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Spiritual Practices: from Qigong to Prayer
The theme for the week has been Spiritual Practices, so I thought it would be good to close out the week with a laundry list of the possible. I’ll offer as examples my current practices that I do on a regular basis:
Qigong: Daily. I’m spending anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes every day doing either 5-Element Form or Jeff Primack’s Level 1 Form (which I’m also certified to teach and will be starting my classes very soon).
Yoga: At least every other day, at least 20 minutes. I also just returned from my Svaroopa Yoga class with my good friend Dharma, an excellent teacher. This is nearly a two hour class each week in this new to me style of gentle, yet very effective (I can feel tonight’s work already!) yoga.
Morning Pages: Daily. I write three long-hand pages every day in the style recommended by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. I find this practice to be incredibly grounding, a way to purge, a way to jump start the day, a way to record feelings, events, dreams, visions, plans, hopes, basically just about anything that comes to mind (or heart). I sometimes channel consciousness that just comes.
Poetry: I often write a poem or two through each week. I publish one here on the blog every Monday. And I read poetry often. I love this other-dimensional way of writing and expressing.
Divination: Daily. Currently I draw two cards, one from the Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards by Doreen Virtue, and one from the Crowley Tarot Thoth Deck. I use these cards to get an intuitive sense of the energies of the day. I write a page of notes about what they mean to me and how they relate to one-another.
As another form of divination, on new moons I cast an I Ching Gua for the moonth to gain intuitive insight on the energies for the upcoming moon cycle.
Chanting: I wrote in yesterday’s post about Mantra Meditation. I do this frequently, currently daily following Deva Premal & Miten’s 21-Day Journey.
These are my current daily practices. I spend about two hours each morning on these practices. And I consider them all forms of prayer. They are definitely forms of an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. (from the Wikipedia definition of prayer).
OK, I may be stretching a point a bit here, but the “spiritual entity” I communicate with is the Universe, Source, the All, and other ways of expressing or labeling something greater than I and yet also inside me!
I do sometimes wonder if I am over-doing it; if I am spending too much time at my practices. But they do serve me in many ways. I feel we are all on a path of expansion, evolution and transformation. Why else bother with all these sometimes hard lessons we keep encountering and, hopefully, learning! My practices help me through the changes, support my struggles, offer ways to feel my feelings, stretch my intuitive sensibilities, open me to embrace the greatness of human consciousness and the Divine Consciousness that is there for immediate access if we sharpen our methods to encounter and listen to the wisdom available.
How much time is this worth? For me it is priceless. Maybe I am not devoting enough time to my practices!
Enjoy your weekend. Find time to practice!
What Is Your Spiritual Practice? –Richard’s Commentary
We just got back from our local Spiritual Exploration Group here in Maryland. This is a monthly meeting of like-minded folks who we bring together to discuss spiritual topics of many colors. Our mantra is we get together for Discussion, not Dogma.
Tonight’s topic was Prayer. And we explored the many dimensions of what this means for people both as a word and as a practice. We began with our childhood remembrances of what prayer meant to us and our experience of prayer. We considered the Wikipedia definition:
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication.
And we discussed where we are now with prayer as a way of “connecting” to something greater than ourselves but that we find inside ourselves. We spoke of prayer as a way of generating and offering our energy for positive connection and transformation, or “lifting to a higher vibrational frequency.”
We even discussed the possible existence of “dark prayer” – negatively focused energy to counter the evolutionary path of human consciousness; and we wondered if prayer can be judged in this way if it is truly a “deliberate communication with a deity”! Is a negative prayer even a true prayer?
I bring this up because prayer is certainly a spiritual practice. For me the word sometimes has a negative impact because it is overloaded with memories of childhood when reciting the “Lord’s Prayer” seemed so rote and lifeless. As a young child required to memorize the prayer I wasn’t even clear on the meanings of the words.
Then it hit me! I, with 46-thousand of my closest friends, am tuning into Deva Premal & Miten every day to chant ancient verses from Holy Scriptures. They are offering a 21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey that began April 23. Today is Day-10. (You can sign up for this free daily practice here: Deva & Premal. And you can catch up because all of the chants they have shared so far are still posted.
So, I sit, eyes closed, each morning in a very open and loving state to chant, often Sanskrit, words I am not familiar with, over and over in a “rote-like” way. How is this so different from my childhood experience of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in a rote-like way?
