Week 2 Essay
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I have two very tiny shrine-like areas in my 2 small homes. In my main home I have a small alter table from Nepal with artifacts from my travels, special stones or small gifts someone special gave me, a candle, and some hand chimes.
These areas are where I meditate. I also have Dali Lama’s photo, a few prayer scarfs given to me in Nepal, and mandala paintings I made at a retreat; at my desk. Helps me be calm and centered in that space.
I try to create a calm, peaceful living environment all around me with music, lighting, and good aromas(incense, diffused oils) so that friends, family, and workers in my environment feel the ambiance of peace- not any particular altar room.
As far as offerings- I only offer the merit of my yoga practice most days. And blessings? I only occasionally ask for my children or someone that I know is struggling ; to be blessed. I do not really believe in asking for things while I am practicing yoga or meditation or any spiritual practice. I will be open to hearing in this forum why others find it useful.-
Your thoughtful concern that others might find an atmosphere of peace is a lovely extension of your practice. I have struggled, too, with asking for anything – asking who? Perhaps it is just the asking itself, the holding of intention for the well being of another person, that is the act of bringing the wisdom of lineage as balm for those whom we care about.
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The description of your living environment evokes calm. I like that you incorporate the different senses. I don’t know much about offerings and blessings, but one thing I’ve noticed in trying these things lately is that for me there’s some sense of self compassion in asking for blessings or that the fruits of my practice bless me (in addition to others) – there’s a genuine longing for myself to be blessed. I guess it’s an expression of metta.
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Making offerings: Currently I have one main shrine in a beautiful space that is a renovated attic. The shrine utilizes a large thread box with 2 drawers that belonged to my Dad and used in his store “Henry Loeb Co. Ltd”. It holds loving memories for me. On top I have a photo of Pema, a card from Susan 2 of my teachers who have made a huge difference in my life. I also have the following: tea candle, yarn bird that I made (mixes my love for yarn and nature), a pottery vase (was my mothers & holds her love), a wooden carved figure holding the world (from Ghana where I traveled with my younger daughter & I met the artist who signed it for me & represents my appreciation for people of the world & their art & love for my daughter), 2 little people made of Femo (older daughter made when she was a teenager, brings me joy & her love), small Buddha (given to me by my older daughter, provides me with reminder of wakefulness & my daughter’s love), Tibetan beads/Malas (originally belonged to a Sangha sister in Shambhala who is deceased, reminds me of my beginnings of meditation). It may seem like a lot of my shrine, but they all sit quite comfortably and spaciously!
I have another little shrine that is new and I enjoy walking past it and gazing at it. The following are in my living room on an antique table: a hand-crafted, felted Grandmom (I feel so honored to have 3 young grandsons from my 2 daughters), 4 little crafts that 2 of them made & gave me (reminder of their sweetness), a Troll buddha (my oldest gave me & brings me her love & respect), a plastic alligator (same daughter gave me & reminds me of my lineage of my family growing up in Louisiana) and photos of all 3 of my grandsons (preciousness of human birth and their delightful ways). This is my grandmother shrine.
Since Susan taught about request Blessings I do that in front of my main shrine. After I light the candle, I touch my right shoulder and thank my “teachers”: Pema, Susan, my long-time therapist Carol and a young friend Yoga instructor Anne. I touch my left shoulder and thank my daughters Jenny and Rachel, my grandsons Ezra, Ollie and Sam, my siblings Larry, Henry & Sarah Ann, my grandparents (who I never knew in person), my ancestors and my good friend of almost 50 years Ellyn.
I also chant The Four Dharmas of Gampopa and In the Northwest Land of Uni…on a blooming Lotus flower…-
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Betsy, your shrine seems so beautifully personal, populated with mementos of the special relationships in your life. “Stuff” can be simply attractive doodads, but your assortment seems bathed in love – especially the plastic alligator! We love the people in our lives as they are, and as they were in a shared past that’s meaningful to us.
