Hearing Barbara Brodsky speak candidly about her husband, Hal, being so very vulnerable in the nursing home. What if the facility goes on lockdown and he can’t have the therapy so desperately needed. She wonders if she should bring him home. “I want to know. I don’t know. Does anybody know?”
Barbara hears Aaron, “Come back into your heart. What does your heart tell you? What is the most loving thing in this moment? How can you do what you need to do without panic?”
We are in a place of “DON’T KNOW.”
This is the sympathetic nervous system, and this system has no “immune” system. This is the most vulnerable space during the global crisis related to COVID-19, because it is the most vulnerable space related to everything.
Life feels out of control. But is it really any more out of control than life itself simply is? Nothing inner has really changed, even though many outer conditions have changed.
Hand sanitizer is difficult to find. Rubber gloves are out of stock. Even medications necessary for survival are in short supply.
These conditions are current.
School closings, restricted travels, stock market reactions, global focus on COVID-19…. these conditions are current.
You cannot directly change the outer conditions.
As my fingers float across the keyboard I am watching the video of our Dharma Path class from March 10, 2020. I am including some of Aaron’s words in quotations below.
“Everything will change and again and again….”
“Your attitude, your energy—you have control over that much…”
“When you are honest with yourself, this is where you have control…”
What is out of control is the fear. This is not a new condition for humans. Fear is so familiar it feels natural, but it is neither natural nor healthy.
“What can one person do? Look at the fear…. beyond fear, almost panic…”
“Unconscious fear is just adding fuel to the fire….”
“Talk about your fears in a nonjudgmental way….”
My dear friend and yoga teacher, Kathy, and I were sharing such gratitude for our yoga practice. Yoga is mindful movement. The body is different every time you come to the mat. Your practice is to stay aware and to move from within.
Earlier this morning, upon the draw, the poker machine gave me a straight.
“We all want certainty….”
“Everybody wants to be healthy and have their loved ones healthy….”
“It is one world…. You wanted the problem to be their problem.”
“Whatever is happening to a baby on the other side of the world is happening to you….”
Life is a poker machine. You can only play the cards you are dealt. You know the game. You know what to save.
“How can I handle this in the most loving way….”
“Any virus is still a sentient being in some degree. It may not speak your language but it works with energy just as you do….
When enough of you come together and say, ‘No, you may not take over and kill.’…. Start speaking to the virus. ‘If you attack us and we die, you will die….’ Said in love, not in hatred and disgust. ‘Every sentient being deserves happiness.’ Praying for this virus. Is anybody here praying for the virus that it may have well-being without destroying others? This is where it starts…. The next step for the higher conscious of humans….”
The following poem was written on 3/11/2020 Lynn Ungarhttp://www.lynnungar.com/about/ Barbara Brodsky sent the poem to our class. It is timely, poignant, and clear.
Pandemic
What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing. Pray. Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20
“Unless you do not take care of the world’s population, you cannot take care of yourself and your family….”
“Holding hands with your comrades and asking where is love here…. Thank you for coming as a teacher…. Now we are learning what we need to learn….”
“You are here to help the consciousness of earth to a higher consciousness….”
“I cannot destroy with hate to support love….”
“You are capable of this….”
“You have the ability to handle whatever comes with love….”
Here in Southwest Florida things are heating up, and I am not just referencing this week’s 80 degree temperatures. Following two deaths in Fort Myers—confirmed coronovirus—many are practicing voluntary social isolation with an eye toward protecting those most vulnerable.
A Michigan colleague, Jane Oelke, N.D., doctor of homeopathy, just published a great newsletter article. Please take time to read the entire article as “What’s in Your Cupboard?” provides some very wise steps we can all easily take.
The simple things are often most powerful.
For example, keep your mouth moist. We have all heard to “drink plenty of liquids” but did not know viruses thrive in a dry mouth.
That makes perfect sense as a dry mouth is one of the first signs of stress or anxiety.
We love the doTERRA Breathe drops, but sucking on a lemon drop or hard disc is good because your body being in parasympathetic nervous system helps your immune system stay strong. See Debra’s Wellness Tip “Vagus Nerve Stimulation” for more about that.
The closing paragraph in Jane’s article is very significant:
Most important – Stay positive!
Recently I read a mind-body manual that states viral outbreaks come at times of mass negativity. Do you think we have too much fear and other negative messages going on right now?
Rise above any negative thoughts you may have and take positive action toward believing in your own healing ability and support it with your activities.
Focus on the blessings in your life and create positive conversations.
Yesterday, while out riding my bike I saw a yard sign: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ANYONE BUT TRUMP IN 2020. This is not a political commentary, it is a vital truth: Supporting anyone but anyone for anything is insane.
