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After a Week of Silence, a Guest Post from Savitri

10/6/2017

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The expansive emerald lawns of Omega institute have a special dapple of sunshine and shade that is so inviting, so soothing - a living, breathing reality all its own. Omega has gracefully enveloped thousands, perhaps millions of spiritual seekers and teachers over the years in its transformative embrace, and the effect  is palpable. For seven days I submerged myself in that rarified atmosphere, along with 300 other souls, for a silent meditation retreat with the great, yet humble spiritual teacher Adyashanti.

We quickly established our rhythm; up at 6:30am to find our place in the meditation hall, followed by sequential meditations, silent meals, talks, then the chance to step up to the mic and ask our deepest, most heartfelt questions each evening before final meditation.

Adya’s dharma talks and interactive discourses were surely some of his finest. Adya’s wife Mukti led Chi Kung sessions twice a day by the lake, which opened us up even more for the light, energy, pure power and wisdom that flowed like holy water.
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Day by day, I began to feel like a hippopotamus submerged in that holy water, with only my eyes peering out above the surface. For the first four days, I admit, my mind was swirling around its usual paths, a hamster unable to get off the wheel. It’s been a tough year, full of stress. Emotional turmoil bubbled like hot lava beneath my calm façade. So I followed Adya’s directive to just compassionately watch my mind running on its wheel. Meditation session after meditation, it ran and ran through its cycle of stressful concerns. At Adya’s behest, I began a gentle discourse with my own mind; “Sweetheart, of course you’re racing all over, that’s just what you do, come on home and settle down Sweetheart”.

Then one evening, during our final meditation, Adya's powerful transmission of light reached a pinnacle, as he urged us to look attentively for the ending of anything in our experience.  So I started to notice, more and more, the ending of each thought, the ending of each breath. That became my queue, that became my mantra, that became my work for the rest of the week. As I felt into that deeper self within, the self that witnesses, the self that remains when each thought comes to an end, everything in me became peaceful. The relief was so sublime, it was true bliss. So very simple. It’s always been right there, we all know this… Adya calls it “garden variety” consciousness. It couldn’t be more fundamental or apparent, yet its depth is unfathomable.

I walked out of the meditation hall that evening into Omega’s warm, fragrant night-embrace. The plants were gently swaying in the breeze as we all found our shoes on the porch in the moonlight, each soul, each heart, connected to every other heart. The great, living Buddha field we had created in the womb of Omega, vibrated at such a high frequency, I reveled in the grateful knowing that I was in the perfect place for me on the planet at that moment. ‘How MUCH I LOVE this’ my heart sang. - Savitri Narayan Kaur

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TIME TO START

2/10/2017

 
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I LOVE snow days! I LOVE the kids' glee at hearing the news. I LOVE not rushing them out the door to school in the morning. I LOVE wearing pajamas all day. I LOVE soup. I EXTRA-LOVED yesterday's snow day and was extra grateful for it. It opened up some time and space for something very important to me. Let me explain.

Last Saturday morning, I was racing around -- very UNmindfully -- trying to get things done. There was a full day ahead of me: my son's wrestling tournament and then a family dinner in the city. I dropped my son off at the high school for him to catch his team bus and drove home. As I drove, I ran through my list in my head -- unload the dishwasher, deflate the air mattress, make sandwiches for the tournament, etc. I arrived home. I was still in my heady to-dos and not at all in the present moment. I saw some trash on my lawn. I bent down to pick it up, thinking, "This is just what I need. More to deal with. Why am I the only one who notices these things?" I stood up and... 

Conk!!!!!! I'd stood up fast and hard into the metal corner of my neighbor's garage, and it'd knocked me off my feet.

Long story short, I am fine. There was a surprising amount of blood. There were tears, a lot of ice and eventually an ER visit which cleared me of all things serious and concerning. No stitches required. 

I feel very grateful that I wasn't more hurt. I also feel grateful that I'm oriented to see it as a lesson.

The first most obvious lesson is that I need to be mindful and present. I can't rush around in stress. It's actually dangerous to do so. Please don't make the mistake I made. Know where you are and do what you're doing.

But also, I've been due for a reset for some time now. I've been feeling the pressure to up the ante on my personal practice -- practice more and do it more diligently. But I've been making the excuse that life is too full.

Yogi Bhajan says, "When the time is on you, start and the pressure will be off." 

I know this quote. I've known it for sometime. If only knowing quotes from the masters was all that was required to make real change. If that were the case, I'd be a lot further along on my path to self-actualization.

I felt the time was on me and yet, I put it off. I didn't start. So, I got myself a conk on the head. 

I got the message.  

I also got a snow day and all the cancellations that came with it, making room for the new diligence. 

Thank you, Universe. 

And to you, Reader, PLEASE START. Whatever you know you need to do... start and the pressure will be off. 

May the Truth in you guide you... to start.

    Blog by Cate Baily

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    Cate discovered Kundalini Yoga by accident over 20 years ago and was surprised and thrilled by how engaged, energized, and inspired it made her feel. She's been practicing ever since. Click here for more complete bio. 

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  • Home
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