OK, here’s the thing about that: I am in an altered state when I chant “Om Shanti Om” 108 times. I move into that state of true inner peace invoked by this mantra. I remember where my mind was when I “prayed” the Lord’s prayer as a kid – anywhere but on “Our Father”! I wasn’t seeking to develop “rapport” with “Him”; but with these mantras I am seeking to develop a rapport with the energies invoked by their vibrations, their words composed of sacred syllables, the transcendent quality of the constructs and how they sound when chanted, whispered, or just thought and felt as they vibrate through my being.
One of my Spiritual Practices is to chant. I have learned a number of chants from different traditions using languages from Sanskrit to Navaho. I have been ritually initiated into several. And they all transport me to another “place” where I can transcend this physical dimension of time, space and my body and commune with Spirit. And for me this is the best form of prayer to which I can aspire.
If you are at all interested in chanting and mantra meditation as a form of prayer I invite you with all my good wishes to tune in to Deva Premal & Miten. Here’s the link again:
21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey
All blessings!
MONDAY’S POEM: Celebrate Emptiness
Because some days are just like this:
Celebrate Emptiness
Celebrate Emptiness as
The beginning of Fullness.
Inside of grief is always
Room for praise.
Buddha taught Shariputra
“Form is no other than emptiness.”
This completely relieves
Misfortune and pain.
When down there is always up.
When empty, only a filling.
Let the empty cup of grief be filled
With the joyous song of praise.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Stand Up or Stand Out?
Yesterday I posted a comment on Rosemary’s message from The Divine Feminine about living into the greater vision the Universe has in mind for us. And I challenged you and me to “stand up” and live that bigger vision, no matter how scary it might be!
Then I came across a story in an old favorite little book by Thomas Merton, The Way of Chuang Tzu, that I’m re-reading to refresh my mind and spirit about the Way, the Tao that Chuang Tzu so eloquently and deeply explored. Here is that story, The Man with One Foot and the Marsh Pheasant. I believe it speaks loudly to this theme of living into a greater vision of ourselves:
Kung Wen Hsien saw a maimed official
Whose left foot had been cut off–
A penalty in the political game!
“What kind of man,” he cried, “is this one-footed oddity?
How did he get that way? Shall we say
Man did this, or heaven?”
“Heaven,” he said, “this comes from
Heaven, not from man.
When heaven gave this man life, it willed
He should stand out from others
And sent him into politics
To get himself distinguished.
See! One foot! This man is different.”
The little marsh pheasant
Must hop ten times
To get a bite of grain.
She must run a hundred steps
Before she takes a sip of water.
Yet she does not ask
To be kept in a hen run
Though she might have all she desired
Set before her.
She would rather run
And seek her own little living
Uncaged.
As is so often the case with these stories from Taoism or Zen Buddhism, there is no clear cut moral to the story! On the surface we seem to hear that the Man with One Foot lived up to his charge from heaven – to “stand out.” But perhaps he over-reached his destiny, the “vision the Universe had in mind for him”! (Maybe this is a simple commentary on the “political game” as it was played then—a more dangerous one than today’s!).
Then there is the comparative lesson of the little marsh pheasant who sought her “little living uncaged.” I can presume that she is living in accordance with heaven’s will, nature’s choice. So often these Taoist stories urge a natural way of life, to go with the flow of the Tao.
For me the point of this story is not at all contradictory with the message from The Divine Feminine. The Universe (heaven) has big plans for us. We are standing on the backs of several thousand generations of human ancestry not to live small, to live caged, to live unnaturally with one foot. We are to stand up, not out. And yet, even if we are to lose a foot to the greater cause of living into our vision, is that too much?
There is a polarity to this story that seems to call for balance. We are called to stand up, but not out. We are called to live free as nature intended. And yet we are “called” by the Universe to live big. The story presents us with contrasts, the duality we so often face in daily routine. There is no right or wrong in this story of opposites. The story presents both sides. This complimentary nature of the Tao is a favorite theme of Chuang Tzu. And as Lao Tzu says in the Taoteching, Chapter 2:
All the world knows good
But if that becomes good
This becomes bad.
Follow your nature. And follow the Universe’s call. Stand up and be counted. And yes, there will be both good and bad consequences when you do. The “free” choice is yours!
What do you make of Chuang Tzu’s story?
Will the REAL YOU please stand up? – Richard’s Commentary
I don’t know about you but I was really struck by this message from The Divine Feminine posted yesterday! And I realize part of this message’s impact is the “memory” it hits. I think anyone reading this post knows the truth of this message about themselves! We are all here, now, in this time for a very specific purpose. We are here to be part of an enormous transformation. And it is time for the REAL Us to stand up! Here are the specific instructions from The Divine Feminine:
Expand your Consciousness to embrace the biggest version of YOU that you can imagine and then allow that to continue to expand. The Universe sees YOU as large as you REALLY are. Dissolve the limitations that you have put on yourself and BE THE BIGGER VISION OF YOU.