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The first offering that came to mind reminds me of the old Christian hymn, “Just as I am, without one plea.” My Grandpa loved that hymn, and it always reminded me to present myself as I truly am, that it’s fine, my offering of myself, my humble daily life, my aging body and mind – all are just as I am right now. On my little shrine table I have small things that represent all of the members of my family: seashells collected for me by my children (many years ago) in a glass jar, a bronze elephant paperweight from Grandpa’s desk, a little mug mat Granny knitted as a child, a tiny jade elephant my mother brought me from China, a mala made by the woman who gave me the metta prayer, my framed Refuge Vow name given by Susan, and Pema Chodron’s compassion cards. One son gave me an infuser, and I love to smell forest scents. There is a little watercolor I made with one of Sokuzan’s oft-repeated phrases, “The knot of the mind untangles itself in space.”
And then I ask for blessings by those people, some of whom have died, and by Guan Yin, the Buddha of compassion, whose picture I also have hanging. I have a bit of a struggle with asking blessings, which seems like begging, but perhaps viewing it as inviting these people into my practice feels more welcoming.
I had intended to set up a kitchen shrine, but am struggling to find a spot that won’t be in the way. I was surprised that I immediately saw that I need a shrine near the cozy corner of a sofa where I curl up and read every day. I placed a special tile for my tea mug on the low table, along with a mug my mother gave me with a few pens and pencils, a small stack of beautiful bookmarks people have made for me, and three books that are special to me. I found an antique copper bookend that I may also include. There is also a crown of thorns plant that I do not like (a mutual feeling), that reminds me of living with suffering. And then, in late March, the daylight is just right and will saucily burst out with two-lipped coral blooms. Just to spite me, I’m sure.
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Dear Sue Ellen,
I’ll start with your last comment about the plant. This made me laugh. I can just imagine your relationship with this plant. I have a few plants that have particular meaning for me. They fill me with love.
My shrine also contains objects that relate to family. These bring me great appreciation and joy as I imagine yours do, too.
Thank you for your sharing.
Betsy -
Sue Ellen: “Just as I am, without one plea” – very helpful, thank you for sharing.
Betsy: Thank you for the detailed description of your shrine. It sounds beautiful. Thank you for sharing the meaning behind the objects.I have “completed” one shrine. The items bring a sense of joy, comfort, and humility. I move slowly. I am contemplating the second shrine. Thank you all for the inspiration.
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Thank you Sue Ellen for sharing about your shrines. I appreciated you mentioning your struggle asking for blessings and that it could feel like begging. Asking for blessings is new for me and I’m noticing that I’m not always sure what to ask and that this feels like part of my practice…to open my heart and ask for guidance, protection, and support…even if it’s for asking how to ask for blessings, perhaps?? This struggle might also be a good offering because it feels authentic. I think the most important part is that you are open to communing with the animate energies. Perhaps contemplation and/ or journaling on the struggle of asking might also reveal something helpful to you?
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Blessings and lineages-sort of a reminder that there are other people-besides just me. So that meditation does not become self-care/improvement.
Less clutter in my life- means less distractions and more opportunity for “quiet” mind.
I have a small painting of a rooster in homage to Zen and waking up. Sort of funny to me – how an annoying rooster is used as a description of enlightenment – instead of the Western misunderstanding of peace and wind chimes. Also have a delightful and colorful Happy Buddha statue. reminding to be light and fun- which unsure if that is who I am? or want to be?
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The shrine and offerings are very new to me, just the last couple months since I first found one of Susan’s books, “the wisdom of a broken heart”. I’m still trying to connect ritual to shrine to meditation, back to ritual, or something like that. Or perhaps the question is, how are they separate? My house is somewhat in chaos, as there’s construction and a lot of stuff is stacked in a corner or in my shed so we can redo floors and walls, so I’ve struggled finding a good place for a shrine. But for now one naturally started to happen on my old stove that is never used in my living room. This week im organizing it based on all your shared shrines and some more readings and maybe I’ll be brave enough to share how it ends up. Thank you all for sharing so much!
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Dear Lacey,
I appreciate your comment “connect ritual to shrine to meditation and back”. I hadn’t thought of it in that way, but indeed it’s a great thing to ponder.
