Day 20 - Changing seasons - Constellations (2005)

Dear friend,


Let me start thanking my friend Rebecca for sending me a joyful email reminding her friends of the symbolic and important role the March Equinox has to many ancient cultures. This changing seasons, as I live in the Southern hemisphere, is changing from Summer to Fall, moving towards darkness and cold! 

So Happy March Equinox, Fall here, Spring there in the North, where most of you are, moving towards the Light and warmth. The magical pendulum of the seasons is shifting again, to balance the Earth's energy around the sun, happy changing seasons to everyone.


When I was a little kid, my family used to take time off to enjoy the March equinox, there was always a sense of wonder of nature's power. During the end of March, thunderstorms would bring heavy dark clouds full of lightning, thunder, water and ice! Electric power turned off and black outs spreading quickly in the largest city of South America, turning everything dark on the streets and inside home, no noisy distracting TV or radio, only candlelight. Nature was showing who's the boss! 
A spetacular show of lightning sparks striking and drawing colored tree branches and blue rivers in the sky.  Drums made of thundercracks creating waves in the air shaking glass windows and walls, filling our bodies with fearsome power and commotion.


During these Equinox evenings, my family used to gather close to the window to appreciate mother nature's show, while my gradmother used to cook rain cakes, tell stories about her ancestors, my father and mother used to invite us to sing along funny songs, tell jokes, dance and shadow-play by the candle light. Every thundercrack brought us closer and closer, laughting and shouting of fear and happiness for being there alive and together.


Moments of Fall Equinox like these are so vivid in my memory, they make me smile and laugh. The voices of my family still echoe inside of me as the most powerful and happiest moments in my life. Exactly on the Equinox, 3 years ago, my daughter Eva was born alive by natural birth, even though she had a short life in this earth, her arrival is now part of the Equinox celebration, my "little star of the buriti grove" is a lightning bolt and a thundercrack. And for her and for this beautiful thunderstorm that hit Brasília today, I sing and dance this sweet Jack Johnson's song Constellations! 
But before we dance this song, please enjoy this short meditation chant for the changing seasons, a gift of joy and hope for all of us in this equinox:



"I am a soul
A divine spark of the Infinite
That gave birth to this universe.

I remember Who I am
and serve the Greater Purpose of Life
as One with All That is.

I came here with many other souls
to assist in the expansion of Light
on this living planet Earth.

I accept to let Love
Be the guiding beacon of my life
and to shine Its radiance in every moment.

I am a soul
and the sole purpose of my existence
is to be All That I Am.

So be it."

 Namaste!


"Constellations" (in Between Dreams JJ 2005)

The light was leaving in the west it was blue 

The children’s laughter sang 

And skipping just like the stones they threw 

Their voices echoed across the waves 

It’s getting late 


And it was just another night 

With a sunset and a moonrise 

Not too far behind to give us just enough light 

To lay down underneath the stars 

We listened to Papa’s translations 

Of the stories across the sky 

We drew our own constellations 


The west winds often last too long 

And when they calm down, nothing ever feels the same 

Sheltered under the Kamani tree 

Waiting for the passing rain 

Clouds keep moving to uncover the sea 

Stars up above us chasing the day away 

To find the stories that we sometimes need 

Listen close enough and all else fades
Fades away 


And it was just another night 

With a sunset and a moonrise 

Not so far behind to give us just enough light 

To lay down underneath the stars 

Listen to all translations 

Of the stories across the sky 

We drew our own constellations

Day 19 - Adobe Home to myself - Broken (2006)

Yesterday, a feeling of accomplishment and hard work filled my whole body at the end of the day, then I could not move a hand or a foot from the sofa after 7pm as I was exausted and sore, each muscle of mine, each joint asking me to rest.
Immersed in the right concentration on space, I spent the whole day yesterday caring for the adobe house we just finished building and renovating, cleaning and organizing the space for making it usable for our future guests and the Instituto Salvia's headquaters, a NGO we are member and coordinate its projects.  Our effort started in 2010, almost 2 years ago, when we begun to build additions and renovate an old adobe house, a sacred place where we put loads of dedication and investment. New foundation, new adobe bricks, reused and refurbished Ipe windows and doors, furnitures and tiles, a mosaic of art and curvelinious walls, funky spiral staircase and round roof, all made with love and care.

Today, recovered from physical exaustion, I also felt that I ended a suffering cycle since I lost my first baby and now my second pregnancy. I am still in my cocoon, but can slowly feel my new wings turning into beautiful shape and colors.

I want to share with you that I am taking care of myself, helping me to restore my energy and my vitality, as I have been taking care of my adobe home. And I want to invite you to do the same.

Care is love, as better put by Thich Nhat Han:

"Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish."
Shall we try to generate that kind of energy toward ourselves, taking care of ourselves, of nourishing ourselves, of protecting ourselves—otherwise it is very difficult to take care of another person. To love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.

"To meditate means to go home to yourself."
 We know how to take care of the things that are happening inside of each of us, and we know how to take care of the things that happen around us if we are meditating, practicing love towards ourselves. All meditation exercises are aimed at bringing us back to our true home, to ourselves. Without restoring our peace and calm and helping the world to restore peace and calm, we cannot go very far in the practice.

