10 things I am grateful for:
1) My husband Neil 2) My dog Dave 3) My family 4) My friends 5) Books 6) Colour 7) Paint 8) My eyes and sight 9) The beach and mountains 10) My home and having a home 11) Yarn and knitting 12) Art
0 Comments
"The beginning of wisdom is the same as its attainment: wonder. The truest statement in the world is "you never know". There is always something to evoke wonder, to wonder about, because this world, this life, this universe, this reality is far more than just the sum of its parts. Even the slightest detail contains much more. The overwhelming awe and wonder we feel teach us more than we can ever glean or come to know of things. In the presence of that wonder, the head has no answers and the heart has no questions." (pg. 99)
Andrea shared this video with me about an artist, Theaster Gates, who is making art out of reclaimed materials. In one piece he uses the tiles from a Catholic Church Roof and says "...maybe there's a way that fracturing of those sacred parts, could allow us to continue to have sacred experience." For me this reminds me of Mindfulness and how it has fractured Buddhist teachings and practices. But does this mean that we can no longer experience the sacred when we practice Mindfulness? Taken from my journal 11th March 2017 Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams, Sensei, author, activist, Founder of Center for Transformative Change speaks at the Mindful Leadership Conference, March 11th 2017. The Mindful Leadership Conference was a free online conference between March 1st and 10th. A variety of inspirational mindful leaders were interviewed. Unfortunately, the interview with each speaker was only available for 48 hours so I made notes. I watched Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams speak and was incredibly moved by what she had to say. She gave a talk on the idea of being present and the practice of presence as a leader. She spoke of the concept of "Defendedness". How we each spend a lot of time defending our positions, our views and our territory. According to Rev. Williams, this "defendedness" alerts the fight or flight response, the "you're food or I'm food" response as she referred to it. This creates minor contractions in the body, but if we can become more relaxed, we can become less defended and better able to stand back from this fight or flight response. When we are defended, our bodies become smaller as well as our minds. By practicing being present we can alter the parasympathetic nervous state, our breathing rates and widen our peripheral vision. This is turn affects those around us. As Rev.Williams states "As we choose to become more present, we become more present and everyone becomes more present." She states that presence allows more space inside of us to allow other viewpoints and we become more inclusive. "It's not about 'staying present' right? It's actually about choosing to be present over and over again and to stitch together this little thread of , like, being present now, being present now, being present now...Oh I lost attention and I came back and I choose to be present again." This to me, is enlightenment. As I heard this, I imagine a piece of fabric with stitches on it. When attention is lost a new thread is started, again and again and again. Rev. Williams went onto to explain that when we are not present in conversation with others we are are either, taking a back seat, observing and not engaging or we are caught up in the emotion, leaving ourselves so that we are the emotion. The interviewer asked "What would you say to someone who is intrigued by this type of leadership but worries they will be left behind in a competitive world?'' This reminded me of the discussions we have had in class. People have wondered how do we improve ourselves, without striving. Some asked isn't it good to seek self-improvement? Isn't some competition healthy? I think this is like the discussion we have had about grades and people feeling an attachment to grades as a means of showing how they have improved and fair in comparison to others. I just loved Rev. Williams response; "I would say two things. One thing that happens for us is our system of evaluation, of validation, what we choose to value is actually a result of our worldview and the perspectives that we currently have. And so as you choose to be present, what you value in terms of how you operate and what you think is worth competing for will begin to shift. That's actually something to really recognize. What is important to us in terms of how we spend our time, our energy, our life force, how we choose to balance begins to shift. We become more present to our lives and to what is going on for us. You may begin, and I almost want to say this is like a Buddha warning label on being present, is that you may begin to re-evaluate and re-interrogate what actually matters to you and find that some of the locations that you are in and some of the things that you have gotten caught up with, in terms of thinking that's the thing what you have to pursue or that's the thing you have to get. That might shift for you as you become more present. The very interesting thing is though, that in whatever way it shifts for you, that's actually an organic shift of you choosing to be more of who you are. And so you become more of who you are and your sense of values and alignment with those values become more at the forefront. You end up being a person who is more content with your life choices and the way we think about that competition becomes less interesting to us overall. So it's not that you are knocked out of it, it's that you relate to it differently. Now all that said, paradoxically, there is then attraction to that greater sense of presence. Personally, I find that the more present I am, I do less active competing, so I'm not in active competition and actually things come to me." YES! This is exactly what I have been experiencing as I have gone through the masters program "Love and justice are not two. Without inner change, there can be no outer change. Without collective change, no change matters", Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams I really liked Rev. Williams' perspective so I looked for other talks by her and came across this video. Very powerful! After watching this video, I have used the "presencing" practice several times. As a woman, I find it incredibly powerful, as often women in society are told to take up less space. This practice helps be to take up my space in the here and now. Taken from my journal 8th March 2017
