Because human beings are members of the animal kingdom, the out-of-doors is our natural home. Yet, in the spirit of progress, we have increasingly cut ourselves off from nature. Many of us feel more "apart from" than "a part of' nature. We live and work indoors, away from our natural environment. We are surrounded by artificial light, noise and structures.
In an article for New Woman magazine, Joan Arnold wrote:
"As our daily surroundings become more synthetic, we rush to work in cars or trains to spend our days in sealed climate-controlled boxes. With our senses numbed by a daily barrage of noises and images, few of us deem it crucial to watch the shape of a cloud or finger a leaf."
Because of this sort of daily regimen and exposure to unnatural surroundings, we often feel disconnected from nature—and ourselves. If we paid attention, however, we’d notice we feel more at home, in the natural world. We actually feel better when we are out-of-doors, breathing fresh air instead of processed air, and soaking in the sights and sounds of Mother Nature.
A study presented by Bernadette Cimprich, Ph.D. shows exposure to nature has a profound influence on our health, attitude, and general well-being. She found that "women recovering from breast cancer surgery fared better when they were closer to nature. In her study, patients were divided into two groups. Those involved in a nature activity three times per week for 90 days complained much less of mental fatigue or inability to cope. Compared with the control group, their cognitive acuity was measurably sharper, they were more likely to return to work full time and were more game for new endeavors, like losing weight or learning to play an instrument."
By reconnecting with nature, we can reap a multitude of benefits for body, mind and spirit. We can literally help ourselves bloom, and Spring provides us with the perfect opportunity to do just that.
Nature may also serve as our most prolific teacher—if we are able to stop, look, pay attention and listen—truly listen to what Mother Nature might be saying to us. From the time I was a small girl, I found myself listening to nature in this way. I always had a sense that if I could quiet the voices in my own mind I could hear magical whisperings of wisdom from the earth and sky. A quiet walk in a piney woods, sitting at the ocean’s edge, fingering the petals of a delicate flower in my grandmother’s garden ... each was a gateway to deeper knowing if I could attune myself to their revelations. “Patience,” says the earthworm. “Let go,” offers the wave. “Be yourself,” advises the Bleeding Heart.
Nature writers and mystics, from Rachel Carson to John Muir, invite us to reconnect with that which is timeless and supreme by immersing ourselves in natural beauty. Lao Tzu, the Taoist philosopher, compares the flow of a river to the soul’s progress. Henry David Thoreau said, “My profession is always to be alert, to find God in nature.” The Buddha taught, “If you wish to know the divine, feel the wind on your face and warm sun on your hand.”
Lucky for us, a number of our gifted contributors this month feel the same way. They invite us, through their unique words, to plug in to nature and reap the benefits— growth, healing, appreciation, illumination, Oneness.
In this issue of Buddha Chick Life, dedicated to the theme of “Nature as Teacher and Healer,” you’ll read about:
• Marghanita, a naturalist and author, and her new children’s book "Orange Moon, Grandmother Tree." • Linda Lyzenga's, "Nature's Gracious Gift to a Slow Learner" • Sheila Finkelstein's photo-journey, "Healing Light and Shadows" • Kaveri Patel's, "Chrysalis" • Lisa Erickson's, "Working with the Chakras and the Elements" • Jennifer Niedzielski, "Lessons on Mothering Learned from Mother Nature"
and numerous poetry offerings enable our spirits to soar with nature as inspiration.
May the words of Rachel Carson guide us to spend more time at the shore, in the mountains, in the woods, in the desert, this month:
"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life ... Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts."
May it be so for you. May it be so for all beings.
A recent issue of Time magazine affirmed what I already knew. It’s the news of a very American trend: “turning away from organized religion and yet seeking rich if unorthodox ways to build spiritual lives.”
The article notifies us that the fastest growing “religious” group in the U.S. is a large populace who claims they have no religious affiliation. Social scientists have labeled us “the nones.”
I count myself in their ranks. I’ve also described myself as someone with strong “ Buddhist leanings.” Though raised a Protestant Lutheran, in adulthood I found my spiritual life nourished through the study of World Religions, yoga practice, and Buddhism. My spirituality has also been deeply influenced by mystical traditions—nature mystics like Thoreau and Muir, ecstatic mystics like Rumi and Hafiz—and the women's spirituality ("Goddess") movement. A patchwork spirituality some might label it. I call it authentically mine.