I also find your comment that a shrine “naturally started to happen on my old stove” so delightful. I’m imagining in your “house of chaos” as you describe that this old stove says, “Don’t ignore me! I can help. I can be a beautiful shrine!”
I do hope you’ll be brave enough to share.
Best to you,
Betsy -
Lacey, I love the image I’ve created in my mind of your shrine on an old stove in the living room. I am imagining this as an old wood stove that has had a rich history of kettles and pots full of nourishing and comforting food and drink. I imagine it as a gathering place where beloved companions gather to swap stories and share their joys and sorrows. I imagine it as a place to find refuge from the chaos and a place to restore the spirit to prepare for the next round of life’s challenges. I don’t know if any of this is true… but I love the possibility of this shrine being that for you and your beloveds.
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I made two shrines before flying out of town this week. The first was at my kitchen window where I prepare food and mostly do dishes (since my wife is much the superior cook ;). The shelf already had many meaningful objects including found wood and heart shapes stones, wool and crocheted animal objects from my children, ceramic gifts, a small plant, and candles. I added an offering dish and photo of my deceased father, who also was a dish-doer. As I lit the candle I added an offering of chocolate (my dad’s favorite) and, after learning more about how to connect to lineage beyond family, gave gratitude to all those who serve, especially in invisible ways that we may not notice. I asked for nourishment from the food and honored all the sweet moments that arise from breaking bread with others. As it was dusk, I also asked for protection through the night. Having listened to The Emerald, I was more intentional about how I washed each dish and pot, thinking what elements they were made from, their makers, and how they serve us, too…grateful for the water as it cleans, water that makes up my own body, water that gives life.
The second shrine is in a top shelf where I meditate on my third floor. I brought photos of recently deceased friends, one an artist, another a patron of the arts; and both who always supported my work as an artist. I added a memorial I wrote for another friend, painter who recently passed. In the center is a tile with an image of Ganesh (remover of obstacles), three candles, and to the left a book of 500 artists portraits as inspiration and lineage of artists, painters and creatives, asking them for support in the creation of my upcoming art exhibit which is a culmination of a 6-year long Spirit journey. Finally, again inspired by The Emerald episode, I added meaningful objects representing elements -fire (candle), water (in a small offering cup), (earth) a precious stone and tiny piece of drift wood, and (wind) – a tiny metal bell that I used for meditation. I also added a metal screw from the 16 easils I’m refinishing and painting that will hold all of my paintings for the show.
Lastly, since I’ve been traveling this week, I’ve added the practice of making offerings and asking for blessings (before getting on the plane, driving the rental car, before going to bed. While I may not have my shrines, I am using the time to connect more deeply to what is around me – the bird songs, the desert cactus, the sky, the wind, the moon and stars, all the animate energies that hold me in relationship to the elements. Even though this is a “solo” trip (without family) I’m feeling very much NOT alone. It’s been quite calming and I feel more open, curious, and present. I feel less, separate burdened, less fear.
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Oh how beautiful all of your special items feel through your description, Jeffrey! Thank you for the detailed descriptions of both of your shrines. They’ve inspired me to add some simple items from each of the elements to mine. Also your reminder of the ritual of asking for protection at dusk is appreciated.
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First to say, like others here, I’m finding the “Mindfulness Not Enough” podcast extremely rich, deep, helpful. It’s doing for me the very thing its content is suggesting – providing further context for my spiritual practice. (Culture, history, animus, ritual, interdependence, the mind needing a point, population, etc, etc).
Long story kinda short, for years, I’ve had resistance to the proliferation of mindfulness programs, trainings, apps, not only for me as a meditation practitioner, but as a potential teacher as well. I was around when a couple of my teachers including Tara Brach first started up the Mindfulness Meditation Teaching Training Program, and from that time on, I’ve never signed up, for it felt like it’s focus on “secular” (without Buddhism at the core) approach was missing something important for me. That was over a decade ago, and many thousands of mindfulness teachers have come through that training, and thousands more from many other mindfulness teacher training programs. I have definitely felt FOMO as so many of my friends and colleagues have committed to and grown from these programs.
