The Art of Detachment

 Yesterday, in the heat of the day, I took a short swim and felt the cold water shake me out of the shroud of sadness I had been clinging to. I sat in the shade and prayed about a worrisome situation, allowing myself to release my tight grip for a few seconds. Moments later, as I stared at the contrast of blue sky with white clouds and green swaying trees, I "heard" clearly, a command that was not audible but very clear: "Do nothing".  Surprised, I thought to myself, "what a strange answer to prayer!"  

Yet, those words brought me tremendous relief; a feeling of a weight being lifted.  My body instantly relaxed and I was silent for several minutes. Sad to say, I did not heed this advice on that particular day. I once again took up my mantle of control, but I pondered this command and it has stayed with me through the night.

Detachment, as a spiritual practice, is the art of letting go of that which we cannot control. It is a core tenet of Al-Anon, Buddhism and many other philosophies.  It is what allows people to remain strong in unthinkably painful situations...as one cedes control to a Higher Power, a deep wellspring of inner strength can be found.  

An exercise in detachment philosophy is found in this excerpt from:

 https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/practice-detachment/

Every spiritual tradition includes some form of offering (and some form of God), but for detachment practice, the two most powerful ways to offer are to dedicate your actions and to turn over your fears, desires, doubts, and obstructions to the one Consciousness. Offering our actions helps train us to do things not for any particular gain or personal purpose but simply as an act of praise or gratitude, or as a way of joining our consciousness to the greater Consciousness. Offering our desires, fears, and doubts loosens the hold they have on us, reminding us to trust in the Presence—the source of both our longings and their fulfillment.

Here is what the practice of offering might look like.

• First, call to mind the largest and most benign level of reality you can connect to—whether it is humanity, a particular teacher or divine form, a sense of oneness, or simply the great collective of the natural world: humans, animals, plants, the earth and air, the stars and planets and space itself. Or simply become aware of your own being, the Presence or energy that feels most essential to your life.
•  Once you’ve done this, bring to mind the action you’re about to do or the outcome you’re hoping to bring about. Mentally make an offering of it to the Presence. You can say something like, “I offer this to the source of all, asking that it be accomplished in the best possible way.” If your issue is a strong attachment or something that disturbs you about yourself, your life, or someone else, bring it to mind and offer that. You might say, “May there be balance and harmony in this situation,” or “May things work out for the benefit of all,” or “May things work out according to the highest good.”
• If you care deeply about what you’re offering—your desire for a particular relationship, or your wish for the well-being of yourself or of someone you love—you may notice that you’re reluctant to let go of it. If that’s the case, offer it again. Keep offering it until you feel a loosening of your identification with your hope, fear, desire, anger, or feeling of injustice. Whenever you feel the clutch of attachment, offer it again. 
• Once you’ve made the offering, let yourself linger in the feeling space you’ve created inside yourself. The nurturing force of the Presence is the only power that really dissolves fears and attachments. The more we get to know that vast, benign energy, the more we realize it is the source of our power and love. And that’s when our detachment becomes something greater—not detachment from desire or fear but awareness that what we are is so large, it can hold all of our smaller feelings inside itself and still be completely free.

This exercise has been helpful for me, as I hope it may be for some of you. Those of us who have been "doers" and "fixers" and "controllers" for most of our adult lives, may find that a little detachment can be a very healthy thing.

 Go in peace.

 

 

Solstice Rain Dance

I confess that my first thought this morning, as I heard the steady drumbeat of rain on my window, was not "Oh terrific, a rainy day!"  Yet when I walked outside, I felt the earth receiving the blessing of water with thanksgiving and so I immersed myself in it for a minute or two.  I felt the rain on my face...the cooling refreshment of it; I listened to the birds rejoicing, and noticed the beauty of raindrops on flower petals in the early morning light.

 I think of the areas in the American west that are experiencing severe drought right now and the people who are praying for rain. Like the Native Americans, who considered rain to be a blessing and performed ceremonial rain dances to invoke the skies to open and rain to fall, they long for the cooling refreshment of water from the sky.

