Meditation Informs Healing Facilitation

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Basgo Palace

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The next morning, considering this was the second time we had stayed at the Temisgam Guest House (or maybe they do this with all their guests, but I doubt it), we joined the owner’s family for a traditional Ladakhi breakfast in their kitchen. Due to the large wood or yak-dung burning oven / stove dominating the larger room, I also suspected that the family spent a lot of their time here in the winter (sometimes the kitchen becomes the only room when the temps drop low enough). Anyway…

We formed tsampa – roasted barley flour into balls with butter, a little tea and sometimes sugar, which one can eat on their own. They are very good, and because the flour is roasted, it is easily digestible. Or we made little scoops with the dough and ate their traditional curd (a runny, very flavorful yogurt) – which of course was from the milk from the cow outside. Local anyone? It was a filling and delicious breakfast. And actually it sure beat the strange looking eggs we were fed at other places – I’m not sure if it’s the altitude, but the eggs in Ladakh looked quite unusual. Unfortunately it has been 2 and a half years but I seem to recall the coloring is different. In all honesty, it could be their eggs look “right” and our eggs are from funky, modified chickens. Don’t know.

On the way back to Leh, we stopped at the Basgo Palace. This was one of the two lower palaces in its day – which judging from the look of it, was definitely decades or more likely centuries earlier. The place was quite dilapidated and only one shrine room was kept up well. One “building” was barely that – the red clay walls seemed to be melting over time, and it had been at it for a while. However.. They have been maintaining a large Maitreya statue – I wrote 40 ft in my journal but that sounds generous. It is very fascinating – the statue has windows up high so that it can gaze out across the valley. There was another bronze statue but unfortunately I did not write down who / what is it of. However, see these photos – the ceilings are very high and everything (like usual) is painted or stenciled. Very very beautiful, colorful. You can see in the first picture how Maitreya’s face is lit up by the sunlight through his windows.

I will also share a little about peripheral details I noticed from the pilgrimage, about Ladakh in general. It seemed like Leh was the “happening” cosmopolitan city (as it is the only city in Ladakh, this makes sense). People’s style was more varied and colorful in the city. It seemed to take on a more “Indian” flavor in Leh, not that I have a clue about fashion mind you. I was especially fond of all the different hats you can see on people. If you know me well, I try to keep track of which metaphorical hats I wear with whom – because it is good not to have too many on at once. But here I am talking actual tangible hats. Both men and women wore them – there were many traditional seeming hats, some with square flaps, some heavier (like you might expect them to be worn in the winter – which leads to the question of, “what in god’s name are people doing wearing such heavy clothing / hats in the summer?” Apparently some Tibetans / Ladakhis don’t mind sweating a bit.) There were also some baseball caps.

On another note, I do not envy the road workers their jobs in India – they make gravel by hand, which requires, uhm… well loads of elbow grease! Sometimes we passed big vats of tar which was boiling so they could fill pot holes with it – asphalt on the fly anyone? Some workers were making squared stones for bridges and roads. They had a team effort when it came to shoveling – one person had the shovel in hand and did one direction of work while another person had a cloth attached to same shovel who would pick up the load and get it moving in the other direction – teamwork! Oh – and one final tangent, the buildings in Ladakh don’t have screens on the windows – which is great because you get more breeze. There aren’t any mosquitoes at that altitude, so it is not a problem!

I am putting this picture of the Basgo World Heritage site description here at the end. Click on it to enlarge and read about the history if you like. You can tell the author’s first language was not English.

Pilgrimage to Ladakh – Temisgam Nunnery

Well I figure it is better late than never, as I am still continuing my Ladakh chronicles from 2008. After Lama Yuru Monastery, we drove several hours back to Temisgam. Under the great monastery on the hill is a beautiful nunnery. They have 46 nuns all totaled, however many of them were gone to Leh to receive teachings from a high lama. Therefore only the oldest and youngest nuns stayed behind. There was a beautiful shrine with various deities including Green Tara, Vajrayogini plus Shakyamuni Buddha with his two attendants.

We sat and drank tea a bit. Then they did a little aspiration prayers. The nunnery consisted of a two story residence area, which we walked through briefly to see their class rooms. They have two rooms for the younger nuns, which are separate from the shrine hall. When the nuns chanted, one person would start out the prayer and then they would all follow suit emphatically. In my journal I explicitly recall the potency of their voices, despite there only being 15 – 20 of them there. We gave them offerings and then played a little out in the courtyard.