I read a really interesting article in Tricycle by William Parsons called Spiritual But Not Religious-Past and Present. (Tricycle, Spring 2017 p.g.48-49) According to Parsons I'm spiritual "suggests openness to religious wisdom , without the false trappings and mendacity of religious dogma, rituals or hierarchies" (pg. 48). Parsons claims that such people are seeking the highs that come from religious wisdom and practice without the dry doctrine. According to Parsons, SBNR have been called "navel-gazers". They have been criticised for being too individualistic and not recognising the need for social activism. He states that people have become suspicious of religion, rejecting rights to absolute authority, pointing out the complicity of organised religion in sustaining gender inequalities and structural racism and in perpetuating unfair forms of economic, social and political power. Parsons described the evolution of Spiritual But Not Religious. 1) Liberal religious traditions such as Transcendentalism, Unitarianism and Quakers may have laid a path for SNBR. They valued individuality, solitude, inner silence, ethical reforms, creative self-expression and tolerance. 2) Within psychology, religion has been deconstructed and reframed as an element of human projection and an expression of social and cultural power. Jung stated that religion and spirituality is not outside us but inside us in our deepest unconsciousness. 3) In the academy Freud, Marx, Nietzsche and Foucault scrutinized and carried out a critical analysis of religion. Parsons describes SBNR possessing the following qualities and outlook - individualism - free creative choice and expression - egalitarianism - psychological and therapeutic approach to spiritual growth - seeker/quester/consumer mentality - diverse background - lean to left politically - believe that humans are basically good - can participate in community - pantheistic/ monistic in outlook - affirm liberationist ethic I can relate to this. I see myself and others in the masters class in the description. I had to look up the meaning of pantheistic and monistic. Pantheism is the belief that everything is part of an all encompassing god. Monisticism is the belief that a variety of existing things are explained by one substance or theory. The symbol below was used by the Pythagoreans and Greeks to represent the first metaphysical being- the Monad or The Absolute. This image made me think of my paintings. The circle again..... "When I allow myself to feel my body, when I can inhabit it and allow myself to close off the world beyond my flesh, I become who I am- energy and spirit. I am not my mind. I am not my brain. I am stardust, comets, nebulae and galaxies. I am trees and wind and stone. I am space. I am emptiness and wholeness at the same time. That is when my body sings to me, a glorious ancient song redolent with mystery seeking to remain mystery. Connecting to it, living with it, becoming it even for a moment, I am healed and made more. Ceremony- whatever brings you closer to your essential self." (pg.54)
Taken from my journal 2nd March 2017 I love talking to Joan. She is a good listener and helps me to figure out my thoughts. After the class with Michelle, I wanted to know what she thought about all of this...religion, spirituality and mindfulness. Joan told me she believes in mysticism and magic. She is adverse to religion and finds herself actively resisting it. She says she holds a quantum physics/ metaphysics perspective. Energy passed on from one thing to another. She used the example of the Enzo that I have been studying. From nothing there is something which returns to nothing. She believes there is divinity in everything. We spoke of my issue with religion. Often the person who had the big ideas is held up as better than everyone else. They are held up as opposed to their ideas. I don't like the idea of worshipping a person or deity, as if they are above me, greater than me. Who says? Such power can come with abuse of power What is enlightenment? How do we know what it is? Who says? Who decides? If we don't know what it is, how do we know if we have reached it? If someone is enlightened does that make them better than everyone else? If one is seeking enlightenment, does that not mean they are pursuing an end point, a goal, a place above? Isn't that just like aiming for heaven? I prefer to think there is no end point rather it's a process. I spoke to Joan about my questions about mindfulness. If mindfulness is a part of a collection of practices and it is not intended to to be used in isolation, does that mean I should have the other practices too? If I lived by the other practices would that make me a Buddhist? Can one study Buddhism, do the practices and not be a Buddhist? What if I don't want to do the other practices because I don't like them or agree with them? Does this somehow make me less than? If a philosophy has practices and a doctrine about how to perceive the world does that make it a religion? What is another word for spirituality that doesn't have the word spirit in it? Where does the word spirit originate? Has its meaning changed over time? I have a problem with the idea of spirit because, where is it? Where is it located? Are we not a set of chemicals and transmission of energy between cells? If this creates random beauty and amazing moments of wonder, why does it have to be created? Is there not wonder in all things? Does not each thing have divinity and equal measures of wonder? Perhaps I worship nature. I keep coming back to the Enzo. From nothing there is something that is nothing. |
Helen Kennett-BaconOriginally from South Yorkshire in England, I've lived with my husband Neil in Kitsilano, Vancouver for 10 years. We are fur-parents to our French bulldog Dave, I am a Registered Psychiatric Nurse specialising in ADHD. Archives
April 2017
Categories |