 Like those who lived before the days of plumbing, garden hoses and irrigation systems, when people relied on rain to keep their crops alive, those living in drought need rain to sustain them. Earth's water, falling from the sky, has always and will continue to be, essential to our survival.  

Today, here, right now, on the first official day of summer, I give thanks for the blessing of rain and for all the gifts of the earth.  I look outside and see that the sun is now shining and know that all growing things, nourished by the rain, will now turn to the sun...flowers opening up to embrace the morning, blades of grass arching upward, birds flapping the rain from their wings and rejoicing in the summer light.

As we look forward to the long summer days ahead, may we give thanks to God and His beautiful creation, so intricately designed and interconnected. May we breathe the freshly washed air and embrace the Summer Solstice.  May we dance in praise of rain and sun and all growing things!

The Light of Everything

The other morning, I was walking in the park with my son when we heard beautiful female voices singing "Morning Has Broken", by Cat Stevens. 

 We followed the music and realized that there was a service of some kind in the amphitheater.  The surrounding hillside was filled with people in lawn chairs, listening solemnly as the music filled the air.  We continued walking up the hill to the Veteran's Memorial at the top, which overlooked the amphitheater and surrounding area, and sat on a stone bench to listen.  

Someone was speaking a message about connecting to God and people through music and leaving the earth in some small way better than when you entered.  We realized that this was a celebration of life; a memorial service for someone we didn't know, but whose life had touched others profoundly. As we listened, the whole area seemed to be suffused in light, as if a thousand angels were watching along with us. I was deeply moved and as we walked on, felt that this might be a message of hope for us as well.  By chance, we had happened upon this scene and been blessed by the life and death of a stranger who was deeply cherished by others. We had become part of his life story.

We had connected to something beyond ourselves, something beyond any person sitting at that service.  The Light of everything, that Spirit who binds us together, was and is present, everywhere and always.

One human life well-lived may not seem like much- a tiny spark in a vast ocean of lives, but it is in the connections with others and with the world around us that we make a difference.  Everything we do radiates out in a ripple effect, positive or negative, leaving behind impressions and causing change in the world. 

As I sit here this morning, I reflect on this message and pray that God will direct my path today, that I might create, in some small way, a positive ripple.  Praise for the morning!

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

Sweet the rains new fall, sunlit from Heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God's recreation of the new day

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world

-Cat Stevens

In the Flow

I step out into the morning and the warm breeze is stirring the leaves of the trees as flower petals drift to the ground in a lovely dance. For a moment, I enter into the space between time and see the flow of everything...interconnected and luminous and, as I step back into the pattern of thought, wonder why we find it so hard to live in this flow.

 

Of course, I know the answer as soon as I ask the question. Our world is so vastly different from what I experienced in that moment of flow. Our days are ordered and scheduled; hours divided into minutes and seconds. We live by rules and laws, we have commitments and obligations; bills to pay and people to feed.  Unlike nature, which has its own sequence and order within the flow of  the Master Designer, we feel the need to control every aspect of our lives, to micro-manage, judge and evaluate everything, including and especially ourselves. We humans try to manage our lives like mini-gods and when something unexpected comes our way, we can fall apart if it doesn't fit into our carefully orchestrated world order.  

So how do we pattern ourselves after nature, letting go of the control and entering into the Divine flow while still maintaining a sense of rhythm and order?

I think it starts with staying in the present moment, not wasting precious energy planning the future or ruminating on the past. The bible tells us to stay alert and watchful, letting go of fear and moving through life, embracing each moment and focusing on what is excellent and praiseworthy.  I believe we need to take some time each day to be still, to connect to the Divine flow of life, to release anything in our lives that doesn't feel authentic.  

To start, just go outside and breathe; notice the movements of nature, the beauty of creation. Use all of your senses: what do you see?...  what do you hear?... what do you smell?  Then step into the flow of life, become immersed in it, let all thought go and just be. Who are you in this moment, without thought, judgment or ego?  This may be a little scary, I know, but it can reveal truths about areas that need to be excavated and released.  If you ask, you will receive answers and open up new doors of experience.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you".
-Jesus,   Matthew 7:7