Open Heart: Open Hand

This summer at Esalen we were playing an inspired CD, “Spirit Rap” by Astarius. During the “transfer period” between one workshop and another, the CD was either lost or taken. I had built this CD into the upcoming  “Alchemy of Abundance” workshop and was upset by its disappearance. We made flyers asking if anyone had seen it and placed them all over Esalen. There was no response. Meanwhile, my colleague and “Idea Tribe” aficionado, Athena Katsaros, suggested that I close my eyes and open my palm every morning as I entered the Dance Dome, where we were meeting. 

I did this everyday, and maintained focus, noting also that the workshop was doing quite well without the CD. On the last day as I walked in and closed my eyes, Athena placed the CD in my hand. Someone in the nearby Art Barn had seen the poster, remembered seeing the CD in some bin, and returned it. 

This is certainly a positive manifestation, but I would have been quite alright if the CD had never been found. I had released attachment to outcomes every time I had simultaneously visualized the CD, for I refuse to be a sniveling complainer before the vast universe just because I did not get what I wanted.  

On the other hand, I had also made posters and placed them in strategic places alerting the community about the CD. I had done everything I could do to maximize the possibility of its return, and then I let it go. 

There are times that we will not get what we want. It is that simple, and it is guaranteed (just as there are times when we will). A CD is a minor object, of course, compared to larger issues: people coming back into our lives or not, our health coming back or not, our opportunities returning or not. What is relevant to me here, however, is the way in which we ultimately choose to live out these various dramas. Are we are becoming clear, free, noble, compassionate, and big hearted through our process, or are we slowly sinking into a grimaced posture of antagonism and complaint? The open hand does not ask for a hand out; it asks to receive the Grace of What Is, and such a small opening can turn a poisoned landscape into a paradise.