Week Three Essay

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    • #79130
      Susan Piver
      Keymaster

      What comes to mind when you think about your own lineage(s)–and how might that support you in your personal practice?

      This week’s reading: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kni5-KeE5AL6AtIP9XvOE5o9dRrceBy_/view

    • #79140
      Karen Daughtry
      Participant

      Reflecting on the question of lineage, there were many, many teachers (formal and informal) that helped to shape the person I’m becoming, but most of them sort of melt into the background in the context of the experiences that they facilitated. It was the “experience of the experience” that was important, it wasn’t necessarily the name or personality of whoever was facilitating the experience.

      The ones that I can name that had a lasting influence (good or bad) are from a variety of fields: energy work, dance, art, school, family – however I don’t detect a thread that holds them together (unless the thread is me). There isn’t one lineage that I can point to, except my ancestors and family, from whom I feel rather disenfranchised. Alternatively, I could say that I have an “Energy Work” lineage, plus a “Healthcare profession” lineage, as well as an “Art” lineage and a humble “Subsistence Employment” lineage. Then there are the feminist writers, the spiritual writers, the writers on health and psychology, the historians, novelists, poets and playwrights. Is there such a thing as a literary lineage?

      The question is: Do these lineages support my personal meditation practice, and if so, how? That’s a very hard question for me, because I feel that I have my own kind of “conduit” to the Divine, and it wasn’t bestowed upon me by anyone in human form. This is not to discount the great influences that I have both endured and been blessed with. I say “endured,” because it seems to me that the painful experiences have imparted the most information to me throughout my human life.

      Going through the thought process to arrive at the answers through writing this essay (I love when that happens), I can conclude that the healing energy modalities that I’ve studied have been the most inspiring and important to my meditation practice, because meditation has been part of my life for so many years due to my esoteric studies. Healing Touch, Reiki, and other modalities provided support and context for the Truth (with a capital “T”) that I intuited but was missing from my upbringing and education. I came into energy studies as a way to be of service – and I’m still learning.

      • #79155
        Allison Potter
        Participant

        I enjoyed your essay, Karen.
        This spoke to me: “it seems to me that the painful experiences have imparted the most information to me throughout my human life.”
        I also love how answers can arrive like yours did in your essay. I have a suspicion that is why Susan assigns them :).

      • #79204
        Dominic Young
        Participant

        I love your essay Karen and the way that you “intuited” your own Truth by learning and experiencing life! It seems to have a magical quality to it, which is often the way when finding your Truth within and from your own experience. And I too have found that the most painful have actually taught me the most! Beautiful essay.

    • #79143
      Betsy Loeb
      Participant

      My lineage and who I request blessings from? Fortunately for me I’ve previously heard Susan’s teaching on how to keep my practice spiritual. I ask blessings from a few teachers from Buddhist tradition (Pema, Susan), my therapist (Carol), a spiritual friend (Anne). When I say their names, I touch my right shoulder. Others are my personal, family lineage (my daughters, grandsons, my siblings) and those who are deceased (my parents, grandparents and my ancestors) and my long-time personal friend (Ellyn). I then touch my left shoulder.

      I also evoke blessings through a “chant” that Susan offered: “Hum, in the Northwest land of Udeana (sp?) on a blooming lotus flower…” and “Grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the Dharma…”. These don’t specify a particular person, but for me evoke the spiritual leaders of the Tibetan Buddhist lineage going back to the Buddha.

      I also feel flexible that if I find that I want to add to my lineage for blessings such as my Jewish heritage, or elderly divorced women living alone, or grandmothers or those searching for Peace and sanity that I may do that as well!!

      • #79144
        Betsy Loeb
        Participant

        I couldn’t figure out how to edit my response to essay. But the “Land of Udeana” as I wrote I believe the correct spelling is “Uddiyana”.

        • #79158
          Jenn Peters
          Participant

          Betsy – I love this practice of touching each shoulder to acknowledge these lineages – it really brings to mind that they are right there with you, guiding you, hey? I may just have to try this!

      • #79154
        Allison Potter
        Participant

        I love this Betsy; I can relate to using Susan’s teachings to keep the practice spiritual. I tried the chanting piece as well, but it did not resonate with me.

      • #79209
        Ann Harmon
        Participant

        Betsy, I really love the ritual of tapping the light shoulder for your living lineage and your left for the ones no longer here. How beautiful that is,. Where did that come from? I like the idea of a song or mantra. Thank you.

      • #79210
        Helene Melancon
        Participant

        Thank you Betsy for explaining that you touch your shoulder when you ask for blessings. I love the physical gesture. You mentioned this in our breakout group, and I tried it this week. It helped me practice while feeling the support of my lineage.
        And also your flexibility to add those you feel closer to that day, or to include them all. I will try that as well 🙂

      • #79233
        Kimberly Hillebrand
        Participant

        Thank you, Betsy, for the idea of having a physical affirmation of your lineage! Beautiful!

      • #79273
        Jana Sample
        Participant

        Betsy, I love these physical representations and elements of your practice. I’ve been feeling a need to add something like this, to somehow feel more in my body while I ask for blessings. It’s still feeling a bit foreign to me and I find my mind jumps in a bit much. Thank you so much for sharing this. 🙂

    • #79153
      Allison Potter
      Participant

      I rather enjoy incorporating the three steps of making offerings, requesting blessings, and dedicating the merit. There’s something about it that makes it more intentional, ceremonial even. It breaks up the monotony of it for me. It also allows me time to check in with myself. How am I feeling right in this very moment? I offer that. What do I feel like I need in support in this moment or in this journey? I request blessings. And then after practice, if it felt good or “bad”, offer it up– teaching me compassion for self and others. When I heard Susan discuss this a few months ago, I have tried to do it ever since.

      What comes to mind when you think about your own lineage(s)–and how might that support you in your personal practice?
      I have been on a journey of searching for “god” for as long as I can remember. I have explored many traditions. Sometimes I go back to God as Jesus, even if I do not necessarily believe everything about the Christianly complex–it is still a part of me.
      Sometimes I request blessings from my “highest self”. It differs from each day, but I usually try to request blessings in order to become the best version of me. I am also trying to learn self-compassion and self-esteem, and I find that it helps me to not hope and request to be anyone else.

      • #79160
        Jenn Peters
        Participant

        I liked your perspective here, Allison, and this idea that even though we may not keep “everything” about a particular tradition with us, there is wisdom in so many teachings that we can still appreciate. I also like this idea to try not to make requests around being anyone else other than you are so as to offer yourself some compassion. I could use a bit of this myself!

      • #79202
        David Minarro
        Participant

        Allison,
        I can relate to turning to the Christian interpretation of God, even though there is so much to disagree with, especially for me in the establishment around that tradition, or all stablished religions we could say. But turning to God in that sense continues to bring me a sense of help and protection that really helps me. However, I also like to know that we are spiritually curious and critical people who look for answers in many other directions, especially within ourselves, as you point out at the end of your answer.
        Kindly, David

      • #79208
        Ann Harmon
        Participant

        Allison, thank you for your lovely response. I love and identify with different lineages coming up, perhaps each time you meditate. Self-compassion is a tough one for me also it is good for me to keep that in mind. I am hardest on myself. Thanks

      • #79274
        Jana Sample
        Participant

        I identify so much with what you’ve said, Allison. It does bring a ceremonial aspect and intention to the practice which feels like exactly what I’ve needed. And the check in is wonderful, I agree.
        I also find that Christianity is deep in me, for better or worse. But it’s nice to reflect on the good parts and let them be just that.
        Thank you for sharing this.

