On Spiritual Alignment

Tags

alignment, awareness, gratitude, spirituality, turbulence

It was a somewhat unusual week of ups and downs, of great calm and turbulence in the inner world for me. It began particularly well in that I used the Monday holiday to read a new book from cover to cover – something I hadn’t done on a long, long time. It felt really good to get back to ‘deep reading’, and prompted me to make a summer reading list of spiritual biographies. That was the high-point of the week, and I was only the first day in.

The next couple of days was where the outer world started seeping in, and it turned into a bit of a flood by Thursday morning. The morning meditation practice was unable to restore calm and stillness, because the mind was highly perturbed and the usual heart-focusing techniques weren’t working. Something was surely out of alignment. I looked in my ‘toolbox’ to see – what was I to do next to reset my alignment?

The first step to realignment was to return to the weekly walk in the reservation, which I did Thursday evening after work. The forest immersion worked really well to do an inner reset, as the familiar trails, the waters of the river and lagoon, the clear blue skies — all submerged me in their warm embrace. The exclamation point was the blue heron that I observed sitting in perfect stillness across the river, for the entire final ten minutes of my walk. Typically, a heron will take off as soon as it sees humans, but today was different. The realignment was going well.

Friday morning meditation was a bit of a test of how well the realignment was going. Things were better, but not quite fully restored yet. It wasn’t till late Friday evening, after seeing my daughter again after a week, overlapping with a long dinner meeting with a very good friend’s mother, Carol, whom we hadn’t seen in almost three years, that the realignment felt almost complete. It must have been Carol’s beautiful, pure, in the moment, loving energy, deep hugs, and childhood stories of living and growing up in the small town of Longport on the Atlantic shore, that helped clear away a large part of the dust of the week.

As I write this post, I find myself asking some questions. How do we know that we are in alignment, and out of alignment in our inner world? What are the happenings in our outer world that shift us out of inner alignment? How often do we lose alignment, and how quickly is it restored? What tools do we have for restoration, and how well do they really work?

I was tested this week in a way that was perhaps not so unique to me. Hence, I shared my experiences with you. The alignment testing helped me identify some weaknesses in my spiritual practices. One result of the week’s testing is that I am grateful for the opportunity to learn, adjust and develop greater awareness on the journey towards answering — Who am I? What am I truly aligned to, and why?

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly gathering and twitter chat with the #SpiritChat community, Sunday June 26 at 9amET / 1pmGMT / 630pm India. I will bring some alignment gauges in the form of questions, and a pot of tea. You bring the cookies! Namaste – AjmaniK

The hydrangeas finally bloom in the garden… helping to restore alignment!

Our Spiritual Roots

Tags

breath, culture, foundation, roots, spirituality

The sun is still low enough in the sky, but high enough to be above the roofline behind me, that I can sit on the top step of the deck and enjoy my morning reflection with a warm cup as the cool breeze rustles the wild willows just beyond the fence line. On and off through the week, my thoughts have been drifting to my roots and foundations.

I have been watching the two water channels that flow into the pond grow from virtually nothing to lush greenery in a few weeks. The stark contrast between autumn’s ‘taking away’ and spring’s ‘giving back’ is virtually complete. The wildflowers, the wild grasses and bushes on which the blackbirds sway all day long, the thick foliage on the sky hugging trees — they are all back. What sustains them, year after year, so that they make triumphant returns?

Yes. The answer is their roots. The one sure way to destroy a plant is to remove it from the ground, roots and all. The one sure way to destroy our physical life force is to remove us from our source of life — the breath. Perhaps this is why, in times of great joy, visiting my grandmother while bubbling with excitement to share my news, she would often say — ‘son, pause, take a breath, then speak.’

I often wonder about having had the privilege of being rooted, watered, nourished by the wisdom of my elders, particularly in my younger years. What would my life look like today without their mix of tender loving and gentle steering of my mind, body and heart? What would your life look like without the roots nourished by those who have channeled some of the best of their own life force into you?

