Recognize the nature of your mind. Where do your thoughts come from, where do they reside, where do they go.
Easy to see the rapid movement of thoughts- from task to feeling to desire to discomfort to admiration to disdain. Adventitious is the mind, on an inner adventure it is.
Be persistent in your recognition of this adventurous mind. Watch the coming and going stream of thoughts and emotions. Aware of the flow, aware of the flow, aware of the flow. This is a powerful practice.
Knowing this you can know the suffering and happiness of all. Seed of your compassion and love.
The outer world is full of men who profess to control the fate of our world, Who push and pull at any lever at their disposal – they profess to control.
Our inner world can be revealed through the guidance of wisdom beings, visible and intangible to course perception. They light the way for us, when we choose awareness, the way to realize our mind’s nature and the desire for all beings to find happiness. This inner realization manifests before us.
I pray that all beings will recognize the other as themselves, freedom as a quality found within that inspires generosity to all beings.
January always moves me to reflect. While reflection, in western culture, is a natural part of the year’s rollover, my birthday and the sheltering that comes with the cold and snow seems to drive the instinct further. First, I’m moved to clean and rearrange my stuff. In my world there is a lot of digital stuff to consider on top of the physical stuff. In preparation for our trip to Nepal, I tried to get rid of the physical accumulation; clothes, books, files, trinkets, electronics, and such. And with all our travel across the country, I’ve tried to continue to simplify the stuff. The digital is much more difficult to dive into. With gigabytes of photos and old backups (and duplicates), it is a minefield of sorting and culling.
Ever since my adolescents I’ve employed cleaning my physical world to straighten up my mental world. My young mind was over stimulated and sometimes splintered from rushes of hormones, brain growth, and relationships. On top of all that “normal” adolescent dynamics there was experimentation with states of consciousness – religious and chemical. Somehow, I always felt more grounded and at peace after a good purge and organizing.
My messy room is still a reflection of a distracted mind. While life isn’t as novel and over the top as when I was 16, I continue to find solace in outward order. In this solace, I settle in to the wisdom of my spiritual teachers. I can hear their instructions for looking beyond my relative, self-centered way of being. I realize that my inclinations toward grasping and my impulses to react are only one reality, not THE reality. These thoughts and emotions can be acknowledged without being engaged. This requires practice of course – a daily routine of mental hygiene 🙂
It is impossible to grasp the myriad ways that people are sheltering and we’re just getting started. Yesterday I attended my sister-in-laws birthday party via Zoom. There were less than 10 of us and we represented at least 5 different towns, 3 different time zones. Listening to their stories, I realized how different our realities are. Shaped by climate, housing, family configuration, and the state and town we live in, each of us have a different way, a different perspective of sheltering. Though we were pretty much in agreement that sheltering is a necessary action, I sensed that there were variations in what we considered safe. The variations weren’t extreme but very present.
I have a brother in Missouri who has sheltered with both of his 2 adult children and their 4 children. With 2 houses on adjacent property and lots of acreage, one daughter has temporarily moved in to their home with her son. The other daughter lives in a house 100 yards across the field with her husband, daughter and 2 sons. In the weeks since sheltering began in their state and town, they have remained on the land and had the benefit (and the sacrifices) of close contact with only each other. They have home schooled the children, some have worked remotely and one has worked outside the home in an essential and solitary workplace. They have done shopping as needed but generally have kept to themselves. They express their gratitude that they are able to have this time together, even though it is under some duress.