But when I participated in Susan’s/Open Heart Project’s teacher training over a year ago, that experience provided the Buddhist & personal contexts that I’d been missing and longing for.
Re- shrines, offerings and blessings. I’m hoping to attach 4 of the areas in my home that I’m practicing with as shrines. Susan’s description of the 3 components of a practice time including offerings, blessings and dedicating merit was super helpful to me. I’m still pondering steps of “making offerings” (so far for me, lighting candles, adding flowers).
What has especially hit home was requesting blessings (other terms like “invoking,’ ‘seeking.’ ‘inviting,’ calling in’…) I’ve read and re-read Lama Rod Owens’ book Love & Rage, in which he expands on seeking refuge in the traditional 3 Jewels to “7 Homecomings,” by adding guides, community, ancestors/lineages, wisdom texts, the earth, silence and ourselves as sources of refuge to call on.In my own home over the years, I’ve been drawn to gathering & displaying photos of people though my life who’ve impacted me, including teachers (spiritual, work, cultural, political), students I’ve worked with, family, friends, romantic loves. And I’ve found myself often invoking them with the feeling of deep gratitude – and just as Susan talked about these being aspects of ourselves, I’ve often felt how all of these people are part of me.
So, I’m attaching photos of shrines, including one of my hutch filled with photos and symbols of my lineage. That shrine may not fit Susan’s suggestion of “clean,” for there are many shapes and colors and ages and objects – my life has been pretty messy, and this area reflects that.
[Well, not sure how to share the photos – something was said about emailing or some other means, not sure what to do…]
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Ric, it seems lovely to me that you use the word *drawn* to gathering and displaying photos of people who’ve impacted you, it feels very organic and natural and easeful. I also enjoy your reflection of each of these people are part of you, evokes interdependence in a very very real way. I think because I have the honor and joy of knowing you a bit through our Saturday small group I can feel the metta in what you’ve written!
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This is a reply to Ric. (Sorry if this is I’m the wrong format, I’m working from a phone while traveling and struggling to have steady internet and not sure if this is the right place to respond.) Anyway, Ric, I appreciated your essay, much of which resonates with me. Including the FOMO you mentioned. Although I didn’t take Susan’s teacher training (yet) I eventually overcame my fear when, after years of study, several people told me that if I offered guided meditation that they would attend. So I did. But thanks to Susan, I was reminded that I wanted it to stay connected to lineage. So I’ve been very open about my study of Dharma, about meditation not being self-help, etc. and to my surprise, all of my students have stayed with my…and more have joined. This is the power of lineage. Thank you for your courage in taking the next step with your teache training. I hope you are teaching now, too. Blessings to you.
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When I have the time, I complete 15-20 minutes of Yoga prior to sitting in meditation and consider the movement an offering of centering prior to heading to the cushion. I found my way to a deeper meditation practice and Buddhism via Yoga over 25 years ago. After practicing the asanas (movement poses) for awhile, I became interested in Yoga philosophy, which shares many tenets with Buddhism (and feel this is a part of my lineage of my practice). When I take my seat, I ring a Tibetan bowl 3 times (to symbolize the 3 Jewels–another offering). I then chant the Four Dharmas of Gampopa (requesting blessings) before sitting in shikantaza meditation for whatever time I have that day.
I have enjoyed others’ posting about their shrines. I’m pretty much a minimalist and don’t have many sentimental nor kinky-knacky items in my spaces. Perhaps that’s one reason I “resonate” more with opening my meditation session with the ringing of a Tibetan bowl rather than lighting candles, although I do sometimes light incense. I split my time between 2 homes and at the main one, do have a shrine of sorts set up, but these discussions have led me to decide it needs a good refresh once I’m back at that space. Currently I am at the seasonal home, which we purchased furnished. The prior owners were not quite hoarders, but certainly not minimalists, so the few decorative items here are carryovers from the prior owners–after getting rid of lots. Our two BBB sessions have led me to contemplate more what constitutes a “shrine” and over the past few days I have come to view some of these carryover items as inspiration rather than someone else’s left overs. Rather than creating a kitchen shrine from something new, I am feeling blessings coming from the items we chose to keep when we only retained a few items that spoke to us from the prior owner and the rest went to the Goodwill (or Deseret here in Utah!).