And because I do resonate with the core teachings of so many religious/spiritual traditions, and I know there are millions of others like myself, interfaith dialogue and understanding are vital to our personal growth and global healing. There are now so many of us, in fact, that Time reports 16% of Americans fall into this category of “none” in particular.
I admit, however, that I chafe when someone asks me what religion I am. This feels like such a private and personal question. It is one I would never dream of asking another. So when I am asked, often I fumble around a bit for an appropriate answer. Sometimes I say, "Nothing and everything."
I also admit my ire may rise when I am asked, “What church do you go to?” assuming that everyone you meet fits into that particular religious box. Church? “Church” is a distinctly Christian term. Wouldn’t that question feel thoughtless and exclusive if I happened be a Moslem or a Jew, Hindu or Jain? Perhaps even insulting?
Ironically, because I have followed a Buddhist path for a very long time now, I know what to do with that ire when it does arise. I know how to observe, wait, breathe, and choose a kinder response than lashing out or closing my heart. This, thanks to the dharma. “My religion is kindness,” the wise precept held by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, comes to mind and I try to follow suit.
As a nation, as an interconnected global community, we must open our eyes and hearts and begin to see that not everyone thinks or believes like us. Thankfully, I think this is beginning to happen, even in smaller, more conservative communities, scattered here and there. Recently, the mayor of my hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan, declared 2012 to be “The Year of Interfaith Understanding.” You can imagine how happy this makes me.
One of our columnists, “Uncovered Buddha Chick,” writes about this in her timely article on the topic. In March, she and I attended an event in Grand Rapids in support of interfaith dialogue. Table Talk discussions (held at Dominican Center) take place the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Last month’s topic was “The Importance of Ritual.” She and I sat at a round table with two Moslems, a Jew, a Greek Orthodox Christian, a Catholic Christian, and a non-affiliated (liberal) Christian. (I represented the Buddhist tradition.) Besides breaking bread and talking together, we also listened to presentations on ritual by a Jewish elder, a Moslem Imam, a Christian pastor, and a Buddhist Abbott. Truly, it was one of the most pleasurable evenings of my entire life.
I felt hopeful, grateful, humbled. This room filled with 90 people (most of them strangers) had a genuine interest in what others believed and how they choose to live. They wanted to talk, share, and understand one another. It was a beautiful site to behold.
This issue of Buddha Chick Life is our contribution to the conversation of “Interfaith Understanding and Appreciation.” Take a few minutes from your busy day and ponder these articles with an interspiritual focus:
“Discovering Bhakti Yoga through Devotional Poetry”
“Our ‘Third Eye’—Doorway to True Seeing”
“Interfaith Understanding Comes of Age”
“Inner Pilgrimage: Ten Days to a Mindful Me”
“Love Is Everything”
“The Honey Sutras”
“Many Streams”
“Family”
and more.
May they guide you into a deeper understanding of the minds and hearts of others. May they open your heart to the possibility that, despite our spiritual differences, we can live as One. It simply takes you and me, united in intention and action, to welcome in, not just the year, but “The Age of Interfaith Understanding.”
Our theme this month, “Celebrating the Feminine,” has a myriad of meanings depending on whom you talk to. Ask one hundred people to define the concept and likely you’ll hear one hundred different ways to approach the subject. To define “the Feminine” in just one way may not do it justice.
Many of us keen on conscious living think of the “Feminine” as a state of mind and heart—one which both women and men are wise to embrace in the spirit of individual healing and wholeness. We can welcome and cultivate our (interior) feminine and masculine qualities. We can explore and practice a spirituality that includes a “feminine face of God.” We can strive to ensure equality between men and women. The list goes on.
One of my favorite explanations of the Feminine comes from a dear friend and mentor, Sue Patton Thoele. In her book, Heart Centered Marriage: Fulfilling Our Natural Desire for Sacred Partnership, she offers the qualities of“ Feminine Energy” and how it manifests in relationship. And because each of us in relationship with everything and everyone, her viewpoint is well worth considering.