A few of the youngest nuns, so cute, did “Old McDonald” (had a farm) for us and then they eventually got shy and ran away. We sang happy birthday to Bily (and the young nuns came back). He got out his banjo and played a tune for them, which several people danced a quick jig to. I found it extremely heart warming and endearing. Bily said later that he had played a murder ballad… but he, we had fun and no one could tell.

Oh. I just read a section of my journal which I had set aside (and thankfully forgotten). If you have been keeping up, you will recall, and if not, I will repeat this again. I had contemplated doing a retreat at Lama Yuru due to my staying on in Ladakh for an extra week. However, several conditions seemed to obstruct this plan of action, so I went back with the group. That night, at the guest house in Temisgam, the trip organizer gave a brief Dharma talk. He teaches a little on the basics of Buddhist philosophy, and of course, being a professor, it seems like he enjoys it. Anyway, on this particular evening, his words went straight to my heart. It was almost as if I missed an opportunity or maybe I was just being hard on myself. Here’s what I wrote:

“[He] was very compassionate, his Dharma talk about the basics was phenomenal. ‘If we do not see the building as burning, how can we practice Bodhicitta and desire to get everyone out of it?’ The desire to benefit others and to help them be free of suffering must be coupled with right view, right meditation and right conduct. Contemplate the Four Seals and why the Buddha taught about suffering and its cessation. If I hear about the suffering of the six realms, karma – cause and effect, and I am not afraid, then either one or two things is going on: 1) I am a Buddha, or more likely, 2) I am more stupid than a cow. Practice calm abiding to get a glimpse at my own mind and its workings rather than merely relying on others or books.”

It felt like, despite six or eight of us attending the Dharma talk, that he was speaking directly to me. It was not a reprimand per se, but more of a, “if you are going to stay in samsara, rather than go into a brief retreat, then I am going to bring a heated, direct sermon!” Wow.

I did not seem to take any (decent) photos of the nunnery, so these pictures may have been in a previous post. Thank you to Joe Nabholz for the picture of the texts.

Mythological Mercury, a prelude for Mercury Retrograde (astrology)

As some of you may know, I previously wrote a post on Mercury Retrograde, which I am continuing to leave posted on here (check the spiritual astrology category if you want to see it). However, that was over a year ago, and at that point I had not heard that there was an entire book specifically on retrograde planets. And of course, I have more personal experience under my belt. In that article, I tried to lump many aspects of Mercury Retrograde together which don’t always fit together (I did not know any better). Hopefully this series of articles will be of benefit or at least clarify what Mercury Retrograde can mean – if nothing else, maybe you can get a good chuckle out it!

For those of us who have studied more than one book or taken a class in / about Western Astrology, we know it is a very complex subject. There are a few lucky people on the planet to whom it comes very easily, however for the most part, it requires some study, some application, and then further review of the theories formed – and then re-evaluation and further application. And to top it off, there is no ONE WAY to practice astrology – there may be as many methods as there are legitimate astrologers. And we each have our unique karma, our unique filters and conditioning, so of course we will experience it differently than the next person. And it is within this vast variety of Beingness that Mercury Retrograde cycles arise and dissolve, three times per year.

As I mentioned, there is an entire book on retrograde planets, and if you have any interest in mythology or astrology or timing cycles in general, then I highly recommend it. It is “Retrograde Planets” by Erin Sullivan. Most of the information in this post is from her ideas – which of course will be run through my personal filters, and then regurgitated for your reading pleasure. How do you like that? 🙂 I hope this counts as my citing (primarily paraphrasing) her work. So yes, this is basically a brief book review with a touch of my own knowledge and experience thrown in. Oh and in her book there are some exquisite sections on how former pagan religions worshiped Venus and how that plays into the present day myth and cycles. There are some fascinating tidbits about the Mayan cycles of time too – which oddly enough mirrored extremely accurate cycles of Venus.

Mercury Rx:

First of all, Mercury (Mercurius), or Hermes, is a very complex mythological Messenger of the Gods. To the Egyptians, Hermes was associated with Thoth, who had strong fertility roots. Thoth also figured into the alchemical process, which may be apart of how Mercury is associated with Magical Transformations today (at least to some). According to some early Greek literature (Homer), Hermes was witty, sly, musically gifted, charming and mischievous – he stole Apollo’s cattle and somehow traded a lyre for them later on, all while his older brother, the great Sun god was happily deceived. Oh – and this was all to the amusement of Zeus who applauded Hermes’ gumption. Hermes brings up his very young age when questioned about the cattle, which is another aspect – Mercury (and especially Virgo and Gemini’s) youthful appearance, its pre-adolescent naivety and playfulness. Hermes the joker is a healing aspect, bringing humor and a change of pace to otherwise somber or dreadful situations.