As we grow older, we tend to forget. Some of us may even claim that we are ‘self made’ people. It may be so, and yet, let us take a breath and ask — what are the roots that sustain the layers of us that are beyond the mere physical? What are the roots of our subtle body connected to? What sustains those roots?

Research has shown that the roots of trees in forests have an underground network of inter-connection, which helps trees ‘lean on’ each other for nutritional support. I have often seen ‘above-ground’ evidence of this inter-connection during my walks. As long as the tree is connected to its own roots, or those of its neighbors, life remains, because it is connected to a life-giving source.

Perhaps we humans are the same way. No matter how many autumns we may experience, spring eternal is our destiny as long as our roots remember to stay connected to, and draw energy from that Source.

How will we remember?

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly gathering and twitter chat, Sunday June 12 at 9amET / 1pmGMT / 630pm India in #SpiritChat. Bring some ‘root’ stories to share with the community. Namaste ~ @AjmaniK

Connections… among above-ground roots of trees…

Moments of Silence

Tags

awareness, healing, memories, silence, spirituality

The dog sitting by the screen door, watching the heavy rain falling on the deck, as the storm finally arrives, and then leaves quickly.

The stars emerging slowly and showing off their light as the moon is yet to rise.

The rising sun emerging from behind the clouds in the distance, and the lingering of the moon fading in its light.

The drops of overnight rain sitting on new leaves that emerged over the past few days.

The pair of geese escorting their newborns through the lake, teaching them to feed themselves as they go.

The two turtles sunning on a bed of reeds by the shore as the geese swim by.

The rush of white flowers on the wild bush that I almost cut down last year because I thought it was too close to the fence.

The stillness of the dragonfly caught by my camera as I went to take a closeup of said white flowers.

The eyes that welled up, and stayed so, during many of this week’s meditations.

What are some recent moments of silence you have experienced? How did they affect you? What kind of energy did they create within you?

So much of the condition of our heart and mind is affected by the energy that we experience in our moments of silence. Many of these silent moments, particularly those in nature, tend to catch us unawares. These are often the moments that tend to bring us great joy.

However there are other personal moments, planned and unplanned, which force us into temporary silence. The impact of these moments on us is so strong and deep, that we revert to silence to process their energy. These are often the moments of grief, sadness, anger, and even bitterness.

Regardless of our physical and emotional response to the positive or negative energy brought about by moments of silence, there is much that we can learn from them. If we make space for the silence, pay attention to the timing of their arrival, we can honor the message of every such moment.

With greater awareness of the moments of silence happening around us and within us, our hearts and minds have the opportunity move towards greater peace, equanimity and stillness. As a result, we can emerge from every new moment of silence with renewed strength and resolve to take actions for the greater good of all.

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly twitter chat with the Spiritchat community, Sunday May 29 at 9amET / 1pmGMT / 630pm India. Please come and share some moments with us, as we reflect on the power of silence to heal us. Namaste – @AjmaniK

P.P.S. The USA observes ‘Memorial Day’ this weekend, to honor those who ‘gave their all’ for the country. We also mourn the many innocents, including young children, taken by gun violence in the past week. May they Rest In Peace. Peace. Peace.

A moment of silence… in the company of a dragonfly

On Embracing Diversity

Tags

acceptance, diversity, embrace, growth, spirituality, unity

Sometimes, all it takes is a few drops of early morning rain falling on you as you walk, to erase the heaviness that you have inadvertently awakened to, despite a good night’s sleep. Little that you realize that the drops are actually harbingers of a drenching which is on the way!

The weekly Friday walk around the lake is colored with a wonderful cool breeze that precedes the warm front bringing a couple of forecasted hot days after some unseasonal coolness. The tree almost sound like the beginning of autumn. The lake surface is agog with waves rippling against the heavy, inch-thick layers of algae, which has taken over two thirds of the lake surface. I pause and lean against the wooden cow-fence, as the seeds of the river-birches welcome me back in much delight and ask – where have you been all week? Why don’t you visit more often? The four wooden and weathered steps in front of me invite me to come closer, so for the first time ever, I accept and sit on then last one step, where if I stretched my legs out, they would touch the grasses growing on the edge. A single goose flies over from the grassy knoll and joins me, loudly announcing the weather coming in as the wind picks up a couple of notches. I wonder if I should head back, to heed the warning of the heavy rain in its way, but I decide to press on. The forest cover will take care of me, I perhaps wrongly presume. In addition, what else do I have to do on this Friday morning?