“Feminine Energy Is ..."
Inclusive: recognizing the value of worth of all people and things;
Honoring of Process: able to allow circumstances, ideas, and experience to unfold
Intuitive: holistic, accessing immediate perception rather than rational thinking;
Compassionate: empathetic, warm, open hearted
Complementary: desiring to link hands and hearts;
Cooperative: able to work with others without needing to be in control;
Diffuse: perceives and understands a wide range of stimuli;
Relational: interested in preserving and deepening relationships;
Receptive: open to receive the new, different, and wondrous;
Empowering: awakens others to their potential;
A Be’er: introspective, drawn to the spiritual and the philosophical;
Healing: carries the ability to heal body, mind, and spirit through talent for listening deeply to her internal, inherent wisdom
Reading this, what stirs in you? Where do you find yourself on this list? Which qualities of the Feminine do you value and possess? Which qualities might need cultivating?
These are powerful assessments. They are important for personal growth as well as for collective growth. It’s plain to see that if the Feminine were encouraged to flourish in all people, in all corners of the world, our planet would be a very different (and astounding!) place to live.
As human beings, we are works in progress. This new era upon which we have embarked—2012 and beyond—unequivocably invites is to welcome the Feminine in—into our minds and hearts, homes and communities, churches and temples. The Feminine has been squelched and dismissed for tens of thousands of years. Now is it’s time to rise and flourish; to inspire and heal; to guide and lead the way to living together in love and peace.
The purpose of our March issue is to let our writer’s voices sing out; to share the many ways they are uniquely experiencing and celebrating the Feminine. And they invite us to, as well.
Kaveri Patel offers reflections and poetry after attending a retreat on the Sacred Feminine in "Do Not Ask for Permission."
Laura Hegfield shares thoughts on "Defining A Woman."
Lisa Erickson educates us on "The Legend of Tara and the Sacred Feminine."
Ingrid Goff-Maidoff gives us "Honeyed Wisdom for Women."
And please welcome our newest columnist, Jennifer Niedzielski, whose contribution, "Embracing Our Femininity through Mothering" is sure to inspire you.
And more! It's a feast of Divine Feminine wisdom!
Including a Guest Author with a book Giveaway. Julie Loar treats us to her new book and an article based on: Goddesses for Every Day: Exploring the Wisdom and Power of the Divine Feminine Around the World.
Here's hoping that after imbibing on all these sage pieces, you will have a clearer understanding in your own heart of what "The Feminine" means—and that you will have found ways to celebrate it in YOU!
Not the love born of romantic tales and movies, but a soul enrapturing love that takes up residence in your heart.
Its the kind of love that moves into the room behind your eyes and stays there. Somehow, somewhere, because of something in particular or nothing at all, you woke up one day to realize that everything was different. Love had moved in and you were seeing everything—everyone—through the lenses of love.
That’s the kind of love that’s difficult to capture in the sentiment of a Hallmark card. It’s a wordless sort of love that comes upon us when we have walked and searched and filleted ourselves open to life as it has presented itself—flowers and thorns, all. It's the experience of “full catastrophe living,” that mindfulness teacher, Jon Kabat-Zinn describes.
By giving ourselves over to life as it is, we surrender into the beauty and pain of it. And what’s so incredibly ironic—through the walking, the falling, the getting back up again—we change. For the better. We actually live into our true nature which is love, which is joy, which is basic goodness.
Who knew.
American writer, Peter Matthiessen, put it this way:
“Soon the child’s clear eye is clouded over by ideas and opinions, preconceptions and abstractions. Simple free (being) becomes encrusted with the burdensome armor of the ego. Not until years later does an instinct come that a vital sense of mystery has been withdrawn. The sun glints through the pines, and the heart is pierced in a moment of beauty and strange pain, like a memory of paradise. And that day ... we become seekers. “
Seekers of love.
And I suspect this search is a search for love with a capital “L.” We long for that all-compassing, consuming, indescribable, forever kind of love. We seek it in one another, in God, in friends, in activities, nature, and pets. We even seek it within ourselves if we’re lucky enough to realize that self-love is the doorway to “other love.”
