Challenging Traditions

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challenges, heritage, legacy, letting go, traditions

As one holiday season comes to a close (my inherited Indian traditions) and another one draws nearer (my adoptedm American traditions), I find myself in a somewhat unique positon to compare and contrast the two. At every major Indian festival, I am reminded of some of the traditions of my parents, grandparents, friends and extended family that I grew up with before I moved to the USA. I do have to admit that their color fades ever so imperceptibly over the years.

Over the three decades that I have lived in the USA, I have created a few (holiday) traditions (of my own), to blend with the ones that I inherited. I do have to admit that it is a lot of work to create new, sustainable and meaningful traditions. Only time will tell how these newly created traditions will stand up to the test of our increasingly mobile and fluid landscape of friendships and relationships.

Traditions need not be exclusively associated with holidays, festivals and celebrations. As I evaluate the traditions that have stuck with me the longest, a few salient qualities come to the fore. The ones that have stood the test of space and time are those that promote simplicity, purity, cleanliness and respect in action. I observe them not for tradition’s sake, but because they make a meaningful, positive impact on the quality of my everyday life.

The tradition of silence with which my grandparents went about their daily business, without any fuss or complaint, inspires me to do the same. The reverence that my mother held for cleanliness in all her actions was often the subject of friendly banter – nobody could drink from her mug of tea, use her pillow or blanket, bring shoes into her kitchen, or… you get the idea – and yet it became a tradition in purity that many of us now observe with a smile. Have you inherited any ‘quirks’ of your parents and grandparents that have now become ‘traditions’ for you?

Perhaps the greatest value of traditions is in their ability to lend some measure of consistency and stability to our life-systems. As we face new, and often unforeseen, challenges, we can lean on our traditions for support. At the same time, it is prudent for us to ask questions of, to challenge those traditions that may be past their ‘use-by’ date in our life. How is any meaningful social, economic and spiritual change going to be effected if we calcify our hearts in the name of ‘tradition’?

Hence, the notion of ‘challenging traditions’. They create some challenges. The need/want to pass on and share as many of our inherited traditions. The need/want to let go, with love, of the ones that create more problems than they solve. The need/want to create some new ones with our new neighbors, friends and family. Can you think of any more challenges associated with ‘traditions’?

In closing, I invite you to share your thoughts on ‘challenging traditions’ with us in #SpiritChat on twitter – Sunday, November 12th at 9amET/2pmUTC/730pmIST. We will continue our ‘tradition’ of conversation over tea and cookies in the virtual world. Namaste,

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. As I write this, it is a beautiful Saturday afternoon in November. November 11th, to be exact. Armistice Day. Remembrance Day. Veterans Day. A day that marks a traditional, solemn observance of respect and gratitude for those who have fought and served to preserve, promote and promulgate the freedom(s) of many. This is one tradition that is surely worth keeping. Thank you, Veterans!

My walks in the forest are developing into a newly created ‘morning’ tradition for me…

The Spirit of Letting Go and Renunciation

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letting go, renunciation, spirituality

The change of seasons, particularly the onset of spring and autumn, tend to bring into focus the subject of “letting go” in my mind. Back in February, as spring was approaching, we had discussed “letting go” in the context of Making Space for the Sacred with the wonderful Marjory Mejia. Now, with autumn upon us (in the Northern Hemisphere), I felt it was time to revisit the subject of “letting go”, in a slightly different context. That context is renunciation…

Before we delve into renunciation, permit me to tell you a short story about one of the most famous festivals in India, usually observed around this time of the year. The supreme divinity, in the form of Ganesha, the “remover of obstacles”, is celebrated with a special festival. Large statues of Ganesha, some the size of small buildings, are created by devotees who then proceed to adorn them with clothes, jewelry, and other offerings. On a smaller scale, this process is repeated within people’s homes, with smaller statues and rituals. This continues for a period of ten days… And then, on the tenth and final day, all of these statues which had been created with such love and devotion, are taken in huge processions to the nearest water body… and immersed. It is an individual “letting go” as much as it is a collective “letting go"…

So, one may wonder – why go through all the time and expense and energy to create these magnificent statues, if, in the end, the community knows beforehand that they are going to only be around for a mere ten days? Perhaps it is because that, for most of us, we can only know the formless (higher Self) by first knowing it in physical form. Hence, we create these ‘temporary’ physical manifestations of our faith, and when we are done with the physical ‘trinkets’, we let go of them. It is the tangible that eventually connects us to, and helps us appreciate the intangible. It is only when we have known poverty, that we learn to appreciate wealth (or the other way around). It is only when we have wandered in the darkness, that we appreciate the light within us, and the light of others.

