February 2021 — Shamanic Meditation Studies – Minding the Gap!
I plan to hold our February meeting on Saturday February 20, at 3 pm Arizona (5 pm eastern) time.
I often wear a hat that says "Mind the Gap." It is an ongoing reminder to stop and refocus attention on the spaces between physical and nonphysical (thoughts) objects of attention. This ongoing "meditation" is one of the ways that I allow life to flow to, and through – "me."
Such conscious gaps in awareness are where our Dream Essence is magically revealed; just ike a magic eye book. No past, no future, no government, and no religion.
Please explore and post what you notice.
One of my favorite promise of spring memories is the smell of the mud when the snow is melting into rivulets running into the earth.
Wow!!! I just snapped to and realized that I’ve forgotten to think or feel my way through the day. So amazing when this happens.
Outdoors in CT:
Amazing blue sky. Mounds of snow and patches of grass. Cool temps. Slightest breeze with a hint of spring.
I took it in with open eyes, seeing trees, snow and mud.
I looked again with an open heart, this time feeling the plants and energy of Mugwort, Horesetail, Perriwinkle and Willow. It was/is glorious. They might not be visible yet but they are here.
Last night I was at the stove putting the dinner on low heat, when the clock said 7:03 and then I heard , it’s drum night! Thank you all for hailing me in, yet there’s a funny part of this. Being up in the boonies we have limited internet service and my husband was all ready on a multi party zoom call , so I logged in heard KD chanting , swoon, but you were all blacked out! I thought Keshav did that on purpose for a change, then realized our service couldn’t pull it in, but I was able to hear! Thought of you Russ, hear no Evil, see no evil, ? Speak no evil?!! Glad I was there and I know you all were too. Namaste. Love.
I am not Catholic, or religious, but I love to go into very old Catholic Churches to feel the energy which is collected from many years of the spiritually faithful. When I was a child, my friend would bring me to church with her and it was so much better then because most of it was in Latin. There is nothing more uplifting to me than the heartfelt song of a choir. Or more comforting than the chanting of monks. Thanks for the story of your grandfather, Keshav. I am not religious, but I don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
Just listening Russ. Thank you for your clarity. It is critical that we acknowledge that is our choice to keep, or set aside, the cards we were dealt.
Hell is a choice – In my opinion… we’ve all been victimized one way or another, but we are not all victims. What a terrible card to give someone and tell them this is why you are unhappy. Talk about a filter… yet, the more I find it within myself, the happier I become. Just sayin…
Thank you for sharing your experience with your Grandfather. I found it deeply moving. How fortunate you both were. I love you too.
Missy – I still stand by my words that "boredom is the driving force of the universe." Is there really any difference between eternal heaven and eternal hell? I also realize that I have some explaining to do.
Russ, it did not go unnoticed that you didn’t speak. I wish we had known it wasn’t a choice. Thanks for your comments. Your sharing your experience at group is a perfect example how we suffer when we think we know what is going on when we don’t at all. Been there, done that!
Keshav I would love it if you would cover some of what was discussed last night, it was chock full of incredible deep connections. I got lost a couple times and couldn’t even hear you, didn’t plan on that! Not overwhelmed just Lost. Reminds me of a dream I had a couple nights ago where I was above a beautiful turquoise River watching people floating down and I got in, but I couldn’t swim to shore it was like soft buoyant jello and took me away. Like that. Namaste. Love. Missy
Some times I’m in service to myself. Sometimes I’m in the service of others. It’s very telling I think, that I fall into clarity, far more often when I’m being in service to others. Being in service to myself is when I feel the hard, stale state of monotony and the constrictions of boredom.
