In my view of it, everything occurring in our non-accidental lives is a sadhana opportunity. Therefore everything, even the summer desert heat, somehow conspires to support our growth--- yes? Take the fact that my internal laptop fan runs so much cooler at 3 am (when it's about 80 degrees instead of near 110)… so, that which gently guides me encourages me to awaken then…. to use the predawn lower temperature window to write these essays….that would be 'sadha-supporting indigenous spiritual intelligence', yes?
Years ago (during my youthful summers working for the US Forest Service as a mountain-top wilderness fire lookout) my inner guides began to teach me to look for this flow… this heightened awareness of the synchronistic dovetailing of reality with the needs of the moment. I learned simple lessons then… like that my twice-weekly water-trek a mile down the mountain to my spring was best done during my noon-hour lunch break-- because I would be so drenched with sweat from the hustling climb to get back up 'on time' carrying that 50 pounds of water that the next obvious thing to do was to take a sponge bath, followed by natural air drying--via a beautiful alpine altitude nude solar sun bath. In this scenario, the mid-day timing was the point, as if I went before or after work I would miss the warmth of the day. Timing. Very important.
I call this 'living naturally', or 'organically attuned'. And I see it as the sanest way for me to live--- to yield to life's flow as directed by nature's timing-- instead of (mis)using all of the technologies man has created in unwise efforts to dominate and/or control nature. The Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan went so far as to state that nature is the true Holy Book… ie, that in her pages one can learn all needful lessons for living. In any case, I find much wisdom here….
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I impulsively bought a beautiful looking 18" tall potted papaya plant this week (from the Home Depot garden department). The tag picture looked like the Mexican variety, which I eat often but so far have been unsuccessful at getting going from the fruit's seed. Something intuitive had me check that out… first online to do a latin name search (which revealed that the variety was Hawaiian--known to now be 90% GMO), and then following that up with a call the nursery over in the LA area that supplied the plant to Home Depot. My questions first were answered by the receptionist, who assured me that the plant was non-GMO, but as I had some questions she couldn't answer (about how to best grow the plant) she promised to have another person who did know call me back. When that conversation happened, the man used some legal phrases like "to the best of my knowledge", which were red flags. Questioning deeper, he revealed that what they actually did was 'buy the fruit and use the seeds inside'. I sat with that-- and concluded from that information that there was a 90% chance that the plant actually was GMO, and returned the plant for a refund.
The lesson? Sometimes it's a lot of work to be responsible for my impulses.
I was driving to our local commercial zone to pick up something and passed a professionally dressed young man (early twenties) walking along the road in the hot afternoon sun without a hat, carrying a briefcase. I remembered my own door-to-door sales struggles at that age, and empathized. Boy did he look hot. Then I received an inner message to turn around and offer him some water, just to make sure he wasn't getting too dehydrated. At first I didn't want to, but in the next few micro-seconds of thinking, I realized I would much rather simply do that than to suppress my concern for the man under a denial of ego justifications that 'it wasn't my business'. Of course it was my business. My heart was clear on that. So I turned around, when back, and asked if he needed water. He was clearly surprised that some stranger was concerned for him, and assured me that he was OK, that he only lived a couple blocks away. I said "Fine…I just needed to know…it's so hot". He smiled, disappearing our generational difference, as he waved goodbye. I'm glad I stopped to check. I felt human… to be able and willing to take the time. As distinct from 'mechanical/machine-like', which is what I have felt like in the past when in similar circumstances I haven't.
A few months ago new unattractive neighbors arrived into the usually quiet empty lot right next to me in an aging 5th wheel trailer. It was quickly obvious that they were dysfunctional and both drunks (and loud). My ego wasn't pleased at all, but I could see this was karma (the guy recognized me…I'd given him a ride when he was hitchhiking locally a year before, AND I'd given him a copy of 'The Love Declaration' too), so after setting my boundaries (speaking straight with them about who I was, what I did, and what I needed in terms of privacy) I didn't resist (as much as possible) and used all our interactions as practice in being present without judgement (as much as possible). After several months of overhearing their battles, she finally kicked him out. Things got quieter again. Then I noticed she was going to church on Sundays. She said yes, and that she was now sober two months. I congratulated and impersonally encouraged her, and even once fixed her broken lock for her (but I let her know in the future what I would charge if she needed my services). Anyway, the thing I noticed this week after a brief interaction over the fence was that my attitude towards her was 'slightly positive', that I had enjoyed talking to her. I looked at that and realized she was a teaching for me that given time people can change and grow. Then I realized that 'people' could include me. Hummmm….
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Mom was sitting in her chair talking to me about something when suddenly her face contorted with emotions and she chokingly blurted out that 'she was so grateful that lately it seemed like I cared about her'. Of course I've thought that the two years I've stayed here with her were obviously about me caring about her. I'm sure that's true, but from her world, I can see it didn't count, comparatively. What counts is that I have been more willing to listen to her. I used to let her dog do that, but the dog died a few months ago, and Mom doesn't want another. The gifts in that are many (logistically), but it has produced this subtle over time shift between us. And other things and experiences I've been having have dovetailed in their support of this. They have all been removing the history of this 'mom' person, and revealing just another myself. More, I am sure, to come on this. In due time. :-)
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I am getting ready to travel north again this summer… this time much lighter than in a long time. My newish-to-me 1992 Geo with it's 45 mpg hallelujah appears solid, but it's quite cramped. Therefore, to carry some art and other supplies, I've just constructed a unique little tow trailer, which I hope to debut here real soon (still have to get the lights/turn signals working etc). The plan is… well, the plan is to… keep reporting.
Well, actually, the only real plan is that same one I share with each of you. I downloaded that a couple days ago… that what we are all doing in our own ways is practicing become/being perfect… meaning (the way I organize it) being an in the flesh embodiment of the 'Christ Consciousness'. It's just what a good yogi does, right? First, train the geni (the mind) with the heart's wisdom's, and then, let him/her out of the bottle (to bless the world).
Hope to see you out on the playing fields. Although there is a lot of work to be done, there is joy awaiting in it's doing.
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