Making the Darkness Conscious

On our Nature Table: balancing stones, Wild Child by Lynn Plourde, felted acorns, red manzanita bark, and seeds of awareness

When we see inner and outer realities as a single continuum, the universe becomes a mirror.  This makes life the best teacher.  As such, our eyes have been turned towards nature all month.   

Autumn is the season of restoring balance.  It is a time for letting go and emptying our minds so that we can see with clear eyes.  It's the bittersweet end of the abundance season and the beginning of earth’s decline into the resting season.

The Autumnal Equinox takes place each year about September twenty-third. The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long.[i] 

This week, as we enter the time of introspection, we can also begin cultivating equanimity.  As Swiss psychologist Carl Jung explained, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”  To honor the Autumnal Equinox, we'll have a candlelight letting-go ritual this week.  Here's how: 

When unpleasant events arise, write them down.  Become aware of the sensations in your body and the feelings that accompany these situations. Do you raise your shoulders when you feel stress?  Does your stomach tighten when you are angry?  What happens to your breath when you are anxious?  Include these bodily sensations and feelings in your notes.  

Consider drawing pictures of the things in your life you would like to transform.  Examples might be impatience, judgment, negative thinking, or self-doubt.  Encourage younger children to remember a time when they felt upset, frustrated, or saddened.  Then help them identify the cause of their being upset and express it through artwork.  Very young children might express their feelings by experimenting with a variety of colored crayons or by drawing different shapes.

On the evening before the Autumnal Equinox, gather your family together around a candle that you have placed on a large plate.  Ask everyone to bring his or her drawings and words.  Explain the Equinox to your children:

"Twice per year, around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23, the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world.  We call these two days the March Equinox and the September Equinox. They are the two days of the year when the light is equal to the dark.  We have light and dark within us too.  The light in us is the part that brings joy to the whole world.  The dark is the part of us that experiences sorrow.  Equinox is a perfect time for balancing the light and dark within us."

Take turns sharing what you wrote or drew.  Next, consider turning off the lights and saying a verse like, “Tonight we create a balance of darkness and light.  Tonight we make the darkness conscious.”  Then light your candle.  Take turns placing your drawings and words on the plate by the candle, symbolically bringing light to them and releasing them into the fire.  When we use rituals such as this one at home, I say something like, “let us enjoy breathing together.” Then we sit together and cherish the moment.  Before blowing out the candle, consider saying, “Now we go forward with balance.”

Remember that this exercise is also about cultivating wisdom.  Developing awareness of when equanimity is absent helps us learn how to reclaim our balance.  We cannot expect to eliminate the darkness; however, we can bring light to it with our awareness.

This (2010) equinox is also a full moon, so we've been planting intentions all week.  Try sprinkling bird seed in your garden or even on a candle plate like the one shown above.  As you release the seeds, state your intentions with a strong, clear voice. "My intention is to listen deeply and use loving speech," or "My intention is to bring balance into my home." As the moon becomes full, her energy helps bring our intentions forth from the depths of our consciousness into the tangible world of our everyday lives.

[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox

Day Eleven {Meditation Challenge}: Training the Puppy

If the wind just brought you by today, we've been enjoying fourteen days of meditation practice together.  I hope you'll join us!  

Today on my pillow, I felt a little distracted.  Between the blue-jays, my daughter's music, the neighbor's dog, and my own mind, my inner world felt a little like the inside of a circus tent.  More than once, I felt myself becoming frustrated.  Then, the wind would blow and the touch of that breeze on my cheeks would remind me to focus on my breath and hold myself in compassion.

Training the mind is a bit like training a puppy.  The nature of the puppy is to explore and get into mischief.  We can't deny the puppy's nature -- and getting mad at it certainly doesn't help the puppy learn.  All we can do is practice with the puppy, be gentle with the puppy, and when the puppy wanders, we just bring it back.  We have to hold the puppy in compassion.

There are two methods of working with puppy-mind that I've found helpful.  The first is counting with my breath.  Breathe normally and feel your breath in your nostrils.  Inhale, exhale, count "one."  Inhale, exhale, count "two."  Keep counting through ten and then start over at one.  I've found that my mind can wander WHILE I'm counting.  On plenty of occasions, I've found myself at "twenty-one, twenty-two..." before I realize that my mind is wandering!  If this happens to you, just smile at the puppy and bring it back to sitting.

The second puppy-mind practice I like is naming my thoughts.  I'll either give them general labels like "planning," "worrying," "relationships," -- or more specific labels like, "lesson plans," "piano practice," "menu-planning," etc.  While both methods help focus the mind, the second method has a wonderful by-product.  In time, you'll begin to know yourself very well and the work you need to do will become clear.

There is no one "right way" to meditate.  Just the intention of quieting the mind will help bring more mindful awareness into your day.  In time, the puppy learns to sit.  The best we can do is to honor its nature and hold the puppy in compassion. 