Can you imagine going to a restaurant and ordering anythingbut anything?
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, you have a heart and a brain and a gut for good reason.
And you have an immune system to keep you healthy.
Whoa…. fear can spread like wildfire. We can put that fire out.
A friend/colleague is part of several groups I attend here in Florida. She has cancelled the meditation group she hosts in her home and has reached out to another of our mutual groups suggesting the meetings be cancelled because “at least one, and possibly two, deaths in the county from corona virus.”
Her closing line in the email message is quite telling: I’m sorry to miss the group if you do go ahead and meet on Monday.
Admittedly, her husband is an epidemiologist, and we do not yet know the extent of risk.
Lama Surya has asked that we lend our energetic support tomorrow morning. He will be leading a prayer ceremony in Northampton, Massachusetts, and has asked that, if possible, we take the hour from 9 AM to 10 AM EDT (Sunday, March 8th) to chant or pray with the clear and specific intention of pushing back on this destructive coronavirus, COVID-19, and purifying and supporting all those who have been / will be infected or otherwise impacted.-19,
He has specifically asked that we practice where we are, rather than trying to participate in person.
We look forward to holding the energetic space with you tomorrow as we lift our body, speech and heart-minds in unison, in support of our beloved Lama, on behalf of all beings.
Don’t forget to put your clocks forward tonight before you go to bed if you are in a place that uses daylight savings time. Oh, and don’t forget to wash those hands!
Warmly,
The Dzogchen Center and Foundation
I got up in plenty of time to chant for the hour with this group. I have recorded voice memos of many of the chants we do on retreat. Hari Om is one of the chants I did this morning. In Sanskrit, “Hari” is a mantra to remove troubles and pain. In Hindu, Hari references the god Vishnu, remover of bondages.
Omniscience (/ɒmˈnɪʃəns/) is the capacity to know everything. In monotheistic religions, such as Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, God is omniscient. “God” has the capacity to know everything. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any individual can eventually attain.
Since the 6th century BC, and continuing today, Jainism has three guiding principles: right belief, right knowledge, and right conduct.
Here is another of the chants I sang this morning: Seems like such a long time, Holy Spirit, waiting, since I’ve drawn your breath in, silent and all pervading.
It is important that we DO something with the energy of fear that can get stirred up. We can sing, pray, chant. We can dance. I clean. My sister sleeps.
It is vital to remember we are able draw in the breath of the holy spirit and extinguish the raging wildfire of fear.
Life depends on us….
If you have requested email updates for posts, click on the image below to listen to the audio of the Hari Om chant:
Leaves are falling down
autumn of my life this is
I must choose to live
Watching baby breathe
innocent and fresh new start
coming from the heart
Hands wrinkled from work
burdened by beliefs not mine
wake before too late
She is blind but sees
his deaf ears hear love’s true call
death’s doorway beckons
I stand numb yet here
garden gate gapes wide with pride
flowers sing welcome
Rich soil grows wisdom
rain settles the dust at last
soon all will be past
Debra Basham 03-06-2020 (WC 84)
One month from today we expect to arrive back in Michigan. It would be denial to say the mold saga has not given birth to worry, fear, and concern. Is it gone? I am not just questioning the mold, but referencing also the freedom turning ever-so-surely into curiosity that has momentarily replaced the worry.
Putting multiple thousands on my credit card, writing checks for more multiple thousands. Grateful access to what we need. Thoughts, too, of those families helped financially by our plight.
It is said we do not fear death, but we fear dying as the great unknown. Yet, truth-be-told, we have been practicing living with dying since our first breath. We outlived puppies and kitties, and uncles and aunts. Cars and clothes, and friendships. All these no longer are the way they were.
Fragile at best, this bed of impermanence upon which we rest.
Mind goes to the blowing of the wind outside the window. Wondering when it is not blowing, where or what wind is.
Before I was “I,” what was I. And long after, hereafter.
Suddenly the idea! I can spend all of my earthy accumulations to run a full-page ad in the newspaper telling of the inner journey.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, hardly anyone reads newspapers any more. Trees are relieved. So am I.
News is depressing. Of course, the really good stuff gets ignored.
Disaster and doom, debauchery and damage—this is what people read.
All arises from the conditions. When the conditions are present, wind will arise.
Death, too, arises—like the sun—when it is time.
I write an open letter to the tiny house:
To whom it may concern,
The problem was more extensive than we anticipated, but we have done what we can. We are optimistic what we have done is enough.
Love,
Debra
My goodness, that is perhaps the words for the ad in the newspaper: WE ARE OPTIMISTIC WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS ENOUGH….
