Divine interventions

And miracle coincidences seem to abound; I am only stunned by how many I might have missed by simply not opening myself out to receive them. Some, however, require no such effort; they are truly and explicitly just that and are handed to you on a golden platter. Many months ago, sometime last year, I had heard a lecture by a monk and had been struck by the ordinary circumstances and some not so ordinary, but extremely disturbing and saddening situations in his life through which he had realized the underlying truth of love and unity. At the time I inspired by the sense of peace that pervaded his being and the aura he seemed to radiate; an aura that brought some of that peace to permeate my being...
Last week as I struggled to embrace peace, I searched online for his lectures to find one that might speak specifically to this inner process of transforming angst to peace and acceptance. I found many inspiring talks on unconditional love of all and devotion to truth, yet not exactly the thing I was looking for. This afternoon, I find, two friends who remembered how moved I was by the Swamiji's presence, saved a copy of his autobiography he recently completed, for me. I am moved beyond words by this act of kindness and the divinity behind it.

My Dear Ones,

I would like you to know how grateful I am for the multitude of ways in which so many of you have, sometimes even unbeknownst to you, shown me much kindness and have given me great strength, which during these last few days, has delivered me from pain and confusion to clarity and peace. I must now reassure you that, as a result, I am not sad or grieving; I do not mourn any loss, as I have seen something larger that has been gained, for which I am only thankful. Know that I am as joyful and peaceful as I can possibly be.

I am however, also mindful of a beautiful facet of this adage (that a friend has repeated many many times over to me, and that I only recently realized) 'Make hay while the sun shines.' It is not very often that circumstances, which provide the space to question and understand what it truly means to accept peace and let go of mortal attachment, present themselves. Even less often have I found myself receptive to such opportunities to delve deep into my inner- most fears and attachments. Now that I have chosen peace, I would like to harvest it to its fullest potential. And so if it seems that I have, over the course of this last week, chosen silence over speech, seclusion over company, calm over excitement, it has only been to dig deeper into the wellspring of true joy. It shall soon brim over in ways familiar to many. But in the meantime, know that I am well. And I trust that you are too, as you are in my prayers.

With much love and thanks,

Yours, sincerely.

Finding God

He is to be found everywhere, and as N rightly said today, he acts through each of us, drawing us ever nearer to one another and thereby to Him.

I am usually cautious about reading prayers in public, or more specifically in the midst of groups of people whom I don't know well. While I might read material bordering on the spiritual quite comfortably, I would not read something overtly so, or expressing any fervent religious sentiment, for fear of putting my neighbor, especially such as on my Caltrain rides, in a position of awkwardness or discomfort. Perhaps this too stems from a deep-seated fear of being branded an irrational fanatic. This evening, however, I felt no qualms and was completely at peace in opening the book of Baha'i prayers that V and N had been kind enough to gift me last year. As I flipped through the pages, not quite finding the right one, my fingers stopped at the one entitled 'Nearness to God'. The seat that had been vacant next to me until that instant, was occupied by a kindly lady, who sat down just as my eyes rested upon the title. And turning to me with a wide smile she said, 'You know what? I had the exact same idea!' And with that she set down her bags and opened her evening read- a pocket Book of Pslams.

Peace.

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

- Lao Tse

And so I pray, Oh Lord,

Send Thy peace O Lord, which is
perfect and everlasting,
that our souls may radiate peace.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may think, act and speak harmoniously.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may be contented and thankful for
Thy bountiful gifts.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that amidst
our worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that we
may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of
Thy grace and mercy.

Send Thy peace O Lord, that our lives
may become a Divine vision and in Thy light,
all darkness may vanish.

Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother,
that we Thy children on Earth may all
unite in one family.

- Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan

Since the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.

- Shinto prayer.

A healthy spirit

I was feeling rather pleased with myself for having stumbled upon this understanding yesterday (which is rather simplistic and I must add the disclaimer that as most analogies go, it will be limited in some way, but effective in making a few points clear). Yesterday, while icing my wrists I was trying to imagine what a normal one would feel like. And I was quite stunned to realize that when everything in our body is working as it is meant to be, we do not feel any motion or function distinctly; we do not feel our muscles pull, our joints ache, our skin itch, our pulses race and so forth. In other words we do not perceive the otherwise enormous effort we would have to take to re-align a malfunctioning organ or gland into working harmoniously with the rest of the body. You see as a whole, the body has a purpose. When some part of it is ailing, it detracts in some fashion, the whole from working as efficiently as it should or could be, towards that purpose. And every ache and bruise, every disease and affliction, remains a nagging reminder of that imbalance and disharmony within.
That got me thinking, how we do know our spirits are healthy? Or is there even a golden yardstick for how a healthy one 'feels'? A series of recent blogs by C & N helped me clarify how it might feel. (I highly recommend reading those posts with all the comments that followed for an excellent synthesis of ideas surrounding a harmonious existence from within and without). I believe our spirits (individual organs) feel bogged down and frustrated when its purpose is at odds with the purpose of the collective organism or body it is serving (the body); when the goal of one organ is to siphon off all resources for its own functioning without concern for how that might affect the equilibrium of the body as a whole; when one organ does not pitch in to compensate for an over-worked other while it recovers, the (individual) spirit while enjoying some temporary advantage soon succumbs to the malaise afflicting the collective (body) due to this lopsided progress.
And when it does work in harmony with the whole?

सत्- चित -आनन्द ।

Peace.

--

Make me a channel of Your peace

A most gentle and soothing gem from the Saint of Assisi, a hymn very special and close to my heart. Thanks for reminding me C :)...

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring your love;
Where there is injury your pardon, Lord;
And where there's doubt true faith in you.

Refrain:

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope;
Where there is darkness, only light;
And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Refrain

Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
In giving to all men that we receive;
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

Refrain

A recent post by a friend on peace and how peace and unity must truly begin with each of us reminded me of a very beautiful hymn I love to sing:

Let there be peace on earth,

And let it begin with me.

Let there be peace on earth.

The peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father,

Children all are we.

Let us walk with each other,

In perfect harmony.

Let there be peace on earth,

Let this be the moment now.

Let there be peace on earth,

Let this be my solemn vow.

To take each moment,

And live each moment,

In peace eternally.

Let there be peace on earth,

And let it begin...

With me.

Let there also be peace and calm in the areas ravaged by hurricane Ike, and may there be peace and hope in the homes that have to be rebuilt, and may there be peace and harmony in the aftermath of this catastrophe.
Amen.