The same rose-bush that be-friended me last week, grabs my shirt again as i walk by, reminding me of our budding friendship. The tree-lined part of the trail is still heavy with mud, what with all the rain of the past week and the now heavily dense leaf-canopy that prevents the sun from reaching the ground. I pause at the bend, as the swift breeze calms down for a bit, breathing in all the goodness created by the stillness and the soft murmurings of the fledglings from the depth of the forest. More seedlings fall on me on their way to the earth.

If and when we open all of our sense receptacles to it, without any filters, and embrace all of the diversity of the world around us if only for a few moments, it can help lighten our world within. Yes, it is said that what we see in the world around us is a reflection of the state of our world within, and yet, until we get to that stage, the outer can help bring peace to the inner. The diversity of the outer tableau is designed, often by our own selves through our seeking, to fulfill our greatest inner needs. Perhaps that is why some love the water, others the forests, and some are attracted to the mountains, and even the skies.

No matter what aspect of diversity we are attracted to as individuals, they are all necessary in order to meet the need of the hour or season of each individual. Why else would there exist millions of species of plants and animals, with their variations in behaviors in different seasons, if not to remind us of the necessity of diversity and the infinite possibilities of the universe? Does nature not mirror the need for the infinite diversity of humans in the human race, and serve as a reminder that there would be annihilation of any society that is intolerant of its diversity?

Imagine a toolbox with only one tool in it, say, a screw-driver. Can you build a house with it? Imagine eating the same breakfast every single day. How healthy would that be? Imagine having only a single vowel in the alphabet. What kind of communication would be possible? Would we able to write prose and poetry without diversity of vowels? Imagine.

Progress in love, and towards light, is only possible through our embrace of diversity. The diverse streams of life that flow within us, when they mingle with each other, become the universal ocean. Is it not that when we commit to the work of finding the unity within our diversity, that we come closer to the experience of Oneness?

As I walk under the canopy of tall trees on the trail, pausing occasionally to write this post, the rain is getting increasingly heavier. My phone’s screen is filling with droplets of all sizes, varying from about a hundredth of an inch to about an eight of an inch in diameter. The beauty of this impromptu canvas is perhaps living testament that diversity creates peace and beauty. It’s a long way back to the car, so I find a tree with a heavy leaf cover, and try and ride out the downpour. As I wait for the rain to lighten, I am filled with a rush of gratitude for the fact that no matter the season, the diversity of nature has always embraced me, whenever I have visited with it.

Maybe it is in the unconditional embraces of nature where I have learnt my best diversity lessons. How about you?

Kumud

P.S. Do join us for our community gathering in our weekly twitter chat, Sunday, May 22 at 9am ET in #SpiritChat. We are a diverse group indeed, and are welcoming of all as we chat over tea and cookies. Namaste – @AjmaniK

The diversity of nature… beauty brings peace

Sources of Wisdom

Tags

children, flowers, fruit, knowledge, letting go, play, spirituality, spring, wisdom

A single pear tree is planted in front of each house by the developer, after the construction of each new home is complete. The trees bear beautiful flowers every spring, and for a few days, the streets are resplendent in white during the morning walk. Then, just as quickly they bloom, the small petals are shed by each tree in the span of a few days. It is a sign that spring is moving towards summer, the work of the flowers is done, and the tree is transitioning to the next phase of its life.

Nature does so much work to create the beauty of flowers, and yet, the pear trees do not cling to them. When it comes time, the trees readily let go and move on. The process of nature is a source of some great wisdom for us humans, isn’t it? How often do we hold on to those ‘flowers’ in our life whose work is long done, and hold back our ‘fruit’ in the process? Are there any other wisdoms that we can learn from observing the march of spring?