My mind is so busy. I pull myself away from the Tapping Summit to join my Friday morning writing group, and the group seems so focused on the mundane I want to leave. I want to be inside where it is safe.
I hope you will read this poem. You will relate. We all have human feet.
I begin to write:
Loss and Gain
Searching for safety and security we wander aimlessly through the lostness of our own minds, opening door-after-door only to look into a mirror. Caught in the haze of a maze, thinking the same thoughts year after year without so much as questioning where they are leading us.
A few tell-tale feathers lay on the ground outside the window
A ghost-like image where they wiped the dust upon impact
Beak, wing, and silence now where the THUD had been
Heart breaking loneliness hits my mind the same way the bird hit the window: suddenly and without malice of forethought. An old friend, this feeling of not being wanted, loved, or safe. I open another door. Perhaps this time something else will be there.
Eyes grow dull
Search for a stress-free environment begins
Danger results from well-meaning help
Snakes shed their skin to allow for further growth. The process is natural and happens throughout their lives, but it is not an easy process. Being human is not an easy process either, and I, too, search for a stress-free environment in which to shed.
Nigger
Negro
African America
Black
Words reveal our progress
Slogans from mindfulness t-shirts I have seen come to mind: Meditation is not what you think, You Have the Right to Remain Silent, Don’t Believe Everything You Think.
Perhaps hopeful, trusting, and calm will be the result of my new skin.
P.S. The Deep Spring Dharma Path Study Group with Barbara Brodsky is finishing our two-year commitment. We are finding the light within Sacred Darkness. Whatever the conditions in your life right now, you in your human feet are never alone.
The phrase “Winter of Discontent” is from the opening line of William Shakespeare’s Richard III.
While the weather in Michigan has been mild, by winter’s standards, that very mild weather is the impetus of discontent for some who live along the shores of Lake Michigan. The absence of an ice shelf, coupled with high water levels, has brought worry to some, and loss due to erosion to others. Special WSBT.com report: Dreams Swept Away.
In an email exchange about all of this with a friend, I wrote, “People lose money in investments or business ventures, and homes to fire or flood. To lose a home and the land and have insurance not cover the loss seems so much more difficult.”
I often recall the comment Barbara Brodsky made when I was grieving the removal of the tree on our property. I told Barbara how unskillful I felt, not being able to feel the everlasting peace as well as the sadness. She said kindly, “Who dies? What dies? Does the tree still live in your heart?” (See: Does the Tree Still Live in Your Heart?)
I cannot imagine the sense of loss the Smothers family is going through. It is my hope they have something to sustain their hearts. People often say they can go on because they have their loved ones.
How do you go on when it is your loved one you are grieving? “What dies? Who dies? Does your loved one still live in your heart?”
People often say they can go on because they have their health.
How do you go on when health is lost?
Today the corpse prayer by Jarem Sawatsky keeps cycling in my thoughts. (See: Corpse Prayer)
Corpse Prayer
Be not afraid.
I give thanks to god who created all things good.
In christ, all things hold together.
I am not entitled to life without death.
I embrace sacred life.
I embrace sacred death.
I embrace the growing and crumbling in between.
Smile at yourself in the silence…
~ Jarem Sawatsky
Everything about these words soothes my heart. Nothing about it soothes my mind. Perhaps minds are built for worry and hearts are built for love.
I hope you will appreciate a recent poem about all of this:
Out of our Heads!
Addicted to worry we’ve been
a feeling through which we can’t win
It’s not like the bliss
from a passionate kiss
It’s unlike the joy that flows
right under the tip of your nose
The chains of the free
this habitual worry
A robber of peace
and theft of our ease
Its time we move past
give up worry at last
Come sit under a tree
remember we truly are free
We’ll hear a bird sing
and enjoy every thing
The sun and the rain
the wind and the calm
Fretting won’t help
fear’s false alarm
Purveyors of doom
leave us no room
For the gifts of the day
life’s sending our way
Let’s make up our minds
give worry a shove
Out of our heads
do this instead—
live only from love!
Debra Basham 02-11-2020 (WC 133)
May all beings come to the end of suffering. We may never come to the end of loss, but perhaps we can live only from love.
We did not know where, but the air quality test taken in our home indicated more mold was present. This week we know where the mold was hiding. The condensate line from our HVAC was dumping water into the belly of our mobile home, saturating the insulation, creating a perfect growing condition.
Here are photos of what used to be our laundry room floor and the wall behind the utility cupboard:
I have felt a lot of resistance to this news. I have felt that resistance as a knot in my stomach, tightness in my chest, and a lump in my throat.
