HEALING THE COSMIC SPLIT

The Chandogya Upanishad

In the beginning was only Being,

One without a second.

Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos

And entered into everything in it.

There is nothing that does not come from him.

You are that, Svetaketu; you are that.

Svetaketu is us all: humans, animals, birds, trees and rocks. Like Svetaketu, we don’t realize that we are THAT, that we’re ONE BEING.

Our world view is that we’re separate; entitled to do as we please. We don’t have to answer to all life forms. We aren’t intrinsically related. Deuteronomy tells us we have a choice to make. We can pretend we’re not connected and wreak havoc (death) or we can see that every action we make impacts our collective whole.

            New Living Translation
            Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings

            and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. 

            Oh, that you would choose life.

In the teachings of mystic Isaac Luria, God performed a “tzimtzum”, what Kabbalists call a tremendous act of love. In this story, God created special vessels to contain Divine Light as he brought forth the world. The light was so brilliant that many vessels, unable to contain this radiance, shattered, flinging shards all over creation.

Some Light returned to Source; some got trapped in the shards. It became our collective life purpose to gather this lost light...to let our light shine. To choose LIFE. We have the choice to participate in Tikkun Olam (world repair) by healing our own inner splits.

What’s a “split”? It’s like that reactive impulse to lash out when someone’s unkind. We heal it by slowing down, remembering our connection-letting in the LIGHT. As I reflect on this past week, I hear again my sister’s daughters saying heated words as my eldest niece was preparing to embark upon her new life.

This family has had more than their share of loss, some tragic. Transitions are taxing. It’s where their Light is trapped in sorrow. While harsh words were spoken, the three adults remained calm, supporting each sister to speak her deeper truths. Shining our light where it was dark. Fences got mended and voices were heard. Now, if the adults could extend that to each other when tensions are high, we’d heal the cosmic split more quickly. And we do, every time we calm the waters.

Oprah asks Ms. Angelou in an interview, “What words do you turn to for comfort.”

Love,” Ms. Angelou answers.

"[Love] may be that energy which keeps the stars in the firmament. It may be the energy that keeps the blood running through our veins.”

This is soul work: turning to kindness as loss surfaces. Loving ourselves and loving each other.

Love gives us the strength to participate in a great Tikkun Olam, healing our splits. We’re called upon to transform our unworthiness. We are called to let go of resentments.

This LOVE is WHAT we are. Ubuntu. You are that, Svetaketu; you are that.

Freed, this LIGHT gives hope. Dr. Rachel Remen says:

           We can learn to see [these sparks] in ourselves and others. When we
           spot one, we blow on it and strengthen it.

Dear Reader, what’s one split that you will start healing today? Can you see the light shining in someone that you love?

A MOST PRECIOUS GIFT

When I am with Amba, I am in the presence of a huge heart, beating in rhythm with authentic life. In 1981, Amba introduced me to leadership development magic. Almost twenty years later, to evolve my non-profit, Namaste Global Vision (http://namasteglobalvision.org/), I took Amba Gale's Heart of Leadership course. I was trained originally in ontological leadership work that inspires cultures of love, honor and respect. It is a timeless field and Amba and I met again in that culture.

In another soul stirring “conversation course”, I received a most precious gift. Amba was letting go of chotchkies and venerated gems, making room for simplicity. LUCKY us who received these gifts. We sat in a circle at Harmony Hill Retreat Center. The view of Hood Canal was soothing, the work transformational. The LOVE, palpable. Tears come, remembering.

My box was carefully wrapped, with lavender and blue ribbons. Inside was a little ARK: NOAH was there on the ship with the animals. Around the ship Amba had carefully placed blue yarn attached to a little laminated card with these words inscribed:

Karla

Ushering forth the animals into safety

Loving them

Into safe haven

Knowing their magical powers, their healing, their spirit

Their loving presence that graces our world

You, like Noah, create such a space of belonging

Where wild and tame are the same

And there are no boundaries between humans and animals

And you touch and give of this ancient knowledge.

Being seen for who I am remains a most treasured gift. Being gifted Noah’s Ark is an honor. It is also a request of my heart and soul. I seek guidance from Ganesha, Hanuman and Buddha. I have changed; loving relations for planet, animals and humans seek me often.

What is the Noah path? Robert Ellsberg says that Noah was given a covenant that he and the animals were now protected in their journey.

Noah represented an ethic and spirituality concerned with the preservation of earth and the survival of endangered species and cultures; he might well serve as a patron of ecological stewardship. For the earth itself, as we know it, is a fragile ark. 

[The] covenant with Noah extends to his descendants ‘and with every living creature, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you.’[1]

Emmet Fox, a metaphysical teacher, encourages that the Universe is a loving Being. He communicates that the Universe is a refuge and we are all supplied with an infinite power of wisdom and love.[2] There is a line in The Chandogya Upanishad that reads: “All creatures have their source in him. He is their home; he is their strength.”[3]

Was it essential being seen by Amba and others as I set voyage? YES. It inspires me still. It holds me steady during choppy waters. Being gifted that REFLECTION of who I am is a core element in my development. It keeps me faithful and honest.

What about you, dear Reader? When were you last seen for who you are? How does that support you when sailing into uncharted waters?

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[1] Used with permission from All Saints. Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg (Crossroad, 1997) www.crossroadpublishing.com http://www.crossroadpublishing.com/crossroad/title/all-saints

[2] Power Through Constructive Thinking, by Emmett Fox, (Harper Collins, 1968) http://www.harpercollins.com

[3] Timeless Wisdom: passages for meditation from the world’s saints and sages, by Eknath Easwaran (Nilgiri Press, 2008) www.easwaran.org