Awake in the World

“It is amazing that something so beautiful will be destroyed. But then again, that is the story of our lives.” — Woman who watched the creation of a sand mandala

Tibetan Buddhist monks spend days creating exquisite sand mandalas only to destroy them. They draw out elaborate geometric patterns on a platform then tap out tiny, vibrantly colored grains of sand to create masterful works of art. Their work requires days and sometimes weeks to complete with several monks usually working together. Once the art is completed, a ceremony is performed to consecrate it and then with the sweep of a brush it is ceremonially dissolved. The sands of the mandala are swept into a gray mass and taken to a river so it may be carried to the sea.

When I first saw this, the power of it astonished me. How could someone who has spent days and weeks creating something so beautiful destroy it? The message to me was clear – it represents the process of life and the mandalas are powerful tools that teach about impermanence. In the West especially, we shun aging and decay. We hide things that appear old and put them in closets, throw them out – and if they’re people we put them in homes out of the public eye. We worship youth, but we have a hard time accepting the process of change which includes dissolution and decay.

These sand mandalas can be ways of teaching us to accept and help us to grieve loss and to heal. After the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Loesling Drepung monks from India who stay periodically in Georgia, were encouraged by the Dalai Lama to create a healing sand mandala. The Sackler Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. hosted them and there was an outpouring of appreciation from visitors. They remarked on the healing power, the patience, the depth and how they were brought a deep acceptance of the nature of life as it takes us through birth, life and eventually death. It was all beauty – even the dissolution.

The ways the monks with their sand mandalas encourage us to embrace change can teach us much about acceptance and understanding of life. If you’re inspired, create your own healing mandala in a drawing, in sand or in your imagination. Honor it and then offer it to the Divine. If you feel moved to, dissolve or destroy it later.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and internationally. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years learning meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online athttp://www.awakeintheworld.com.

Zen Buddhist author, Natalie Goldberg teaches a form of walking meditation in her writing workshops. She instructs people to coordinate each step with a breath as a way to become more aware and present. The pace of walking slows significantly and becomes a moving meditation. Meditation at its best and highest is conscious living in action where mind, body and spirit are in harmony. It brings awareness not only during moments of silent sitting, but also begins to permeate all aspects and areas of life. It’s a concentrated effort to tame and train the mind to be present, awake, alert to the possibilities.

When Tibetan Buddhist Lama, Sogyal Rinpoche taught meditation he often spoke of meditation as a training practice. At first the mind resists, but little by little it becomes accustomed to being here in the present. It’s a bit like training for a race. Like the body, the mind works up to longer periods of silent sitting. In an early period of practicing presence, I sat at the kitchen table looking out at the sea. As I ate one spoonful of tomato soup at a time, working hard to be in the moment and not read the newspaper, tears started to well up and pour down my cheeks, drop off of my nose and into my tomato soup. I wanted to ask my teacher then and there, “What’s so great about being in the moment?”

The quiet presence left space for all of the pain and suppressed hurts and fears to surface. At the time my heart was heavy with unconscious pain and I wanted to keep my mind occupied to avoid feeling it. But as the pain surfaced and tears flowed, I felt lighter and happier than I’d felt for a very long time. The grief of so many losses began to dissipate as they were released through tears, writing and allowing them to surface into the light of full consciousness.

For an instant today, if you will, be completely present to yourself, for yourself. Listen to what your heart’s calling you to do. Feel your emotions. Observe the mind. Be with yourself without judgment – in love with yourself and the precious moment.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and internationally. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years learning meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online athttp://www.awakeintheworld.com.

Life is an adventure. Explore it.

Opening the heart can become an adventure. Recently a friend wrote to me in a state of shock. She was on her way to the hospital for a surprise – open heart surgery. I felt her shock even through the email. It’s always difficult to know what to say, but I sensed she would come out of the experience okay. “It’ll be an adventure,” I wrote. She said those surprising words shifted her perspective. 

On the way down the hospital corridors she saw a quote displayed prominently on a wall. “One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” The synchronicity caught her off guard. “I had no choice but to let go and be carried along by the angel spirits,” she later wrote. Today she’s well on her way to mending with a happy heart. She is healing well and her attitude and elevated spirits have helped. According to recent studies at Duke’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health in Durham, NC, those who have solid spiritual beliefs and upbeat attitudes make it through life’s challenges better,  heal faster and reduces stress. It confirms that when life is viewed as an adventure we take the journey in a way that is healthier for our bodies, minds and spirits.

As I go through challenging and uncertain times right now, I’m making myself remember and hold to that view. So often it’s easy to settle into a comfortable situation and find it easy to lose consciousness and fall asleep. It seems this is when life jerks us back into the game and throws a curve ball that changes the score. It’s like the universe is says, “Wake up!  We’re on a trip and you can’t afford to drive it with your eyes shut.”

If you’re having challenges today, make the effort to shift perspective from worry, fear and anxiety to viewing life as an adventure. Explorers who set off on a journey don’t expect comfort and constancy. They anticipate difficulties and challenges on their great adventure. Find excitement and joy in the new opportunities that may grow from challenging situations.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at  http://www.awakeintheworld.com.

“Love is neither sentiment nor emotion. Love is energy.” – Sathya Sai Baba

Some of my best and greatest teachers have been embodiments of love. They teach through example. My grandmother, Eva, gave me good lessons. Regardless of my childish and often egocentric ways she’d always wrap me in her thick, warm arms and give me absolute and total unconditional love. I’d bury my head in her flower print cotton dress and whatever troubled my heart would fade in an instant. She may have taught me some of the greatest lessons about how to put love into action. They came through her in waves of loving energy that I will never forget.

When I lived in the South of France, I often attended satsang (being in company of the spiritual-minded), with Tibetan Buddhist Lama, Sogyal Rinpoche. His gentle humor and warmth represented another kind of love. He could speak to compassion and entice my heart to open and expand. The big leap came on a trip to India, the first time I saw Sathya Sai Baba. Baba was an elevated soul who could melt the hardest hearts with the love that emanated from him. He never sought publicity and yet millions of people from around the world traveled to the remote village where he lived in India for his darshan (vision of a holy one).

When he died recently, he received a funeral with state honors and the Dalai Lama along with representatives of other major world religions paid tribute to his works of service. Baba built state-of-the-art hospitals, schools and canals that carry drinking water to villages that previously had none. The health care and education in the institutions is provided entirely for free. His love in action helped millions in India and around the world.

The greater the love, the greater the power to effect change and bring a positive influence to the world. Many people think of speaking of Love as a cliché. But real  Love as a practice is hard work – and worth every iota of effort. It transcends romantic notions and unites us with deep feelings of Oneness.  To me this type of Love means making an effort to help others even when there is no reward; thinking kind and loving thoughts; giving back to the community in small ways and in big ways when possible. Sometimes a smile to someone at the right time or an inspired gift of food can be the love needed in the moment that will change someone’s heart and lift them from despair.

What does Love mean to you and how will you consciously Love today? What quality of Love will you put into your work, your relationships and your life? The energy of Love that we bring into our actions, projects and words today add up over the long term to bring meaning and beauty.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.