    • #79157
      Jenn Peters
      Participant

      When I think about my own personal lineage and who I might call on during my practice, I think of it sort of as circles that go outside of me from grosser to subtle. In my inner circle of lineage, I have my mother, who is still alive, and my grandmother, who isn’t, and their wisdom, and my grandmother’s voice I can always hear in my head since her passing, but even before her, the women that came before her that I never met, and their wisdom which I carry with me. Familial lineage.

      In my Buddhist practice, I have living teachers like Susan, Pema, and others who influenced me with their teachings before I even considered what lineage or practice they might embody—it was all just “Buddhism” for me at the beginning, but how interesting that I was drawn to certain lineages and other teachers just didn’t “stick” in the same way. Buddhist Living traditions lineage.

      After that ring of influence around the central “me,” there are their teachers and lineage, people like Tulku Thondup, who I am still learning about, and Chogyam Trungpa, who I am more familiar with, and many others, back and back for thousands of years. Buddhist ancestral linage.

      Then, because of my other adjacent spiritual practices of yoga and kung fu, I have those lineages to consider, as well, and important teachers to recognize.

      I wonder if this makes sense to anyone but me, but in terms of how this all can support me in my personal practice, I think it’s nice to consider all these people that make up this lineage because it puts little “me” and my supposed “big” problems in perspective, for one. I am a part of something bigger than me, and there is a connection there to something larger in the universe that also involves a little bit of “magic,” for lack of a better word. These practices supported so many that came before me, and more importantly, they endured, so there must be something to ’em, right? Suddenly my problems aren’t such a big deal!

      Secondly, from a position where I am always conscious of cultural appropriation and toxic wellness, it’s important for me to recognize in my practice that these traditions were carried by people from a culture not my own and from a land not my own, and so it’s my wish to honour my privilege that through their efforts, I am able to reap their benefits today.

      • This reply was modified 9 months, 1 week ago by Jenn Peters.
      • #79161
        Karen Daughtry
        Participant

        Jenn, I appreciate your mention of “something larger in the universe” and the connection going back thousands of years as well as your close family connections. The cultural appropriation issue is on my mind a lot, as well, when it comes to utilizing practices that are not part of my heritage. Thank you for your clear and helpful observations.

      • #79203
        David Minarro
        Participant

        Jenn,
        I find it very curious that you were unknowingly attracted to sources from the same branch of Buddhism, when we are discovering that there are so many different traditions. Something similar happened also to me, and I find it interesting to be aware of it. I appreciate your observation about cultural appropriation, since it is something that we should not lose sight of at any time to develop our path with the greatest possible vehemence and respect for this ancestral wisdom.
        Best regards,
        David

      • #79206
        Dominic Young
        Participant

        I love your metaphor of “circles” of wisdom holders around you as being part of your lineage, Jenn, and how they get finer the closer they are to you and less fine the further away they are from you! And I can relate to your way of understanding how your lineages support your practice. It seems that it helps you to know you are not alone in having whatever issues you might be going through in the moment and that your lineage allows you to shift your perspective, that others also have similar things they are going through. There definitely is some kind of magic in being held within some kind of lineage. Thank you for your essay, it touched my heart.

      • #79220
        Kate Wolfe-Jenson
        Participant

        Jenn, thank you for your “concentric circles” model. It makes sense to me and is a useful way to organize thinking about lineage.
        Your post invites me to gratitude for living voices (like Susan and a few other teachers I have heard). It’s wonderful to hear those people describe how we can respond to the current times. On the other hand, human nature hasn’t changed much over the millennia. We use different words, but we still deal with unskillful speech and actions driven by afflictive emotions. Humans!
        Thank you also for reminding us of the issues of cultural appropriation. Learning from and honoring a different culture is wonderful. Misrepresenting and plundering it is not. May we each find wisdom as we learn.

      • #79240
        Christine Masi
        Participant

        To Jenn and Dominic’s reply to Jenn

        It helped me to visualize lineage as a rain drop into a pond. Each including the drop moves and flows as one, that’s the magic, maybe

    • #79181
      Kate Wolfe-Jenson
      Participant

      I’ve had a good time this week exploring what “lineage” means to me.
      First, I thought about my family lineage. We have great stories, but my brothers and sister and I aren’t sure what’s true. Did grandma Wolfe really refuse to marry grandpa until he added the E because she didn’t want to be named after an animal? Did great aunt Lootie really die at 90 when she got conked on the head with a log by one of the people she was looking after in the nursing home? Did great grandpa Bennett really visit his neighbors to wash their feet as an example of discipleship? Beyond the details, I get a feeling of resilient, faith-filled, loving people farming in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
      Then I think about my Buddhist lineage. I looked up the Supplication to the Takpo Kagyu. More names and stories. Great Vajradhara (the nameless source), Tilopa (holding equanimity while pounding sesame seeds), Naropa (smart, proud, and humbled by a “hag”) Marpa (brought Buddhism to Tibet), Milarepa (tower building yogi-saint), Lord of Dharma Gampopa (I recognize him; I chant his four dharmas)… And so on down to Chögyam Trungp, Sam, and Susan. Resilient, spiritual, compassionate people.
      I am grateful to the lineage of quadriplegics – Ed Roberts (founder of the independent living movement), Jill Kinmont Boothe (skier turned teacher), Sam Callahan (cartoonist, “he can’t get far on foot”), Stephen Hawking (physicist), Christopher Reeve (Superman turned advocate), and especially mouth artists like Joni Earickson Tada and Henry Fraser” Talk about resiliency!
      I could go on to amateur artists and poets… And what about psychologists like Brené Brown and Kristin Neff? I use their work every day.
      While I’ve been writing all of this I feel the surge of energy and “wind beneath my wings” that is the gift of remembering lineage.
      How shall I use this in my practice? I want to keep things simple. Memorizing a long chant when I haven’t quite got the Heart Sutra solid seems like a bad idea. Maybe I can simply think “I bring the lineage of biology and Buddhism, quads and artists, resilient, creative, loving people.”
      I like what Susan says about bringing a sense of “freshness” to my meditation practice. Maya Angelou is quoted as saying “today is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” That’s the attitude I want to bring to each practice: “this is a wonderful practice session, I’ve never seen this one before.”

      • #79212
        Helene Melancon
        Participant

        Kate, I appreciate so much the details and stories of your family lineage, Buddhist lineage, quads lineage. For me details and stories contain the salt and sugar of life!
        I learn a lot from reading your essay, like ‘this is a wonderful practice session, I’ve never seen this one before.’
        Like the archer’s arrow, this sentence points directly toward cultivate the wonder of being curious about life. Ahhhhhh…Thank you <3

      • #79246
        Suzie Amelia Kline
        Participant

        I love this: “I brin the lineage of biology and Buddhism, quads and artists, resilient, creative, loving people.” It encapsulates all the lineages you explored. Maya Angelou’s quote and how you want use it for practice inspiration is glorious. Thanks for sharing both-

      • #79263
        Anne Dooley
        Participant

        Dear Kate,
        Thank you for your expansive, heartfelt exploration of your lineages. Thank you too, for your Maya Angelou quote and adaptation. I too, want to remember everyday that “this is a wonderful practice session, I’ve never seen this one before.” Beautiful.