There are some serious aspects to Mercury, although I’d say his trickster, youthful and mentally dexterous sides certainly are more to the fore, as in the Iliad, he is in charge of bringing the mourning Priam to Achilles – the slayer of the King’s son, Hector. Mercury guides the king through the enemy camp, protecting him and making his passage unknown. Due to Mercury’s association with the body / mind connection, which includes communication, assimilation and translation, his role in the birth chart (and reflected in the personality) is most crucial. Sullivan goes on to claim that Mercury, I’m assuming due to its multiple retrograde cycles, is the “guide through the retrograde process [of all the planets]” and therefore is especially pertinent to those who have numerous retrograde planets in their birth chart. Finally, one of Mercury’s (Hermes’) vital roles is as the patron of journeys – which is essentially different than travels. A journey is an adventure, and there is always a sense of unknown along the way, whereas traveling is from point A to point B. To journey is to step into not knowing. And Mercury will guide us along the way (hopefully).

Sullivan mentions a most intriguing point when she associates Mercury with creativity. I completely agree with her reasoning, but it requires a few connections to get there: Hermes is the only god who is able to travel to Hades (the underworld) at will, and to come back (at will). This may parallel Mercury’s descent into darkness when it is in the midst of its frequent retrograde cycle – the New Phase of Mercury, when it comes across the face of the Sun and we lose it for a couple weeks. But then, like mythological Hermes, it returns to sight, becoming Phosphorus, the Morning Star. This semi-annual journey into the darkness of the underworld could also parallel a descent into the unconscious, which is where some scholars believe our intuitive insights arise. And therefore, Hermes is associated with the creative process. Sullivan likens the shift from the rational / linear left hemisphere to the spontaneously intuitive right as an alchemical transformation, again, associated with Hermes.

Hermes is a pure mediator, a guide for lost souls and a neutral party in many myths. I think this function is most clarifying, as Mercurial types can be very objective and empirical – sometimes erring on the side of dry, logical, non-emotionality. Mercury is only the messenger of the gods, nothing more (besides trickster extraordinaire), it is often the role of the message receiver to become reactive or emotional. Zeus can be having a bad day, but Mercury just maintains his pre-adolescent (naive) happiness as he goes about his job. And it is Mercury’s job to guide us through the retrograde cycles, as we dip into our unconscious, perhaps taking a few weeks to chew on what we find, and then one day our way forward is clear as daylight – the alchemical transformation is complete once again. I appreciate Sullivan’s words as the retrograde process is “two steps forward and one back.”

It is obvious that Mercury is quite a complex character and I applaud Sullivan as she navigates her readers through mythological Hermes and the technical aspects of Mercury in the birth chart (which will come in the my next post). Thanks for reading! Oh and by the way, the picture above is of Manjushri, the Buddha of Gnosis (Wisdom). I worry that my practice of Tibetan Buddhism is seeping through to this otherwise non-secular article but obviously not enough to remove the Buddhist “God” of Wisdom. Have a good day 🙂

Insights after a potent Dharma retreat, summer 2010

Recently as some of you know, I returned from a potent week with His Holiness, the Drikung Kyabgon, Chetsang Rinpoche. There was a full week of Nairatmya teachings, blessing ceremony and actually doing the sadhana (spiritual practice text). Nairatmya, as she is a less-well-known Tibetan Buddhist deity, is the consort of Hevajra, so she is a yidam and a dakini. Hevajra is one of the Anutarrayoga Tantra practices.

Despite not having any private time with His Holiness, somehow I came away from the week feeling like I had become more intimate with him. Of course, I consider him to be a Buddha, a living-breathing mandala, a realized, awakened being and he certainly played the part. Anyway, I arrived at several insights after the teachings and then upon reading his biography. I am also sure that the experience will continue to unfold into the coming year, as major retreats tend to do.

By the way, His Holiness’ biography is entitled, “From the Heart of Tibet.”

Feeling closer to His Holiness, I also feel closer to his experiences. And just to be clear, I feel like I am a poor, afflicted sentient being and that he is a significant Vajramaster, a spiritual teacher among spiritual teachers. He is definitely and always will be one of my teachers, who I put above my head in homage. After reading about his life in his biography, which I highly recommend by the way (if you are a Drikungpa, it is a must read), I am just blown away by his accomplishments. I will say more about that below, but somehow I feel more embodied and grounded. It is almost as if his support is still with me, following me everywhere I go.