Cosmologies – As I believe I shared previously, I had a robust Christian experienced and was content within that structure. A structure, implies predefined boundaries. It happened though, that I began having some profound Shamanic experiences that Christianity could not make room for. Subsequently, I was forced by an obvious reality to See a Cosmology which was much larger. So much so, that I realized, this new Cosmology was infinitely large with no boundaries. Freedom Absolute! The "Shamanic" Cosmology makes room for my Christ experience, but the inverse isn't true. At that point of understanding, I began to open my eyes at last.
lol, I was having a bad dream on yesterday’s zoom meeting that I was not being heard. Said some hellos and started to jump into the conversation, but, nothin. Turns out, along with the mute button on zoom, i have a physical button on my headset/microphone and the mute button was on. I got quite a laugh after the call when I realized. :o, 🙂
Love to hear the different ways people in circle “Mind the Gap” This month, I have turned to music more. Finding the space between the notes, finding the space between form and formless. Allowing form to melt or merge with energy of the frequency. One of my new favorites is Deva Premal & Miten – Lokah Samasta (live in Ljubljana) from Keshav’s YouTube Chants playlist. He shared it recently during a Thursday night circle. I’m sure at some point, I had heard it before but it was like nothing I had heard before. Something about it reached out to my unrooted presence, helping me calm, reminding me to breathe, just breathe along with the music, not too fast, not to slow. And in that invitation, music and form merged. I also rediscovered Delta Sleep in the playlists. Listened to countless times, again it was new as a quiet but steady drumbeat helped me drift into peaceful sleep.
Paul Klee is quoted as saying “A drawing is just a line going for a walk” I’ve been playing with ink pens and before reading this latest ASG post I had drawn a line that stopped and started with many Gaps in between lines as it took a walk. While starting this particular line I heard “Why does a line need to be continuous?” So the simple drawing is a line with many gaps, and then a line can flow though it’s own gaps if it chooses. There’s something about it that intrigues me right now. Try it, try both ways, continuous and with Gaps and you’ll see/feel what I mean. Namaste.
I cannot see what I cannot feel.
I tried the mirror work and it wasn’t until I remember to look into my eye that my face transformed. My experience was lots of movement of light and shadow and my eye appearing to be jiggling and winking at me. It certainly makes me ask what is real?
My experience of “the energy between objects” is that of love, peace, compassion, truth. I would guess the energy of “shimmering” and “glow,” are one and the same energy, one perceived through seeing and the other through feeling. What is important is what we do with this energy. Hopefully it spills over into what we do and say and how we treat “others” and “ourselves.” Thanks for sharing your experience. I love the exposure to the different experiences shared in our group, which expand my view of what is.
Clearly, the energy of the space between objects is shimmering.
And, the movement of energy around objects appears to glow.
Experiencing the vibrant yet still nature of Nothing is Everything.
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Mirror work is powerful. While doing some mirror work today, I noticed that commentary about me was subsumed by undifferentiated light. It took about 10 minutes (of clock time) for stillness to both shimmer, and glow. While this marriage of energies played out, it was apparent that the chatter did not go anywhere. Neither did the Me watching the me in the mirror, as he surrendered to Now.
What a gift it is to see (experience) the light of my Original Face.
Commentary and all…
Like pulling the ‘structure’ filter… and finding how natural it is. Noticing fluidity, as fluidity.
Sometimes you hear the phrase ‘behaving as if they don’t have a care in the world’. Noticing the gaps, one is aware of the interconnectivity of existence; oneness is clear. I feel the interdependence and support and go about life without fear. As Betty writes, ‘nothing means anything, nothing is of importance, nothing is judged.”
The contrast between “in the gaps” and what my attention is on when “not in the gaps” is amazing. All those things that seemed so important, all those things I judge, all the things I thought I knew about are experienced completely differently. Nothing means anything, nothing is of importance, nothing is judged. Life does feel “free flowing,” I am free flowing. All there is, is now and freedom. And this is where “magic” can be experienced. It is like cleaning out a cluttered room and finding something you forgot you had.
I recently framed a large magic eye poster, and hung it up on my bedroom wall as a reminder of what that space feels like. I love how instantly I can be swept away if I am willing.