Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Confronting Our Challenges
We
cannot eliminate all of the challenges or obstacles in life—our own or
anyone else’s. We can only learn to rise to the occasion and face them.
—Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “Old Relationships, New Responsibilities”
—Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “Old Relationships, New Responsibilities”
Via Words of Wisdom - May 22, 2019 💌 Inbox x
To bring to our daily life a quality of awareness, an open-heartedness, a consciousness that understands the interrelationship of all things, means that you can begin to hear the way in which you can live on Earth in harmony with all things.
- Ram Dass -
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Via Utne: Grandfather Says Native Americans parables and other lessons from reservation life.
There is much that I don’t understand about the ways of my people on the reservation, but much more that I don’t understand about the people of town.
Photo by Flicker/Janusz Sobolewski
Grandfather knows many things that I haven’t learned yet. There is much that I don’t understand about the ways of my people on the reservation, but much more that I don’t understand about the people of town. “What’s bothering you, Grandchild?” asked Grandfather when I arrived home from school. “You seem troubled about something.”
“I tried out for the track team because I like to run. Several of us ran around the track while coach timed us. The others trying out told me that I was the last one to sign up, so I was the ‘low man on the totem pole’ and would be the first to go when people were cut from the list.”
“Why were you so late signing up?” asked Grandfather.
“I didn’t know about the tryouts until today,” I explained. “I don’t think that the others on the team really want me because I am from the reservation.”
Grandfather was quiet and waited for my question.
“What does ‘low man on the totem pole’ mean, Grandfather?” I asked. “The other team members made it sound bad.”
“The lowest position on the totem pole, Grandchild, is the most important,” said Grandfather.
“Then why did they say I might be kicked off the team first, if the lowest spot is the most important?” I was confused.
Grandfather thought about it and said, “‘Low man on the totem pole’ has been used as a bad thing by people who don’t understand about totem poles,” explained Grandfather. “The bottom totem is the strongest and holds all the others up. It is the support for powers the other totems represent. All totems together have great power to keep people safe and to guide them during life journeys. Only the strongest can connect the totems above it with Mother Earth below it. Being in the lowest place on a totem pole is an honor.”
I felt better after Grandfather told me all of this, and when I went back to school the next day, I enjoyed practice more than ever.
The coaches decided who would be on the track team, and cuts were made. Those whose names were called to be on the team stood with the coaches, and when my name was called I ran to stand with the team.
Later I told the coach that I was happy to be on the team, but I was surprised to be chosen.
“You are the fastest runner we have, and you will be our anchor during relays,” said the coach. “Here is your running jersey.”
I ran all the way home that day after practice. Grandfather was right again.
“How long do you think it will take?” I asked, and Grandfather’s reply was a surprise.
“It will take long enough for us to figure something out,” Grandfather said, and that made sense to me.
We went to the Grand Hall. We walked in, shook hands with the others, and sat on the floor in the circle. A circle is always so that everyone can hear everyone else.
The meeting was started by the chief, who asked if anyone had anything to say. A person from town was there, stood, and started talking loudly about something for a very long time, but I did not understand what was being talked about. When the person from town stopped talking, all of us reservation people looked at each other and did not say anything. We waited for the town speaker to sit.
The chief turned to the speaker and said, “You talked for a long time, and we listened. From what I can figure out, you want us to let you bring a school class to look at the buffalo. Did I understand correctly?”
The person from town answered for another long while.
The chief then said, “I don’t think we have enough time for you to answer any more questions. Just send me a letter with the day and time the school will come, and that will be fine. We are almost out of time for this meeting.”
I turned to Grandfather for a cue as to what I should do, and I saw Grandfather’s eyes laughing.
The chief then asked if anyone else had anything to say, and one of the elders asked to have permission to graze his herd of cattle in an area of reservation that was not in use. The chief asked if anyone objected; no one objected, so the meeting was done.
As we walked away I asked, “Why were your eyes laughing after the chief told the person from town that we didn’t have more time for him to answer more questions?”