In addition to observing nature, there is much wisdom to be gleaned from watching children at play. The chalk art they create in the driveways, the impromptu baseball games in the parking lot next to my house, the kid practicing hitting a ball off the tee as he waits for the school bus in the morning, and so much more. There is much fun, simplicity and lightness about a child’s play which we ‘adults’ could benefit from bringing back into our lives, yes? How would our inner condition change if we were to do some ‘chalk’ art on paper, find a playground and go down some slides or get on some swings, or even jump in some puddles?

There are many more sources of knowledge and wisdom that we can think of. We have our wisdom that comes from books, our favorite speakers and artists, our friends, our teachers, mentors and coaches, our parents, and yes, occasionally, even some relatives and co-workers! Who or what did I miss?

Perhaps most importantly, if and when we learn to trust it enough, one great source of wisdom that is always available to us is our heart. Each of us has unlimited capacity to refine the wisdom within our heart through our daily practices of kindness, empathy, connection with kindreds, small acts of service, and more.

When our heart thus grows lighter, it fills us with peace and light, connects us to higher wisdom. Clarity of mind follows. With clarity, we can make better decisions on what to keep and what to let go of in our hearts. Can you think of some more ways that we can make good use of the (sources of) wisdom available to us in our lives?

Do share.

Kumud

P.S. Do join us and share your wisdom sources, and your wisdom with us in our weekly twitter chat with the Spiritchat community on twitter. We will meet at 9amET / 630pm India on Sunday, May 1 2022. Namaste – @AjmaniK

A pear tree in full bloom in mid-April…

On Spiritual Practices

Tags

calmness, clarity, Earth Day, mental peace, spirituality, stillness

This week’s blog post consists of some ‘live’ musings and observations on spiritual practices, derived from my walk on Earth Day, written while on my favorite trail. Hope you enjoy!

Friday, April 22 was Earth Day. So, rain or not over the past three days, there was no question that I was going to walk the trail that I walk every Friday. Thinking that my regular route would be really wet, I decided to go clockwise instead of my usual anti-clockwise route. This led to perhaps my slowest walk around the trail ever… partly because of the wetness of the earth, to the extent that much of the trail seems almost impassable. I had to walk the edges, sinking in mud on occasions, but I kept going. Practice? You may need to slow down on occasion , particularly on unfamiliar routes, but keep walking.

I almost turned around in retreat, until I saw a small bridge in the distance – this meant that I could go to slightly higher ground and then double back over the bridge, back onto the path, about a quarter mile downstream. My walk could continue, instead of me having to retreat. As I walked, I was grateful for the person who had the foresight to put the two disparate pieces of wood together to create the makeshift bridge. Practice? Be a bridge-builder when you can. You never know who will benefit from it.

Some beautiful blues and greens came into view, which made me pause, even kneel on one knee at times… to watch, and gently touch the new leaves emerging from buds. Yes, I am welcomed by the tiniest of thorns too, as I gently hold the edge of a soft branch swaying in the wind in order to still it – so that I can take a better portrait! Practice? With new growth will come thorns too – there are blessings in them all.

The pond is gorgeously clear after all the rain of the past few days… and the Sun rising above the tall trees scatters through some of the clouds, spraying whiteness everywhere, as I marvel at the next bridge that is going to take me across… Practice? Look in all directions as you walk, and occasionally upwards too.

And as I pause on the other side of the second bridge, looking at the sun, I am right upfront with a tree that is already flowering. The faintest scent of the flowers awakens me yet again to a different sensation – a reminder that truth, awareness and bliss are everywhere to be found – that is the reality that we need faith in, along with faith in our path and faith in our guide(s) – when we have all three, then there isn’t any energy in the universe that can stop us from rising. Practice? Be ready for surprises. They will often come when you are in alignment with faith.