And yet ... and yet ... often our search comes up empty-handed. It’s the searching too hard for, the grasping, and hanging on to for fear of losing it that seems to create such an elusive companion. Love, the “never found.”
But it can be found—and fully ours—if we can simply let go. Let go.
If we can simply stop looking for it ... stop hunting, comparing, judging. This is it. No, it’s not. It must be over there.
If we can relax into this breath, into this moment, open our eyes and see—really see—all that is here right in front of us, Love is here.
This is the love of life of which I speak. The “Great Mystery” of life. And Matthiessen was right. At that vital moment of piercing, the experience of this is all so new to us (yet also so deeply understood on some level—a soul remembering, if you will), that we can drift in and out of it for years unrecognized. Feeling the connection, not feeling it, certain that it still lies outside of us—somewhere, out there—so we strive to “capture” it again.
Let go ....
Each of our writers this month expresses in her unique way what being “In Love with Life” can mean—without all the searching.
Uncovered Buddha Chick experiences it as the joy of moment-by-moment transformation. Laura Hegfield sees it in the smallest elements of life—raindrops, twigs, leaves. Kaveri Patel partakes by loving herself more. Lisa Erickson invites us to embrace heart energy through our body/mind system, the chakras. Danielle Rutledge witnesses it in her children as they turn their own faces inward and engage the Light within. And there are more ...
Our February issue of Buddha Chick Life is a raiment of many colors, resplendent with the multi-hued ways we can live in love with life.
Poet Ingrid Goff-Maidoff seems to have summarized our relentless search for Love best in her poem, “Love Your Life.” She writes:
“Now, moving in this world, you know that love is the greatest fortune. Only, you will not amass it: you are it.”
May your journey seeking Love end today. May it end here with this realization that, indeed, you are It.
2012's Wake-Up Call Reflections on Spiritual Practice: Welcoming in the Sacred Jan Lundy
Happy New Year, lovely friends! It is the year that many of us have been wondering about and waiting for—the mysterious 2012!
I don’t know about you but I find myself entering this new year with a sense of excitement. It feels in me as if something important and life-altering is afoot. I am experiencing wide open spaces, boundless energy and creativity. I am enjoying feeling this way because much of 2011 I did not. There were plenty of days spent in melancholy and confusion (not to mention the big “R”—Resistance).
Not until I read a marvelous new book, which coincides beautifully with our January theme: Spiritual Practice—Welcoming in the Sacred.
Ironically, it was not a book of choice. I was sent a review copy by its publisher. In fact, I read the first few pages and found it a bit “ordinary.” (Not that ordinary is bad. I seemed to be looking for a “wow.” Don’t we all. Sheesh!)
But sometimes the wisest teachers and words enter on little cat’s feet. Lew Richmond is one of those cats.
Page 14, “Lightning Strikes.” Did it ever. In a split second, Lew illuminated my journey of 2011. He showed me I’d experienced what he calls a "lightning strike" as I approached and then turned 58-years-old. Something big and unexpected happened. I got very sad. Now I know why.
Lew describes a lightning strike like this:
“ ... the moment we truly wake up to our aging and can see the full significance of it in our whole life, from its unremembered beginning to it unknown end. Until that moment, regardless of our age, we spend much of the time not thinking too much about where our life is headed or what it all means. But once lightning strikes, it’s different. We have reached a tipping point. We have stopped seeing things as we wished they were, and, for a moment, at least, can see them as they actually are.”
For me, the moments of seeing in this way went on and on. I saw all of the losses and felt them. I saw all of the goals and dreams that had not (and may not) be fulfilled. I saw my body declining. I sat with insecurity, no predictable future. I moved toward embracing my dying; of leaving this beautiful planet that I love so much and my beloved family behind. And, finally, letting go of dreams of ongoing youthfulness and claiming what is here now— “wisdom years”—and so much more.
With Lew’s guidance and the insightful contemplative exercises he presents in the book (yes, I actually did them!), I made it through to the other side, to acceptance, and, finally, began to embrace all of the emotions around my life—as it was, as it is now, as it may or may not be in the future.
I am aging. And because of it—and by embracing it—I am an elder.