In his biography, I learned that he basically had no Buddhist education until escaping Chinese-occupied Tibet. That was in the mid 1970s. Then he had to receive teachings from high lamas, do his own personal 3 year retreat and try to get the crumbling lineage off the ground (establish the Drikung Kagyu in exile). Therefore, it was not until the early ’80s that he actually got started teaching and maintaining the activities of a Kyabgon Rinpoche (the head of the lineage who protects and provides refuge for all). He has since built and established a Buddhist center for the Drikung Kagyu, a significant presence in Dehra Dun India – which includes a school for younger monks, a higher monastic college, a retreat center, a nunnery, a temple and a well-resourced library. And all of this after escaping from Tibet (the Chinese) with nothing – not a penny to his name. He had to live a frugal existence for decades as he collected the necessary funds to build his many projects. Simply awe-inspiring and extraordinary!

I wonder if somewhere along the journey of reading about his, and the lineage’s background, I did not read about myself (a previous incarnation). I say this because of how strongly I feel connected to the story and to him. Just a curious thought, nothing special. In all honesty, considering how afflicted and distracted my mind is, if I was present at all around His Holiness in the past, I was probably one of the monastery dogs or vultures! But as a result of spending a potent week with him, I came away feeling that there is way too much injustice in the world for me to be so apathetic. I need to get a move on, when I have the resources and live up to my potential. So that is all to the good. We will see however, how long this motivation and juicy potency sticks around.

Chiron’s Curse

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The solar system body, Chiron, known as the mythological Wounded Healer, is a large asteroid, or more likely, a comet that got caught in the Sun’s gravity field, yet which does not come much past the orbit of Saturn (it has an elliptical orbit but we can never see its tail as a result of its distance from the Earth). Actually it is quite fascinating that the asteroid-like bodies (or comets) that are beyond the main asteroid belt are known as “Centaurs.” However, the reason I am writing this post is to discuss the Astrological (and psycho-spiritual) significance of Chiron.

Mythological Chiron was a Centaur chieftan and great warrior, who was actually a half-brother of Zeus, and therefore immortal (his father was Chronos or Saturn). As an immortal, he had time to practice healing, herbalism, chivalry, martial arts, poetry, philosophy and the arts. And, unlike his Centaur brethren, he was a bit more civilized. He trained numerous Greek heroes in medicine, the art of war and heroism, among other subjects – names like Asclepius, Ajax, Achilles, Jason, Peleus, and occasionally Heracles. Chiron was also an astrologer.

Chiron was said to have died due to an arrow that was poisoned with blood of the Hydra (instantly lethal to anyone except immortals). However, as an immortal, Chiron suffered in great agony rather than perishing immediately. Because it turns out there was no cure for Hydra venom, even among immortals. Therefore, the story goes that he exchanged his life (immortality) for Prometheus who at the time was chained to his rock, and to make a long story short, granting man-kind fire in the process of freeing Prometheus. Heracles (or Achilles depending on your source) was the archer who accidentally shot Chiron in the thigh, which is ironic due to his being one of Chiron’s previous disciples. Hence the story of the Wounded Healer.

Astrologically, as a tiny planetoid (or asteroid or comet), one must use a very small orb to see what aspects Chiron makes in the natal horoscope (for the purpose of determining how strong Chiron is in a birth chart). I use a 2 – 3 degree orb, maybe stretching it one degree further when the Sun or Moon are involved. Needless to say, using such a small orb, there are not many charts in which you will discover numerous, major aspects with Chiron involved. Therefore, when you do discover such a chart, it is rare and probably poignant. Here are some examples of having a strong Chiron: numerous major aspects to planets (at least two or three aspects), Chiron conjunct the Ascendant or MidHeaven, Chiron in the 29th degree of a sign (and even stronger when it is in Sagittarius or Pisces) and making a major aspect to the Sun / Moon / Ascendant. Occasionally (very rarely) you will find someone whose chart shows a Yod pointing at Chiron – another indication of their Chirotic personality. And interestingly, one of the most common Yod configurations with Chiron is from Pluto and Neptune, due to their being in relatively sextile positions for several decades.

People who have a strong Chiron in their charts can manifest Chiron’s energy in numerous ways, but the one distinguishing characteristic of all of these people would most likely be an innate ability to learn – rapidly absorbing information when they are interested in the subject (see below for what these most likely will be) and people who are very dynamic – having multiple jobs for instance, or people who have several “hobbies” which bring in some income. As I mentioned above, Chiron was associated with philosophy, poetry, archery, martial arts, herbalism, medicine, chivalry, warfare and healing in general, so the subjects which Chirotic individuals might study are just as broad. One underlying theme is an interest in alternative healing – which again is not saying anything specific because this broad category can include energy medicine, herbalism, acupuncture, astrology, bodywork, alternative healing facilitation modalities, etc etc.