The lake is amazingly still and full of light. A bench by the lake invites me to sit. I accept, and sit, and wait for any geese or ducks to show up and swim in the empty lake. After a while, a single goose walks up to the shore in the distance, enters the water, and takes ownership of the lake. His swimming sends ripples through the stillness of the surface, changing the nature of the reflections within it. And then, a little bit later, perhaps encouraged by the goose, a pair of mallard ducks leaves their refuge along the shore and decide to take a swim too… safety in numbers? When one decides to be brave, others get courage… Practice? Watch the ripples and disturbances of the mind – stillness and clarity go together.

And now, as I’m ready to finish the walk, it’s time for two tiny swallows to practice skimming, and even dive the lake’s surface… more ripples, more spreading of joy, more emergence of sunlight from beyond the solitary cloud as the breeze warms up a bit as it picks up speed… but the windmill by the lake barely moves – it is still largely unimpressed. Practice? Keep your heart open and you fill find joy rush in through the smallest of things.

As I was finally leaving, another tree and her blooms invited me closer – and I literally walked up to her and laid my face ever so gently into the arms of the flowers – it felt so soft, loving and gentle – a beautiful reminder that the Earth and her love for us knows no bounds. All we need to do is pause, embrace and remember.

As I returned home to a book that I had received as a gift on my recent India trip, this message about spiritual practices came from my post-walk reading…

“The real spiritual training is which makes our mind disciplined and regulated, restores moderation in senses and faculties, and creates lightness of spirit. Then alone internal peace and calmness is ensured and a higher approach is possible.” – Babuji in Reality at Dawn

I wish you all the best in your spiritual practices. I hope that they bring you internal peace and calmness as you move higher. Namaste.

Kumud

P.S. join us for our weekly twitter chat with the #SpiritChat community on twitter, Sunday April 24 at 9amET / 630pm India. We will discuss spiritual practices – old and new, simple and complex over tea, cookies and questions. Namaste – @AjmaniK

Some of my new friends – from Earth Day

The bridge – that kept me going…

The Sun sprays cloud-light upwards…

I sit with the stillness… before the goose and the ducks arrive…

Spiritual Trust by @womenandbiz

Tags

healing, spirituality, trust

Spiritual Trust by Elisa Balabram

The last few years, and what has transpired this year abroad, have caused many of us to reconsider our lifestyle choices, and to renew our connection to our deepest values. The year 2021 was named The Great Resignation, with millions of people leaving their full-time jobs in the United States.

Making decisions like leaving one’s home country either by choice or by inflicted conditions, or moving to a new city or state, or changing careers, or pursuing a different degree, or embarking on new relationships or adventures, all require a great deal of spiritual trust.

As we plan to take a leap into the unknown ourselves, by moving from the east to the west coast, the invitation to trust has been showing up on and off for several months in our lives. It has taken time to come to the decision of letting go of a somewhat secure situation, and to fully surrender and take the leap into the unknown. Yet, we decided to go for it.

There are so many unknowns regarding the path forward, and the only way we can do it is to trust. Trust that the universe has our backs. Trust that once we leap, even though we cannot see clearly now, the net will appear. Trust the support system available to us. Trust in each other. Trust in ourselves.

Join #SpiritChat this Sunday for a conversation on spiritual trust and leaping into the unknown.

– Elisa Balabram (@womenandbiz)

Please join Elisa as she steps up to host our weekly #SpiritChat on Sunday, March 27 2022 at 9amET, and share your stories about trust ~ thank you for hosting, Elisa! – Kumud

Nature can teach us a lot about trust… and growth

Our Spiritual Identity

Tags

awareness, identity, love, spirituality, vibration

What does our sense of identity consist of? Where does it come from? How does it change over time? What makes us lose our sense of identity? Why do we identify much more with certain environments or people as compared to others? How does our identity manifest in our living?

These are some the questions that I mulled over during my walk on a gloomy Friday morning as the Sun was doing its level best to break through and provide a bit of warmth on an unusually chilly spring morning. As I watched a pair of geese swim peacefully with mallard ducks in the pond, I felt a surge of peace within me too. It was a reminder of how much of my identity is shaped by nature through its effects on my energy levels and inner vibrations.

