I have just returned from a very quick week in Washington and am completely blissed out. Picture this:
A large conference room with 1000 of my new besties sitting openheartedly in front of arguably the two best mindfulness teachers around, Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield.
I was at the opening weekend of a two-year training in mindfulness in Washington recently and I couldn’t be happier. I can hear your hearts beating faster as you read this. Mine did as I laughed, cried, and opened myself up to a room of Canadians, Americans, Icelanders, French Chinese and others from over 47 countries. I felt the possibilities of a world that could exist in love and peace as this microcosm of humanity talked about their aspirations as teachers, being connected to themselves in authenticity, awareness and compassion.
It was truly a beautiful thing.
I have come back refreshed and incredibly excited. Please forgive me for sounding evangelical. I know it’s in there and I will try to tamper myself down a bit but it’s difficult when I have been so inspired.
Some other experiences from this trip...
Food is really bad there. I mean depressingly so. Americans need to kneel down and thank whomever up there for WHOLEFOODS. That place saved my life. On the first day of the conference perhaps ten people walked across the road to put some healthy stuff in their brown cardboard containers. By day 4 the place was packed with gleeful mindfulness participants heaping yummy fresh salad, veges, fruit and gluten free everything’s into their baskets. Pure joy.
The staff and the hotel kept telling us that we were the nicest group they have ever catered for. WE thought they were the best as well.
Try to see the goodness in others; they often act the better because of it. - Nelson Mandela
I was reminded (AGAIN) that whatever is projected outwardly, wether we appear confident and together, or frayed at the edges, we are all at times vulnerable and scared. Sometimes we want to be seen, sometimes we want to hide and for the most part, all we want is to be able to love and be loved.
In our culture, this doesn’t come naturally. It is something that has to be relearned.
Tara quoted someone or other (oopsie, cant remember who) that we live in a PTSD world- bombarded daily on every screen with devastating news and apocalyptic visions of the future. Most of the time we think we should be doing something other than what we are engaged in. Frantically running around just trying to keep up in an ever-changing fast paced world.
We need to stop, reconnect to the better parts of ourselves and have kindness and compassion for our not so good parts. It really is possible to train ourselves in awareness, to lessen self judgements, to quieten our mind and retrain our habits.
It's possible to pause, be less reactive and more loving to others and ourselves.
This is something I'm bringing with me into the next month.
I hope this finds you well and at peace,
Rita
CLEARING
Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose,
Instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognise and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world
so worth of rescue
- Martha Postlewaite