And now for the reason I named this post “Chiron’s Curse.” The curse of having a strong Chiron is often that one is able to heal and be of great benefit to others, but there will be one area of life that the individual truly suffers in and they can’t seem to get it straight in that regard. For instance, Chiron grants great healing abilities (outwardly) but the person may have a blind spot regarding one area of themselves. This is not always the case, but I find it to be true time and again.

One person I knew of studied nursing – disambiguation (breast feeding) and she was known as one of the top specialists in her field. However, when she had a daughter, who would not breast feed, she could not decipher the “problem.” It turned out she had a strong Chiron, and whether or not this has to do with her exquisite skills and knowledge being of use for others, but not her own (daughter), I don’t know. However it is quite a curious phenomena.

Then there is myself as an example. I have Chiron conjunct my MC (midheaven), trine my Saturn and squaring my Ascendant / Descendant axis. I consider myself to have a strong Chiron. And the interests that I mention above have nearly all been in my life at some point, having studied Traditional Reiki, energetic medicine, Craniosacral Therapy, Astrology and I even spent some time studying Shamanism before getting into Tibetan Buddhism (which believe it or not tends to show up in people’s lives when Chiron makes a major transit in their charts). And off and on, I have written some pretty graceful and potent poetry.

I have studied academic psychology, which helps to allow me to objectively, and empirically, analyze myself and others – watching for bias and eliminating it or at least naming it. This helps in my astrology practice as well as my healing facilitation practice. And I feel it helps back up the statement I am about to make: I seem to be an accomplished and skilled intuitive healing facilitator. I say this because my clients tend to have break-throughs (Ah Ha! moments) and they keep coming back to see me, at least for a series of sessions.

However, in spite of this fact (providing it is true), I had serious money problems. The fact that I didn’t advertise might be a part of the problem, but I did not have much success with that in the past. How is it that someone can be of such great benefit to others and yet not be able to take care of their own financial needs? Ouch! Chiron anyone?

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[Edited Nov 2017: I have done some incredible inner work on my little parts – pre-nate self, baby self, toddler self, young child self etc. Working with Myrna Martin and Pre- and Perinatal Therapy has done wonders for my awareness of the psychological double binds that I was cycling through, oblivious to their effects. So today, I am much clearer financially, I am much more stable in my work efforts and therefore I am more balanced in my awareness of my capacity and my motivation! Yay!]

As the reader can see, there are many facets to the astrological Chiron, and it is a subject I feel worth delving into and studying for the deeper nuances and trends. Astrology is a science of cycles and trends (yes, I just said “science,” on purpose) and when one put’s time and effort into studying the cosmic patterns, one discovers layers of meaning and reflection. And Chiron is one of the newer members of the astrological pantheon, having been discovered astronomically in 1977, so there is much research that can be done on this curious planetoid.

Frisbee with His Holiness

This is a truncated version of a full full week of teachings with His Holiness, the Chetsang Rinpoche and Drikung Kyabgon. The original teachings and most events centered around the Nairatmya practice, however there was more. I was on the team of organizers for the event, so I was extremely busy busy busy. Yet another STRETCHING week for Kirby. At least I am noticing my capacity is increasing, as well as my ability to speak my needs. Yay! Scroll to the end for a link to some awesome photos from friends.

Oh, and the name of this post comes from the day we (Charlottesville participants) had a group interview with His Holiness, some monks were playing frisbee on the lawn outside of His Holiness’ cottage and I joined in (we did not actually throw the frisbee with His Holiness).

His Holiness gave the Nairatmya blessing ceremony (wang), short sadhana transmission (lung) and vital instructions on the practice (tsi?) over the course of six days. Then we had the Nairatmya (Hevajra) fire puja – a major (extensive) fire offering ceremony on Friday and then Saturday was a full morning of Lama Chopa and Tsok offering feast, mandala offerings to His Holiness (included within) Long Life prayers – oh and there was a consecration of the stupa, statues and thangkas at TMC. Wow – very potent, expansive and an incredible opportunity to be with His Holiness.

I am not going to say much about the first six days, because you need to attend a highest yoga tantra wang (empowerment) / teachings from an authentic lama to hear Deity Yoga details, however I will mention other highlights.