Why does nature have such a powerful impact on our identity? I believe it is because of the amount of diversity that nature offers to us — there is something in nature for everyone to relate to. Regardless of the time of day, the season, the weather, our emotional or physical state, we can often identify with nature and its ability to heal and comfort us. The always available nature of nature, ready to serve us unconditionally, helps us experience the nature of divine love.

When we experience unconditional love, it removes fear and adds courage to our sense of identity. In addition to nature, there are people in our lives who can deeply affect our identity too. The ones who influence us in a positive, uplifting way are the ones whom we identify with deeply at a heart and soul level. I like to think of them as identity partners. Our inner vibrations align closely with theirs, we feel at peace around them, and they elevate rather than negate our sense of identity.

In order for our identity to fully manifest through love, we may need to examine that which stands in its way. This greatest obstacle is often our ego, particularly when it is fed by an excess of anger, expectation, sadness, and more. An excess of positive emotions can also create imbalances for our ego, which can then manifest in our identity as arrogance and hubris, and disconnect us from our true self.

The good news is that we, through our awareness and practices, can get closer to our true identity, which often gets hidden under the layers of dust which accumulate over time on our heart’s mirror. The energy of our identity partners — nature, supportive friends and family, spiritual guides — is available to us. We simply need to choose to tune our heart’s frequency to their transmissions filled with peace, harmony, and yes, love.

There are so many aspects to our identity, and yet, we discover, that they all emerge from, and eventually merge into One. Will we take the journey to discover?

Kumud

Join us for our weekly community gathering on twitter in #Spiritchat, Sunday March 13 at 9amET / 730pm India. We will play with some questions about identity, and connect with each other over tea and cookies. Namaste. – AjmaniK

So many aspects to our identity… and yet they all merge into One

On Spiritual Stress Tests

Tags

challenges, mental health, resilience, spirituality, stress

What a difference a week makes. As we take steps out of the shadow of the pandemic, we find ourselves in an equally long, if not longer shadow — the shadow of another Cold War. The stress levels for millions of people went up so rapidly that one could feel the energy shift palpably towards fear, angst, anxiety, grief and disorientation. By Thursday evening, my mind was perturbed enough that I decided to shut off the faucet for a day or so. It was time to take a ‘mental health’ day and try and restore a bit of inner peace. 

I didn’t really imagine that this unraveling would be happening in our world, and happening so quickly. We live in a hyper-connected world of supply chains, social media, travel, food and energy dependencies, global partnerships and more. I have been asking some questions. How did we get here? How prepared are we to cope with these unprecedented stresses? How can we support each other better in these times?

It seems like we are all being given a stress test of the mind, the heart and our spirit. It reminds me of engineering school, where we used to perform stress tests on materials to determine their ‘breaking point’. There were tensile tests to measure stretchability, compression tests for crushability, torsion tests for bendability, and more. In medical science, we have stress tests to assess the heart’s health and functionality. What serves as a good stress test for our spirituality? 

A good stress test will stretch us, bend us, squeeze us, and maybe even break us in some ways.  It will make us question the efficacy of our practices, our ability to maintain inner peace.  On my ‘mental health day’, I shut down social media, the news stayed off, and I stayed off the internet at large. These steps helped stanch the inflow of stress-producing inputs, and yet, it wasn’t enough to reduce the effect of the accumulated peace-disrupting thoughts from the week gone by. I realized that I had to do some additional work to start restoring my equanimity. 

The work began by adopting a contemplative attitude, by asking questions. How could I, as an individual, influence the outcomes of the events that were stress-testing my mind? This contemplation led me to regain some focus of those things that I could indeed influence through my actions. Regaining focus led me to ask — what are my core, go-to practices, that best help to calm my mind? The four-fold answer was relaxation, meditation, inner cleaning, and prayer. Any and all of these practices work well to help me de-escalate stress when my mind is under attack. 

In the past twenty four hours, every time my mind has tended to wander off into the field of stress-inducing thoughts, I have used my awareness to pause and contemplate. What can I control? How many details do I need to know? Is this bit of information a consumer or a contributor to my vital life-force? With every contemplation, I develop a higher sensitivity to what is happening outside and within me. With greater sensitivity, I feel that I have better answers to respond to life’s stress tests. With better answers, I can create better outcomes, trust myself more, and orient my awareness towards peace, which creates happiness. 