“You listened to the long talk. Then you heard the chief ask a question that could have been answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but instead, we heard another long talk. The chief didn’t want to hear hundreds of words when just a few would answer the question. That is why the chief asked a letter to be sent, so we would not have to hear more talk that meant nothing.
“Did you learn anything, Grandchild?” asked Grandfather.
My reply was, “Yes.”
“The ground is too hard for the seedlings to break through easily, “Grandfather said with a sad voice. “Without rain to wet the ground and give the plants moisture to use, we may have a small harvest this year.”
“What will we do, Grandfather?” I asked. “Will we be hungry?”
“No, Grandchild. We will not be hungry. We will just not have as much as we had in past years. We will be fine, though,” was his reply.
We walked from the field to the house, and along the path we saw that ground was hard and dry, too. Dust danced around our feet when we stepped.
“Grandfather,” I asked, “how do you know we will be fine?” I was worried, but Grandfather knew that. Before he answered, he saw something not far away, and he smiled with his eyes.
Grandfather began, “See this path we are walking?”
“Yes.”
“We must look ahead of our own feet. Look ahead on the path … just up the way a bit.”
I looked ahead, along the hard and dry path, just as Grandfather instructed.
“What do you see ahead? It’s in the middle of the solid ground where we walk.”
I looked again, and in the middle of the path was a very small plant growing. It was different from the dry grass that was on both sides of the pathway. It was green and standing straight up.
“What is it? Why is it there?” I asked.
“That little plant is a sunflower. It shows us that even when the ground is hard and the rains have not visited for a while, we can still find a way to live, just like it has done. We may have to look for new ways to get by, like the plant sprouting from the path instead of from under a shade tree, so it can get the sunlight it needs.”
Grandfather did not look so sad after that, and we walked on home to order sunflower seeds so that we could start a different crop that would grow in the hard field.
We had a good crop after all. I am glad that we saw the little plant growing in our path, telling us to look ahead, instead of looking at the dust at our feet.
“Are you cold, Grandmother?” I asked one night.
Grandmother smiled and said, “No, I’m not cold. I am getting ready.”
“Ready for what?” I asked.
“Listen, Grandchild. You will hear the invitation soon,” she said.
Grandfather went inside and returned with his hand drum. He leaned against the tree and started to drum softly.
Grandmother smiled and wrapped her shawl over her shoulders. She stood up and started to dance. “Do you hear them?” she asked me.
“Close your eyes and listen,” Grandfather said.
“All I hear is your drum and the cicadas chirping,” I said.
“The cicadas are dancing, too. What you hear is their jingles as they dance,” Grandfather said. “They keep in rhythm with the drum, just like Grandmother is doing.”
I listened while I watched Grandfather step with each drum beat. The cicadas, too, chirped with each beat. It was like they danced together.
“Earth has a heartbeat that all animals can hear. The drum is a symbol of the heartbeat. Grandmother celebrates the life of Earth with her dance.
Grandmother stepped, turned, and made her shawl sail when she spun. The cicadas must have liked the dance, too, because they became louder the more Grandmother danced.
I went in the house and came back out with my dancing moccasins on, and I joined in. We celebrated until the cicadas grew silent. Then Grandmother, Grandfather, and I sat and watched shadows in the moonlight.
“Each season and each time has a way of celebrating life,” Grandfather said. “Together we can always dance.”
BC Culbertson has been a lifelong resident of northeast Kansas, but has traveled the country, giving presentations on Native American star lore. Grandfather Says: Native American Parables and Other Lessons from Reservation Life is a short book of fictional stories set in parable form. Culbertson plans to have a short novel published by the end of summer 2018 tentatively titled The Excavator. Look for both books on Amazon.
“I tried out for the track team because I like to run. Several of us ran around the track while coach timed us. The others trying out told me that I was the last one to sign up, so I was the ‘low man on the totem pole’ and would be the first to go when people were cut from the list.”
“Why were you so late signing up?” asked Grandfather.
“I didn’t know about the tryouts until today,” I explained. “I don’t think that the others on the team really want me because I am from the reservation.”
Grandfather was quiet and waited for my question.
“What does ‘low man on the totem pole’ mean, Grandfather?” I asked. “The other team members made it sound bad.”