    • #79194
      Dominic Young
      Participant

      Immediately what comes to my mind when I think of my own lineage is quite simple, but upon further contemplation could easily get more complex. As a way of explaining, I will say that the first thing that comes to my mind is my Buddhist lineage. My meditation teacher and my Spiritual Friend ( my guru/ not my guru, lol ), Lodro Sangpo is of the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages as his teacher/guru was Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche who is and was the lineage holder in both of these traditions. I took refuge with Sangpo and plan on taking the Bodhisattva Vow with him in the near future. My Refuge name is Sempa Sangpo, so this is my lineage and always will be, it is deeply special to me.

      To explain how it could get a little more complex, I too am a Baha’i and I have a lineage in this Faith tradition. I grew up Catholic and feel that all traditions have wise teachings that have spoken to me on my spiritual path. In the Baha’i faith, it is taught that there is a line (lineage) from Abraham to Jesus, to Mohammad, to Baha’u’llah, and then to his son Abdu’l’Baha, then to Shoghi Effendi. So this too is a lineage to which I am connected.

      Then to go even a step further, I have my own personal family lineage to which I am closely connected, though I don’t know much of my family tree beyond my great-grandparents. My mum and my dad who are no longer with me physically, are lineage holders of the Young line which is very important to me, both my mother’s side of Forrester and my dad’s side of Young. I am the next holder of this lineage and right now do not have children and my sister will not be having children, so I am unsure right now if my lineage will stop at my generation. I hope/plan to have a child in the not-so-distant future with my girlfriend and future wife. Which I would love to have a child and so would she, so it would be great if it happens and my family lineage continues, but whatever happens happens. She has a son already and I hope/plan to adopt him one day and maybe he will become part of the family lineage.

      So, it seems a bit complex on the surface, but if I look deeper it really isn’t that complex at all! It is rather simple, I am part of/ holder of three(four) lineages. A Buddhist (Kagyu/Nyingma), a Baha’i, and a personal family lineage.

      My lineages greatly support me in my personal spiritual practice so much so that it would not be as stable, consistent, and rich as it would be without my lineages. In the morning I wake up before 5 am and make an offering of myself and what I feel and who I am being right at that moment and try to let that go as I begin my practice. Before I begin, I chant The Four Dharmas of Gampopa, The Seven Line Supplication to Padmakara, and the Supplication to the Takpo Kagyu which seems to stabilize my practice in some unknown, possibly magical way. Then I meditate for an hour, sometimes it is awesome and sometimes it is so boring, but it is what it is.

      After meditation practice, I say a few prayers from the Baha’i writings, for guidance and healing for my loved ones, myself, and the world in general. Then listen to the Long Healing Prayer, and then sit in silence for a bit to be in that energy of healing for all sentient beings.

      Finally, I do a gratitude practice to finish off my morning practice. I say out loud what and who I am grateful for in my life and what I will be grateful for going forward. The most important thing I say is that I am grateful for my family which includes my girlfriend and future wife, my sister, and of course my parents. Especially my mum for being my greatest supporter, for giving me life, and never giving up on me when I was born and the doctors told her that I would not survive. At that moment I always turn to a picture of her that I have on my wall where I practice.

      So, these are my lineages, and they are all so important and supportive of me and my practice!

    • #79200
      Helene Melancon
      Participant

      To Donald.
      With your transmission of the teachings in a setting of clarity and dedicated presence, I captured something of its source of light and I felt the desire to continue moving into the Dharma. You spoke to the wise and the fool in me, the impassible and the daring, the thirsty and the independent. You continue to animate, to breathe life into my search in the fertile furrow of the Way.
      I honour your rigour and your sharpness.

      To the Ocean.
      My sanctuary. You talk to me.
      Of breath, receding from the shore and embracing it again.
      Sometimes unnoticed. Sometimes the waves swelling. Sometimes the fury.
      Deep waters, frightening yet compelling.
      You talk to me. Of generosity, the treasures you offer in your belly and on the salty sands.
      With you I learn to yield. To flow. To buoy. To give rhythm to my life’s movements.
      I honour the force that makes life pulse within you.

      To Christian and Richard.
      You both write about the beauty and greatness of paying attention to the little things in life, of humility, of the tenderness of flowers and the spirit of birds. I recognize in you the song of my mother, of my aunts Alice and Rolande, of my beloved grand-mother Blanche, through which I understood the message of never agreeing to stop being amazed.
      I honour the finesse of your words.

      In you all, there is nothing that separates me from myself, from being myself.
      From you all, there is nothing I hear that separates me from a reality I sense. You are part of my lineage and I am thankful. I arrive and I sit with you. We are together. I listen. I feel surrounded. I feel brave. A ship’s mast. In the nest of my heart you are.
      Each morning you re-enchant my practice.
      You help me part a curtain on the Unknown.
      I ask for your protection and the peace for all beings.
      May I continue to follow in your wake.

      “I don’t know the word for it, that space between seconds, but I’ve come to understand for myself that it’s the punctuation of my life. Between each word, each thought, each moment is where the truth of things lies. The more intent I am on hearing it, seeing it, feeling it, incorporating it, the more precise the degree to which I’m focused on my life and the act of living. I want to dive into those small bits of silence. They contain the ocean of my being and our togetherness. So if I don’t respond quickly, excuse me. I’m busy allowing the surf of consciousness to break over me so that I can stand on the coast of our unity and be more.”
      Richard Wagamese

      • #79218
        Ginny Taylor
        Participant

        Helen,
        This deeply touched me: In you all, there is nothing that separates me from myself, from being myself. From you all, there is nothing I hear that separates me from a reality I sense. You are part of my lineage and I am thankful. I arrive and I sit with you. We are together. I listen. I feel surrounded. I feel brave. A ship’s mast. In the nest of my heart you are.

        I see a ship’s mast, the spine, upright, so dignified. Thank you for sharing.

      • #79238
        Christine Masi
        Participant

        Helene
        I loved your devotion to the ocean. It really resonated for me
        Also the prayer, beautiful!

    • #79201
      Ginny Taylor
      Participant

      Our conversation in the small group during this past Saturday helped me to think more broadly about my lineage, and to include elements that bring me joy. This week, I’ve been trying out the following lineage story, asking a blessing from:
      The trees: tall, silent, ever changing, givers of oxygen, removers of carbon dioxide, leaves shimmering between green and change.
      My teachers: Susan, Suzi, Louise, Laraine, and for the blessing of their teachers on my practices of writing, meditation, art, creativity.
      My ancestors: My matriarchal line, an almost endless line that goes back to the unknown women who had to live off the land, who experienced loss and hardship, but also deep joy, who saw trees, sunrises, snow, streams, lakes, children.
      The unknown wind at my back: (Thank you, small breakout group, for this one!) To the unknown teacher, yet to come, or maybe already here, not yet visible.

      At this stage of my life, this lineage seems more true to who I am in this moment, which is more spiritual than religious. I’ve been trying to remember to include the offering and blessing awareness in my daily meditation practice. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. When I do, I realize I am not alone in this solitary meditation practice, and that there is something deeper, not fully known, and more vast at work in my life, and this always make me happy, as if I don’t have to do this life on my own.