What does this mean? I have a perfect example of a couple of people doing this very thing. You may or may not know of Deva Premal & Miten, two artists who have made chanting mantras, both in Sanskrit and from other cultures in other languages, not only beautiful art but moving, spiritual experiences. Rosemary and I have all of their albums and listen to them regularly. We have attended their live performances and have been truly inspired. Here’s what they are now doing to embrace their biggest vision: they are offering a completely free 21-Day Mantra Meditation Journey over the internet. It just began on April 23rd and it is fantastic. What a wonderful way to start the day, with 15 minutes of these beautiful human beings introducing and then chanting a new mantra. Deva and Miten have stepped up to a higher level of offering Divine Chanting for the world!
You can still join us in on this journey; sign up here: Deva & Miten
We are all called to Stand Up! The Divine Feminine requests this and Deva Premal & Miten demonstrate a perfect example of what it means and how to do it.
It begins with an expanded consciousness; it begins with a “bigger vision of you.” We all have dreams, wishes, desires. Are these true visions of who we are and what we can be or are these fantasies of the “if only” category? Visions are dreams that can be actualized. They require motivation, planning, resources, scheduling and action. The Divine Feminine are not calling us to dream, they are calling us to Vision and Action. They are asking us to Stand Up!
What is my vision? I have outlined my first Qigong class! I plan to teach a 10-week program beginning in May. I have a marketing flier completed, class syllabus ready to go, sign-up/release form to print and a few ideas for marketing the class to local groups here in Maryland. I am excited not only to be doing this but with the notion that I am moving in a new direction and beginning to “stand up.” OK, a Qigong Class may not sound like a big leap, but it is a step.
And Rosemary and I are moving forward with other plans to expand programs and offer more to our local groups, followers and clients here in the Maryland area. We are also continuing to develop our online plans to bring what we offer to a wider, global audience. Rosemary’s voice already reaches around the world with her services to select international clients. She too, as the “Voice of The Divine Feminine” is stepping up and moving into a much bigger Vision of her Service to Humanity.
It really is time for all of us to Stand Up, to live into that greater vision we all sense about ourselves and the Universe knows about us!
Are you ready to Stand Up?
Monday’s Poem: Faith
It was a tough week in many ways. Natural and unnatural disasters, a breakdown in the democratic experiment, even numbers don’t seem to hold much truth these days! I wrote this hanging out there somewhere between hope and despair:
Faith
A sense of the intrinsic goodness
of Life.
A connection to the evolving nature
of Consciousness.
A belief in something beyond the reach
of Humanity.
Are these tricks of the human mind?
Is there something beyond the matrix
We have built to protect our faith?
When we peer through the holes in
that matrix, the glitches that disrupt our
Flow, our faith
Grow large.
Faith in the matrix of military might
is not Life.
Faith that there is no connection between
drones and guns
is Unconsciousness.
Faith that someone or something out there
will save humanity
is naive.
Breathe down to your belly.
Feel there the vibrations of hope.
They quicken one’s own intrinsic goodness.
Find there the source of New Faith.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
The Story is Not the Person! – Richard’s Commentary-Part 2
“The story is not the person.” But the person is part of the human story, as I wrote in my post yesterday. There is so much to Rosemary’s article posted Wednesday that I wanted to come at it from another angle.
She wrote of boundaries that people have that must be respected. We have them to protect our inner vulnerabilities. We all have these soft spots that can cause us great harm if exposed (at least that’s what we believe). But these boundaries can also become barriers to growth, to expansion, to the evolution of human consciousness I wrote about yesterday. There is a balance needed here that I want to explore today.
Rosemary writes: “Each of us has a responsibility to ourselves and to others to learn how to live in community with the people around us. We are not private islands with ‘No Trespassing’ signs on our foreheads! The most important lesson to learn about living in a civilized society is to learn what healthy boundaries are. Learn what to let in and what belongs to the other person.”
The question this begs is what are these healthy boundaries? Until we gain the answer here we may be hiding behind unhealthy boundaries (barriers) and blocking our own growth.
We all have secrets. We are human, we grow up in human families with foibles, stresses and all the baggage of generations of growing up in human families. Some secrets like those from our youth don’t necessarily need to see the light of day. If they served their purpose in teaching us then they can remain hidden; no harm done.
