“There is a moment in each day that Satan cannot find.
Nor can his Watch fiends find it, but the Industrious find this moment and it multiply.
& When it is once found, It renovates every Moment of the day…”
~ William Blake, Milton
At some moment every day, we perceive the mystery. At some moment every day, we are gifted with its presence. But all too easily we are brought down by the tide of circumstances, and by the great rush to nowhere that our lives have become.
“Living in the Present” has become a cliche, unfortunately, but what if one were to realize that the “present” is “a present,” a gift? What if, instead of all the vain efforts at meditation, or purity, or health; one could stop and receive the gift that appears “at some moment every day,” and reconstruct the day around that grace?
This is not an exercise in sentimentality, this is an exercise in opening the doors of perception, of breathing in deep appreciation, of acknowledging those minor moments of revelation. Last night, we were in circle and someone was chanting powerfully in an unknown language. Instead of closing my eyes and trying to go somewhere else, I kept my eyes and ears open to receive the gift. And for a brief moment, the bowl of water in the center altar of the earth became the center of everything, and everything and everyone fit beautifully and perfectly into that pattern emerging from the great center both ever full and empty at once, a miracle in a blink of an eye. But acknowledging these moments, by writing about them, sharing them, affirming them, we move into the world of renewal as opposed to the world of strife and loss. There is a moment in each day….
May 12, 2007 at 7:23 pm
What is the moment in this day I ask at 9:00 pm. I think the moment driving home from the laundry mat just now when I decided to use a mantra to affirm life instead of wallowing in feelings of frustration, anger, disconnection and despair. I accepted in that moment that the proverbial path up to the mountaintop is a climb. Feels like a climb, in otherwords its work. I accepted the challenge and believed in the power of grace and my ability to ask for it. It’s when I forget to ask that I suffer. (The mantra incidently is “Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna jai.” Hilda Charlton used it many, many times for physical ailments and it worked for her.)
May 15, 2007 at 9:49 am
I have been making an effort to notice the moment – it’s a little like a treasure hunt. To my surprise, it comes at different times and in different circumstances. I think your point about our “sacred practices” becoming tainted by the attitudes of the rest of our lives is a good point. About a month ago, I found myself cursing at all the tedious daily tasks I had to do. We all have them in whether they’re household chores, office reports, preparing kids for school, commuting, etc. Every day seems to contain the repetitive tasks. I was preparing the house for the evening – shoving towels under the door to keep out scorpions and roaches, setting out clothes, washing dishes. If only I didn’t have to do all this ‘meaningless stuff,’ I could be meditating, journaling, etc.
Then the thought occurred to me, “Suppose these – the daily repetitive tasks we all do are the sacred rituals?” Maybe I shouldn’t be hurrying through them because there is something sacred there – something meaningful.
The moments I have noticed have come while walking alone watching the sunset; they have also come while I was ironing and being grateful for my life and everyone in it and while standing in the middle of my busy classroom feeling the excitement and energy of the students for a moment.
It’s taught me to pause before making hasty judgments about what is valuable and sacred and what isn’t in respect to daily activities – because that moment could surface anywhere and anytime. And for me, it’s almost always unexpected.
May 16, 2007 at 11:18 am
This may be a bit of a reach re: Rick’s post, but I’m moved to share it, in which case — maybe it’s perfect!
There’s a practice of perception that just keeps resurfacing for me, over and over, and I find it quite valuable… so maybe it will interest you if you haven’t crossed paths with it yet. I’m referring to an ancient Huna practice called ho’oponopono. If you google the term, you’ll find resources to follow up on, if interested.
Ho’ponopono first came into my awareness about a year ago via a story about a Hawaiian (if I recall correctly) psychologist who was hired to work for a state mental facility holding hundreds of violent, dissociated, “beyond-reach” patients. This institution had a long history of helplessness and hopelessness re: the ‘lost causes’ who were kept there, permanently banished from society.
Enter this new psychotherapist who had a completely novel (tho ancient) approach to these patients: he practiced ho’oponopono with them. I found his methodology fascinating, especially since he was the first person to actually make a substantial difference in the healing of these patients in the history of the facility. And he did it without ever MEETING a single one!
Here is what he did. He sat in his own office (offsite; NOT at the institution), and went through the files of each patient there. As he perused each tragic patient file, he systematically FORGAVE *THAT ASPECT* IN HIMSELF.
Not in THEM; in HIMSELF.
He acknowledged every single symptom of unwellness, violence, hatred, mania, etc., that this mountain of mental patients’ files presented… as his OWN, forgiving it IN HIMSELF on the spot. And in the “hologram” of our reality, healings began happening in miraculous numbers at this facility. (This is not to suggest he manifested their symptoms in any way; he did not.)
We’ve probably all heard that people and circumstances in our lives show up when they do, at the level of importance that they do (ranging from mild to intense or even urgent) because they have been drawn to our orbits as *reflections* of whatever is going on within ourselves (Default Law of Attraction). Humans are masters at “projection” — ie, seeing the flaws in people “out there” instead of “in here,” or perceiving “greatness” in others “out there,” to the extent of idolization and even worship, while seeing the self as sorely lacking in what they supposedly have. We exist in an amazing universe that provides everything we need for our evolution by plopping others who are projections of our own “stuff” squarely onto the holographic stage of our lives.
This particular healer saw everything Out There (in these patients) as a reflection of what was In There in him, and healed it In There… which amazingly rippled into the collective field, catalyzing healings in that institution that have never been remotely approximated before.
The bottom line: everything that we judge, whether favorably or not, points to something within us that we either appreciate or want to annihilate. Obviously the ‘high road’ would be to appreciate that which is before us (and therefore within us) — or, if we can’t immediately feel appreciation, we *can* immediately work to heal whatever is within ourselves that triggers the harsh judgement in the first place, and use that as our bridge to the appreciation, in very short order.
So I share this as a possible tidbit to either explore, or reject… but the more I accept this practice as viable and valuable, the more I feel prompted to mention it (and in so doing, reinforcing it in myself! :). It seems to be a quick and powerful way to faciliate healing on all levels: personal, interpersonal, cultural, global…..p>
Love all,
Lauriel
May 19, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Lauriel,
I hadn’t encountered Ho’ponopono previously. It’s given me a lot to think about! My first reaction was, “Wow, I got a lot of work to do!” It gives me pause when I find myself judging or criticizing others’ behaviors because suddenly I’m starting to realize these traits are internal, not external!
I thought the use of the word “forgive” was telling. In physical or pschological healing, I haven’t thought of needing to forgive myself or forgive the disease or injury. But, as I work with it, it makes a lot of sense. When you forgive, you stop fighting, condemning or denying it. Then, you can use that energy to heal.
Thanks for passing along the information.
Wendy