I’ve learned that aging, and the acceptance of our aging, is a profound spiritual practice. I’ve engaged in many spiritual practices over the years—many featured in this month’s issue—and I still do. Yoga, breathwork, meditation, gardening, devotional reading, silence, joy, writing, walking, etc. In terms of spiritual practices to choose from, there are as many as there are people in the world.
In this enlightening issue, you'll read about these everyday things that can serve as spiritual practice: parenting, overwhelm, body cycles (menstruation/menopause), illness, creating a home, the "shoulds," even negative self-talk and criticism. Each of these is a powerful path to awakening. And then there are "traditional" practices like meditation, yoga, or prayer. No matter which path we choose, the important thing is to choose one—engage, do something !— that invites you into deeper and regular connection with your true self/spirit/God.
My hope is that upon reading the articles in January’s issue of Buddha Chick Life you will explore new spiritual practices or recommit to familiar ones. Spiritual practices, whichever ones you ultimately choose, will transform you from the inside out if you allow them to. That is their purpose. True, they calm and center us, or align us with the Sacred as we understand it. But more than that, as I’ve discovered with my new spiritual practice--aging—surrendering to it and allowing it to teach us, can change everything. Everything!
From melancholy to joy, I’ve come. I bow in gratitude and “welcome in the sacred.” I enter 2012 carrying bouquets of possibility.
May it be so for you, too. May it be so for all beings ...
With metta,
Jan Lundy, Editor
p.s. May I also recommend Lew's website where you can watch an inspiring video on aging as spiritual practice.
(This photo is titled, "Bowing for the Vogue Collection," and was taken in Paris in 1972 by Louis Faurer. It is perhaps my all-time favorite photograph and portrays how I feel inside and out, even at age 58. Ever grateful!.)
When you think of the words “enjoyment” or “delight” what comes to mind?
I asked this question of myself the other day (in preparation for this writing) and this is what emerged:
“Raindrops and roses and whiskers on kittens.
Fine copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.
Brown paper packages tied up in string.
These are a few of my favorite things.”
If you don’t recognize the words, they're the song lyrics from “My Favorite Things” of “The Sound of Music” fame. I can still hear them as clearly in my head today as when I first heard them in 1965. I was twelve at the time and seated in a theatre, watching the premier of this soon-to-be-classic film on the “big screen.” I can still replay the scene from the movie in my mind that featured this song: Maria, played by Julie Andrews, sitting on her bed (though sometimes dancing and leaping too), surrounded by the VonTrapp children. Their hearts and voices were filled with enjoyment at proclaiming their favorite things right along with her. All in an effort, I might add, to drown out the clamor of a frightening thunderstorm. The strategy worked. The children were calmed, even delighted.
I wonder, what are your favorite things? Does thinking about them bring you delight too?
So often when we consider these two concepts—enjoyment and delight—we do think of things. We also think of people and places. And food, especially at holiday times. This issue of Buddha Chick Life is chock full of people and things—and food—that will bring pleasure to your lips, mind, and heart.
As human beings, we have an insatiable appetite for enchantment and gratification (synonyms for delight). We have a penchant for merriment and amusement (synonyms for enjoyment). And yet, there is more to the words, at least I think there is.
Look at the word delight. Divided into two syllables, we see de and light. Which basically translates into “of the light.” Being of the light is much more potent than gratification, don’t you think? If we are enjoying or creating enjoyment for others, we could think of this as participating in a sacred act of connecting with “the light”—the light within us or in another—or a brighter light, Source, divinity, by whatever name you might call the vastness of which we are a part.
Now look at the word enjoyment. Divided into three syllables, we see en, joy, ment. Roughly translated, “to fill with joy.”Lately, I’ve delighted in using the word in this way in written form: En-JOY. To me it speaks of bringing joy to any situation, no matter how mundane; filling it up with intentional ambienceso it shimmers with gladness.
We can all engage in de-light and en-JOY-ment if we put our minds to it. Wouldn’t life appear quite different if we did? Our lives would sparkle and shine, even the potentially dreary ones because we would have infused them with the “stuff” of which we are made: light and joy.