Dance today is about going home to ourselves, repair the broken pieces of ourselves to non-self. Dance with me this Jack Johnson's Broken song,  to inspire us to practice love, continue valuing each moment we have in this life, and honor our lives here and now. Discover these insights while mindfully moving your whole being into the present moment.... home to myself.

much love
Aloha e
 Mahalo



"Broken"

With everything ahead of us 

We left everything behind

But nothing that we needed 

At least not at this time

And now the feeling that I’m feeling 

Well it’s feeling like my life is finally mine

With nothing to go back to we just continue to drive
 

Without you I was broken

But I’d rather be broke down with you by my side 

Without you I was broken

But I’d rather be broke down with you by my side 
 

I didn’t know what I was looking for

So I didn’t know what I’d find

I didn’t know what I was missing 

I guess you’ve been just a little too kind

And if I find just what I need

I’ll put a little peace in my mind
Maybe you’ve been looking too 

Or maybe you don’t even need to try
 

Without you I was broken

But I’d rather be broke down with you by my side 

Without you I was broken

But I’d rather be broke down with you by my side 
 

With everything in the past 

Fading faster and faster until it was gone

Found out I was losing so much more than I knew all along

Cause everything I’ve been working for 

Only worth nickels and dimes

But if I had a minute for every hour that I’ve wasted 

I’d be rich in time, I’d be doing fine
 

Without you I was broken

But I’d rather be broke down with you by my side 

Without you I was broken

But I’d rather be broke down with you by my side 


Day 18 - Right concentration and Space - Upside down (2006)

hello dear friend,

today meditation is dedicated to my friend Lide who joined us in this blog and who has been present daily giving me encouragement and support during this healing journey.

Want to invite you to meditate and dance on right concentration and the concentration is on space. Dancers use space well as it is the matter where movements can be created as writing words in the sand. Space is music and movement, for the dancer, everything is space and space is everywhere, jumping up and down, turning upside down, and spinning, sppining around, changing all the time in infinite tides and pirouets.

Space is also where we live, our home, our work, the parks, the garages, the trains and the rain drop feeding rivers and oceans,
Space is the space between tides, the way going back in forth between two places, the sky and the earth, in and out our bodies, the space between two moments, all is space and this space is turning and spinning around the sun, dancing with stars and planets in an immense ocean of darkness and light we all are immersed in.

What is important when meditating on space, especially on the space between each breath is how our meditation helps us to feel protected in our inner and outter space, and how this whole space within and surrounding us helps us to create a peaceful place where a incredible force inside is born to deal with so many challenges in life, all the dangers on everyday meetings, and actions, everytime we have to share spaces with nature's elements and creatures, with our family members, co-workers and strangers.

This meditation on right concentration is also inspired by Thich Nhat Han's the Heart of Buddha's Teaching and on the setting up a sacred space for meditation, I got inspiration from  the publication called "The Preliminary Practices of Tibetan Buddhist Meditation", by Dr. Miles Neale from the Nalanda Institute for  Contemplative Science.   It is helping me to start to set my space, a sacred space around me and in me, up and down, especially when my world is turning upside down.


First step, when aiming good concentration during our meditation, we need to find a clean and tidy space in our home, as it helps put our mind at ease.  If we live with our relatives, we need to find a place where we feel at home with ourselves. When I used to live with my parents, my bed and bedroom was this sacred space.  When i closed the door, I was entering that space of contemplation.

As we tidy the surroundings, imagine we are cleansing our mind of negative imprints that obscure our natural clarity. Time is a manifestation of space, so think about ‘cleaning up’ our time as well.  One does this by clarifying our intention to practice now in the present moment, as opposed to doing things mindlessly and on automatic pilot.  Then commit to a meditation period with right concentration.  Our space and time are purified with our respect.

Let's make our space pleasing to the senses, meaningful or sacred by setting up, for example, an altar, arranging flowers, lighting candles and incense, setting up pictures or statues of inspiring people or places and making other gestures of gratitude. This helps to create a special environment and differentiate it from ‘ordinary’ space. 

Now mentally, let's transform the space, by returning to the active imagination of a child, relaxing beyond limits of what we think is real or possible.  Imagine that you are in a safe-healing environment
of your choosing. Rather than a bedroom or corner of your house, imagine you are in a
sanctuary, temple, palace or other inspirational place.

Then imagine that the space is well protected by a force-field of awareness created by all the
spiritual mentor-guides of your tradition or lineage.  They hold you in their tender embrace,
watching carefully over you.  They are delighted by your activities.  The force-filed acts as a filter
for any stresses and toxic elements, thereby sanctifying your surroundings.  Let our imagination
ease our brain and nervous system into feeling safe enough to disarm, and relaxed enough to
enjoy the moment and the space we are in.