Others are going through challenges related to diagnosis, prognosis, pain, and fear of death. Our planet itself is going through challenges.
On a guided walk this morning we heard a naturalist speak of the threads of connection between everything. He spoke of the water and the fire and the species overlapping: WE are interdependent.
Because they are fast disappearing. And with them goes safe habitat for wildlife, rural ranchlands, the protection of clean water, and beautiful places to hike, swim, and fish. With support from people like you, Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast has permanently protected more than 12,000 acres of critical lands. But time is running out.
You are the last generation that can save this land. Together, we will ensure that the human and natural worlds of Southwest Florida flourish together.
Whether it is mold remediation, a diagnosis and healing sought, or environmental balance we are speaking about, the answer is universal: LOVE.
Reports of Aborigines healing broken bones, muscle tears, and illnesses of every kind using their didgereedoo point us in a direction. Harmony and healing is possible.
Transcript from “LOVE” channeled by Barbara Brodsky, my meditation teacher:
Q: Are you suggesting that many of us here are able or will be able in this life to invite broken bones, divided cells to merge…
Love: You all are perfectly capable of that.
Q: In this life now?
Love: Of course! Now! Your limiting beliefs stop you from doing it.
We know the truth of this. At the center of our being truth resonates.
Q: So, in my daily life, how can I practice this?
Love: Choose a space, a place that you pass by often in the day, like a doorway or a specific tree, and hold the intention every time you pass that space to pause, take a deep breath, and say, “I am love, and I welcome love. I choose to invite love.” It may only take a few seconds. “I am love. I am open to love. Thank you.” Allow yourself to feel it and then walk on. But if you do this 20 times a day, eventually it’s going to take root. Okay?
I have spent my life so afraid of drowning I would not even let shower water flow over my face. Recently I came across the “official” diagnosis: Aquaphobia.
Many people have an extreme fear of water. They conjure up images of dying in water, drowning, gasping for breath, or encountering eerie, unseen things such as snakes or sharks in the water. Often, those suffering from Aquaphobia are non swimmers. Some phobics not only fear large water bodies, lakes, ponds or rivers, many even fear running water or water being poured onto their heads.
Definitely a non swimmer. Although years ago I took an adult non-swim class at the YWCA and graduated by being able to jump into the deep end and swim the length of the pool. I was so proud… I signed up for an intermediate-swim class, but the fear got reinstalled in that class. Fears can do that.
Other than the fear of falling and loud noises—these are a result of moving from fluid (in the womb) to air—our fears are always learned.
I learned fear of water from my mother who was afraid of EVERYTHING, and I had a near-drowning as a youngster. I also have cellular (body) memory of having died on a ducking stool—this Puritan punishment proved fatal from time to time, but prevailed in England and America from the early seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century. A woman who was accused of being a witch (or other crime) was plunged into a pond or river tied onto a wooden armchair, attached to a seesaw-like structure, as many times as the magistrate deemed justified.
Fear is never helpful.
My dear friend, Linda, loves the water. When she was caught in a rip current while swimming in Florida, those watching her from shore were afraid for her, but she just went with the ride, totally unafraid until they picked her up in boat.
Fear is worth overcoming.
This winter I have a goal of getting in the pool with Linda. She is willing. She even bought me a swimming suit!
Fear activates the sympathetic nervous system. Often, a diagnosis or symptom, or an upcoming event is sufficient for that activation. This activation impedes healing that is natural.
Many people are not even aware they have a vagus nerve, let alone fully appreciating its role in helping counteract the negative health impact of an overactive sympathetic nervous system (that hyper vigilant fight-or-flight response). Simply put, vagus nerve stimulation calms you down.
The tenth cranial nerve (CN X), it is the longest cranial nerve of the central nervous system. Passing through the neck and thorax to the abdomen, it works with the parasympathetic nervous system to control the heart, lungs, and digestive track. Containing motor and sensory fibers, the vagus nerve is the most important element of the parasympathetic nervous system. (Historically, it has been called the pneumogastric nerve.)
Vagus nerve stimulation releases anti-stress hormones and enzymes, and is associated with benefits such as better memory, improved immune function, restful sleep, and increased levels of growth hormone. Lower levels of inflammation, fewer allergic responses, and relief from tension headaches may also be directly linked to vagus nerve stimulation.
Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation devices, which do not require surgical implantation, have been approved for use in Europe to treat epilepsy, depression, and pain but have not yet been approved for use in the U.S.