My hope and prayer after reading this issue of Buddha Chick Life is that you will be inspired to light up your life a bit more and share the glow with others. That a spark will be kindled in you—even on the most difficult of days—to access the light and joy that are ever-present within and fan that spark into a flame bright enough for others to be welcomed by it.
Together, we’ll gather about the community fire and be warmed by the coals of our own grace. In that, all beings would be sated and well.
May enjoyment and delight in the true spirit of the words be yours this holiday season.
Blessings upon every one of us.
Jan Lundy, Editor
p.s. Be sure to check out our December Giveaways. We’ve got double the delight here too, just in time for holiday giving!
I’m trying to recall the exact moment when I began to live with an open heart, and if I am remembering correctly, it had a great deal to do with gratitude as a spiritual practice.
Within its pages, she invited the reader to begin keeping a gratitude journal. She wrote: “... you simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life."
I was taken by the idea and pulled together a group of kindred women to study her book and to begin the process of living with “simple abundance.” We met every Monday and agreed to begin our personal Gratitude Journals, though a few of us were rather skeptical about the promised results.
I know I was, especially the first day of journal-keeping when I could not complete the basic task of writing down five things you were grateful for. I could only come up with three. Life was difficult then. My marriage was failing and I was struggling with poor health ...
Needless to say I remember the three things I did write to this day as if they were cast in stone:
The sounds of birds outside my window
The smell of coffee brewing in the morning
The laughter of my children in the next room
That was it. That was all I could come up with in terms of gratitude on that cold February day.
I persisted through the process of recording my "gratitudes" daily and our group members did too. It got easier; gratitude grew. (I was able to finally come up with five each day—sometimes even more.) This journey felt like we were at the health club, lifting weights together, growing our spiritual muscles by the day, gratitude by recorded gratitude. Within three weeks we were stunned by the results. We were more grateful, appreciative of life, in tune with the simple, yet extravagant pleasures of our daily lives. Life was good--no matter what was happening.
As I write these thoughts today, my heart still floods with gratitude for all the small, seemingly insignificant things that find their way into my daily awareness:
A warm and soft bed to sleep in each night. The gentle breathing of my husband in the middle of the night. A cell phone that keeps me connected to my children far away. The sound of birds calling at dawn’s first light. This computer with which I can write this words. And coffee, always the satisfying and pungent aroma of the day’s first cup ...
These simple things sustain me. What are your simple and daily abundances?
This magazine, its gifted and selfless writers, along with its readers, continue to inspire and delight me. I am grateful for all that we are and all that we are becoming here. We are changing, as you can see. And we will continue to do so over the next few months, so we thank you ahead of time for your patience and support.
There is a new sparkle and verve within its pages, as is the ever-present invitation to ground and center ourselves in the majesty of the moment; to live awake and aware so that not one precious day of life is wasted; and to keep our hearts open to ourselves and others. To be born as a human being, as the Buddha taught, is a rare and priceless gift. May we honor, live and use it as best we can.
I invite you to feast on these gratitude-inspired articles. I'm confident that lift your heart and help you soar through your day with appreciation:
And, on a personal note, I am deeply grateful these days—heart open wide—because of Jack Kornfield’s new book, A Lamp in the Darkness. I share my thoughts on it in a review that accompanies our monthly Giveaway. To do, as Jack advises ...
“Be the potter of your own life. Center yourself at the wheel. Find the stillpoint.”
... will always bring us home to the domain of the open heart and of gratitude.
With metta,
Jan Lundy, Editor
Buddha Chick Life
p.s. Congratulations to two winners! Aimie will be the recipient of Healing Touch by Dorothea Hover-Kramer and Terry is the winner of Deva Premal's CD, "Password." Enjoy these fabulous resources!
When you love words (and books) as much as I do, you’re sure to have your favorites. Words, that is. And one of mine is heal.
I also like the fact that heal comes from a root word that has far-reaching friends--healthy, wholeness, holiness. They are some of my preferred words too.
As my dictionary explains:
ORIGIN Old English hǣlan (in the sense [restore to sound health], of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heelen and German heilen, also to whole.
