gift

Our
Union is like this:
You feel cold
So I reach for a blanket to cover
Our shivering feet.
A hunger comes into your body
So I run to my garden
And start digging potatoes.
You ask for a few words of comfort and guidance,
I quickly kneel at your side offering you
This whole book—
As a gift.
You ache with loneliness one night
So much you weep
And I say,
Here’s a rope,
Tie it around me.
Hafiz
Will be your companion
For life.

Altruism reaches beyond limits of body into the experience of another to cover the feet, feed the hunger, ease the ache of loneliness. In the dog days of summer may we find opportunities to experiment and play with practicing altruism and opening to love and care across space and time.

*selections of poetry taken from "The Gift," Poems by Hafiz, The Great Sufi Master, translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Storm Chaser Benjamin Franklin

Our IC theme for June is Nature as Medicine. Interestingly, I stumbled across a little tidbit of history related to dear Momma Nature ~ today in history (1752) Ben Franklin climbed to the top of a church steeple during a thunderstorm and let lose a kite on which was tied a metal key. He hoped that the key would act as a conduit and harness the power of lightning which he suspected was electricity. He was motivated by the desire to decrease the devastation he saw to neighbor and property when lightning struck.

Benjamin Franklin was reported to have chased storms on horseback. He was obsessed, some say, with the potential raw power inside thunder clouds. He lived in a time when candles were used for light and thus invented day-light savings time, calculating the many tons of wax preserved by the simple habit of, “early to bed, early to rise.”

When his kite experiment proved successful (his son bore witness), he constructed the lightning rod which did indeed attract and empty all harmful power into the earth rather than structures and human beings. Ben Franklin was thought of as a magician, able to control and eventually use, what were viewed as supernatural and godly forces. Can you imagine his bravery? That’s some powerful medicine!!!!

Ben Franklin is going into the Freedom Series category of our IC blog. Today, let’s contemplate and honor his unique relationship with the energy of our earth and his ability to literally harness it for the good of many. Earth bodhisatvha Ben Franklin, we bow to you!