The Heart’s Fullness

Tags

celebration, easter, emptiness, fullness, spirituality

For most of the years that the weekly #SpiritChat has been around, we take a break from our Sunday morning Twitter gathering on Easter Sunday. It has become a bit of a tradition, if you will.

This Easter Sunday, we are going to ‘break with tradition’ because my heart has invited me to do so. Let me elaborate.

I usually wait until after my Saturday morning meditation hour to choose a topic for our Sunday chat. Clarity usually comes to the heart after meditation. As I sat for today’s hour, I didn’t even ‘ask for a topic’ because I wasn’t planning to do the chat anyway.

And yet, the universe had different plans. As my thoughts receded and the noise was replaced by a fullness of warmth and light that first came as a trickle, then a flood, and then a stillness that just sat there, my heart’s master said — “hold space for them like I am holding space for you.”

Who are these them, I asked? They are those who want someone to celebrate with, but can’t. Or they are those who want to simply share with someone about their week. Or they just want to see a friendly face, like your friend, the veteran who stands under a tree outside the local post office holding a “be kind” cardboard sign – the one you stop and chat with every single time you see him, inquire about his health issues, share some prepackaged food or a mask, and more. Yes him, who often reminds you of the fullness and richness of your life, as he says “God loves you” at the end of every one of your street conversations.

Yes. Hold space for them, because them includes you. Be the vessel that can be filled with potential. That was this morning’s invitation, and I accepted.

What is fullness or emptiness? It’s relative, isn’t it? To paraphrase Lao Tse, “we focus on the beauty of the vessel, but its usefulness, its potential is in its emptiness”. When the heart’s vessel is full, we feel led to empty it, to share what is held within, whether it be joy or sorrow. When the heart feels empty, we want to fill it up again.

Back and forth, the pendulum swings, and a time comes when our heart’s fullness is permanent. We are home again to love. We can all celebrate that, can’t we?

Kumud

P. S. Join us for our weekly chat, Sunday April 4 at 9amET / 630pm India in #SpiritChat. Bring some goodies to share, and we will celebrate fullness. Namaste – @AjmaniK

Flowers fill the heart… Happy Easter!

On Raising Compassion

Tags

compassion, easter, passion, resurrection

In all the years that I have been hosting the Sunday #SpiritChat, it has become a sort of tradition to ‘pause’ the weekly virtual gathering of our community on Easter Sunday. One reason for the ‘pause’ is that it is a day for celebration with ‘real life’ friends and family and local community. Many of our #SpiritChat community members are traveling or hosting travelers in their homes. Another reason is that it is usually ‘spring break’ time for my school-going daughter, and I myself am traveling. Perhaps the biggest reason for the ‘pause’ is that it serves as a day of reverence, renewal, reflection and, often, new spiritual resolutions for me and many in the community. 

However, this year, life is a bit different because a lot of us are not going to be gathering with our ‘real life’ communities on Easter. A lot of us are ‘physical distancing’ to help contain the spread of the pandemic, and we can see some positive results emerging from our efforts, as each of us in our small way contribute to the wellness of the whole. So, we break ‘tradition’ and gather virtually, to connect and celebrate our collaborative spirit of compassion. 

When I started to think about the topic for this unique day, I initially thought about resolve, resolution, renewal, rebirth, and yes, even resurrection. However, the more I read about how different communities, cities, states and countries have been responding to this unique challenge, the more I asked myself the question – what is the greatest need of the current situation? To rephrase the question in the form that was popular a few years ago — What would Jesus Do (WWJD)?

Two Aprils ago, we were all in Southern Brazil on my father-in-law’s farm for the Easter holiday and spring break. There were a lot of gatherings with my wife’s immediate and extended family. The one event that was perhaps most impactful to me was the one that I hadn’t planned on or expected to attend. It was an Easter service at the family’s local church where my wife’s cousin is the priest. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because I had never attended an Easter service before. I went with an open heart, with the expectation that I would find some common ground with temple services. 

Sure enough, there was common ground aplenty. There was light through candles, there was music and singing through the choir and congretation’s singing, there were rituals and pageantry, and much more. Above all, there was family togetherness, and the peace among all those gathered was palpable and pronounced. At the start of the service, when the priest and processional walked through the center aisle with the Cross held high, I was immediately reminded of Swami Vivekanda’s famous quote — “ Unfurl the banner of Love! – Arise, Awake and stop not until the goal is reached.”

Compassion is our common ground because it represents a commingling of all the different streams of love, with a passion for each others’ well-being. Love is the banner that has been raised in all times, by all spiritual teachers of all spiritual denominations. When we raise the banner of compassion, we celebrate the resurrection and empowerment of the heart. When so empowered, we evoke grace, we act with tenderness, we put into motion the wheels of empathy. 

So, for the opportunity to raise compassion and find common ground, let us gather virtually again. Let us celebrate the heart’s resurgence, and honor the remembrance of love and light that Easter represents. 