I found His Holiness to be extremely compassionate, and what I knew about him before going into this week was that he was an unusually busy and productive man (which of course comes with the territory apparently for a Kyabgon Rinpoche) – spending his time collecting old, rare manuscripts, putting together multiple books and repairing “lost” teachings from the Drikung lineage, this is in addition to helping to build a large, beautiful and efficient center in Dehra Dun where the Drikung Seat in exile is now secure (Jangchub Ling, Kagyu College and the Songtsen Library). He gardens, travels the world teaching and offers refuge for all of us afflicted sentient beings… Wow! Then I started reading his biography (just out this year) and I learned how he does all this on very limited resources.

I stayed in a local farmhouse which TMC has rented on occasion, and I “managed” the lodging at that and another house for the week, in addition to tracking the registration and monies. Oof! Anyway… it was incredibly pleasant to be awakened to chickens (roosters) in the morning and luckily the weather was cool for 5 out of 8 days. There was a composting toilet – very cool and green (and somehow without any less-than-pleasant odors).

Most days took place at the Claggett Center in Buckeystown Maryland – a pleasant, spacious, beautiful-vista conference center. They provided us with vegetarian lunches and a large space to hold these teachings. I plan to add pictures here soon – the lamas made the shrine room (conference room) into a gorgeous Tibetan shrine – three huge Thankas (painted scrolls), the tall throne for His Holiness, and multiple large and colorful tormas. The sand mandala was kept in a gold-curtained area for most of the days until its dissolution on Thursday. The events were very moving, rich and full of good Dharma juice.

All totaled, about 200 people attended the first weekend (the grand empowerment) with about 80 people staying through the week for the teachings. Then on the second weekend at TMC, between 60 and 100 people attended the Fire Puja and the full Saturday.

Near the end of the Claggett Center events, there was a volunteer / board member recognition time, where about six people were recognized for outstanding effort and hard work. I was included in this gaggle. His Holiness signed a copy of his biography in gold and gave us copies, along with a beautiful signed photo of him under a rainbow – which was authentic from his visit to Arizona. That was incredibly moving to be recognized and given gifts from His Holiness – an emanation of Avalokitesvara.

The Fire Puja was the most extensive offering I have ever attended. This makes sense of course considering this was the first grand empowerment I have ever attended (nothing really special about it except there is a day of preparations first and then the next day is the actual empowerment). The fire puja took about three hours, and we all offered some of the special substances – including wheat, barley, kusha grass, dhurra grass, flour and many other substances. It was humorous and propitious to see two large tormas (ritual cakes) being offered and burned.

I was so happy to meet so many new faces in the North American Drikung Kagyu sangha (and other lineages too!). I did not know the majority of the participants at first. A very, very potent and positive week! May it continue and happen again for the benefit of many sentient beings!

To see some incredible photos from Saturday’s events (Long life prayers, mandala offering, Lama Chopa Tsok and Consecration of the Stupa), visit Chris Bonebreak’s pictures at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Also you can visit the link on the right —–> for Angela Harkavy’s (Ani Chime) incredible photos. If you see any photos of the mandala in its golden tent, and you did not attend this event, you should probably avert your eyes (this is just a disclaimer to keep my samaya vows safe).

Posted from a Nature Preserve (home) near Charlottesville

Hello! I am about to head out, leaving all my friendly beasts and birdies behind. Ahhh… But I thought I would post some of my reflections and observations from these three weeks of house sitting near an enormous farm, north of Charlottesville in Albemarle County.

I’ve seen many, many deer. From slight differences on their coats, size and temperaments, it seems there are at least a dozen that come by the house occasionally. One large buck seems to have mange – its coat is doing strange things with dark patches here and there. One doe is very feisty – I think her brother is another buck but she does not like him coming too close to her. And she put her hoof on a fawn’s (her’s?) head when it started licking her – awww – and then it ran away as well. She must be having a bad day. There is another large buck with at least 6 or 8 points wandering around, munching on the low leaves.

I have discovered a temporary sanctuary – a huge, majestic oak. It must be over a hundred years old, spreading its large wings over a significant portion of a large meadow. Sitting beneath, I look out to the South Mountains (hills) and I can see at least twenty miles away. A train pushes through the farm, rocking the silence and jolting everyone awake. There are spikes in this ancient tree, allowing someone to climb it. Plus remnants of a tree house. Aha! Someone else knows about this refuge. Nice! Oh and it seems I do not get cell reception while in the tree, curious indeed.

The bird bath is a drinking fountain for squirrels, deer, birds and insects. The birds seem to have so much fun – I love watching them splash water everywhere. Recently, a plump robin seemed to take over, just taking its sweet time as it bathed. Several little wrens and thrashers were on the edge going, “Hey! Hurry up already! It’s our turn.”