But if we have not yet learned the lessons from these secrets then perhaps they do need to be aired, to see the light. This is particularly true if the secrets, the unlearned lessons, are blocking our growth in some way.
Another form of boundary is the façade we erect to pretend we are someone other than the person we know on the inside. This is our persona; and we all have them. In fact we likely have several of them we “wear” in different situations. And this too is OK. We don’t necessarily want to expose the “real” person behind the persona in every social situation.
But if we always hide behind a persona in every situation we may be hiding something even from ourselves that needs to be examined. Our persona may form a barrier to our own true story that we need to understand. That story is the base for our expansion, growth, evolution.
The healthy boundary comes from a balance between over-exposure and hiding, between blurting out old, irrelevant information and withholding information that might help us better understand ourselves and others. With healthy boundaries in place we can move easily in society, learn as we interact with others and grow beyond those boundaries.
As Rosemary concludes: “Own your story but do not be governed by it. Be conscious of your responsibility to continue to grow. Help others to grow by allowing them to have their own stories while keeping healthy boundaries for yourself.”
Do you “own your story”? Does it set up healthy boundaries or barriers to your growth? The place to begin to answer these questions is to write your story down. It may have some lessons, some hidden gems that need to be mined!
The Story is Not the Person! – Richard’s Commentary
“The story is not the person.” And often the story is not the story, at least not the whole story. I think that is one of Rosemary’s points.
I had the great privilege over a number of years to “sit at the feet” of Robert Bly. One of his “lessons” was to examine a story or poem on at least three levels: the concrete, the psychological and the mythical. And even then large swaths of a story can be glossed over or missed entirely.
At the concrete level, the story is never the person. You can’t know much at all from this level. It is superficial at best. To use a well worn cliché it’s like judging a story-book by its cover. I am a great fan of science fiction; I can never guess what a book is about from looking at the typically lurid cover! These days you certainly can’t judge anything from clothes. Styles are all over the map and casual is becoming formal in many venues! For those who are well trained and experienced in sensory acuity there are deeper layers to the concrete level that can be observed. Milton Erickson pioneered the use of body language in his hypnotherapy work and could utilize a subtle movement, twitch or flush to take a patient into deeper trance. And this brings us to the psychological level of the story.
Rosemary’s point that “the story is not the person” is much about this psychological level, the back-story, the underlying elements to a person that are buried behind the external persona. Sometimes this deeper part of the story is hidden even from one’s self. Our layers of beliefs for example are not necessarily something we dwell on to determine our current motivations or reactions to situations. It is this psychological level that gets protected, especially the shadow components of our makeup…and we all have them. Our boundaries protect this area and need that respect Rosemary urges us to observe.
And it is this level that we need to take into consideration when interacting with people. We all have our psychological stories. Some we can feel free and even good about sharing. Some remain hidden, protected behind our walls of privacy. The point here is to realize every one of our encounters with a person involves a hidden layer that needs our understanding and respect. We have our boundaries and they have theirs; let the unrevealed layers be a part of the mystery of the encounter.
It is at the mythic layer to the story where we can have some fun. And I don’t mean to make fun but to be inventive, creative in our approach to interacting with others. At some level we humans are all archetypes; we embody all the mythical gods and goddesses, the legendary figures from history, the stories of golden ages with mythic heroes and heroines from pre-history. Bly’s approach to analyze a poem or a story at the mythic level is to look for the archetypal, the over-arching theme that holds deeper meaning beyond the superficial and even the mental levels; the god-like meanings that underpin the entire arch of the story. And we can apply this approach to our encounter with others. Ask, what part of the greater mythology of human existence is this person playing, in his life, in my life, in the greater context of human evolution!
That’s right! Every one of us is playing a role, our personally designed role, in the expanding story of human evolution, the evolution of consciousness! This is exciting, scary, sobering, even mind-boggling. And it’s true.
So, next time when you meet someone, a friend, an acquaintance, even a stranger, ask yourself what role that someone is playing in the unfolding mythology of humanity!
MONDAY’S POEM: Breathe
I have been writing a lot about transformation, change, rhythms and cycles, birth, death, beginnings and endings. I received news Sunday that a dear friend in England, after a valiant struggle with cancer is transitioning, taking a last breath of the Mother’s air before moving through a new birth into some other dimension we don’t totally recognize but know is there. It occurs to me that any such transformation requires breath. We must breathe into newness. First breaths; last breaths.
Breathing is so natural, mostly completely automatic; unconscious; meant to keep us alive. Transformative breathing needs to be conscious. And then I found this poem I wrote a few days ago as I thought about my Qigong practice and meditative breath-work. I hope you find it transformative!