If you string the words together, a “life sentence” is created. It is one that gives voices to this journey we are all on to not only create health for ourselves, but to restore well-being on all levels—body, mind, heart and soul.
It seems to me this is one of the great works we are here to do. We are born, we grow, and are reared by others, and along the way—how odd it seems!—we become fragmented. We lose a sense of our true self, develop fears and phobias, worries, doubts and regrets. We get caught up in the world of the ego and a fear-based reality. We move away from the pristine knowing of who we really are when we entered this world--unmarred and pure, basic goodness, as Tibetan teacher Chogyam Trungpa might say.
Then we spend the rest of our lives trying to put the pieces of ourselves back together again so we can thrive, be well and happy. Our path is one of remembering, recovering, reclaiming.
Or, as psychologist and author Barbara DeAngelis once put it, our life purpose may be to gather the “scatterings of our soul.”
And this is holy work, indeed. Healing, wholeness, holy ...
If you take a careful look at each article in this issue of Buddha Chick Life, you will find colorful threads of wholeness being woven into a tapestry of healing. You will bear witness to lives becoming whole, overflowing with inspiration and guidance for us to do the same.
Some are very noticeable, brilliant hued, at the outset:
Our Guest Author, Dorothea Hover-Kramer actually teaches us how to work with our chakras for balance. Her featured book offers complete instructions for how to offer healing touch to others.
Deva Premal has gleaned hundreds of stories from fans about how her mantra music has healed their lives, especially those who have struggled with depression or hopelessness. Her voice takes others to sacred heights.
Others offer more subtle hues. Each of our poets—Kaveri, Laura, Ingrid—invites us to walk a healing path, one where we can embrace ourselves with acceptance and love as we are, yet continually pointing ourselves toward ultimate well-being.
Under Cover Buddha Chick is experiencing integration—another holy word. The threads of her life are being woven into a tour-de-force of healing awareness as she lets go of old beliefs that no longer serve her.
And the meditation I contributed is for letting go, an important process for releasing what ails us.
These are just a few of the contributions that invite us into greater wholeness. There are more. I hope you will enjoy each one.
To walk a healing path takes courage—courage to release what prevents us from living with joy, connection, love. To adopt the qualities of the spiritual life we admire in wise others as our own is not always easy, but it is potent work, well worth doing.
Let us continue to become weavers, gently pulling together brilliant threads of awareness to create one-of-a-kind masterpieces of our lives. And when we do, may we delight in the knowledge that beings everywhere will benefit from our efforts. A tapestry of healing has been woven for the greater good ...
With metta, loving-kindness,
Jan Lundy Editor
p.s. Have you subscribed to "Buddha Chick Life" yet? When you do, you'll receive an announcement of its publication every other Monday. Return to the Home Page and fill out the form at the bottom of the page to begin your subscription. Thank you for being part of our growing readership and spreading the news of it with others!
The Buddha taught that we should question everything—everything! His direct remark is said to be this:
“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.”
I love this directive. The Buddha offered it in full-spiritedness, challenging his followers to question even him. And many did. Many still do.
He also invites us to deeply discern what is true and right for us—and to examine how that is playing out in our life. By holding to our "truths" are we more peaceful and compassionate? Or are we frustrated, bitter, and angry?
This reminds me of what St. Ignatius said too, "By their fruits you will know them."
It's also what Sr. Joan Chittister has said for many years now. I deeply admire her work. Her book, Called to Question, opened up a new doorway of understanding for me—giving me permission to question as well. In the book, she offers us a compelling example of someone who questions the dictates handed down to her from one institution to the next, from family, to church, to the greater society. She addresses well what many of us ponder, but often do with trepidation or fear.
Do we dare question all that we have been told? Do we risk the displeasure of others to live from our highest nature? Sr. Joan poses the question that burns in all of us if we are bold enough to ask it: "Is openness to other ideas infidelity or is it the beginning of spiritual maturity?"
Personally, I think it's the latter. My Buddha Chick adventure has been one such foray. Perhaps it is for you too.
I know it is for Under Cover Buddha Chick who continues to put her thoughts on paper about how this journey calls her to question—and to feel quite uncomfortable with the process. Uncomfortable is good! It means we are growing. Read her newest entry in this Issue.