There is a “Peek-A-Boo” wood pecker on the suet feeder. It seems to need to look up every few seconds, and as it does so, its head peeks around the corner as if to say, “Peek-A-Boo!!!” And then it takes a bite with another “Surprise!” coming a few seconds later. Very comical. It comes and goes, so that if I sit on the patio, it plays this delightful childish game with me.

So far, and now that my time here is coming to an end, I have yet to see a fox, a chipmunk and all the blue jays seem to have gone elsewhere (thankfully – they were annoying last year). Although I do miss their adding to the diversity. I did see my first masked bandit up close – a raccoon sauntered by the window and I watched it root around under the bird feeders for a while. As I tried to lift a blind, it recognized me and lumbered off into the woods. It had a most peculiar gait – as if it was not used to running. It was during the day and I hope there is nothing wrong with it, as they are typically nocturnal.

There are beautiful flowers that I am in charge of watering daily. They seem to attract butterflies of many varieties and occasionally the humming birds visit the blossoms. On the cool days, the many colored butterflies sun themselves on the patio. About a dozen of them, wings slowly drifting back and forth, like an orchestra – where is the conductor? There are also gorgeous purple leaves of a plant – in the sunlight, they have a silvery sheen. It seems that plant does not need flowers to express its beauty.

The hummingbird feeder is doing its job. Except it seems that one male is hogging it. When a female approaches it, she must very wary. She does not sit on the edge, rather she stays in flight as she drinks from the various “flowers.” Hummingbirds are definitely not evolved animals – because wow that male is a prick. 🙂 Luckily this is not always the case.

Finally, several tiny yellow finches chase each other around and through the leaves of these dogwoods. When they tire of this, they stop for a bite to eat from the feeder. Then back to their merriment!

Inner conflicts and outer stasis – an astrological reflection

Recently I have been asking: “What am I doing with my life?” This is because big inner paradigms are shifting and I want to know what is going on, but I am not to know yet; rather I must wait patiently. Let me flesh this out a little more precisely:

So I want to be clear, within my heart, about my life’s direction. But all I know now, is what I had a glimpse of four years ago, that I am talented at astrology and bodywork (healing facilitation), I practice Buddhism, I’m interested in psychology – but not the dry, academic psychology I have met so far at UVa – I guess I should say I am interested in body-psychotherapy which is definitely “ahead of the curve.” However, like four years ago, I am smitten with an apathy, a doubting voice and a heart that is not passionate enough about any of these subjects to dive in fully. Therefore I continue to gradually dip my toes in, but I feel like a jack of multiple trades, rather than specializing in any one subject. And I do not know if pushing in any of these subjects is “what I am meant to do.”

I have spoken with Julie Henderson, one of my heart teachers about my present conundrum, and she says, “Great! You are in the midst of a huge transformation.” Well… I wish I could feel that elated about what I am going through. She said that if someone were merely changing their attitudes, even this would take some time – maybe a few months of added downtime to integrate the shifts. However, she said that if I am changing more than this – my body for instance, then it might take years. Gulp! Years??? Well I have been feeling like I am in a stasis since this past October / November of 2009. So she says to practice confident patience – knowing that shifts are happening under the surface and that things are falling into place as it were. She also gave me some advice regarding ways to possibly speed up the process, but it will not go that much faster. So here I am 🙂

This waiting with confident patience has caused all sorts of anger and frustration to arise. I want to be connected to wisdom beings and more precisely the clarity that might bring, because I do not want to waste my seemingly limited resources (Saturn in the 2nd house opposite Mars in the 8th). My magical way of thinking – my idealistic bubble – has rudely burst, and now I am unsure of what I am meant to do with my life. Luckily I have incredible resources – spiritual teachers, tools for self care and I know that any suffering I go through is only brought on by one person and their attitudes – that would be ME.

Glancing in my Progressed Chart however, I notice that I am shifting on an incredibly deep level. And that to push or force anything at this point, would not only be harmful, but ludicrous. I must wait patiently and kindly, as Julie says, with confidence. But for my Mercury in Aries 9th house (impatient) mind, this is nearly impossible. In my Progressed Chart, Pr. Mercury is at 29 degrees of Pisces, about to re-enter its sign from my birth, Aries. Pr. Mars is teetering on the verge of entering my Natal 9th house. Pr. Jupiter is within astronomical minutes of entering the sign of Leo (a once in a lifetime shift which will actually take a few years to complete). Plus my Pr. Ascendant is activating the Natal Saturn / Mars opposition (tension, strain, push / pull, tiring aspect) and my Pr. Venus is nearing a conjunction with my Natal Sun – at least that sounds like it should be pleasant, although by this point I feel a little disenchanted (see below). But as the reader can observe, there are multiple shifts occurring within my Progressed Chart which, even when taken separately, require patience and quality time to unfold.

