Our Spiritual Companions

Tags

companions, journey, music, satsang, walking

On most mornings, she doesn’t sleep much past six o’clock in the morning. It means that I am up with her too, so that Mom gets to sleep in for an extra hour or so. It also means that if I didn’t wake up before six o’clock, my morning meditation opportunity is pretty much gone. Why? Because it’s tough to sit and meditate with an eight month old puppy who is solely focused on play when she first wakes up in the morning!

So, one morning, instead of forcing her to settle down so that I could focus, I decided I would play with her first and then sit for my morning meditation. A funny thing happened after the first few days. One morning, she decided to come and nap next to me while I was meditating. A few days later, she decided she was going to curl up in the space in front of me as I sat in lotus. Some days, she would actually come sit in my lap as I was sitting – yes, it was tough to focus on those days. 

It has been a few months of this new morning routine now. You could say that I have found a new spiritual companion who “sleeps” while I meditate. I play with her when she wakes up, and she naps while I meditate. It’s a good harmony. She has taught me that it is sometimes better to bend to the new flow of life and create new accommodations, than to create unnecessary stress by persisting with old routines.

In relieving external stress, I have also found new companions within. Some mornings, the non-stop spiritual music that plays in my home-office during the day, becomes my inner companion. The sound of music is sometimes accompanied by the moonlight that is still in the sky as the sun rises slowly. Some days, the companions are the sparkling brilliant colorations of the sunset from the previous day, as it reflects golden orange off of the clouds, and glistens bright blues off of the thin sheets of ice that are floating on the lake waters.

Some mornings, sound and light transition the heart into nothingness. When you return, you know that you have been with that companion which defies description through words. You come slowly awake, and are grateful that the physical world is mostly as you left it, as evidenced by the puppy who is still fast asleep at your feet. And yet, once you experience the company of sound, light and nothingness, there is a renewed awareness of truth, permanence and joy within you.

Celebrate. You have taken another step on the path with your spiritual companions. 

Kumud

P.S. Join us Sunday, December 6 at 9amET for a chat with our #SpiritChat community on twitter. I will bring some questions, we will play some music and gather for satsang with friends, old and new, and walk a few more steps on our path. Namaste – @AjmaniK

 

 

 

The Heart’s Mystical Music

Tags

freedom, healing, music, spirituality

My very first deep friendship on Twitter was with Wayne Mcevilly. A fascinating gentleman who was as comfortable talking about Sanskrit and chanting SamaVeda shlokas, as he was fluid in playing Bach and Beethoven. It was his direct, honest, authentic as it gets approach to life that kept me around on Twitter when I was barely sure about what I was even doing on the medium. I finally got a hold of his “Bach Preludes and Fugues” on piano, and classical music entered my awareness. Among many phone conversations, I have learnt much from the journey of this musical mystic. (my interview with Wayne)

In his own unique way, Wayne taught me that we are all have a bit of the musical mystic within us. From the very dawn of our awareness in our mother’s wombs, sound is an integral part of our being. When sound find arrangement in pitch, tone, meter and such, it can become music. What are some of your earliest memories of sound or music?

The line between music and noise is often as fine as the tuning of our ears, the state of our mind, and the station of our heart. Indian classical music thus has different classes of musical compositions (called ragas), each of which are best suited to a particular time of the day, or even a particular season. Are there particular genres of music that you tune into, are attuned towards, depending on your mood or the state of your life?

One gift of music that has words attached to it is that we can be influenced by the words as much as we can be moved by the instruments. Some of the earliest mantras and shlokas (Sanskrit collections of syllables, words and hymns) were set to music in the form of meters – the most famous being the eight-step Gayatri. The rhythm of meters enabled for smriti (memorization) , and hence the ancient ‘scriptures’ were preserved through generations. What are some songs, prayers or hymns that were ‘passed on’ to you and have perhaps become an integral part of your life?

Beyond the external sound of music, of nature and the noise of our daily living, there is the incessant internal rhythm within us.