My mother on the other hand is sheltered alone. From the last week in March to the present, she has left her home only once to shop. She has had her groceries delivered by the store or one of my brothers and has kept in touch with us via voice and video conversations. I am very thankful that, at 89, she has the skills and a sharp mind for negotiating her computer and phone. Living over 800 miles from her, the Internet is a precious gift for connecting with her. She seems to keep herself busy with reading books, playing games on her computer, watching television, reading Facebook and the news. Through it all she stays connected with the family and the world. In some ways her life hasn’t changed too much for her, thought she misses the periodic physical contact she used to have with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Mom – iPad – FaceTime
As some states reopen and loosen safe at home living, our style of interaction will vary even more. While we can read what the recommendations are and have experienced some safe social engagement in the course of these weeks, we are still trying to establish our level of comfort and consequently our behavior. Joni and I have engaged in several video chats with friends and family and it seems that there is a subtle debate and negotiation in our conversations about what we’ve heard, read; about what is allowed and what is safe. If this is true of like-minded friends and family one can only assume that there is even greater diversity of thought in other communities and groups. At the extreme are people, a small but vocal minority, who still consider infection to be a hoax and you have a lot of room for confusion.
What did you hear about parks being open? Can you hike? Can you camp?
Can we cross state and county lines? What happens when we do? Can they stop us?
Can I get my bike fixed?
How do I tell someone to give me space? How do I deal with their anger (and language) when I do?
How sick do I need to be to get a test? Is an antibody test more available? Is it just as good? How reliable are the tests? Can I feel safe if I have the antibodies?
How can I be sure that people who work at my house conduct themselves safely?
Should I allow people to pet my dog?
If my friend and I have both been in isolation for weeks, can we safely gather? Should we still maintain 6 feet? With or without face masks? Can I go in their house?
These and other questions will get answered over the summer and into the fall and winter as we line up our social behavior with the change in infection rates. Hopefully we will have the tests that are reliable and accessible to measure our progress. Hopefully people will choose health over money, finding ways to bring commerce and comfort back without sacrificing their community.
Plans for ending shelter in place are moving forward. Counties, cities, and states have announced new rules for public engagement with the goal of allowing people greater freedom of movement, small group gathering, and the resumption of services and retail business. The most restrictive plans are detailed by organization and require that people follow particular guidelines for reopening service and business. The variety of approaches are varied and sometimes difficult to follow but some news sources are trying to maintain updated status for all the 50 states.
Here in Colorado our governor has announced a second stage strategy for increasing movement while trying to keep the lid on Covid-19 infection. In his afternoon press conference today (April 27) he repeatedly said, “if we as a state slack off on social distancing measures and other ways to prevent the spread of the virus, additional restrictions could come back. It is up to us to keep moving towards fewer restrictions.” This warning is the governor’s attempt to motivate Coloradan’s even as experts are short on testing data; a shortage of information regarding infection of asymptomatic individuals (infected but not showing symptoms). Today the governor intends to address testing in particular. The worry is that we will move to Stage 3 of the plan before we have valid data.
US Post Office – Glenwood Springs, CO – David McGavock
The details of the new restrictions are not simply recommendations but directives for conducting business safely. Polis made it clear that the state has always maintained health guidelines for business and would continue to through this crisis.
If that’s what they are doing [ignoring state restrictions], then that is unsafe for the residents of Weld County, which has one of the highest per capita rates of COVID-19 in the state, and we will absolutely use every mechanism we have including they will forego their own eligibility for emergency funds. Those businesses could lose their license to operate under the state if they’re state-licensed businesses.
Jared Polis Newsconference – April 27, 2020
The threat of these consequences may not be as easy to apply as they sound. Weld County has already received their emergency funds so that cow has left the barn. But businesses should be careful not to risk their license as well as their reputation and concern for public safety. The consequences may be their end. I predict that businesses will do all they can to advertise and maintain the steps they take to protect customers if they are going to survive. Hilton Hotels have already begun.
While the variety of restrictions and recommendations that are streaming from various jurisdictions may seem confusing and contradictory, they can be boiled down to a few common sense reminders for most of us:
Under age 65. Stay at home unless you have something essential do. This includes food or home maintenance shopping, exercise, work, medical or other essential activity.
Over 65. Stay safe at home. Ask for help in getting essential supplies.
Carry a mask with you if you leave the house.
Maintain 6 foot distance whenever possible.
Put mask on when you cannot maitain 6 foot distance.
These 6 reminders will contribute to your health and the health of those around you. I expect they will become a part of our daily living and common courtesy into the next few years. Settle in, practice and these actions will become second nature.
