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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Tsunami Song of Love and Hope

The email below was forwarded to me from a friend in California; it is a letter from a friend of a friend, a reminder that even in the most challenging, difficult situations there can be grace, beauty, and healing.

I also just found a beautiful letter from Thich Nat Hahn, I'm sharing that below as well.

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This is a letter sent to a friend of mine from a friend of hers in Japan.  It is an incredible story of courage, gratitude and insight.
Date: 3/15/2011 9:40:51 AM
Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.

We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on.

But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not.
No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.
There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun.

People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled.

The mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on, and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic, no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is better off than others. Last night my friend's husband came in from the country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,

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People have been asking me what do I do in the face of this disaster? And my response is to hold compassion, love, and energy for healing. When we go into fear or anger or hopelessness or guilt that only adds to the suffering. This is an opportunity, a challenge for us to stay centered, deeply rooted and present. If you find that you are going into fear, create more space for yourself by not watching the news and focusing on being with what is happening in YOUR life right now. Pray. Celebrate the beauty around you. Pray some more. Ask for guidance of how you can support yourself in a new way of being with transformation. Notice how the media generates drama, and where you get hooked by it. This is not about ignoring or pretending nothing is happening; it is about not adding to the chaos and suffering, but being a resource of stability and possibility. And as the letter above shows, knowing that even in dark times, there are miracles. I hold steady for more miracles and love, and less fear and blame.

My dear friend, Will Taegel of Wisdom University, and I created a short video last week with our thoughts on the recent tsunami. You can watch the video on the front page of Wisdom University, which I recommend you visit to watch the video and also see all the teachings Wisdom U has to offer. We are very grateful to be allied with such an amazing organization.

We also have this video and many others posted on our Toltec Center's youtube channel.

May all beings be happy, may all beings be free.

Blessings,

HeatherAsh

*****

Dear friends in Japan,

As we contemplate the great number of people who have died in this tragedy, we may feel very strongly that we ourselves, in some part or manner, also have died.

The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind. And the human species and the planet Earth are one body. What happens to one part of the body happens to the whole body.

An event such as this reminds us of the impermanent nature of our lives. It helps us remember that what's most important is to love each other, to be there for each other, and to treasure each moment we have that we are alive. This is the best that we can do for those who have died: we can live in such a way that they continue, beautifully, in us.

Here in France and at our practice centers all over the world, our brothers and sisters will continue to chant for you, sending you the energy of peace, healing and protection. Our prayers are with you.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Slowing Down to Get More Done

I had the funny experience yesterday of being stressed out about getting in a proposal to an agent about my Sacred Time Management book.

Hmm, maybe it is time for me to re-read my own book.

Eventually, I did take my own advice; I got up from my computer and went to meditate.

Today I'm taking my own advice again. I'm going to spend most of the day in the garden.
And while I weed and plant I'm going to celebrate my the successes from the past week.

You see, last week was an incredibly full week for me. Then I taught Friday night, all day Saturday, and most of Sunday. Usually I would take some time on Monday to regroup. But I HAVE THINGS TO DO! Yelled an inner voice. And so I woke up and went directly to the computer, and throughout the day that little voice got more and more frantic.

And that is no way to work!

What I've learned from writing and working with the principles in Sacred Time Management is that when we are in stress, overwhelmed, overloaded, and generally frazzled, it is almost impossible to get anything done in a good way. The remedy is NOT to keep going. Ignore the voice of the critic, which would probably have us all working twenty hour days with no breaks for food or to pee. All the critic can see is what is not done, where you are lacking, and all the disasters that are to come because of unfinished business. This critical time manager is compelling, but it is also WRONG!

The remedy is to slow down and create more space. Yesterday a four minute tea break gave me enough breathing room that I went back to my work inspired and excited. When I hit a bump and I started to constrict again, I stopped and worked on another project.

Then I made sure I got a good night's sleep.

This morning I feel more clear-headed; the critic is no longer driving my bus of perception. I am loving the sunlight coming through the oak tree branches outside, and the soft glow of spring green on the ground. Things don't feel like life or death, success or failure. I feel grateful for the growth of the Toltec Center, the emails in my inbox, and my capacity to explain how Sacred Time Management differs from similar books. I feel empowered rather than smushed.

And I feel the critic waiting in the wings for an opening to grab back the reins and list all the things that are not complete. And so I will consciously connect to my heart, to my faith, to spirit as I nourish my garden and myself today. I'll list all the amazing accomplishments from last week, and link those to flow and ease of the coming week. I'll stop looking at what is wrong or what I have to do in the future, and focus on the beauty of spacious unfolding.There is plenty of time when we connect to the sacred.

Followers