To help our dance and meditation on right concentration and space, I found this joyful and hopeful Jack Johnson's Upside down song. As the song invites us to dance, we can't put limits on our imagination being a curious monkey trying to learn how to jump up and down in the junggle, but this monkey also needs to put some boundaries to safely call this place home. By understanding that things change everyday, while the world is spinning around,  the monkey inside us can turn her space upside down, further she finds what she was looking for, sharing love with everyone she meets along the way.

Aloha e


"Upside Down"

Who’s to say what’s impossible 

Well they forgot this world keeps spinning 

And with each new day

I can feel a change in everything 
 

And as the surface breaks reflections fade

But in some ways they remain the same

And as my mind begins to spread it’s wings 

There’s no stopping curiosity
 

I want to turn the whole thing upside down

I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found 

I’ll share this love I find with everyone 

We’ll sing and dance to mother nature’s songs

I don’t want this feeling to go away
 

Who’s to say I can’t do everything 

Well I can try, and as I roll along I begin to find 

Things aren’t always just what they seem 
 

I want to turn the whole thing upside down

I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found 

I’ll share this love I find with everyone 

We’ll sing and dance to mother nature’s songs
 

This world keeps spinning 

And there’s no time to waste

Well it all keeps spinning spinning 

Round and round and upside down
 

Who’s to say what’s impossible and can’t be found

I don’t want this feeling to go away
 

Please don’t go away

Please don’t go away

Please don’t go away
 

Is this how it’s supposed to be?

Is this how it’s supposed to be?

Day 17 - A Bird in the hand - Gone

Today was one of those days when my meditation focus had to change as new events occurred and had a huge impact on me. Pause for a moment, and try to meditate on How do we deal with a bird in the hand?

The story I will tell you tries to answer this simple question: "A rare bird flying for the first time after leaving its nest was happy and overconfident, but his wings were not strong enough and he could not fly over the tree tops, risked flying low, and hit hard a wall. Still conscious, but a bit desoriented, the bird was flapping its wings anxiously hoping to fly again, but he was hurt and could not fly anymore. Meanwhile, walking happily with her dog, a woman saw the rare bird jumping and trying to fly on the ground, and she felt so sorry for him and very carefully took the bird in her hands in an attempt to save him from ferocious predators that might pass by. She put the bird in a safe place away from the ground. However, the woman's dog was watching the whole scene and followed her owner to the place where the bird was safely resting. After the woman left the place, the dog came back, grabbed the bird with her mouth and took him to her owner as a prize, a catch. Terrified with the scene, the woman saw the rare bird she had just saved killed by her dog."

Rare Bird

Different from the famous proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", my meditation today is based on "a bird in the hand is gone".
What is the moral of this bird parable?

There is not fixed moral, it all depends on the level of understanding we have, for example, do not attempt to save a broken wing bird while walking a dog, it might kill it instead of heal it. Helping others is welcome when we are not a threat to them.

 In my meditation, I see so many levels of undertanding of this real story. Yes, I was the woman trying her best to save the bird. My dog, on the other hand, to please me and show me how smart she is, killed the rare bird. I am still  mourning his death. I share this story so the bird have not died in vain. So to bring you this message of compassion, forgiveness, love and understanding, My suffering is healing. I am developing deep looking.
This bird was a young and strong creature. The act of saving the bird put me in touch with his bird world, the connection we made was magical, I touched his whole body, his wonderful feathers, we looked in each other in the eye, we talked to each other in our way. He was a rare bird, a very beautiful bird.
When this bird was wounded, I tried my best to help him. I did feel guilty, my own dog killed him. But I also know that a bird that cannot fly will probably die soon. Saving him was an attempt to prolongue his life and consequently his suffering. According to the Buddhist vision, I should not worry. My dog abbreviated his life and his suffering.
But I do suffer and feel guilt, this loss reverberates with my own loss, and sometimes it is difficult to heal. If one arrow strikes you, you will suffer. if a second arrows hits you in the same spot, you will suffer one hundred times more. so when I have pain or feel guilt, or feel I am a victim of injustice, I shall breath in and out and say to myself: "it is only pain from loosing a rare bird".

I hope this meditation will help me to transform my pain and suffer less, be less attached to the pain I imagined the bird might have had too.

Instead, I want to Imagine this rare bird flying strong and free, healed, and born again.

The song I chose to dance is Jack Johnson's Gone. It is about  people that are careless with the world and consumed by things..., and birds that don't want to sing... and all these things one day are gone!
We have the capacity of receiving, embracing and transforming pain when we understand with deep looking. 

Namaste


"Gone"

look at all those fancy clothes
but these could keep us warm just like those
and what about your soul is it cold
is it straight from the mold and ready to be sold
and cars and phones and diamond rings
those are only removable things
and what about your mind does it shine
or are there things that concern you more than your time
gone going gone everything gone give a damn
gone be the birds when they don’t want to sing
gone people all awkward with their things, gone
look at you out to make a deal
you try to be appealing but you loose your appeal
what about those shoes you’re in today
they’ll do no good on the bridges you’ve burnt along the way
you willing to sell anything, gone with your herd
leave your footprints and we’ll shame them with our words
gone people all careless and consumed, gone
gone going gone everything gone give a damn
gone be the birds if they don’t want to sing
gone people all awkward with their things, gone