Maybe the occasional stress-test is a good thing. Maybe I need to be grateful for the gifts of courage and resilience that stress tests bring with them? They can help me give me a reality check on how much spiritual progress I am really making! I don’t know of any curriculum that will prepare me for all of life’s stress tests. Awareness that love, truth and inner peace are all worth fighting for — perhaps remembering that is preparation enough?

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly twitter chat with the #SpiritChat community, Sunday, March 6 at 9am ET / 2pm GMT. We hope to gather and share techniques to pass our stress-tests with flying colors. Namaste – @AjmaniK

Nature often uses symmetry to cope with her stresses… or so it appears…

On Spiritual Grounding

Tags

centering, equilibrium, grounding, healing, spirituality

This post was written on the day after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Like many of you, my heart and mind is having difficulty processing the events as they unfold. Reviewing my daily ‘grounding practices’, which are part of my broader meditation practice, is helping me return to some sense of equilibrium. Writing heals me, so I share these thoughts with you in the hope that they are somewhat healing for you too. Namaste.

The Friday morning walk around the lake went quicker than I had anticipated. On a fresh sheets of ice that fell overnight after all the snow had melted over the past few days, I walked with slow measured steps. Even though the path is familiar to me, and my muscle memory stands me in good stead, I learnt quickly not to step into the gray, for those are the thin ice areas with water underneath them.

As I walked the lake’s periphery, I wondered how I would cross the small valley that separates the East-facing section of the path from the west-facing one. The answer came as I was pleasantly surprised by the sight of the small, familiar, slightly broken, but still crossable bridge over the vale. As I started to cross over, the bottoms of the tall bushes entwined my feet, and the tops wrapped their arms around my chest through the heavy coat. I could not see much, what with the snowflakes whirling around in the breeze that carved icicles on my cheeks. I cannot explain it, but I did wonder – was this similar to the cold that those escaping the war half a world away were feeling? Who was giving them warmth and safety?

And yet, standing on the bridge lightly, holding my breath for a bit to absorb it all, shifting my attention to the earth as it began to flow all its love upwards through my feet, I felt a deep sense of grounding. All the cold and the gray and the starkness of the sunless winter morning dissolved around me. I even felt a momentary sense of warmth in connection with my core. The earth has a way of doing that to you – literally and emotionally and spiritually grounding you when you return to it. Have you felt such a grounding lately?

Yes, in the midst of our harsh winter days, it is hard to imagine that the sunflowers of spring will be here soon enough. And yet, from past experience, we know that they will. In the midst of the callous cowardice of those drunk on the desire for conquest, it is hard to imagine that courage and goodness still exist. And yet, from experience, we know that they do. In the midst of life pulling the rug from underneath our feet, it is hard to comprehend that the earth, the ground still exists. And yet, we know that it does, for we sit and stand and walk on it every single day, drawing energy and sustenance from it.

Let the sunflowers bloom within us. Let us plant their seeds of peace in the fertile soil of love. Let them be nourished by the waters of hope-driven action and the light of the rising sun. As the flowers bloom within, let us re-connect with the ground of truth, joy and awareness within us, as we recommit to kindness, empathy, and greater connection to all that which feeds our heart, mind and spirit.

What kind of world do we want to create within and without, for ourselves, our planet, and for future generations? Our choices about who we stand with, what we stand for, what ground we stand on, and what grounds us, will define us. The health of our faith, friends, families and futures depend on our attention to the ground we choose to walk. May we walk it with care, concern and courage.

Join me as I take one small step to ground myself in love, peace, light, lightness and the power of the energy flowing from the earth, again. We can create a better world with a single step. So, what’s stopping us?

Kumud

P.S. Join us in our weekly twitter gathering with the #spiritchat community, Sunday Feb 27 at 9amET / 730pm India. We will check in on each other over tea, cookies, and yes, some questions. Namaste – AjmaniK

Flowers remind me of the importance of staying grounded