      • #79227
        Rena Meloy
        Participant

        Ginny – thank you for this beautiful reflection. I love your nod to the trees (such a vivid description – “shimmering between green and change”) and the idea of asking for blessings from nature.

        I also deeply resonate with your note about your matriarchal line. I wrote about this, too. The way you talked about the “endless line” and listed some of their experiences (loss, joy, trees, sunrises, snow, children…) helped me feel an even deeper level of connection to the common humanity of all of our lived experiences – from the complex to the very ordinary. And the unknown teacher, yet to come. Yes yes yes. Thank you for the gift of your words here. I will carry them with me!

      • #79234
        Kimberly Hillebrand
        Participant

        I resonate strongly with your thought of your lineage being true to who you are in the moment. This is how my line of thinking has gone over the past week. That a lineage is not necessarily static, that it can change as we change. Thank you for putting your thoughts into words so eloquently and beautifully.

    • #79205
      David Minarro
      Participant

      On my altars I usually have photos of people from my family and close friends, symbols of Christian, Buddhist and Hindu traditions, beautiful objects from nature, some precious items that I collected on my trips, and some of my drawings.

      Thinking about the circles that Jenn described in her answer, all of those elements would be part of the mandala that makes up my sense of lineage, and at the beginning of my practice, I make offerings to them, and ask for their blessing and protection.

      Last week I shared my feeling that this heritage feels a bit scattered though, and Susan encouraged me to incorporate a song that particularly resonated with me. So now, as I light my candle and my incense towards my altar, I also sing this chorus: “So I took the road less traveled by, and I barely made it out alive, through the darkness somehow I survived; tough love, I knew it from the start, deep down in the depths..of my rebel heart”.

      This song connects me to the lineage of travelers, backpackers, searchers for meaning, of people who have challenged conventions and the have travelled the path marked by uncertainty and bravery. Also, I have discovered that it lifts me up to sing a song before I sit down, and it adds a touch of energy and bliss to my practice. So, at least for a while, it will continue to be part of my practice.

      Thanks for reading!
      David

      • #79211
        Helene Melancon
        Participant

        How beautiful the words of this song are, David, and how powerful it is for you to follow in their footsteps.

        There is an affinity of heart, intelligence, spirit and courage in the odyssey of these human beings.

        Here’s something to think about on my next walks to see if there’s a song that pops up in my memory that speaks of those with whom I feel a deep connection.

        Thank you David for sharing this inspiring example.

        • #80100
          David Minarro
          Participant

          “There is an affinity of heart, intelligence, spirit and courage in the odyssey of these human beings”. Thank you Helene for these words, I am going to write them down to remember them. Hope you found song in your walks! And please share it if you want to ! 😀

      • #79214
        Suzie Amelia Kline
        Participant

        David, I love reading about your varied lineages and about the beautiful, integrating song you sing before practicing. Thanks for sharing your heart filled challenge and how you resolved it.

        • #80101
          David Minarro
          Participant

          Thank you Suzie, I really appreciate it! I like the “integrating” quality you made me see in the song!

      • #79216
        Allison Potter
        Participant

        Hi David-
        I absolutely love your addition of the song before you practice.
        In the type of yoga I do, we have a chant before we practice and I find it centers me and feels like an offering in a way. I am going to try something similar before I meditate.
        Thanks for your openness in sharing.

        • #80102
          David Minarro
          Participant

          Allison,
          I am glad you found my response inspiring, and please, if you want, please share the name of the chant that you practice, I would love to check it out! 😉

      • #79226
        Rena Meloy
        Participant

        David! The song 🙂 What a beautiful addition to your practice. I often meditate while rocking my daughter to sleep at night (after she falls asleep and I’m still holding her). I always sing to her before she drifts off, and through your reflection, I’m not realizing how that adds such a beautiful and resonant dimension to my practice. Like the other comments here, I’m looking forward to exploring this idea further. Thank you thank you! *humble bow*

        • #80103
          David Minarro
          Participant

          Rena,
          Definitely there can´t be a more fulfilling and beatiful addition to a practice than the one you are describing, and I am sure that your daughter also enjoyed the results of exploring this idea further! Also, I am going to borrow the *humble bow* expression, I loved it! Thank you

      • #79239
        Christine Masi
        Participant

        Yes to songs and music!

      • #79251
        Rachel Hirning
        Participant

        David,
        What an inspiration, singing a song, or part of a song. It seems to put one right in the space of being with rather than coming from the thinking brain. I once created a playlist of spirit songs, but never did I think about singing one verse before meditation or as an inclusion in my altar space. Thank you for sharing your beautiful verse. It was a nice intimate moment to read your song and yet hear it sung in my head.

        • #80106
          David Minarro
          Participant

          “It seems to put one right in the space of being with rather than coming from the thinking brain” I couldn´t agree more with it, and also didn´t realize until I read it from you. Thank you!

    • #79207
      Ann Harmon
      Participant

      I have been lucky enough to be in other classes with Susan and try to make my requests of blessings from a lineage that includes Thick Nhat Hanh, The Dali Llama, the Buddha, Diane, my energy healing teacher, Colleen, Rodney and Jessica, my primary yoga teachers, BKS Isengar, Deshikachar, my mother. I ask for blessings in the form of what I need to be a better person, a happier person, be it may I be satisfied with my good life, may I forgive those who have wronged me. Etc. My lineage changes according to who comes to mind as I begin to meditate. There are so many in my lineage because I have many different lives.Yoga, Meditation, Buddhism study, energy healing, 12 steps and friendships, my marriage,etc,. I believe all is okay. There are no wrongs.

      • #79217
        Allison Potter
        Participant

        My yoga teacher only calls BKS Iyengar by “Mr. Iyengar”, and it makes me chuckle.
        Nice to see a fellow yogi and 12 stepper!

    • #79213
      Suzie Amelia Kline
      Participant

      I’m grateful we are exploring how to incorporate lineage into our practice, and that it is wide-ranging—it can be anything that is mysterious, that we can’t fully understand and that is greater than just ourselves. Susan’s explanation of lineage sounds a lot like the notion of God that I pray to and ask blessing of, both on and off the cushion. Although I have struggled to name that connection, I’ve “secretly” referred to it as God.

      Since I’ve been inconsistent in my inclusion of God, it feels wonderful to have some structure about how to ask for blessings. Recently, I’ve waited until the end of my practice to do so. It’s seemed that I needed to get quiet before knowing what to ask for. I am currently trying this new approach, and don’t have enough experience to say how it’s going yet.

      I’ve worried that my practice, has been inconsistent with Shamatha, since I believe in God. But now I feel affirmed and free to include other lineages that I am strongly connected to.

      My grandparents were remarkable in their own ways. I received my creative drive, my sense of personal power and confidence from them. I know I can continue to receive their teachings and guidance daily, if I remain open to them.

      Perhaps this seems a bit unconventional, but my therapist, who I’ve worked with for some time, brings his teachers’ work into our meetings. He has often reminded me that the work he does simply comes through him, a continual line of wisdom, deep spirituality, and giving. These are qualities I’m committed to bringing forward into my life, and feel comfortable leaning into my therapist/teacher and his lineage. This will be a new element of my Shamatha practice that I’m eager to employ.