Breathe
In
Deep
Down
Belly out
To toes
Fill up
Higher
Expand
Stretch ribs
Open throat
Wide nose
Fill eyes
Crown lights
Hold
Accept;
Out
Slow
Top
Relaxing
To ribs
Press in
Backwards
Contract
Press belly
Flatten
To spine
Ease root
Empty
Let go
Release.
Repeat.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
ARIES and the I Ching for the “Moonth”
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my post yesterday. Is there a conflict between all the energies in the House of Aries and the I Ching which seems to be urging caution? I’ve received more astrological guidance and I’ll be sharing some of my musings on this conjunction of these energies.
First a “word” from dear friend, teacher and intuitive astrologer, Chris Largent, about Aries:
1. Spring is expansive, so it’s a great time to get out and celebrate. The winter brought with it unconscious and other-dimensional processes, and we worked hard – usually without knowing it. So, we need to rest and have fun. The symbols now are particularly good for getting out in nature – any kind of nature.
2. The ‘Big Transition’ aspect is back and will be with us through early 2014. Since this symbolizes a shake-up in collective consciousness, we may feel an urgency or an awakening relative to our destinies as culture changers.
In fact, a combination of present aspects symbolizes the Big Kid in us going out to play, the Contemplative Adult reflecting quietly, AND the Serious Change-Agent breaking free of oppressive programming to help liberate the world. This gives all of us plenty to do.
3. As a result, we may also experience a tension between the old world and the new one, out there where “the wind blows” and “wild things run.” We may feel an inner resistance to leaving the “medieval fort” of conventionality. And we may even find apparently good reasons for clinging to the old when new ways of being confront us – which they do constantly now.
So, it’s a time to be alert to our resistance and our destinies – along with resting and playing.
And here is more from Gloria Hesseloff, especially about that “medieval fort” image Chris conjures:
“The New Moon in Aries focuses on the energies of the Divine Masculine, which is very different from the patriarchy. … Energetically, this feels like a fortuitous time to invoke the Sacred Masculine to join forces with the Divine Feminine in putting a powerful hold on the old, less evolved, dominating patriarchy that has abused Mars/Aries energy with war and violence.
- Aries is ruled by Mars. Evolved Mars is more a protector than an aggressor.
- Mars is considered the Warrior.
- Let us be Warriors for Higher Consciousness…Peaceful Warriors, Spiritual Warriors, Wise Warriors, Spirit in Action.
- We can generate an “energy field” that contains the heart & soul of the Warrior.
- This can be sent to areas around the world to promote peace.
- This field can be applied to our daily lives where we courageously go after what we desire. This is the time to be the hero or heroine in your own life!”
And then there is the I Ching energy of “encounter” (especially with young, energetic women) and “retreat.” Note that for both the initial and approached Gua the yin lines are in an advancing position moving upward toward the yang dominated top of the Gua. My feeling is there is a lot of feminine energy in this Aries configuration; in fact Venus too is in the “warrior house” clearly influencing, not necessarily softening, the energy! Here’s what I wrote about all this in my pages:
“Encounter is with the Goddess! She is referred to as a “strong maiden” in King Wen’s Decision. Who is she? This is about feminine energy in this Aries House. Venus is in Aries along with Mars. She is strengthened by Mars’ presence, closeness (a bit over 2 degrees separation at this point). In fact it may be this Mars energy that is in “retreat” from the strong feminine. Balance remains a key word for this time within Equinox energy. Balance the masculine and feminine energy within and all around. And, yes, there may need to be a retreat before the strength of the feminine in order to achieve this balance. Gloria referred to the Divine Masculine as the powerful, generative King Archetype. Perhaps his retreat is into his feminine, creative power.
“There is strength in retreat. I visualize a time of gathering strength, building potential for what is coming (the “Big Transition”). I visualize the final stages of the worm within her chrysalis, a deep retreat into this desiccated state just before the emergence of the true creature in her brilliance and beauty. The Goddess emerges from her entombment to dry her wings in the light and complete the cycle of life, from cellular egg to crawling worm to gossamer flight.
“It is time to submerge into the energy of this powerful Aries time to gather strength for the emergence. The Goddess will empower this emergence. But there remains the cautionary note of Gou! This is powerful feminine energy to encounter. Treat it with utmost respect. Bow before the power or risk its loss and backlash!”
I think I have resolved any perceived conflict in my mind. How are you dealing with all this power both “out there” and within?
Men and The Goddess 