Day Six {Meditation Challenge}: Buddha Moon, Sacred Refuge

Buddha Moon, by Nicole Whitty

After my family was tucked in safely last night, I spent a little time outside under the full moon harvesting rosemary, snapdragons, and marigolds... and soaking up some of that delicious moonlight energy.

I've been listening nonstop to the Tara Mantra by Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors these days, and as I collected my herbs, the words came easy.  "Om tare tutare ture soha."  In Tibetan Buddhism, this is the mantra of Green Tara.  Om represents Tara's sacred body, speech, and mind. Tare means liberating from all discontent. Tutare means liberating from danger - both external danger and the internal danger of delusions. Ture means liberating from duality.  Soha means "may the meaning of the mantra take root in my mind." (See this Wiki for more info.)

I've been reading that rosemary, snapdragons, and marigolds all have properties of protection.  Once inside, I made two little bundles while repeating the mantra.  I hung one in A.'s window and put the other on the meditation table in my bedroom.  Little rituals like these remind me that my home is a sacred place of refuge. When we practice holding ourselves and others in compassion, our heart becomes a sacred place of refuge too. 

For Day Six of our meditation challenge, try thinking of your heart this way -- as a place of security and compassion.  When you meditate today, sit with dignity and hold yourself with acceptance.  Forgive yourself for anything you're holding onto, picture yourself receiving love from your friends and family, and let that love radiate in your heart.  See your heart as a sacred chamber and go there.  Rest here for a while.  Breathe.  Take refuge.

Here's a quick guided meditation to help you share this practice with your kids.  Begin by having them sit cross-legged on the floor and taking a few normal breaths.  Ask them to feel their breath in their nostrils, then read:

"Imagine sitting between two people who love you.  One might even be an animal!  Feel their love flowing into you and filling up your heart.  You, as much as anyone in the whole world, deserve this love.  This love makes your heart a special place.  You can visit this place anytime you want.  Just close your eyes and breathe.  You are safe and you are loved." 

Be sure to share your experiences with us here.  I love hearing from you and hope your practice is going well.  Much love & light. 

Morning Ritual: Five Yogic Habits for a Stress-Free Day

Sleepy Kid in the Morning Sunbeams

I am a big advocate of peaceful mornings.  When we start our day with peace, we create an opportunity for a stress-free day.  Here are five yogic habits that might just help you create a peaceful morning rhythm.  

1.)  Rise and shine.  Begin your day with the cool earth-energy that lingers before daybreak. Savor this stillness.  Prepare to be happy and shine.

2.)  Take it slow. Instead of hitting the floor running, take a few minutes to wake up.  Sit up, take a few deep breaths, and set an intention for a peaceful day.  Consider saying a verse like this ancient Indian mantra: "On the tip of my fingers is prosperity and abundance (goddess Lakshmi); in the middle of my hand is eloquence and learning (goddess Saraswati); at the base of my hand is divine power (goddess Gauri).  In the morning, a vision of energy in my hands." 

3.)  Cleanse.  Instead of racing (or schlepping) out to the coffee maker, consider the advice of ancient yogis, step into the bathroom, and say goodbye to yesterday.  Empty your bowels, brush, floss, and scrape that fuzzy tongue.  Ayurveda interprets tongue-fuzz as a sign of undigested toxins lurking in the digestive tract.  Unless we scrape, it's reabsorbed while eating or drinking.  Next, it's time for a cool shower.  Too much steam makes us sleepy -- a cool shower wakes up the body.

4.) Meditate.  Oodles of evidence now exists in support of the benefits of meditation.  Some of the health benefits include stress reduction, better sleep, lower blood pressure, an increased sense of well-being, and increased neuroplasticity.  To begin, borrow a pillow from your couch, put your tush on the cushion, and breathe.  It's that simple.  Just sit for a few minutes each morning and focus on your breath instead of your thoughts.  For instruction on mindfulness meditation, click here.  For instruction on Zen practice, click here.

5.) Step Outside.  Take a few minutes each morning to connect with nature.  Step into your garden or onto your patio and absorb some of the cool, new day.  Stand in Mountain Pose for a few minutes with your feet rooting down into the earth.  Notice the color of the sunlight and the sensation of morning air in your lungs.  Feel the freshness of the hour.  Instead of plopping them in front of the tube, invite your kids to join you outside.  Take just one breath together, smile, then quietly say, “Good morning, world!” Take this stillness into your day.

A few small changes in your routine might just make a big difference.  Beginning your day with peace in your heart is certainly a step in the right direction.  As Patanjali, compiler of the Yoga Sutras, writes, “Peace can be reached through meditation on the knowledge which dreams give.  Peace can also be reached through concentration upon that which is dearest to the heart.”

Visualizing Abundance