Unless you’re a yoga master, you cannot directly and consciously stimulate your vagus nerve. But in addition to long-term practice of yoga and meditation, here are some simple tools you can use to indirectly stimulate your vagus nerve:
1. Diaphragmatic breathing. Simply put, belly breathing. Place your hands lightly on your belly, signaling to your body, “Breathe all the way down here.” Breathe deeply, so that your abdomen rises on the inhalation, and falls on the exhalation. Ten minutes, twice per day, will allow your breath to systematically slow and deepen.
2. Studies show that cold water facial immersion stimulates the vagus nerve. The area behind the eyeballs is a particularly accessible zone for stimulation. An easy way to do this is to use an icy gel mask. Again, ten minutes, twice daily seems to be a good formula for improved benefits. (See http://scs-matters.com/chilling-way-calm/)
3. Another simple technique is to quiet yourself and imagine that you are sucking on a juicy lemon drop, bathing your tongue in saliva. If that does not work for you, fill your mouth with warm water and hold it, as you allow yourself to begin to relax.
Plenty of good reasons for you to move beyond fear.
I attended an introduction to an energy healing process called scalar energy with developer Tom Paladino. Tom offers anyone who sends in a photo a 15-day free trial.
Over the years, I have shared MANY experiences with healers and healing. What I like most about all of them is the fact: it cannot hurt. Western medicine certainly utilizes a lot of interventions with plenty of possible side effects.
One key is to notice what you expect. Henry Ford is quoted as having said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”
When you have a sore knee, notice if you name it “arthritis.” Many of my readers have heard my story of Freedom from Pain.
While it is true, not everyone will experience exactly what I have, it is good to always expect something good to come to you and/or your loved ones from whatever you decide what is right for you at this very moment.
If you choose to take an antibiotic, do that in a healthy way, like the one I describe in this video.
If you decide to sign up for the free 15-day trial, expect to notice improvement.
It can’t hurt….
P.S. Tom is trying to sell you a longer application. His is a transparent agenda: he hopes those in the world with the financial means will opt in to pay for his altruistic work with populations who are unable to pay and in need of healing of pathogenic disease, such as those in Africa with the HIV virus. As Tom says, “I want to heal the world.” I encouraged him to think bigger.
Trust me,
she knew who she was dancing with
the entire time.
She just chose to see the good in everybody.
I personally do not think she should change
that about herself.
It is possible her energy could even bring out
the best in the devil.
~ author unknown
Each year I look forward to a spiritual ritual for the celebrating of my birthday. It is not for sissies, this incarnational experience.
It can even be said we are a God Spark. Our true nature is the theme of a recent post, so just trust me about this: We come from God.
Something is happening that calls for our most profound awareness and commitment: Those most dedicated to love and light are making themselves ill over the conditions in our world.
In My Pores
Gratitude seeps in my pores.
I am thankful for the wooden plaque John made for me for Christmas: Not to spoil the ending, but everything is going to be OK.
The truth hangs on the wall of our utility room. The most mundane of situations needs the most light to be seen clearly. All conditions are impermanent.
As my fingers dance over the keys on the keyboard Alexa is playing John Denver songs for my listening pleasure: “Sunshine almost always makes me high….” the harmonica calls my soul upward toward the sun.
Loving individuals unknowingly allow their egos to take over their hearts, losing joy and making themselves sick over the conditions in the world today.
Perhaps my birthday wish is all humans can rewrite the ending of the Myth of Icarus.
Son of the creator of the Labyrinth, Icarus was instructed to fly neither too low nor too high. Too close, the sun’s heat would melt his wings of feathers and wax. Too low, the sea’s dampness would clog his wings. Not heeding the warning to avoid the extremes, the former Icarus fell from the sky and drowned in the sea.
It is said about grief that if one you love dies and you refuse to live, then two have died.
We must not ignore or deny the conditions we see in the world. We must also not collapse into helplessness or hopelessness.
Love is our true nature.
“Love is the light that shines from heart to heart…” John Denver sings on. Is John Denver dead? His music isn’t.
Are you alive? Does your music live?
Seventy candles on my cake.
I think I will make my cake a lemon pie, the juice squeezed from a lemon picked (better to ask forgiveness than permission) from a tree where succulent fruit is left to fall to the ground and rot.
Let not the light of our eternal love lay wasted by lamenting conditions which are impermanent.
Gratitude is in our pores.
All conditions are impermanent…
Sheilana Massey invited those gathered for meditation for world peace to consider that every expression of the Divine has a right to be. The darkness and the light. The pleasant and the unpleasant. The old and the young.
As Betty Lue Leiber’s Loving Reminder for January 15, 2020 said, the only mistake we ever make is when we forget to Love.
I look at the crepey skin on my arms, and the brown spots on my hands. I ponder what the next decade will bring in our world. I choose to let my light shine.
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