      Years ago, I had a solo art show that I had to create a body of work for. I had a practice that enabled me to make paintings and collages spontaneously and with confidence. I credit much of my success to a Native American ritual where I invoked the four cardinal directions and asked the Spirit to support me. Occasionally, I will still light sage, but much of the practice has fallen away. I now see my Native American practice as a lineage that I am a part of and also an aspect of God.

      I know there are other lineages I can name for myself. I feel a profound sense of connection with artists, writers, other spiritual directors and their teachers, all of whom have supported me. I feel woven into the natural world, which is another lineage I call upon regularly. And I am grateful for being able to name these various lineages where I can draw strength from daily.

      • #79223
        T
        Participant

        Ah, I love the idea of including your therapist! I have not thought of this, although my own therapist is frequently a source of profound wisdom. Fabulous idea.

      • #79225
        Kate Wolfe-Jenson
        Participant

        thank you for your post, Suzie. When someone once asked me my favorite Bible story, I told them it was Jacob wrestling the angel. I grew up wrestling with the concept of God and, in a way, I still do. One of my teachers is Jan Lundy, who introduced me to the idea of “fluid spirituality.” That gave me “permission” to honor several lineages. Since taking refuge, I consider myself a Buddhist, but I still maintain my membership with Minneapolis Friends Meeting (Quakers) and sit there on Sundays. People often talk of God there.
        One Quaker prayer tradition I appreciate is “holding people (or situations) in the light.” This requires no words and no agenda. I simply imagine the person being bathed in light – as I do when I practice lovingkindness meditation. Sometimes in the sangha meetings on Friday, Susan asks us to sit with someone who is facing a challenge. That silent being with someone is powerful. I have that same sense when I request blessings before I practice.
        I appreciate your reflection and the roads it invited me to travel.

    • #79215
      Anne Dooley
      Participant

      I have been puzzling over my lineage since the first time I heard Susan talk about it, earlier this year. I have moved from flinching at the word and its incongruity with how I see myself, to a tentative understanding I am happy and curious to work with. My ancestor lineage, includes my grandmothers, and my great-great grandparents, who were deaf and whose influence manifests in my beautiful younger, Deaf daughter. My teacher lineage includes Susan and Kevin, Pema Chodron. My magic lineage are the people who sparked a certain kind of happiness and yearning in me for life and truth beyond the day-to-day agreed upon reality. Harriet Tubman, William Blake and my best friend Cathy, who talked magic with me and who died nearly 25 years ago. Counting her in my lineage, remembering and honoring her every time I sit, feels right

      • #79219
        Ginny Taylor
        Participant

        Anne, how wonderful to include all these people, both living and not, in your lineage. I love that you include “magic” there as well. I think that if it feels right, it is right. Thank you for sharing.

      • #79222
        T
        Participant

        I love the inclusion of both your great grandparents and your daughter. So many generations. This inspires me to contemplate my own disability lineage, those who have come before me to light my way. Beautiful.

    • #79221
      T
      Participant

      when i imagine my lineages, i see as the background a cosmos of stars that form an elaborate constellation. these are my artistic muses: gertrude stein, june jordan, audre lorde, frida khalo, wangechi mutu, cy twombly, marina abrabovich, countless stars. sometimes one or many flicker into brightness and sometimes they are dimmer, but form a part of the whole nonetheless. in the foreground are two shooting stars, their arcs perfectly visible. these are my buddhist and yoga lineages and each can be traced back to an original source. this vibrant tapestry is the fabric of my lineage.

      when i think of this, i feel devotion. so much to live up to. so much wisdom. so much cosmos. so much for me to lean on when i am lonely or afraid. so many beings sent to transmit the teachings that guide my life. i sometimes long for a north star, a guru, but my path is well illuminated and i am grateful.

      these are the beings who taught me to practice. to practice meditation, to practice art, to practice poetry. and so they guide my daily practices with every breath, although i do not always think of them. contemplating this, i am overcome with such gratitude that i know i must add a new practice of acknowledging my lineage every day. thank you.

      • #79254
        Karen Daughtry
        Participant

        Tracey, I love the image of the constellations of stars – thank you for that! It helps me to imagine my own cosmos of ancestors, inspire-ers and fellow travelers

    • #79224
      Rena Meloy
      Participant

      I love this prompt so much. A few years ago, I read “My Grandmother’s Hands” by Resmaa Menakem and one of his strong encouragements was to get to know your ancestors. I was so struck by this, and mostly the realization that I had spent very little time even considering the importance of it. The only thing I knew about my ancestors were the relatively infrequent stories that were shared by my parents and grandparents. I’ll never forget how it felt in my body to consider this question and the possibility of understanding more deeply who and where I came from. It was a beautiful, grounding, exciting, and somewhat mysterious invitation.

      Since then, I’ve done a bit of exploration/investigation, although not as much as I’d have liked (oh life and all of its many divergent pieces/invitations!) – so the fact that this program is asking us to hold this question again – and create space for it – is something I’m very grateful for.

      I have always felt a deep and reverent connection to my family. I come from a family, as far as I know and have experienced, of deeply deeply loving humans. Of course there was trauma and discord along the line (there always is), but all throughout my childhood – and still now – my primary experience of my nuclear family (parents and brothers), my grandparents, and my extended family (cousins/uncles/aunts), was one of uncomplicated love. In more recent years, this feeling has extended to include my husband and 1-year old daughter. I realize (more and more with each day) what a gift this is. Because of this love, I have felt both a resolute anchoring/grounding of who I am, and also an unwavering tailwind of support guiding me into who I am continually becoming.

      So, I’d say, my practice is held and guided first and foremost by love. Starting with my family (especially the line of strong and resilient women and mothers that I come from), and expanding outward to the many others in life who I’ve received love from and given love to. This includes the many teachers I’ve had – traditional and spiritual. Two spiritual teachers who have deeply resonated with me on many, many levels are Pema Chödrön and Susan P, and I discovered that they both share the Vajrayana lineage. I think this might be a big piece of the puzzle for me lineage-wise, and I look forward to growing my understanding of this specific lineage and its teachings in the weeks/months ahead.

      As I begin to reflect on my ancestral roots and consider the value of tapping deeper into a specific Buddhist tradition (e.g. Vajryana), I can feel something in my body shift – a deep knowing that this is an important next step in my practice. I love the way Susan framed the three very practical ways to bring this into everyday practice – make offerings, request blessings, dedicate the merit. Yes please! I’ve already started and can feel my practice coming more alive, white at the same time becoming more sacred. Devotion. Discipline. Simplicity. Reverence. Love. All of these pieces are inextricably tied to tapping the “well” of lineage (surprise!) and I truly feel delighted and blessed to receive and channel, more intentionally, this potency that has been here all along.

      • #79255
        Karen Daughtry
        Participant

        Rena, I love how you say your “practice is held and guided first and foremost by love,” and that is a perfect articulation of what I aspire to. Thank you for expressing this.

    • #79232
      Kimberly Hillebrand
      Participant

      My idea of lineage has changed profoundly since last Saturday’s class.