“The lowest position on the totem pole, Grandchild, is the most important,” said Grandfather.
“Then why did they say I might be kicked off the team first, if the lowest spot is the most important?” I was confused.
Grandfather thought about it and said, “‘Low man on the totem pole’ has been used as a bad thing by people who don’t understand about totem poles,” explained Grandfather. “The bottom totem is the strongest and holds all the others up. It is the support for powers the other totems represent. All totems together have great power to keep people safe and to guide them during life journeys. Only the strongest can connect the totems above it with Mother Earth below it. Being in the lowest place on a totem pole is an honor.”
I felt better after Grandfather told me all of this, and when I went back to school the next day, I enjoyed practice more than ever.
The coaches decided who would be on the track team, and cuts were made. Those whose names were called to be on the team stood with the coaches, and when my name was called I ran to stand with the team.
Later I told the coach that I was happy to be on the team, but I was surprised to be chosen.
“You are the fastest runner we have, and you will be our anchor during relays,” said the coach. “Here is your running jersey.”
I ran all the way home that day after practice. Grandfather was right again.
Being Quiet
Grandfather stays active in tribal events and decisions. He says that since we live here, we should take responsibility for helping the tribe’s livelihood. Grandfather says that I am old enough to start learning how the laws are made, and he took me to one of the meetings.“How long do you think it will take?” I asked, and Grandfather’s reply was a surprise.
“It will take long enough for us to figure something out,” Grandfather said, and that made sense to me.
We went to the Grand Hall. We walked in, shook hands with the others, and sat on the floor in the circle. A circle is always so that everyone can hear everyone else.
The meeting was started by the chief, who asked if anyone had anything to say. A person from town was there, stood, and started talking loudly about something for a very long time, but I did not understand what was being talked about. When the person from town stopped talking, all of us reservation people looked at each other and did not say anything. We waited for the town speaker to sit.
The chief turned to the speaker and said, “You talked for a long time, and we listened. From what I can figure out, you want us to let you bring a school class to look at the buffalo. Did I understand correctly?”
The person from town answered for another long while.
The chief then said, “I don’t think we have enough time for you to answer any more questions. Just send me a letter with the day and time the school will come, and that will be fine. We are almost out of time for this meeting.”
I turned to Grandfather for a cue as to what I should do, and I saw Grandfather’s eyes laughing.
The chief then asked if anyone else had anything to say, and one of the elders asked to have permission to graze his herd of cattle in an area of reservation that was not in use. The chief asked if anyone objected; no one objected, so the meeting was done.
As we walked away I asked, “Why were your eyes laughing after the chief told the person from town that we didn’t have more time for him to answer more questions?”
“You listened to the long talk. Then you heard the chief ask a question that could have been answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but instead, we heard another long talk. The chief didn’t want to hear hundreds of words when just a few would answer the question. That is why the chief asked a letter to be sent, so we would not have to hear more talk that meant nothing.
“Did you learn anything, Grandchild?” asked Grandfather.
My reply was, “Yes.”
Small Plant
Hard times fell on Grandfather and Grandmother during one hot summer. The crops did not grow well. The ground was hard, and Grandfather could not do enough to the soil to make it so that the seeds would sprout and grow into strong plants.“The ground is too hard for the seedlings to break through easily, “Grandfather said with a sad voice. “Without rain to wet the ground and give the plants moisture to use, we may have a small harvest this year.”
“What will we do, Grandfather?” I asked. “Will we be hungry?”
“No, Grandchild. We will not be hungry. We will just not have as much as we had in past years. We will be fine, though,” was his reply.
We walked from the field to the house, and along the path we saw that ground was hard and dry, too. Dust danced around our feet when we stepped.
“Grandfather,” I asked, “how do you know we will be fine?” I was worried, but Grandfather knew that. Before he answered, he saw something not far away, and he smiled with his eyes.
Grandfather began, “See this path we are walking?”
“Yes.”
“We must look ahead of our own feet. Look ahead on the path … just up the way a bit.”
I looked ahead, along the hard and dry path, just as Grandfather instructed.
