The Ojibwa(for more information check: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5579/ojibwa.html)
I read two interesting things today. The first is a saying from an Ojibwa tradition and was mentioned by Martha Beck in an article she wrote recently. It goes like this:
“Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the while I am being carried on great winds across the sky.”
The next piece comes from a book that E.D. passed along to me today called 'The Compassionate Universe. The Power of the Individual to Heal the Environment' by Eknath Eswaran. I just happened to open the book up on this page where he was referring to Mahatma Gandhi.
“Gandhi himself was a relentless experimenter who would not rest until he had found a beneficial purpose for every detail of his life.” He writes that Gandhi believed it was possible to master the thinking process and leave behind every unwanted habit and negative thought.
“To accomplish this, the Gita (Gandhi) outlines a daily course of training in which we acquire conscious control of our attention, strengthening our will at such a deep level of the unconscious that no compulsive desire or addiction can sweep us away. What is the predicted result? When your will is linked to your intellect at the very depths of your personality, you discover yourself as you really are – secure, wise, compassionate, and intimately connected with all of life.”
What I loved best about this powerful short piece was the author's humble confession:
“I was accustomed to thinking of myself as a learned man, relatively adept in a wide variety of mental activities, so this simple skill o gaining control over my attention seemed well within my grasp. It came as quite a surprise to see how little control I actually had. I discovered that my mind was like a titanic factory, engaged night and day in activities that were, for the most part, neither useful nor voluntary.”
He goes on to write that when he tried to turn his attention away from the things that cluttered his mind he found it most frustrating that he could not. He also wrote that with “diligent practice” he began to get better at the exercise and eventually he was able to eliminate the “small stuff” and became “the one who told my mind what to think." In doing so, he found he could maintain peace of mind in stressful circumstances.
So what does this all come about to? Two things actually. One is about faith. (A topic I seem to bring up often in my writing.) Why, because often we do not trust in ourselves, our intuitive feelings, to get us to the place we are meant to be. We get scared; allow fear to sway what our hearts know to be true. Our faith and belief in ourselves is a gift that has been given to us. It is a beacon to shine along our chosen path. It is a warning signal, a guiding map and the more we trust in it and not the outside world of expectations and opinions and judgements, we will be far more compassionate and wise to those around us.
Secondly, we waste way too much energy with “fluffy” thoughts. These thoughts get in the way of our true purpose. Worry and stress are all deterrents to derail our real purpose here. I say “junk in, junk out” clear your mind of things that are meaningless. Watch less television, do more things in your community, be kinder to others, but dump all the unnecessary negativity that filters through your day on an ongoing basis. Or as Easwaran writes, turn your attention away from the things that clutter your mind. This leaves us with a huge space to be filled with loving, caring, compassionate thoughts and deeds.
My friend E.D. is going through a bit of doubt in her life lately. She has always maintained that if she kept a positive heart and fought those negative energies she would land on all fours (for she is a cat lover… or at least loves her cat). Today she was feeling a little low and I had to remind her what she has been telling me these past 3.5 years…
“Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the while I am being carried on great winds across the sky.”
Ok well she didn’t exactly say that but she always has this wonderful saying she says to me when I am having my low days… “this too shall pass” and if you follow your own wisdom and you follow your heart my dear friend, you can never EVER go wrong in the doing of it.
And so, when you yourself are having a down day, all you have to remember is the following.
"This too shall pass." and "All You Need Is Love"
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