      At the Temple where I was ordained, I’m called a Lineage Holder, meaning there is a recorded line of teachers from myself back to the Buddha. I became Abbess at the Buddhist Temple where I was ordained just as news of our Guiding Teacher’s serious misconduct started to surface. And I spent the next year + trying to hold our Sangha together through their strong feelings of betrayal, hurt, and disappointment…before I burned out so badly, for my own wellbeing I stepped aside.

      As soon as Susan mentioned the word “lineage” in our last class, it was like an ice cube ran up and down my spine. Since I left teaching, I’ve been trying to figure out why I have had such hesitation or reticence about teaching again. (since then, I’ve only engaged in guest speaking/guest teaching/panel roles). What I realized from our discussion about lineage was that sometime during that year of holding things together, and not tending at all to myself, what started playing over and over in my mind and heart was that because of my teacher’s improprieties, the chain of the Buddha’s teachings had been broken. My teacher had broken the lineage. And, somehow, because of this thought and my newfound lack of trust in my teacher, my confidence as a teacher was shaken significantly.

      These were not conscious thoughts. I see them now almost as subliminal messages running in the background of my mind since that time — subliminal messages that hadn’t been challenged until the last class. And it certainly points to why I haven’t been able to figure out what has been holding me back from teaching again. This realization, which happened only a few moments after the class ended, was freeing. Liberating.

      So what comes to mind when I think of my own lineage? Given the spaciousness and latitude offered by Susan in the class, I’m thinking about my own lineage in a much broader sense. Instead of lineage as a straight line, from one person to another to another to another, I’m thinking about it more as a dynamic process. All of us are composites of the people and events that have shaped us. We are constantly changing. And while some of the people (teachers) who are important to us now (in a lineage sense) may have been important to us our whole lives, but that might not always be so. All of a sudden, it doesn’t make sense to me to decide what my lineage is and stick to it as if it is static. If anything, a lineage would seem to be fluid, dynamic, and changing and growing along with how we are changing and growing.

      The simple answer to the question is – I don’t know yet! 😊 This will take time to unspool. All I know for sure is how grateful I am for the experience of unfolding and releasing that happened during the last class.

      • #79237
        Jana Sample
        Participant

        I completely agree with your idea of lineage being not so much a straight line and more dynamic. I like the visual image of a tree or a root system. 🙂 And yes, each day that I’ve been sitting with this, it has changed for me. So it feels very dynamic and fluid, and not rigid at all… what a relief that is! Wishing you the best on your journey, Kimberly.

      • #79241
        Christine Masi
        Participant

        Kimberly, I was in your small group when you shared that your lineage was broken and how you felt you couldn’t move through this pain. And that you didn’t want to share beyond the group. Then you did!!! I hope your healing continues!

      • #79250
        Lianna Patch
        Participant

        Kimberly, it’s so heartening to hear that things are opening up for you. I can’t imagine how it must have felt to feel lineage as a burden or a betrayal. I hope this is part of a healing path toward regaining your trust in yourself as a teacher.

      • #79252
        Rachel Hirning
        Participant

        First, I am so sorry you have experiened that betrayal. I can see why you tucked yourself back in, it touched you so deeply (this transgression). There is a lot to ‘unpack’ there, as people often say, especially just as you were taking on a teaching role yourself. Goodness, and here you are showing up for it. Exploring it gently. My heart goes to you.

        Second… Yes! I too love this FREEDOM to broaden the sense of lineage too, in an effort to get the essence and touch into that rather than a condensed, more traditional view. It is the Open Heart project, Susan teaches it from the heart and this seems totally in line with that teaching. Plus, the encouragement to DISCOVER and explore is embedded in it. Thanks for sharing your process and thoughts. It helped me embrace where I am in the midst of this question as well.

      • #80329
        Jamie Evans
        Participant

        Kimberly, I’m so sorry you went through this, but I find your response brilliant! Your thoughts have been helpful to me throughout the course. Thank you!

    • #79236
      Jana Sample
      Participant

      Initially this idea of naming a lineage or lineages felt quite uncomfortable for me. I have not had any long term teachers that I have worked with closely, although I’ve had many incredible teachers over the years. I do not feel particularly close with my family and so the idea of calling on my ancestors does not feel like something I am so connected to, even though I am fully aware that they are part of me. I don’t have an affiliation with or strong ties to any religion, either. I guess I was feeling a bit resistant to the idea at first, and feeling a bit sad that I don’t “belong” anywhere.
      After our small group discussion during last week’s class, I was feeling much more comfortable, some of the resistance began to fade. The main thing that called to me was including a lineage in nature, thinking about a forest or even a single tree, or the ocean, or a flower. And also Susan’s mentioning John Coltrane, which gave me a sense of this idea of asking for blessings from a person who has done incredible things that I deeply admire, and as Susan said, if I were to do something a small fraction as powerful as this human then I would feel like, yeah, I’m doing alright.
      But it didn’t really begin to feel good for me until this week when I started including in my meditation practice these steps of making offerings, asking for blessings and dedicating the merit. The first day I was really in my head about it and was trying to think my way into who or what is my lineage and who I could ask for blessings, and this did not help very much. The next day and after, I was able to just sit with it and let myself sink into this idea and some clarity began to take form.
      I am a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and one thing that feels very clear and nice, rather than thinking of a specific teacher that I’ve had, is to think about the thousands of years of rich history and so many practitioners of this medicine and to see myself as part of this lineage. In fact, this is so powerful the more I sit with it and feels like such a gift. I also practice as an herbalist and consider myself part of this incredible lineage of plant lovers and healers as well. Over years of experimenting with different forms of creating art, many amazing teachers have crossed my path and dropped little nuggets of wisdom into my life so I feel honored to be part of some lineage of creative expression. I’ve also had some of my dear friends who have passed away show up in my heart during this process, and it feels really lovely to ask them for blessings. As I’ve been open to this all becoming clear it’s been so cool to see that I do actually belong, and it feels so cosy and comfortable to let this be part of my practice, and brings a lot more meaning to the time I spend practicing.
      So I feel this will be an ongoing exploration, this idea of lineage. And now that I’m on this side of it, I feel so grateful and open to the experience and how it will manifest as I continue to practice and feel into it.

      • #79249
        Lianna Patch
        Participant

        Jana, I felt similar resistance at first! It felt very official and stuffy to define a lineage, but this broader context makes it much more inviting.

        I also identify with the idea of the natural world being part of my lineage, and my dearest friends. I love that our practice can include honoring the best of the people we know, and don’t know, and who came before us.

      • #79262
        Anne Dooley
        Participant

        Dear Jana,

        I very much appreciate your naming the sadness that you felt at the beginning of this process. I, too, felt sad and worried that I don’t “belong” anywhere. It was lovely to read your process to connecting to the long and rich history of Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, plant lovers, healers and others. Thank you.

    • #79242
      Christine Masi
      Participant

      The word lineage means a sacred connection/bond to a universal dynamic energy, that is indefinable.
      As for ancestral lineage, I was raised with a diluted connection to my Spanish and Italian roots. Maybe it was due to the time, the melting pot of the 60s. I plan to incorporate my ancestors in my premeditation ritual and am curious to see how this unfolds.
      The reading, helped to formulate for me the importance of devotion and ritual in meditation practice. The act of making offerings and the asking for blessings by taking a sacred pause to sense our inner wisdom. And after meditation, to again take a inner breath to integrate the benefits for self and others

    • #79248
      Lianna Patch
      Participant

      When I think of my lineage, I think first of one of my dearest friends, John. I came to the practice through MBSR (very much focused on reducing my own anxiety and depression). But John came to it via a more spiritual journey, and got involved with Padma Samye Ling monastery, in the Catskills.

