Spiritual Compass

Sometimes in my daily life I feel as if I've strayed away from my ideals, or perhaps have gotten weighed down in the mundane and need a refresher, a reminder of the bigger picture. For me the bigger picture is one viewed through my lens of my buddhist understanding and my desire to live a fruitful and peaceful life. This book by Satish Kumar (editor of Resurgence magazine) is a wonderful and gentle read (probably due to the fact he has been a monk), and while it poses tough questions it also provides some answers for that as well, through his eleven points of action.

The main idea of the book is about cultivating the 'three qualities of life' for which he uses the Indian Ayurvedic tradition to illustrate. Like buddhism, Ayurveda describes qualities of mind, three qualities, that influence our entire lives. Sattva, the highest, most desired quality, is about calmness, clarity and purity. The middle quality is Rajas which encompasses passion and energy, and then there's Tamas, which encompasses dullness and ignorance. One can view the entire world through these three gunas, from food (spicy being more rajasic), to housing (concrete ugly buildings being tamasic) to people-- most of whom encompass at least two if not all three qualities at some level. Seeing in this way, we can then seek to balance those qualities in ourselves and in our surroundings, aiming for a more sattvic (peaceful) existence, rather than a tamasic (poisonous) one.

One of the main issues is that of poverty, hunger and food. I often find myself wishing to go back to nature, or living more self-sustaining, and yet at the moment that is just not a possibility. For one thing, we live in a flat, with no garden, no place to grow enough to sustain us. All the nearby allotments are taken, and there is a waiting list.

This is a point raised very articulately in the book, that poverty is not a natural phenomenon. No other animal is denied food and water from the earth-- nor made to pay for it. Why have we done this to ourselves? No other animal claims ownership. Sure they probably all mark out some territory, but in the end, their needs are met by nature (unless we've put them into a zoo that is). If we wish to become self-sustaining, we still need to buy the land to do that, we can't just pack up and head for the hills, as they'd belong to someone, or the government perhaps.

Here in England there are so many small terraced homes without gardens, in fact the same in any urban area, so a great majority of people would be stuck without any means to feed themselves should the whole commercial structure collapse.

Satish talks about the point of return, meaning we all need to take a step back, to try and live simpler lives. I have many grateful days when I truly appreciate the things I do have. I am happy to have money to buy food and have a roof over my head. But when I think deeper about what life used to be like, I wonder whether we are really 'evolved' at all. Just looking at the bread sitting inside a plastic bag brought a strange realisation of the artificiality of our lives. I took this book out the library, but it is certainly the type of book I'd consider buying to keep to refer to again and again, for when pessimism (tamasic) takes over, or you lose sight of the bigger picture.

Earth energy vs. Money energy

My husband and I were having this conversation a while back, about why it seems slower here in England vs. America. I haven't lived on the continent (Europe) so I can't say what its like there, but I have read some blogs from there and one woman who agreed with me in that, we live slower over here. I definitely live slower here than in chicago, perhaps its the difference of city vs. country. But I think its more than that.

My husband's belief is that earth energy is slow. Like Dharma energy in Buddhist terminology..dharma is everything around us, spiritual energy. It can seem quick at times, as when you experience 'instant karma', but really, it's probably not instant at all but a long accumulation, just coming into play at the right moment. Money energy is fast, as I have witnessed it slipping through my hands on many occasions!! Think, 'burns a hole in your pocket' or the craziness of the traders on the stock market floor. It can amass quickly, and disappear just as quick. To my thinking, a society consumed with the idea of money, is a fast one. Hence, America is faster than England, as it does hold more capitalistic, than socialistic beliefs.

Earth energy is old and grounding and slow moving. This is not scientific or anything, just my belief. The healing power of nature is well documented. Many inner city schools that have developed gardens for the children to use, have noticed the positive changes in behaviour it produces. Earth energy allows you, when you are in touch with it, to savour the moment, the present moment fully, as that is all there is. We can conceive of the future, remember the past, but can only touch and smell and experience this moment, now. As Kahlil Gibran wrote, "..the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness, and knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream."

Gifts in various forms

The week has started with a smile, and not a moment too soon, after spending most of last week ill and grouchy. It has started with gifts. I have been asked to contribute a regular column to The Mother Magazine, based here in the UK, but distributed in over 40 countries! I'm delighted and nervous about that!

We have also been given a Ganesh figure as a gift, from an acquaintance which is strangely appropriate since we have been talking about him a fair bit lately, and my son is going to visit a Hindu Temple on a school trip this week. My other Ganesh figure was also a gift many years ago, and has been broken since we moved back here. I tend to believe in omens (though I like to ignore them sometimes..think, head in the sand) and when nearly all my spiritual items, buddha, ganesh etc. appeared broken when they came out of the box they were shipped in, well, I wasn't feeling ecstatic about moving back here at the time.

Ganesh is a remover of obstacles, so what could it mean to have him broken? He can also cause obstacles to those who need to be checked.. hmm. And then I read that its bad luck to have only a two armed Ganesh, which was what my first one was (this new one has four arms)..but I can't remember where I read that, or find it again, but have also read that a two armed form is much older. The past two years have been a learning experience indeed, and it has felt like a 'container' period.. we were re-grouping, adjusting, growing (including a baby!) and simplifying. It was all necessary, we had to get our feet firmly planted on the ground before taking any more great leaps. I'm hoping the arrival of a second Ganesh in our house means "wherever there is Ganesha, there is prosperity and success".