But, I digress. We were talking about "letting go”. For some, it may be the physical act of ‘cleaning out our closets’, so we can make space for new wardrobes. Or letting go of the clutter in our offices. Or the clutter on our computers, tablets, phones and other electronic devices. Is it only me or does it not seem to you sometimes that we are ‘drowning’ – not immersed, but ‘drowning’ – in electronic noise and clutter? In a sense, physical letting go is relatively easy for some of us, as compared to the mental letting go – of our beliefs, our addictions, our habits that no longer serve us well, and so on.

I invite you to join me and the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, September 22nd 2013 at 9am ET ~ to give some thought to renunciation. What is that one thing (or set of physical things), that one thought process (or set of thought processes), that one belief (or set of beliefs) that does not serve us well on our spiritual path any more? What will it take for us to let go of them, to renounce them completely?

Perhaps it is time. Perhaps that ‘tenth day’ is here for us – the day of immersion, of letting go, of moving towards renunciation.

Kumud

P.S. For those who are curious, the festival is called Ganesha Chaturthi. Namaste!

Letting Go – Making Space for the Sacred

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letting go, sacred, spirichat, spirit

Spiritchat Guest post by Marjory Mejia

There is an air of renewal and regeneration in the air, a fiesta of sorts in the inner workings of life. Spring signals rebirth, new growth, life force awakening with a sense of enthusiasm, curiosity and adventure. Are you feeling it?

We might feel the calling to tune in with nature and feel part of the natural landscape of life renewing herself. So, how do we get ready to align with springtime and welcome nature’s wake up call?

One way to prepare for new growth is to get our spaces ready, after all, they are the stage sets for the unfolding of our life, sacred mirrors that reflect our evolving souls.

We can bring our attention to the spaces we inhabit and gently prepare them by letting go on a physical, emotional and spiritual level. We release from a place of trust and love and a sense of sufficiency. We let go and purge so we can make space for new life ready to burst open and flow. Thus, we engage in a more sustainable lifestyle, a way of living that keeps the flow of nature going.

“Breathing in, I see myself as space. Breathing out, I feel free.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

What to let go? This will vary from person to person. But there are some thoughts, beliefs, patterns that we can begin to release on a collective level for the healing of our local and global community.

Rebirth as a manifestation of the sacred

As conscious co-creators, we find ourselves awakening to deeper currents of voice, song, and purpose. We notice new life emerging from the depths of our being and nurture this new life with reverence. Perhaps it isn’t new; perhaps it is ancient life force awakening, growing with the new found confidence of a river that finds joy in the free unfolding of its path.

Here are some potential questions for us to reflect upon

• What does spring symbolize and signal in your body, mind, and spirit?
• What comes up when you prepare your space for new life?
• How can letting go be a helpful practice as we prepare for spring?
• Can letting go help us reveal the sacred? in what ways?
• … and more …

Marjory Mejia

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I dream of a world, awakened, connected, inspired. A world, revolutionized—by meaningful spaces that deepen and elevate our sense of what is truly beautiful and possible, in this life. Here’s to poetry, consciousness and love ~ Marjory Mejia

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Marjory is an architect, writer and artist passionate about awakening a sense of sacredness and flow in the spaces, hearts, and lives of her clients & community.When she is not revolutionizing spaces and hearts with one-on-one sessions, she is exploring the poetics of feminine space in her free writings and creating healing mandalas that send ripples of joy into the world. Subscribe to her digital sanctuary & get a beautiful spirit-lifting gift. You can read more about her work at awakening sacred flow.

I invite you to join our discussion of “Letting Go – Making Space for the Sacred” with special guest Marjory Mejia. Please join us and the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, February 24th at 9am ET/2pm GMT on twitter. – Kumud