      We drove to PSL once from New Orleans and stayed there for five days on sort of our own mini-retreat, which was the first time I experienced the spiritual side of Buddhist practice. I was completely cowed by the gorgeous intricacy of the temple, and frustrated by the chanting, and sore from all the sitting. Also, the idea that we each needed to contribute to the upkeep of the place was a welcome challenge. That was my first (and last) time pushing a lawnmower up a hill. It was HARD. But looking back, those five days made a real impact on me.

      I also think of teachers and writers: Thich Nhat Hanh, and Pema Chodron, whose writing I really connect with. (And obviously Susan! Duh!) I had several teachers leading my mentorship group through Cloud Sangha, and appreciated them all. I used to regularly listen to dharma talks via the Audio Dharma podcast. And then there’s the natural world. Plenty to learn from there.

      Can all of these threads be part of my custom-woven lineage?

      If there’s a unifying factor among the people I admire, it might be their wisdom, or kindness, or equanimity. I see those qualities and I want to embody them. (More specifically, I LONG to embody them. Longing is a pretty constant theme in this big, bleedy heart of mine.)

      I appreciate the invitation to consider lineage in a broader, looser context — thinking about all my teachers, whether they know they’re teaching me or not.

      • #79260
        Erin Anderson
        Participant

        Thanks for sharing Lianna. I heard the warmth in your voice as you told of your connection to your friend and the teachers who have supported your practice (including the lawnmower and the hill, of course). You wrote about something quite nice, that I hadn’t really considered in those terms. You mentioned the pleasure you found in the effort of upkeep at the monastery and the longing that you feel to embody the qualities that you see in your teachers. I loved it because somehow it sounded like more threads of lineage. It sounded like the part where you weave yourself into the fabric of your lineage.
        It was really beautiful.

    • #79256
      Rachel Hirning
      Participant

      Lineage.
      This is something I am just opening up to. It is nice to have a beginner’s mind with it, and to have so much permission to start with heart. Thank goodness, because I really only know a few things that bring such wisdom and grace.

      After spending what seems like the last 15 years being married, having a child, earning the cash to provide all the darn things, I am just now picking up those threads and weaving them back in. They were also the path, I know. But for many years it was not intentional. It was simmering on the back burner.

      One lineage is art. More specifically, the freedom in art. It has been there all my life, joyfully yes, but early memories are also riddled with it not being OK. Lots of stories there, but basically it wasn’t allowed. It was a waste of time and money according my Mom, and my people pleasing self eventually obliged. I found myself free from those shackles in my 20’s when I fled the nest and gave myself permission to fully embrace it. The wisdom of making art, its freedom, came through in a process arts workshop. I’ve never forgotten it. I took 3 workshops in one Summer. It was meditative. It was life affirming. I wanted to shout from the rooftop, “I knew art could do it!” I don’t even know if I knew what IT was. I have never been able to find another activity that reveals and is so present centered. It teaches you step by step to be present and being able to ‘see’ this unfold in a painting is incredible. There are some guidelines, such as not being allowed to cover anything up, which also teaches acceptance. The precision in the process is full of it! A deep knowing. That wordless place.

      It was so beautiful, that it led me to Naropa University where I earned a master’s in art therapy and counseling psychology. This is my next thread. This thread is still loose. I don’t know how it will come together. But… Awww, Naropa. I remember thinking in the interview, “Well, if this school can do even half of what it claims, then it will be good”. And so it was, and so much more. They really did walk the walk and talk the talk. At the end of the three year program, our program director told us all, “I don’t care if you ever become therapists. You can lose the art piece. Please don’t let go of meditation”. (not exact words). And, I never have. I don’t think it was Naropa. I think it was the meditation piece. It was always so pure and trustworthy. But maybe it was also that canoe class, where I didn’t want to hide out in the tent anymore. I felt safer outside than in. Or the class where we dropped the agenda and broke into a group counseling session because that was what was needed. Or when I responded to the Pema Osel Ling ad to go to Watsonville, CA to be a camp counselor…and the lengthy meditation there and the talks… and that was lovely but there was also talk of consorts… and goodness…what was that about?

      Well, I know it was all Vajrayana. That keeps coming up for me. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche is a consistent thread, but honestly, I haven’t dived deep because I have heard his methods were a bit outlandish. I’ve veered away from embracing him as a teacher, but the teacher for the sangha in Steamboat where I live (Tim Olmsted) studied with him. Chogyam Trungpa founded Naropa University. Susan Piver comes from the Vajrayana vehicle. I am drooling over her teachings. When I discovered her newsletter all the words and the point of view fell perfectly into place for me. I love reading Pema Chodron, she studied with Chogyam Trungpa. I remember people saying at that camp it was the Diamond Vehicle. Tibetan Buddhism has my heart.

      Art making, in all kinds of ways, but especially the process arts method I learned that summer which was discovered and originally taught by Michele Cassou.

      Vajrayanya Buddhism.

      Susan Piver.

      You see, it is a bit all over the place. In the smaller breakout group I mentioned I’d be ‘stumbling’ into this idea of lineage. I’ll stumble on in now. 🙂

    • #79257
      Eleanore Langknecht
      Participant

      I was really grateful for the small group discussions last week where we circled these same questions. I think, especially as a “newbie” to this practice, the language of lineage can feel both loaded and amorphous to me. I was grateful to hear that classmates with longer practices expressed similar grumblings, discomforts or curiosities about the idea of lineage and teachers. With the permission of a communal space (something i appreciate!), I looked for what sparked internally and one of the ideas that resonated for me was the idea of queer elders. Especially when i was newly exploring and trying to “own” my own queerness, i found having mentors, teachers, and figureheads really grounding and meaningful. They were not always people i directly knew or learned from, but it’s the most meaningful sense of lineage I’ve felt, and taps directly into a sense of shared experience.

      When I read “Keeping It Sacred,” I was drawn to the following sentences: “The only thing that seems required is to not quite understand what it is. Whenever anyone seems to know with too much certainty just what this power is, where it lives, what it thinks, and the primary means of access, I become a bit suspicious. Sure, all sorts of explanations make sense. But the only thing I know is that the moment I think I understand the sacred oneness of existence, I’ve stepped outside of that oneness and therefore can’t be trusted.”

      This feels so central to my experience of joyous queerness: it flutters, vibrates, and resonates right at the edge of understanding. The teachers or mentors I’ve found myself most drawn to know something about that flutter and vibration, but don’t claim to know it all. When i hit walls, feel like an impostor, or feel excluded from the queer experience, it’s often when i come up against someone or some thing that claims to be (or i assume it claims to be) all-knowing, the true epitome of some queer truth. This is something i can feel in other elements of my life, but for me is most tangible here. Coming back to the idea that my lineage doesn’t have to be one of “knowing” beyond my means, that my teachers aren’t somehow more clued into some hard-earned fact, but more clued into the magic of “not knowing” joyousness, feels really powerful and great space from which to continue growing my practice.