But I do believe that ritual is important and brings about deeper practice. I have made attempts on and off to chant the Heart Sutra as part of my routine practice and am inspired to revisit this again.
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I find myself busy as of late, and will keep this short. Not because Im not in love with all of what is happening here. Just the tides are pulling me in lots of directions.
I wanted to share that I DID NOTICE the difference between just sitting myself down to meditate vs. opening the shrine, meditating with it, closing the shrine at the end of the day.My shrine right now is a work in progress. It is fascinating to me to notice that what I initially put on there, doesn’t draw me in like I would think. That space is activated and yearning for the pull, the teacher pictures, the true calls of my spirit and desire to connect to that wisdom afoot. I need the objects that do that.
I’ll be changing it – currently it has a Buddha that doesn’t speak to me (the abundance Buddha/its the only one I had, picture of clouds/sky, a candle that extinguished within 12 hrs (need to get more or choose something different there), a bowl with oil pastels, and empty small glass bowl (but will experiment with placing water in there) my buddhist book where I transcribe notes, and a huge mirror behind all of it. I’ll take down what isn’t working.
See, unsettled. But I felt the potential. The difference. And I can’t wait to see it come together as my finances allow and -listening to what longs to be there- unfolds. It needs integrity. So I will take my time.
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Rachel, I appreciate hearing your process – how you’re noticing the difference in just sitting vs. opening and closing your shrine as well as your discernment about what’s longing to be there. Honoring the integrity. I particularly appreciate you allowing yourself to take your time and let this unfold. Sounds like a beautiful, thoughtful, intentional process.
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I was a bit intimidated by the idea of creating a shrine, but I decided to just jump in with what I could find. And like several others in our Saturday morning group, I realized I’ve sort of made tiny shrines around my house just by how I decorate and things I’ve collected. So it wasn’t hard to find things I wanted to include, and I made a small shrine in the area where I meditate. I often meditate at work, and I’ve been thinking about adding a shrine to my desk area, but so far, I now have a candle. Even that makes me feel a bit more elevated in my practice. Along with asking for blessings, which is also new to me, I feel that I’m sitting down with a bit more dignity and purpose. But I’m not sure my actual meditation has changed at all. That part still feels the same, which is noisy lately. Interestingly, my mind has been feeling less noisy off the cushion, more spacious.
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“Sitting down with a bit more dignity and purpose.” That feels significant. Like, it matters. We keep getting the message that our sitting matters. Even if it’s the same old noisy mind. Thanks for the idea of adding a candle to your work desk, in addition to the shrine in your home meditation area. Sending a message of support to your self (and appreciation for those in your lineage?). Thanks Tracy
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In developing a couple of shrine areas and thinking of them as offerings, and in requesting blessings, I’ve had two vivid discoveries so far.
One is the experience of being connected to my lineage – and the definition of “lineage” is evolving (radical teachers?) – along with connection to Life, even the web of life. (Thank you Susan and Emerald Podcast.) I’ve considered shrines I’ve always placed around my homes as “just how I decorate,” as Tracy said. Mostly expressions of what I love. The spotlight on the element of belonging to lineage(s) and the web of life is new. A wonderful contribution to the ongoing project of forging an identity.
The second discovery is a new sense of the power of the sangha. Sharing and receiving encouragement for this serious life endeavor. All of us taking it on. Soul-making. I feel the support and the connection in our web, and appreciate it deeply. Thank you!
The creation of the shrines is a manifestation of me cherishing my life. Plus playing.