“Within ourselves is this eternal voice speaking of eternal freedom; its music is always going on!” – Vivekananda in ‘Practical Vedanta’

Our spiritual work, if we so choose to do it, is perhaps to take time, make time, to create a space of silence and stillness so that we can hear the musical rhythm that leads us to freedom. It is often in the company of fellow seekers (satsang) that we can find this space where we can do a ‘group sing-along’ (kirtan) in the presence of sound and light, embracing joy and bliss in our harmonious energies that contribute to the orchestra of community.

And who knows, someday, we may even learn, through sustained (inner) musical practice, we may discover anew some music, and even learn to sing some of the most difficult songs of life. And in the singing, we shall laugh and love life deeply again, as the healing spreads through our heart, and radiates to all who connect with us, in new radiant connections.

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. Join us for our weekly twitter chat – Sunday Aug 4 at 9amET in #SpiritChat – bring your favorite music to the kirtan and I will bring the tea and questions – Namaste – Kumud

A location, where my heart often tunes into its inner music…

Our Life’s Rhythms

Tags

fathers, music, rhythm, spiritchat, spirituality

At a funeral service for one of my wife’s good friends this week, the priest spoke about the rhythm of our lives… and the importance of being aware of this rhythm and being in harmony with it, so that we may grow in inner peace…

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; – Ecclesiastes 3

This reminder made me reflect upon the rhythm of my own life, and my awareness (or lack) of it on a daily basis. So much of our daily actions seem to be done on auto-pilot. Many of our habits and routines serve us well as they lend structure and stability to our life, which are important for good health. However, certain life events can find us examining, questioning the habits that make up a large part of our life’s rhythms. In music, rhythm refers to a “systematic arrangement of muscial sounds according to duration and periodic stress”.

In life, rhythm refers to any repetitive pattern – the morning meditation, the lunch-time walk, the evening tea, and more. A lot of our rhythmic patterns are informed by our current goals in life, and that which we hold important in the forefront of our consciousness. If we are concerned about some aspect of our health, we may be in a a health-awareness rhythm. Education and career, relationships with family, friends and community – all have their own unique influence on our life’s rhythms. And when our rhythm is off, we know that it is time to seek out those who can help us get our groove back!

One person who was a master-tuner for me and my life’s rhythm was my Dad. A man of few words, he spoke loudly through his dedication to his family and his work. Now that I think about it, he was highly aware of the rhythm of his own life. He knew how to honor silence, to love music, to make time to simply relax with family, and not to ask too many questions. I believe I osmosized a lot his traits, but I am still working on the “don’t ask too may questions” part. I didn’t get the chance to ask him how he mastered that – maybe the secret of that rhythm is in one of the many letters he wrote to me. I need to read them again…

If we are fortunate, we have (had) warm, loving, positive associations with our fathers. And these influences have helped set (a large) part of the tone, the rhythm of our lives. But this isn’t always the case, is it? In fact, in many cases, our relationship with our fathers may be characterized by discord, discontent, disrepair and disharmony. What is one to do in such situations?

Let us not forget. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter…” – maybe it is time we can find a season of healing, of establishing a new rhythm in our heart. We may not be able to do it alone, but with the divine father’s (and mother’s) masterful tuning in our lives, all things are possible…

Namaste,

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. Join us as we gather for our weekly conversation in #SpiritChat on twitter – Sunday, June 18th 2017 at 9amET/1pmUTC. The USA observes the “Father’s Day” holiday on this day, and we will do our best to honor those who have played said role in our lives. I will be brewing some special Darjeeling tea and playing some of my Dad’s favorite music from the Punjab. I hope you can join in… Namaste.

Walking in the forest, among familiar terrain, looking at new growth with new eyes, often resets the rhythm of my life… what are some things that help you reset the rhythm of your life?

Art, Music and Levity

Tags

art, levity, music, spiritchat, spirituality

The ability of art and music to transport us into realms of lightness and levity in our heart is well known to many, if not all of us. The use of art and music in religious and spiritual practices is also well established over the millenia. Our deep, enriching experiences with these two mediums may even define many pivotal moments of our personal lives.