      • #79259
        Erin Anderson
        Participant

        Thanks for sharing this piece of your journey, Eleanore. I found it lovely that you connected your experience of coming to meditation to your experience of self discovery, coming to what your unique queerness meant.
        I appreciate your reflection of Susan’s words about being certain and that certainty as a barrier. It seems to make so much sense that the tighter a grip that we have on the essence of something, the less essence there can be.
        <3 The words from your last sentence were just perfect “the magic of “not knowing” joyousness, feels really powerful and great space from which to continue growing my practice.”

    • #79258
      Erin Anderson
      Participant

      Well, my goodness! I have truly appreciated this week’s reflection.
      At first, the topic seemed like a daunting excavation, but to y surprise, it became very beautiful.
      Up until now, when I considered my own personal sense of lineage, I felt a sort of lack or homelessness or even like the history of my practice wasn’t valid compared with folks who have a personal relationship to their teacher. Thankfully, though, I found Susan’s presentation about lineage to be kind and inclusive. This has led my thoughts in a kind and comforting direction as well.
      I feel very inspired by thinking of the meaning of lineage as quite broad. It seems like it’s much more than a historical list of people. Perhaps lineage is also the resonance of practice through the ages. How can I feel alone knowing there are thousands of years of practitioners sitting behind me and with me? Perhaps lineage is found in the ripple of specific practices that have familiar structure and clear steps to follow like countless practitioners. I also feel lineage as friendly accountability through our heartfelt relationships. Relationships to teachers, to the communities that we learn and practice in, as well as the relationships we have through the roles that we play. Certainly, my best friend is one of the most spiritually challenging and accountable relationships of my life. (Her name is Karen and she is an earth angel.)
      When working with this week’s homework of practicing Offerings, Requesting Blessings, and Dedicating Merit, I had the strong sense that these are all elements of connecting to lineage. It’s the same thing!! “Offerings” connect me to the past through acknowledgement and gratitude. “Requesting Blessings” connect me to the present as I take part in the formation of lineage, an act of taking my place in the order of things. “Dedicating Merit” is connecting to the future through letting go.
      Lineage is the generous handing on of practice.
      What I feel has been uncovered is that we can’t be without lineage, and because of this, I recognize that there is no way I can ever feel alone in my practice again. For thousands of years, this practice has been taught and with each lesson, our connections widen to include many leaving this beautiful map, like the stars in the sky. We are connected to this practice, woven in.

      • #79748

        Ooh, this idea that we can’t be without lineage strikes me – you put it so clearly and plainly that somehow, the words make sense to me even though I feel like this message has been shared in class many times before. (Just another example of how different teachers, different language, are all important, perhaps?) When we started and Susan said emphatically that this is a Buddhist practice, and we would be very Buddhist-y about it (without having to become a Buddhist) in order to honor the lineage, I kinda’ got it but not really. Now, I think I understand better – based on this phrase. “We can’t be without lineage” is something that sticks in my mind, while so often, we do believe it is optional.

    • #79261
      Jamie Evans
      Participant

      I was bewildered by the question of lineage at first. As I remember my group breakout room at our last session, I wasn’t the only one – that’s the value of working with a group, I suppose. Perhaps that in itself points to the importance of lineage and of being conscious of it.

      I talked to my mum about our sessions and the idea of lineage and she immediately wanted me to say she was my lineage, which seemed laughable at first. It’s typical of her. Long story ….. trust me. But then the more I think about it, she actually has a point, not just in the obvious, basic sense of it. My interest in yoga as a little boy came directly from her. For years she has had a little shrine to Ganesh in her room.. It’s easy for me to forget these things, since she lives so far away and I visit her only once a year or two.

      The deep influence of childhood is undeniable. All my first flood of feeling when I first saw the essay question about lineage was about my family and cultural identity, coming from Liverpool. I left Liverpool when I was 18, more than four decades ago, and have spent more than half my life in and around Chicago, yet I still identify intensely with my childhood home, it’s working class pride, sarcastic humour, progressive politics, love of football.

      I loved Susan’s example of John Coltrane. As a sax player myself I can identify with his playing in a deep sense, knowing I could never hope to play just like that. But what I can do is jam along to his music and it sometimes it feels like mixing water with water, that beautiful image from the reading.

      My hope is that as I continue this work my sense of lineage will deepen and give me confidence as a teacher in those frequent moments of doubt.

      • #79747

        A pattern I’m seeing for so many of us is that we tend to resist or even balk at the idea of our parents (or close generations) as part of our lineages; but, of course, they are. I’m not sure if it’s because the idea of choosing your family (framily) is so widely accepted, or because generational trauma is so pervasive, or both, or a hundred other things mixed in. But I appreciate how you took a moment to go beyond the instinct to brush off your mother’s comment, and find the true piece within. It reminded me of what Susan said in an early class: “There is no perfect teacher, just perfect teachings.”

        That said, who knew there were so many sax players in this group? Shall we start a band?

        • #79766
          Karen Daughtry
          Participant

          Kelly, I will be in a band with you any time – although I do not play saxophone, sorry (LOL)

    • #79494
      Gwen Daverth
      Participant

      Lineage. Those who came before. Those who created. Those who birthed.

      Formed from the Collective Conscious into a wave of existence.

      Life, wisdom, suffering, washing around us in time and space.

      Karma moves like contractions across lifetimes – the pull and push, like childbirth.

      Deep low guttural pain that grows until we cannot bear it any further. But we know, even when we cannot breathe and grow scared, that we are anchored to all the women before us that have stood in this moment trapped in time, bearing down to deliver the world. And so, we trust them – our female ancestors, that if we just rest here after the outbreath, that the next breath will happen automatically.

      • #79765
        Karen Daughtry
        Participant

        OMG “bearing down to deliver the world” – so evocative! Thank you, Gwen

      • #80379
        Anne Dooley
        Participant

        This is so beautiful, Gwen. I love Karma moves like contractions across lifetimes – the pull and push, like childbirth.

        Thank you!

    • #79749

      When I think of my own lineage, I’m first reminded of my human ancestry – particularly the enslaved people who somehow survived impossible circumstances. How could I be what remains of their bewildering endurance and resilience? I have a tee that says “I am my ancestors’ wildest dream” and I do believe my existence honors this notion. I feel a sense of connection when I see raw cotton, or read historical accounts of African American granny-midwives or wet nurses. A knowing ran through my blood while visiting slave quarters off the coast in Ghana – the Door of No Return off of the Cape Coast – standing in cells where human remains literally created the floors from tortuous conditions. To be so far away from this, and sense it so intensely — is that partly what lineage is? Will my children, their children, and their children, feel a hint of my presence in their own cells – some of which are currently contained within my own body today? It’s astounding to consider. On the other hand, my human lineage is complicated by the fact that a great deal of early racial mixing occurred by force or financial plan; this has caused me to grapple with the question about tainted lineage lines, and how to honor the lineage despite its imperfections.

      Other than familial legacy, for me, lineage consists largely of a stadium full of spirit guides and deep, dense forests. The trees feel like home, and whatever other spiritual worlds exist feel within reach, as part of who I am, and who we are.

      • #79764
        Karen Daughtry
        Participant

        Dear Kelly, I resonate with your thoughtful essay, and especially with the idea of “lineage consists largely of a stadium full of spirit guides and deep, dense forests” – thank you so much for your eloquent expression

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