The specific objects in the BBB shrines will be evolving. I’m living with others’ furniture these days, with very little of my own stuff, which is in storage for who knows how long. I have some key items and will be adding more over time. This is pretty delicous. -
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I am in a relatively new house after an out of state move. When I was in the moving process, I carefully packed up my shrine and I remember I felt a little pain because I didn’t know when I would see it again. Luckily we are reunited!
It sits in a beautiful bay window with offerings of candles, stones, shells, plants and my mala. A statue of the the Buddha is in the center. I also have some special cards and photos nearby. It is a very sacred place for me.
Each day before practicing I light a candle or incense and I offer whatever is going on in my heart and request blessings for guidance on along the path.This week for class I constructed a little outdoor shine on our back deck. I am very much a gardener and outside person so this made sense to me.
I wish you all could see it! -
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I’ll be honest – at this point I don’t have a shrine. My meditation has always taken place wherever it was convenient at the time. When I first heard the assignment to create a shrine, it felt a little daunting. After some dithering, I realize I don’t have to create the perfect shrine today. It can be a work in progress, something that will evolve, as my practice evolves. I do like the idea of a dedicated space, created with love and intention.
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Karen, I love your honesty! I appreciate that you felt that creating a shrine was “daunting” and that you realized that it can be “a work in progress”, as everything in life actually is. I love that you are open to having a dedicated space for your practice. I am happy to be on this journey with you.
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We are currently in our winter space, and I am very grateful that I did bring some items to create a shrine on my dresser here. I have a photo of my son, Nate, who passed away in March 2023, a picture of my husband, my other son, Adam, and I, an LED tealight candle, a rose quartz heart, a bracelet that says “hope” on it that my husband gave me for Christmas, a small angel that also says Hope (it’s one of my words for the year), a drawing that someone did for me that represents the essence of my soul, a rock a friend painted that says “Love Lives On” to remind me of my eternal connection to Nate, a couple of crystal angels that were gifted to me, a small sunset canister with Nate’s ashes, a joyful Buddha, a statue of Ganesh, a photo of one of my teachers, and a print that a friend gave me that says, “the bird who dares to fall is the bird who learns to fly.” Everything there fills my heart and connects me to something beyond my human self. I haven’t yet begun to light the candle or remember to request blessings, but I look forward to adding that to my practice this week.
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Hey Barb, your shrine sounds so beautiful and so deeply personal to you. I love how you have so many very personal objects on your shrine. I am sorry for the loss of your son, my heart goes out to you and I hope you are healing in your own way. I can feel, in your words, how special your shrine is to you. I am glad you are open to adding making offerings and requesting blessings to your practice. I am happy to be in this class with you.
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I am so grateful to have learned through this class a way to connect to making offerings that feels…relatable and important. I’ve been aware of this practice for many years but never participated. Hearing Susan’s thoughts, seeing the example of her shrine combined with the Emerald podcast’s deep-dive into context and relationality, made something click into place for me. I’m putting that into action by lighting a candle before my morning sits and putting fresh flowers on the shrine that I’ve recently created (for the first time!). It feels like a lovely container for a renewed practice that has more depth and connection it.
Requesting blessings felt inaccessible and unimportant to me for many years because it seemed too much like a Christian tradition and I never felt connected with that lineage. Also, I asked myself, “from whom am I requesting blessings?”, and I couldn’t answer. When Marisa, my kalyanamitre, introduced me to the Four Dharmas of Gampopa and I read the background of it in the following Shambhala Times article on it (https://shambhalatimes.org/2016/09/15/the-four-dharmas-of-gampopa/), it finally felt… accessible, relatable and important with the explanation of the “to whom” question I’ve had:
“Each line of the Four Dharmas of Gampopa begins with the phrase “Grant your blessings…” It isn’t clear who is being asked to grant their blessings, but a good rule of thumb in buddhadharma is that, even if there is a guru nearby, that teacher’s mind is ultimately the same as yours in its basic buddha nature. However, since we don’t experience ourselves as buddhas, we seem to need to experience enlightened mind as though it is external to us. So we supplicate enlightened mind as though it is outside.”
I’ve started many of my meditations over the last month by reciting the Four Dharmas of Gampopa:
Grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the dharma.
