I begin my meditation by taking my seat and offering the vow I learned in the Warriors for the Human Spirit training I’ve been engaged in since early 2018 based on the Shambhala teachings brought to the US by Chogyam Trungpa:
“I cannot change the way the world is, but by opening to the world as it is, I may discover gentleness, decency and bravery are available not only to me but to all human beings.”
This is both a blessing and a commitment. The commitment is to create gentleness, decency, and bravery in myself and my interactions with others. By doing so, I strive to model these qualities so all with whom I interact can live into the possibility of being gentle, decent, and brave.
I also offer blessings to many through the practice of Tonglen – giving and receiving what I sense is needed for people living in difficult situations. This begins with tapping into the energy and emotions that come with challening times and imagining for myself what it might be like to be living in the those circumstances. Then I consider what blessing would be useful, like sending love and healing energy to my sister when she was in the hospital, sending patience, perseverance and perspective to those who are experiencing great loss, or peacefulness for those living with uncertainty in the chaos of change.
Shrines: I’ve had a shrine since 2018 that I adapted from the one that my te acher had for our Warrior Training sessions. It includes 5 cups with water representing the 5 senses – a reminder to use my senses to know right action. It has flowers as a connection to the earth. It has a candle to connect with sky. I have a photo of my warrior teacher, Jerry Granelli, and a photo of the creator of the warrior training program, Meg Wheatley along with several of my warrior companions taken in Zion National Park where the energies and magical beings come together in profound ways.
Since our last session, I’ve started creating a kitchen shrine that has symbols of the shared lineages of my husband and myself. These include a stained glass chalice image reminding me of my Unitarian Universalist roots that encouraged me to find my true spiritual path that brought me here. Also a photo book of Italy, my husband’s lineage, and a shotglass from Ireland, one of my geographic lineages. Also a wooden dolphin given to me from a women’s circle I created in the 1990’s signed by all the women.
In many ways, most of my home is a shrine to the many teachers, companions, and elders who have informed my life journey. I am so blessed.