Our Guest Author is Linda Howe and she has dedicated her life to questioning and answering with the help of the Akashic Records. In the spirit of open-mindedness and inquiry, we are pleased to present hew newest work here, including a Giveaway of Healing with the Akashic Records.
Our resident poet, Ingrid Goff-Maidoff, is also questioning "what is timeless and true."
These are just a few of the wonderful articles you will find in this Issue of Buddha Chick Life. May they lend support to your inner journey of questioning and freedom ...
A few nights ago my husband and I watched a movie, newly released on DVD: “Limitless,” featuring Bradley Cooper.
Movie buffs said it was incredible, that it was a “must watch” flick. I read the reviews. It seemed like an OK choice for us. It was PG-13, not too violent. (We avoid those kinds of films.) Brad was really eager to see it. I had a niggling sense, however, it wasn’t for me. But I went along with it anyway.
It’s the story of a young man, a struggling writer, who keeps coming up empty in the creativity department. He takes a designer drug, offered by his former brother-in-law, and gets to experience 100% of his brain, rather than the usual 20%. Of course, his life is dramatically changed. His stalled book gets written in four days. He learns to speak Italian in one. He dips into the stock market, learns all there is to know, and makes $2 million in ten days.
And then everything begins to fall apart. I’ll stop my summary here so you can watch it yourself if you like.
At the life-falling-apart place, murder and mayhem afoot, we turned off the movie.
I felt my energy spirally downward the longer I watched. Brad's did too. In fact, I had to consciously turn my mind toward other things (back to a good book) to clear out the threatening images that kept creeping in from the film.
What’s my point?
I can only speak for myself but I found myself shaken anew that this is the world as we find it today. People lost, struggling, grasping at anything to ease the pain of being human. Drugs, sex, fast money, bad company. It’s normal now for people to scratch, claw, imbibe, get addicted to something—anything to ease their suffering. And for a brief moment I was frightened for my children (twenty-somethings) who, for them, this kind of movie and depiction of life is standard ...
My intention for my own life is to stay rooted—as best I can— with what really matters most: Who I really am, cultivating my inner life so that may place and work in the world reflects that.
I believe that each of us is here to embrace the fullness of life as best we can. In the words of the great Celtic poet, John O’Donohue, “Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where there's a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility in you, and I think the intention of prayer and spirituality and love is now and again to visit that inner kind of sanctuary.”
Oh, how I wished after watching “Limitless” that each of the characters had been aware of their true identity. That each had an inner sanctuary he or she could retreat to when life became too challenging. Had ways to cope with the world that were healthy and empowering. It’s what I wish for everyone.
And I know it’s what our writers in this issue of Buddha Chick Life wish too. Spend some time dipping into their words and you will see what I mean.
Ingrid Goff-Maidoff reminds us of who we really are and how we can live in “What Is My Soul?” Even though Under Cover Buddha Chick is struggling with “Oppositional Resistance,” she perseveres because she has a sense of who she is to become. In “Sidewalk Cracks,” Laura Hegfield helps us leave brokenness behind to embrace true healing. Cheryl Wright takes us through “7 Essentials for the Journey to Our Dreams.” And our newest columnist, Danielle Atherton, guides the next generation toward mindful, love-filled living as “Buddha Babies.”
There is hope here, a positive trajectory for all of our lives, if we have the passion and persistence to stay the course. To awaken to the world of the ego and see it for what it is. To stir the Light-filled giantess sleeping within and release her to the world for the benefit of all ... And to help others access theirs as well.
“Limitless” is not really limitless when we are bound by woundedness, false perceptions, and misguided goals. This sort of limitlessness is delusion ... And, obviously "self" limiting.
May we continue to stay faithful to this path of awakening and get to know ourselves as we really are and can be—beings of peace, love, joy, confidence, courage, compassion—firmly rooted in our basic goodness, Mother Earth, living the privilege of having one precious human life.
With metta,
Jan Lundy, Editor Buddha Chick Life
p.s. Congratulations to Miranda who is the winner of our book giveaway, One Minute Mindfulness, by Donald Altman. May peace of body, mind, heart and soul be yours one sweet minute at a time!
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