Grant your blessings so that dharma may progress along the path.
Grant your blessings so that the path may clarify confusion.
Grant your blessings so that confusion may dawn as wisdom.It feels a bit less natural and meaningful than the making of offerings at this point, but I plan to continue and allow it to percolate and evolve. Ooooh maybe if I do it in front of the shrine that will pull it together, I’ll try that!
Thanks for reading :-).
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Hey Amy, I love how you say; “made something click into place for me”! It is amazing how Dharma seems to just seep in and make something “click” within ourselves, it is very beautiful that you have found a personalized practice of making offerings and requesting blessings. I love that you are open to exploring ways things that you felt were “inaccessible” to you can become part of your practice in a way that feels right for you. I am happy to be in this class with you.
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My experience of making offerings and requesting blessings at this point is more in my heart and my mind at this point. I have plans to make a couple of shrines but don’t have what I want to put on my shrines at the moment. This is, in part, due to financial reasons to be able to purchase some things I want to have on my shrine, and partly because I don’t have a car to drive to places to acquire the things I want to put on my shrine. This I will assemble over time I am sure.
So, at this time I offer myself, my mind, my heart, and all the crazy & cool “stuff” that is going on in my life. My emotions, all of it I offer when I open my practice and begin to sit and take my meditation posture. Then, as my lineage is of the Kagyu and Nyingma, I chant at the beginning of my practice. I chant The Four Dharmas of Gampopa, The Seven-Line Supplication to Padmakara, The Supplication to the Takpo Kagyu, and then The Heart Sutra. I request blessings from all of the great teachers who went before me, to the Universal Consciousness, to Buddha Nature. Which is no different than my own true nature and everyone’s true nature.
Then I sit for around an hour. After sitting< I dedicate the merit, and then get on with what I plan to do for the day. All I really know is; that when I do my ritual, my day seems to flow or go better or more as I planned. And even in those occasional times that it doesn’t, I tend to be able to be with whatever happens. I was going to say something else, but I think that sums it up; if something goes sideways, I can “be with” what happens better when I practice my ritual and meditation in the morning, I don’t overreact to it, I respond to it, but I don’t seem to spiral in any way. When I don’t practice my ritual and meditation in the morning, which isn’t very often, as I have a pretty regular practice, I just feel as if something is a bit off or different or something. Things just don’t seem to go as well and I am less myself or centered or whatever one might call it.
My ritual and practice is deeply personal and important to me. I feel it.
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As others have said, I consider my shrines to be works in progress — I am still deciding where I would like them all to be and what I would like to include. I fell on the ice two weeks ago, and I’ve been dealing with a wrist injury and surgery on my dominant hand so I’ve been a little distracted from this class and slow to do the homework! I realized when I thought about it that I actually do have plenty of objects around my house that could be collected in one place to make a shrine, and I like the idea of having “incognito” shrines that only I know are there.
I cannot help but associate making offerings and requesting blessings with my Catholic heritage — “smells and bells” as they say! I think that Catholicism uses the same methods that we are talking about in this class to connect to the sacred and it feels pretty natural for me — an easy, well trodden pathway for my mind to go down. Although I no longer actively participate in the Catholic tradition (the reasons as you can imagine are infinite), I was raised in it, and I continue to feel connected to some of the mass, sacred music and the writings of particular theologians. I’ve always felt an affinity to some of the Catholic saints and mystics. Requesting blessings for me sounds like a cousin to Julian of Norwich’s prayer, “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” I find it quite moving to think about all of my ancestors going back generations praying to the same saints and holy women — and I claim it as a part of my lineage. I definitely don’t want my house shrines to resemble Catholic altars, but I think some token or nod to that lineage will be involved (I’m searching for what it will be!) I already have tea lights, incense, and a woodblock print of the Buddha set up in the place where I meditate. I am going to include some books of poetry (Emily Dickinson will be there) that I connect with and maybe some fresh flowers as well. Being intentional about requesting blessings and making offerings makes my practice feel much more expansive and personal.
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