Namaste,

Kumud

P.S. What does (spiritual) Easter represent to you? Share with us in our weekly gathering on twitter in #SpiritChat – Sunday, April 12 at 9amET / 1pm GMT / 630pm India. To all those celebrating, Happy Easter and Feliz Pascoa! Namaste – @AjmaniK

Let the Lillies rise again…

 

On butterflies and renewal…

Tags

easter, healing, holidays, renewal

Her wings spread wide to the fullest, she floated lifeless on the water’s surface as I drained the pool…

maybe she is still alive, I thought, for I had not seen her floating a few minutes ago…

lifting her up out of the water with the pool cleaning net, I thought I saw her move one of her… or was it just my imagination?

and as headed over with her towards the row of herb planters, my heart leaped with joy as she did lift her other wing off of the blue mesh…

but she still could not fly, as her wings were wet and all her feet were enmeshed… did I dare to try and extract her from the mesh without causing her damage?

Surely, she would die without my help (or would she?), even though I had to use the gentlest of touches so to not break off a leg of hers?

In what seemed like an eternity that must not have lasted more than fifteen seconds, I managed to pry her loose and set her free again as she landed on a blade of tall grass to dry her leaves and recover…

And then, a few minutes later, she came to circle the pool many times… as if to express her joy… flapping her wings with abandon…

But wait… what was this? Were there were a few more of her siblings that she brought in her wake? Sure enough!

And I got the feeling that it was going to be a busy morning rescuing butterflies with the net for me…

Sunday morning on the farm in Brasil.

A lesson about returning to life, to freedom, to flight, and to light…

– Kumud

The Spirit Of Easter ~ SpiritChat Pauses

Tags

easter, spirichat, spirit

Last year, around this time of the year, #SpiritChat paused on Sunday April 8th. The occasion was the Easter holiday weekend ~ an occasion for family get-togethers and travel. I invite you to read that post and return here. I had explained the reasons for the pause in our weekly chat, and why I thought it was important for us to focus on the Holiday. Of course, I am reminded that this year, many also celebrate Passover on this weekend. And I am sure there are many other celebrations in many regions and cultures around the world which mark this family weekend.

This year, in 2013, Sunday March 31st also happens to be the fifth Sunday of the month. So, we have already had our fair share of #SpiritChats this month, haven’t we?! If you have missed any of them, please go through the archive and enjoy the questions and transcripts. If you are relatively new to #SpiritChat, make a few new friends ~ if you are a #SpiritChat “veteran”, you know that we love to pause, reflect, recharge, renew and come back with gusto.

And we will do just that. As a matter of fact, Sunday April 7th, I will probably still be traveling back from vacation, and hope to be back on land 🙂 So, I am not sure who will be hosting the chat April 7th, or in what format it will be. Perhaps, folks of the #SpiritChat community will step up and make it happen ~ with or without me asking the questions. To paraphrase my good friend @waynemcevilly ~ “maybe it’s a good opportunity to see what the folks will do in your absence”. Intriguing, isn’t it?! (see update below!)

So, to sum up. We pause March 30th. And as we all pause, let us ask ourselves – Is our spiritual practice commensurate with the change that we seek within? Who will you invite into your heart and home as a sign of renewal? Who will you forgive? Who will you re-connect with? Yes. I couldn’t resist leaving you with a few questions to ponder. For I shall be pondering the same. Pauses help us ponder.

Update: We resume April 7th with the wonderful @EmeliaSam taking charge of #SpiritChat ~ the topic will be “Spontaneity”. Emelia has been a part of the #SpiritChat community almost since its inception. All of you will have a wonderful time with her! Her twitter bio reads: “Author.Educator.Doctor.Speaker.Change Agent. You deserve a life that you love. I’ll help you build one. #360SOUL” Thank you, Emelia, for agreeing to step up to host the chat at short notice. Very grateful!

Thank you for reading. I wish you all great spiritual renewal over the next two weeks. Be well.

Kumud

The Spirit of Easter

Tags

easter, spirit, spiritchat

It was Thursday evening already and I still did not have a clear idea of what the topic was going to be for SpiritChat on the coming Sunday. Of course, in any given week, there are so many topics floating around in my head that I could have just picked one and it would probably be fine.

Except, the upcoming Sunday was no ordinary Sunday. In my mind Easter Sunday is perhaps the most venerated day in North America – yes, perhaps even more than Christmas itself. It is a day where families get together – not necessarily to observe the ritual of exchanging gifts and sharing a meal – but perhaps for the purity of purpose of spending time together.

So, I was in two minds – should I even go forward with hosting #SpiritChat – or should I mark this day with the respect that it deserves because it is venerated by so many. After all, what is the relevance of a mere few tweets in a figment of time as compared to a holiday that celebrates life, renewal and reflection with great spiritual import. A brief exchange with my good friend and sounding board on twitter, @MartinaMcGowan confirmed what my heart was already telling me.

Forego the scheduled chat on Sunday morning. Give the holiday the respect it deserves and take a pause – for #SpiritChat has always believed in slowing down to speed up. So, I decided to take a pause on April 8th for Easter Sunday. The battle between the head and the heart was easily won by the heart.

But, wait a minute, Kumud. You aren’t a Christian. So why do you care about Easter? Yes, you are right. I may not be a Christian by religion – but #SpiritChat is not about religion. It is about matters of the heart and spirit. And I believe that the heart and spirit of Easter is about faith, family, love, light, renewal, hope and remembrance.

And, no matter my religious beliefs – all those things are worth pausing for.

Kumud

P.S. We will meet back in #SpiritChat on April 15th at 9am ET. I hope you will join the community in sharing. Until then, be well 🙂 In the meanwhile, maybe you can share in the comments – what does the spirit of Easter mean to you?