“What do you see ahead? It’s in the middle of the solid ground where we walk.”
I looked again, and in the middle of the path was a very small plant growing. It was different from the dry grass that was on both sides of the pathway. It was green and standing straight up.
“What is it? Why is it there?” I asked.
“That little plant is a sunflower. It shows us that even when the ground is hard and the rains have not visited for a while, we can still find a way to live, just like it has done. We may have to look for new ways to get by, like the plant sprouting from the path instead of from under a shade tree, so it can get the sunlight it needs.”
Grandfather did not look so sad after that, and we walked on home to order sunflower seeds so that we could start a different crop that would grow in the hard field.
We had a good crop after all. I am glad that we saw the little plant growing in our path, telling us to look ahead, instead of looking at the dust at our feet.
Heartbeat
Grandmother and Grandfather never made me go inside early at night unless the next day was a school day. We sat outside under the shade tree and watched Sun set behind the distant hills. In the fall when Sun sank low in the sky, I often saw Grandmother go inside for a minute, but she returned with her dance shawl.“Are you cold, Grandmother?” I asked one night.
Grandmother smiled and said, “No, I’m not cold. I am getting ready.”
“Ready for what?” I asked.
“Listen, Grandchild. You will hear the invitation soon,” she said.
Grandfather went inside and returned with his hand drum. He leaned against the tree and started to drum softly.
Grandmother smiled and wrapped her shawl over her shoulders. She stood up and started to dance. “Do you hear them?” she asked me.
“Close your eyes and listen,” Grandfather said.
“All I hear is your drum and the cicadas chirping,” I said.
“The cicadas are dancing, too. What you hear is their jingles as they dance,” Grandfather said. “They keep in rhythm with the drum, just like Grandmother is doing.”
I listened while I watched Grandfather step with each drum beat. The cicadas, too, chirped with each beat. It was like they danced together.
“Earth has a heartbeat that all animals can hear. The drum is a symbol of the heartbeat. Grandmother celebrates the life of Earth with her dance.
Grandmother stepped, turned, and made her shawl sail when she spun. The cicadas must have liked the dance, too, because they became louder the more Grandmother danced.
I went in the house and came back out with my dancing moccasins on, and I joined in. We celebrated until the cicadas grew silent. Then Grandmother, Grandfather, and I sat and watched shadows in the moonlight.
“Each season and each time has a way of celebrating life,” Grandfather said. “Together we can always dance.”
BC Culbertson has been a lifelong resident of northeast Kansas, but has traveled the country, giving presentations on Native American star lore. Grandfather Says: Native American Parables and Other Lessons from Reservation Life is a short book of fictional stories set in parable form. Culbertson plans to have a short novel published by the end of summer 2018 tentatively titled The Excavator. Look for both books on Amazon.
Via Daily Dharma: Multiplying Our Joy
Most
of life is a positive-sum game in which we can all be better off if we
play nicely together. Sympathetic joy is a way in which we can share the
joys of others and thereby give ourselves a lift.
—Rick Heller, “Sympathetic Joy”
—Rick Heller, “Sympathetic Joy”
Via Daily Dharma: The One Includes All
When
we know that to take care of one life we have to take care of all
life—and that life includes what we say, how we act, what we do, and
what we honor—that is the beginning of the sacred embodiment that leads
to true civilization.
—Interview with Paul Hawken by Clark Strand, “The Movement with No Name”
—Interview with Paul Hawken by Clark Strand, “The Movement with No Name”
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: One Moment At A Time
Zen
is really just a reminder to stay alive and be awake. We tend to
daydream all the time, speculating and dwelling on the past. Zen
practice is about appreciating your life in this moment.
—Zenkei Blanche Hartman, “Zen Practice Each Moment”
—Zenkei Blanche Hartman, “Zen Practice Each Moment”
Via Daily Dharma: Our Final Destination
The lives of each of us, the Buddha was saying on his path, are a journey toward recognizing where we’ve been all along.