When glancing at your Progressed chart, you can see trends arising, occurring and completing. You can see the cycles which we all go through, decade after decade, etc. However, one of the significant indications of major change in people is when the Progressed Personal Planets (Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury and even the Ascendant) change signs or change houses then down time is necessary to integrate and re-structure. Seriously – neuroscience is discovering how plastic (flexible, fluid, able to change) the brain is, even in adults. We can change, but if we choose to do so, then it takes additional nourishment and time – new neurological synapses need to be nurtured and treated with kindness.

So that is what I am doing. Seeing clients, and watching my growth rings amount to what feels like very little. Luckily I have very solid resources as I mentioned above. So… Cheers – here’s to waiting with confident patience!

Wisdom beings, known and unknown, seen and unseen, please be with all beings. May all beings know happiness and its causes. Thank you!

Prayers for Leh and Ladakh

Prayers for Leh and surrounding areas in Ladakh! It sounds like the death count from the flash floods and resulting landslides continue to rise. May supplies and support personnel be able to arrive in Leh with ease and swiftness. May all who suffer there find nourishment and easier conditions. Om Mani Padme Hung Hrih!

At first I was going to continue with my pilgrimage chronicles, but that seems insensitive at this time. Expect more within a few days. In the meantime, I would recommend doing Phowa practice or just saying the Mani Mantra (above – Om Mani Padme Hung). Hold the intention to benefit and soften the shock for all sentient beings in Ladakh (and around the world), living and transitioning, seen and unseen. Any prayers will help – thank you!

In the midst of this tragedy, having traveled to Ladakh and established a closer connection with the beautiful culture of the region, I feel increased sadness and weight for the terrible damage and loss from these recent natural disasters. May the Earth be pacified (may we lessen the strain we put on her through pollution and war). May all sentient beings know peace and happiness.

Amitabha Buddha, Buddha of Boundless Light (one aspect of the Buddha, known to help beings when they are dying or transitioning).

Ladakh Chronicles resume – Lama Yuru, Senge Lhakhang

After several months break, I am resuming the Ladakh chronicles (from two years ago!) and now I intend to finish my description of that fantastic journey. In 2008, I was a part of a dynamic and profound group of practitioners who went on pilgrimage to Ladakh India. In this post, several pieces: the Lion Shrine – one of the oldest buildings in Ladakh (which is saying something), notes from taking refuge with Bakula Randrol Nyima Rinpoche and reflections on leaving Lama Yuru – which meant not doing a five day retreat.

On this last day at Lama Yuru Gompa, we visited the Senge Lhakhang, the Lion Shrine, which is the only building at Lama Yuru still standing from the original monastery that Rinchen Sangpo – the Great Translator – built in the 11th century. That means it is ~1000 years old. Woof! There were beautiful sculptures, pictures of the five Buddha families and their Buddhas, faded mandalas and off in another room, there was a Gonkhang, or Protector Shrine. These faces were not covered, so I was hoping taking pictures of them was okay. It is said that the artwork in this ancient shrine is similar to that from Alchi Gompa.

For some reason, I have the notes from taking refuge with Bakula Rangdrol Nyima Rinpoche here on this day, one or two days after actually doing the refuge ceremony with him. He mentioned several things for people who have taken refuge to keep in mind and practice: 1) do not worship lower spirits, 2) respect Dharma texts – do not step over them, do not put them on the floor, etc, 3) do not take Dharma advice from heretics (non-Sangha members), 4) make offerings to the Dharma wherever appropriate, and finally 5) take care of religious objects – anything from clothes to statues, images etc. These pieces of advice were in addition to taking at least one of the 5 pratimoksha vows – not to kill, not to steal, not to take intoxicants, to avoid sexual misconduct and to avoid false speech (I think that is the five).

I was considering doing a retreat at Lama Yuru – especially when Lama Jorphel (Drupon) showed us the room that Westerners use to do one, two and three month retreats. I would only have a few days after the majority of the group left however, so I opted out of doing a five day retreat. I was very anxious and worried about food and transportation. If I had felt more at ease, I probably would have stayed. As it was, I wanted to visit the Tibetan doctor one more time – the Amche, I wanted to practice my Tibetan with a new Tibetan family I had met and I wanted to rest and read and just do a little bit of practice. Oh – and I wanted to eat meat momos.