Shali’s Notebook!
Through the course of time and space: That my pain might be shared; that others may learn from it.
Dark and Quiet
I said, “Let’s go to the park.”
You said, “Too much work to do, go!”
I said, “The sun is up, the day is warm.”
You said, “Too much work. Go on, waste your time.”
I said, “It is not my time. There is a play on the green.”
You said, “Tomorrow, I’ll have time to waste.”
I have seen the gifts of the Creator.
In a child’s face, it is there.
I have seen the glories on the Creatrix.
Under the Heaven lit skies, it is there.
I have heard the Mother’s lullaby.
In the laugh of a babbling brook, it is there.
You say, “It is now tomorrow.”
I know. But, the grave is too dark and quiet.
|
To Dare, to Will
Thomas Potter, February 2007
We have two worlds. One is whole and does not require us for validation. She exists and always has without us. As far as we know, in six billion years of Earth’s existence, humanity has been here for maybe four or forty million, and important for only 10-thousand (that we know of). In that time span the Earth has done well, most of it without us. The other world is also real, but requires us for validation. We build this world in our minds, alter it, and completely exchange it for another on a moment’s notice. This world looks a lot like the other world, except that we have labeled and readily identified everything, even if the label is wrong. The moment we see a small fuzzy predator with teeth and retractable claws, we know it is a cat … unless it opens her maw to reveal her possum teeth from the dark corner of our wash room. I will call, for these pages, the one that is real without us “the Universe,” the one that requires us is the “Theory.”
All Orders of Reality fit within the Universe. After all, the mind that makes them is still part of the Universe it is struggling to understand. This struggle is not always a problem. To the man who believes he is superman, and proves it by leaping ten feet in the air without any help from inertia or a trampoline, is not bothered by our belief that he is not. I would personally be less concerned about someone believing they are the Christ than I would be about what they intend to do about it. Sometimes the personal Order of Reality does not hurt anyone, sometimes it does. Should one believe that they are the king of men, and such grants him the right to punish us poor weaklings, someone is likely to get hurt. Should someone believe they have a mission to save humanity from a nuclear holocaust, again, someone is likely to get hurt. My question is, whose delusion are we going to attach our dreams to, the homophobic killer or the SatyaGrahi Activist?
Maya, as the Sheiks use the term, is the illusion of the theater. To produce a play, the actors take on roles, dressing the parts right down to masks of wood or makeup. We dress the stage in scenery and lights, and we give props for the show. Everything is real, made of atoms, mass, energy, and all that (no fair bringing quantum mechanics into the equation, here). Still, the story itself, and the presentation itself, is an illusion. It is this interplay between the real world and the illusion that the Magus is interested. If the actors and the technical crew do a good job, we give into the illusion, and for a time are transported into Denmark, where a troubled prince fails to come to grips with his father’s murder. And then, when they are done, we return to the world we used to think was real, hopefully better for the time spent.
A Grimoire, a Book of Shadow and Light — really a journal of thoughts, dreams, and actions — is a study of the Maya. With our knowledge of Magic (SoulForce Energy, Cosmic iMagination), we wish to be directors more than actors. Yet, even the directors are really actors, aren’t we. Like puppeteers we act through the stage, the actors, the orchestia. If the director does his or her job well; then again, even the audience is part of the show, aren’t we? We perform experiments, and record the results. We ask questions and record the answers. Sometimes, we go back to the questions and find the answer so ridiculous as to be childish. So, we rework the answer, or maybe just the question. We can only hope that we are just a little wiser when we die than we were when we were children.
Gasshoo Meditation, the First ReiKi Pillar
Usui, Mikao; Petter, Frank Arjava, The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui [4th ed.]; (0-914955-57-8) [pg. 15-16]
Gasshoo literally means “Two Hands coming together” and Dr. Usui taught a meditation by the name of Gasshoo Meditation. This meditation was practiced each time at the beginning of his ReiKi workshops/meetings. It is meant to be practiced for 20-30 minutes after getting up and/or in the evening before going to sleep. Gasshoo can be done alone or in a group. Group meditations are a wonderful experience since the energy increases far beyond the sum of the individual participant’s energies.
The Gasshoo Meditation is so simple that individuals of any age can do it. Whether we like it or not is another question. For my part, I love it very much and can also warmly recommend it. After three days of practice, you will know on the basis of your feelings whether it is”right” for you. Then, if possible, you should practice it every day for at least three months.
However, if after one or two days you have a feeling of restlessness, irritability, or some other form of annoyance, this meditation may possibly not be suitable for you . Not every medicine works for each patient. Then you can simply try it again after a few weeks.
Many people who are experience in meditation know how difficult it is to forget everything and let go of our rational mind and the inner dialog. However, we tend to forget especially when we want to remember something! My time is to disidentify yourself from your thoughts and feelings during meditation, as well as from your senses, but don’t close yourself off to them. Whenever we try to close ourselves, this is when the inner dialog really starts up.
- When doing Gasshoo, sit down with closed eyes and hands placed together in front of your chest. Focus your entire attention at the point where the two middle fingers meet. Try to forget everything else. If you begin to think about lunch or the coming day during this meditation, observe the thought and then let it go.
- This is not a matter of achieving something. Relax as well as you can relax. Then return to the point where your middle fingers meet.
- If it is painful for you to hold your hands folded together in front of your chest for twenty minutes, let your hands keeping them together) slowly sink down to your lap into a comfortable position and continue to meditate.
- Energy phenomena may also occur, such as your hands or backbone becoming very warm: Observe this but don’t let yourself be influenced by it. Always return your focus to your two middle fingers.
- If you must change your sitting position, then move in slow motion: deliberately and consciously. In my experience, it is easier to meditate when the spinal column is as straight as possible, and the head doesn’t tilt either forward, backward, or to the side. Imagine that your head is attached to a balloon filled with helium, which gently keeps it in the perfect position. If you have back problems or aren’t used to sitting, I recommend that you sit on a chair with a back, with a few pillows behind you, or with your back leaned against the wall. There are basically no objections to meditating while lying down except that it invites us to fall asleep.
May Set bless you and keep you; and all your Mojo be in good keeping.
|