—Pico Iyer, “The Long Road to Sitting Still”
—Pico Iyer, “The Long Road to Sitting Still”
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - May 19, 2019 💌
If you’re involved with relationship with parents or children, instead of saying I can’t do spiritual practices because I have children, you say my children are my spiritual practice. If you’re traveling a lot, your traveling becomes your yoga.
You start to use your life as your curriculum for coming to God. You use the things that are on your plate, that are presented to you. So that relationships, economics, psychodynamics—all of these become grist for the mill of awakening. They all are part of your curriculum.
You start to use your life as your curriculum for coming to God. You use the things that are on your plate, that are presented to you. So that relationships, economics, psychodynamics—all of these become grist for the mill of awakening. They all are part of your curriculum.
- Ram Dass -
Friday, May 17, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Appreciating Others and Ourselves
We
all need to see that happiness, joy, and bliss come from having an
appreciation of other people’s work and at the same time being content
with what we have and what we are.
—Phakchok Rinpoche, “Dealing With Your Jealous and Competitive Mind”
—Phakchok Rinpoche, “Dealing With Your Jealous and Competitive Mind”
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Ordinary Awakening
Each day, every one of us will undertake ordinary tasks such as brushing our teeth, washing dishes, getting dressed, and walking the dog. Can we bring a fresh and awake mind to these activities? This is the true challenge of beginner’s mind.
—Sensei Deirdre Eisho Peterson and Alex Tzelnic, “(Meta)Physical Education: A Bucking Brontosaurus”
—Sensei Deirdre Eisho Peterson and Alex Tzelnic, “(Meta)Physical Education: A Bucking Brontosaurus”
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - May 15, 2019 💌
The interesting question is, "How do you put yourself in a position so that you can allow ‘what is’ to be?" The enemy turns out to be the creation of mind, because when you are just in the moment, doing what you are doing, there is no fear. The fear is when you stand back to think about it. The fear is not in the actions. The fear is in the thought about the actions.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: Pure Power of Mindfulness
The
Buddha’s mindfulness has one purpose—the end of suffering. It
encompasses all of life in order to purify the mind and bring wisdom,
love, and equanimity to the center of our lives.
—Phillip Moffitt, “The Mindfulness of the Buddha”
—Phillip Moffitt, “The Mindfulness of the Buddha”
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Embracing Our Mistakes
Turning
toward our mistakes with forgiveness rather than judgment or blame
contributes significantly toward feeling peace in our heart. It is like
bringing a soothing balm to painful parts of ourselves that we have long
rejected.
—Mark Coleman, “Why Are We So Hard On Ourselves?”
—Mark Coleman, “Why Are We So Hard On Ourselves?”
Monday, May 13, 2019
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - May 12, 2019 💌
To live consciously you must have the courage to go inside yourself to find out who you really are, to understand that behind all of the masks of individual differences you are a being of beauty, of love, of awareness.
When Christ said, “The kingdom of heaven is within” he wasn’t just putting you on. When Buddha said, “Each person is the Buddha” he was saying the same thing. Until you can allow your own beauty, your own dignity, your own being, you cannot free another. So if I were giving people one instruction, I would say work on yourself. Have compassion for yourself. Allow yourself to be beautiful and all the rest will follow.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: Breaking the Distraction Habit
One of the insidious things about the distraction habit is that we often don’t even realize it’s happening. It sneaks up on us, like old age, and before we know it we’re addicted and powerless. But we’re not really. The power we have is our awareness, and you can develop it right now.
—Leo Babauta, “Dropping Distraction”
—Leo Babauta, “Dropping Distraction”
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Embrace the Mess
This
is the gift of mothering as practice—a kind of inclusiveness that
embraces chaos and grit and imperfection. It’s not based on control or
keeping things tidy.
—Anne Cushman, “Mothering as Meditation Practice”
—Anne Cushman, “Mothering as Meditation Practice”
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Via Daily Dharma: Finding Our Place
Right livelihood involves mindfulness of our place in the whole, and thus becomes the foundation for intelligent social activism and ecological responsibility.
—Krishnan Venkatesh, “Why Right Livelihood Isn’t Just About Your Day Job”
—Krishnan Venkatesh, “Why Right Livelihood Isn’t Just About Your Day Job”
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