It is the personal nature of what we consider to be art – the scope of its breadth and depth – that attracts us to it. The same breadth and depth of attraction also applies to music. The line between “art” and “non-art”, between “music” and “noise”, is very thin, and very subjective. It is perhaps this freedom of subjectivity that has attracted many a famous “objective” person of the sciences to also excel in these mediums – Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Faraday come to mind.

As I reflected on what is it that represent art and music to me, bring me levity, some thoughts from my sitting and walking, came to heart. I share them here with you…

• Life’s music is like the ebb and flow of the rain – and the percussion it creates is the sound of the infinite
• Light rain on leaves – the same leaves that seemingly grew overnight, right before my eyes
• Symphony of birds in the pre-dawn hours, coming to a crescendo, just before sunrise
• Church bells in the distance, in harmony with the morning rain, the bird sounds
• Sound of sunrise – which silences the birds – perhaps they are dumbstruck by its beauty…
• Arrival of geese in the nearby lake, immediately after sunrise – they come in pairs, every few minutes 
• After sunrise, a single bird starts the symphony anew – and one by one – the forest comes alive again
• The whoosh of the wind through the trees flanking me on both sides, as I silently walk the path
• The hopping of a robin – what sound does it make?
• The sound and beauty of a leaf falling into the temporary lagoons created by rain…
• The shaking off of last night’s rain by the leaves, as the drops cascade down several layers of branches 
• The singing of my mothers and grandmothers in their native tongue (Punjabi) in their prayer rooms…

I notice that most of the above examples of art and music are from nature… which is perhaps appropriate because so many artists and musicians through the ages have been inspired by nature. What inspires you to create and appreciate art and music? Does art inspire you more than music – or is it the other way around? In your spiritual practice(s), do you find yourself incorporating more of art or more of music? What role do art and music play in your personal healing? If you were allowed to take the art/music of two favorite artists/musicians to a deserted island, which would you choose? Just thinking about these questions gives me a sense of lightness, of levity – how about you?!

I invite you to share with us, here in the comments, and in the weekly #SpiritChat conversation on twitter – Sunday, May 15th 2016 at 9amET(USA)/1pmUTC. We continue our broad theme of “Lightness and Levity” for the month of May, with Art and Music. Join us 🙂

Kumud @AjmaniK

“Heart” Artwork by my daughter – A.J.A.

The Creativity of the Spirit

Tags

arts, music, painting, spirit, spiritchat, theater, writing

I was inspired to start SpiritChat four weeks ago (last week of July) by a confluence of events and have received tremendous support from the twitter community and beyond. I have always thought of ‘SpiritChat’ as an open forum, where people can come and share openly.

I have learnt (and am still learning) a lot about how to co-ordinate a twitter ‘chat’ by watching a lot of good folks on twitter conduct their own chat events. One of the oldest chats on twitter is blogchat, run by Mack Collier. This weekly chat has made a great impact on me ~ and one of the lessons I have decided to adopt from blogchat is the idea of an ‘open-mike’ chat. 

However, being an engineer, I like to tweak things. So I thought I would get creative and tweak the ‘open-mike’ idea to a ’focused open-mike’ concept.

The focus this week will be on the Creative Arts (Music, Painting, Writing and more). I think the creative arts are great at ‘slowing us down’ to help us ‘speed up’. P.S. This will echo the subject of our very first SpiritChat 🙂

As I said, there will be no ‘formal’ questions ~ just share and enjoy. Here are some pointers for you (just in case) ~ How do the Creative Arts help you in your spiritual growth? Are you a Creative Artist (musician, author, painter, theater artist or more)? Do you have a favorite “creative art’ or favorite creative technique?

Come join us on Sunday 28th August at 11am EDT (USA, UTC-4) or 8:30pm (India) in the #SpiritChat room (web link). You can also send a tweet with the hashtag #SpiritChat from your twitter platform to send the community your message.

Do share ~ for as @cammipham reminded me the other day (in a chat I learn a lot from), ’Sharing is Caring, Dear’.

~ Kumud

P.S. As I write this post, the East coast of USA is bearing the brunt of Hurricane #Irene. I hope and pray for the safety of all those in in it’s path.